Corn Chowder

2 T. butter
extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 sprigs fresh tyme, leaves only (or @ 1/2 t. dried)
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
4-6 c. canned vegetable or chicken stock
2 cups heavy cream
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
frozen corn
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley leaves

Heat the butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and thyme and cook until the vegetables are good and soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Dust the vegetables with flour and stir to coat everything well. Pour in the vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Add the cream and the potatoes, bring to a boil and boil hard for about 7 minutes, until the potatoes break down (this will help to thicken the soup and give it a good texture).

Add corn to the soup. Season with salt and pepper and simmer until the corn is soft, about 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the parsley and give it another little drink of olive oil. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.

adapted from: Tyler Florence, Food Network

Southern Buttermilk Biscuits

2 c. unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/4 t. baking soda
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
6 T. butter, very cold
3/4 c. buttermilk (approx.)

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, or in the bowl of a food processor. Cut the butter into chunks and cut into the flour until it resembles course meal. (If using a food processor, just pulse a few times until this consistency is achieved.) Add the buttermilk and mix JUST until combined. If it appears on the dry side, add a bit more buttermilk.

Turn the dough out onto a floured board. Gently, gently PAT (do NOT roll with a rolling pin) the dough out until it's about 1/2" thick. Use a round cutter to cut into rounds. You can gently knead the scraps together and make a few more, but they will not be anywhere near as good as the first ones.

Place the biscuits on a cookie sheet- if you like soft sides, put them touching each other. If you like"crusty" sides, put them about 1 inch apart- these will not rise as high as the biscuits put close together. Bake for about 10-12 minutes- the biscuits will be a beautiful light golden brown on top and bottom. Do not overbake.

Note: The key to real biscuits is not in the ingredients, but in the handling of the dough. The dough must be handled as little as possible or you will have tough biscuits. You also must pat the dough out with your hands, lightly. Rolling with a rolling pin is a guaranteed way to overstimulate the gluten, resulting in a tougher biscuit.

Note 2: You can make these biscuits, cut them, put them on cookie sheets and freeze them for up to a month. When you want fresh biscuits, simply place them frozen on the cookie sheet and bake at 450 degrees for about 20 minutes.

from: recipezaar

Spaghetti Pie

1 (6 oz.) package spaghetti, cooked and drained
2 T. butter
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1 c. cottage cheese
1 lb. hamburger, browned and drained
1/2 c. onion, chopped
1 (14 oz.) jar spaghetti sauce
1/2 c. grated mozarella

Stir butter into hot spaghetti; mix in eggs and Parmesan cheese. Form mixture into a "crust" in a pie tin or casserole dish. Sprinkle cottage cheese over crust. Mix browned and drained hamburger with spaghetti sauce, pour over cottage cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Sprinkle grated mozzarella cheese on top and bake for another 5 minutes.

from: Thomas 4th Ward cookbook

Three-Minute Cobbler

1/2 c. butter or margarine
1 c. flour
1 c. granulated sugar
2 t. baking powder
3/4 c. milk
1/4 t. salt
1 16-oz. can fruit or pie filling

Melt butter in a casserole dish. Stir in flour, sugar, baking powder, milk and salt until all lumps are gone. Dump fruit over top, don't stir in. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Audrey's little note: I half this recipe for an 8x8 baking dish.

Mango Curry Chicken

1/2 c. yellow onions, chopped
1 T. sugar
1 t. curry powder
1 t. ground coriander
1/4 t. ground cinnamon
1/8 t. cayenne pepper (I only use a dash)
1/2 t. turmeric
1/2 t. kosher salt
pinch ground cloves
6 4-oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into thirds
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes with juice
1/2 c. store-bought mango chutney (should be in the condiment area of your grocery store)
cashews
fresh cilantro

Combine the ingredients and cook over medium-high heat until chicken is cooked and sauce reduces and starts to thicken a bit (@15-20 minutes).

Serve over rice and sprinkle with 1/2 c. chopped cashew nuts and 1/4 c. fresh chopped cilantro, if desired.