Cornmeal Crust Recipes

Steps:

• Whisk cornmeal with 1 1/2 cups cold water.
• In a medium saucepan, bring 2 1/2 cups water, salt, and pepper to a boil.
• Gradually stir in cornmeal mixture. Reduce heat; simmer, stirring often, until very thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Remove from heat; stir in butter until melted.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425. Grease 12 inch pizza pan with shortening.
• Heat water to boiling in 2-quart saucepan.
• Stir in remaining ingredients with wire whisk until mixture is smooth and thickens.
• Spoon onto pizza pan and spread evenly, mounding edge slightly.
• Bake 5 to 7 minutes or until set and light brown.
• After you top pizza with your favorite toppings, bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and toppings are hot.

Steps:

• Combine cornmeal, flour and 1 tsp salt in a bowl.
• Cut in shortening.
• In a separate bowl, beat together egg and 1/4 cup water.
• Add to cornmeal mixture.
• Press into 9 inch pie plate to form crust.
• Use in place of regular pie crust.

Steps:

• In a large bowl combine flour, cornmeal and salt.
• Whisk to combine well.
• Cut in shortening to resemble coarse crumbs and sprinkle 1 T.
• of water over the mixture.
• Toss with a fork, pushing to the sids of the bowl, repeating until all dry ingredients are moistened.
• Form the dough into 2 balls and chill for 30 minutes.
• Roll out and use as you will.

Steps:

• To make the confit: Cut a slice off the top and bottom of each lemon to expose the flesh. Cutting from top to bottom and following the contours of the fruit, cut off the peel and white pith in 1-inch-wide strips. Scrape off any pulp adhering to the strips, but leave the pith intact. You should have several 1-inch wide strips of lemon peel and pith. Cut each 1 into long strips, about 1/4-inch by 3 inches each.
• Meanwhile, boil a kettleful of water. Pour about 2 cups of the boiling water into a small saucepan, bring back to a boil, add all the lemon rind, and boil 30 seconds. Drain in a strainer and rinse under cold running water. Repeat 2 times more, using fresh boiling water each time. Combine the sugar and 2 cups of water in the saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the blanched rind and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer until tender, about 1 hour.
• Drain in a strainer (reserve the sweet, lemony syrup for sweetening drinks, if you like). Arrange the strips on a wire rack, using your fingers to gently spread them out so that they do not touch each other. Let cool and store in an airtight container.
• To make the crust: Cream the butter until soft and smooth in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the sugar and continue creaming until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg and the vanilla. In a separate bowl, stir together the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer and mix at low speed until almost blended. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead briefly, just until the dough comes together. Form into a disk and chill at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Flour a work surface. Roll out the dough 1/8-inch thick and prick all over with a fork. Use a cutter to cut out rounds of pastry that are slightly larger in diameter than your mini-muffin cups. Transfer the pastry rounds to a sheet pan and chill 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and bake until light golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool.
• Butter 2 mini-muffin tins and then lay a large piece of heavy duty plastic wrap over the tin. Push the plastic wrap down into each cup (this is to line it very well). Do not worry, the plastic wrap will not burn or melt in the oven. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• To make the filling: Whip the cream cheese until light and fluffy in a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Add the sugar and mix. Mix in the eggs and vanilla, then the flour and salt. Divide the filling among the lined cups, filling each one all the way up. Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, then chill.
• When ready to serve, cut the plastic wrap so you can remove each cup of cheesecake individually. Lift each one out of the cup and invert onto a cornmeal crust. Peel off the plastic wrap. When all the cakes have been assembled, top each one with a tiny mound of chopped lemon confit and serve.

Steps:

• For the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Combine cornmeal, pastry flour, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to incorporate. Add butter and oil and pulse about 20 times, until mixture resembles small pebbles. Add water and pulse until mixture forms a loose dough. Remove dough from processor and press into bottom and about 1/8-inch up the sides of a 9-inch tart pan with a detachable rim. Press aluminum foil into the bottom and sides of the pan on top of the dough and weigh down with uncooked rice or pie weights. Place tart pan on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and remove rice and foil. Return to oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until no longer shiny and wet. Remove from oven and let cool.
• For the filling: Increase the oven to 400 degrees F. Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat; saute shallots until soft, about 5 to 6 minutes. Spray 2 baking trays with cooking spray. Arrange the eggplant, zucchini and tomato slices on the trays in a single layer and brush with the remaining olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, and roast the vegetables until soft but not browned, about 15 minutes. Remove the vegetables from oven and cool.
• Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Lay the eggplant slices in 2 layers on the bottom of tart; cover with 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese and some of the shredded basil. Add the zucchini and shallots, top with another 1/3 of the mozzarella and basil, then the tomatoes. Top with rest of the mozzarella cheese and the Parmesan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and vegetables have further wilted. Remove from oven, let cool for 5 minutes, and cut into 8 slices. Serve warm.

