Enjoy the variety of cornmeal meals

Everyday Kitchen -

Cornmeal is as versatile an ingredient as any you can have in your pantry. Whether you add it for a little crunch to your bread recipe or sprinkle it on a baking sheet to keep the pizza from sticking, this is one grain that deserves to sit next to the flour and sugar ... but doesn't.

Easy cornbread

I don't know why cornbread isn't more popular up north. It is delicious and filling, goes with so many different dishes, and takes minutes to make. This recipe just might make you a convert. And if you've already fired up your barbecue for the season you should know that nothing goes better with grilled meat than fresh cornbread.

1 tbsp. vegetable shortening or lard

1-1/2 cups cornmeal

3/4 cup flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1-1/2 cups milk

1 egg, slightly beaten

3 tbsp. honey

Place shortening in a heavy nine- or 10-inch baking dish or cast iron frying pan and get smoking hot in a 375 F oven. Whisk together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together milk, egg, and honey and stir all at once into dry ingredients until well combined. Pour into hot pan and bake 30 minutes or until a tester in the middle comes out clean.

Cornmeal-crusted baked pork chops

Cornmeal adds that deep-fried crunch and flavour with lots less fat. Serve these tender chops with a green salad or mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables and it will still satisfy that fried-food craving. Chicken works in this recipe, too.

1/2 cup plain yogurt (low-fat is fine)

1 tbsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper (divided)

6 to 8 medium-cut lean pork chops

1/2 cup dry bread crumbs (Store-bought Japanese style are good.)

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. minced fresh rosemary (or 1/2 tsp. dried)

1/2 tsp. each onion powder and roasted garlic powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. melted butter

Whisk together yogurt, soy sauce and half the black pepper and pour over pork chops. Turn them to coat on all sides. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour but overnight is better. Remove pork from yogurt and scrape off as much of it as you can. Combine bread crumbs, cornmeal, cheese, thyme, rosemary, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and remaining black pepper in a large shallow dish. Press chops into mixture to help the cornmeal mixture firmly adhere. Set aside for a few minutes. Place in a single layer in a greased shallow baking dish. Drizzle butter evenly over top and bake at 375 F for 50 minutes or until pork is done to your taste. Flip them over halfway through.

Creamy cheesy polenta

Polenta is as common in Italy as potatoes are here. We don't even see it on Italian restaurant menus and I don't understand. Polenta is comforting and satisfying, can accompany any stews or meat mixtures that you usually serve with rice or noodles, and leftover it can be fried in slabs for the best lunch ever on top of a salad. If you have tried it but never made it, or if you never had the pleasure of a taste, this recipe is easy and foolproof-all you need is a little time and patience. Italian cooks stir this relentlessly over higher heat, but using a double boiler reduces the work without compromising the taste. For plain polenta leave out the cheeses and basil.

6 cups chicken broth or water (Add 1/2 tsp. salt if using water.)

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper or 1/4 tsp. white pepper (for purists)

1-2/3 cups cornmeal

2 tbsp. unsalted butter (no other)

2/3 cup mascarpone cheese

3 tbsp. chopped fresh basil

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese (optional)

Bring chicken broth to a boil in the top of a double boiler over direct heat. Whisk in pepper and cornmeal, stirring briskly to prevent lumps. Place in top of double boiler and cover. Cook over simmering water 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours, whisking every 10 or 15 minutes, until polenta is creamy and tender. If it gets too thick to stir easily add a bit of hot water. Stir in butter and divide among six warm serving bowls. Mash basil into mascarpone and drop a small spoonful into each bowl. Sprinkle with parmesan.

Cornmeal honey muffins

In any grocery store south of Toronto you can buy a cornmeal muffin mix. They're just as easy to make from scratch but not being able to get that mix here tells me that northerners are missing out on a very good thing. If you don't have, and don't want to look for, buttermilk place 1-1/2 tbsp. vinegar in a measuring cup and fill to the 3/4 mark with skim or 2 per cent milk.

3/4 cup liquid honey

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

3/4 cup buttermilk or soured milk

1 cup flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1-1/2 cups fine cornmeal

Whisk together honey, vegetable oil, eggs, and buttermilk. Whisk together flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and cornmeal and stir into liquid ingredients all at once. Spoon into 12 large paper-lined or well-greased muffin cups. Bake at 325 F for 20 to 25 minutes or until a tester in the middle comes out clean.