Steps:

• For the crust: Combine the flour, cornmeal, and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse just until it resembles coarse crumbs.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and 2 tablespoons ice water. With the processor running, drizzle in the yolk mixture. The dough should just come together. If it looks dry add more water, up to 4 tablespoons.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until it comes together; it will be stiffer than a regular pie crust because of the cornmeal. Divide into four pieces, press into discs, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• For the filling: Toss the potatoes, yam, parsnips, celery and mushrooms with 4 tablespoons oil.
• Season with salt and pepper and spread evenly on a baking sheet. Roast, tossing once halfway through, until golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes. You don't want to cook these all the way though since they will cook more in the pot pie. (They should be al dente, but starting to get some color.)
• Combine the flour and remaining 4 tablespoons oil in a saucepan over medium heat and cook until smooth and bubbly like pancake batter, about 3 minutes. Whisk in the mushroom broth. Simmer until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Season to taste and remove from the heat.
• Add the roasted veggies to the mushroom broth along with the peas, thyme, rosemary and sherry vinegar. Divide the filling among four 8-ounce ramekins.
• Remove the dough from the fridge and roll each into a 5-inch disc. Wet the rim each ramekin and lay a crust over the top. Poke each 5 or 6 times with a fork and place in the oven. Bake until the crust is golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Steps:

• In a large bowl stir together 1/3 cup water, yeast, and sugar and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/3 cup water, 2 tablespoons oil, 1 3/4 cups flour, cornmeal, and salt and blend until the mixture forms a dough. Knead dough on a floured surface, incorporating as much of remaining 1/4 cup flour, as necessary, to prevent dough from sticking, until smooth about 5 to 10 minutes. Form the dough into a ball.
• Lightly oil the sides and bottom of a large bowl with oil, add the dough, turn to coat in the oil, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Gently punch the dough down and divide into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece on a lightly floured surface into a 10-inch circle that is 1/8-inch thick. Brush off excess flour and transfer the dough to a baking sheet, cover each circle of dough with plastic wrap and continue stacking rolled out pieces on top of each other. Wrap well with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to grill.

Steps:

• Fit the kneaded blade on a heavy-duty mixer.
• Proof the yeast in 1/2 cup water with 1 teaspoon sugar until foamy (about 8 minutes).
• In the stainless steel bowl place 5 cups flour, salt, sugar, oil and cornmeal.
• When the yeast is proofed, add to the bowl along with 1-1/2 cups warm water; start kneading adding in more flour as needed to create a soft smooth dough.
• After the kneading is finished, let the dough rest in the bowl for 8-10 minutes.
• Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and shape in a ball.
• Place into a well greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.
• Punch down dough and let rest for 10 minutes before shaping (this is important, the dough must rest for 10 minutes).
• Roll out the dough into two 16-inch circles.
• Place into lightly greased pizza pans.
• Top as desired.
• Bake in a 400 degree oven until lightly golden brown (about 15-20 minutes).

Steps:

• Make dough:
• In a bowl whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt. Cut butter into 1/2-inch cubes and add to flour mixture. With your fingertips or a pastry blender blend in butter until most of mixture resembles coarse meal with remainder in small (roughly pea-size) lumps. Drizzle 4 tablespoons ice water evenly over mixture and gently stir with a fork until incorporated. Test mixture by gently squeezing a small handful: When it has proper texture it should hold together without crumbling apart. If necessary, add enough remaining water, 1 teaspoon at a time, stirring until incorporated and testing, to give mixture proper texture. (If you overwork mixture or add too much water, pastry will be tough.)
• Turn mixture out onto a work surface and divide into 4 portions. With heel of hand smear each portion once in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather dough together and form it, rotating it on work surface, into a disk. Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour, and up to 1 day.
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Make caramelized pears:
• Peel pears and halve lengthwise. Cut each half into 3 wedges and core. In a 10-inch cast-iron skillet melt butter over moderate heat and stir in sugar. Cook mixture, stirring frequently, until sugar is dissolved and mixture is golden, about 6 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and let mixture stand until it begins to firm up, about 3 minutes. Arrange pears, rounded sides down, as close together as possible in 2 concentric circles in skillet.
• On a lightly floured surface roll out dough into a 15-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick) and cut out an 11-inch round. Drape round over pears, tucking edge around pears, and with a fork prick dough in several places. Bake tart in middle of oven until pastry is golden and cooked through, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool tart in skillet on a rack 15 minutes.
• Invert a rimmed serving plate slightly larger than skillet over skillet and, wearing oven mitts and keeping plate firmly pressed against skillet, invert tart onto plate. Arrange any loose pears on tart and spoon sauce from plate onto tart. Serve tart warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• Combine both flours, the cornmeal, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse until well mixed. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture forms coarse crumbs, with a few almond-sized pieces remaining. Sprinkle the grapefruit juice over the mixture and pulse until the dry ingredients are evenly moistened and large clumps just start to form. When you squeeze some of the fine crumbs between your fingers, they should hold together.
• Turn the dough out and divide it into 2 portions, one slightly larger than the other.
• Shape the dough into two 1-inch-thick disks, wrap each tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
• Make-ahead: The dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. It can be frozen in resealable plastic freezer bags for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

Steps:

• For crust:
• Whisk flour, cornmeal and salt in small bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl to blend. Beat in egg yolks. Add dry ingredients and beat just until blended. Divide dough in half; flatten into disks. Wrap each dough disk in plastic and refrigerate 20 minutes. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated. Let dough soften slightly at room temperature before using.)
• Meanwhile, prepare apricot filling:
• Bring 5 cups water to simmer in heavy medium pot over medium heat. Add apricots and poach until tender, about 25 minutes. Drain well.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly oil 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Unwrap 1 dough disk; press onto bottom and up sides of tart pan. Spread apricot preserves over bottom of crust. Place poached apricots over preserves, covering crust completely and overlapping slightly. Using pastry brush, brush beaten egg over edges of crust. Roll out second dough disk between 2 sheets of parchment paper to 12-inch round. Remove top piece of parchment; using 1-inch-diameter cookie cutter, cut hole in center of top crust. Turn crust over onto filling. Remove second piece of parchment paper. Press around crust edges to seal. Cut off excess dough to make top crust flush with tart pan sides. Brush crust with beaten egg and sprinkle with 3 tablespoons sugar.
• Bake tart until cornmeal crust is golden brown, about 45 minutes. Transfer apricot tart to rack. Cool 30 minutes. Remove tart from pan and cool completely. (Apricot tart can be prepared up to 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.) Serve tart with Apricot Sauce and whipped cream, if desired.

Steps:

• Mix flour,cornmeal,sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Add butter and pulse until incorporated. Add water, 1 tbsp at a time while pulsing,until ball forms. Remove and wrap with plastic wrap. Chill at least 30 minutes.
• Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 14-inch diameter round. Fit into a 9-inch pie pan, and crimp excess dough around the edges of the pan. Chill at least 15 minutes.

Steps:

• Combine flour, cornmeal, salt, yeast and 1/4 cup Parmesan in large bowl. Add water and 2 Tbsp. oil; stir until mixture forms soft dough. Transfer dough to lightly floured surface; knead 5 min. or until smooth and elastic. Spray dough with cooking spray; cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour.
• Heat oven to 425°F. Pat dough onto bottom of 12-inch pizza pan sprayed with cooking spray; spread with pizza sauce to within 1 inch of edge. Sprinkle shredded cheese and Italian seasoning over pizza sauce. Brush remaining oil onto edge of crust; sprinkle with remaining Parmesan.
• Bake 10 to 12 min. or until shredded cheese is melted and edge of crust is golden brown.

Steps:

• For the crust: Put the flour, yellow cornmeal, 2 tablespoons sugar and the salt in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter and shortening and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Combine 1/2 cup ice water and the apple cider vinegar in a liquid measuring cup. Add the ice water mixture to the flour mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time as needed, and pulse until the mixture just comes together. Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and press the dough together. Divide the dough in half and press into two discs. Refrigerate the dough until firm, at least 2 hours.
• For the filling: Put 4 cups blueberries and 1/3 cup sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and cook, stirring frequently, until the sugar dissolves and the blueberries start to release some of their juices, 3 to 5 minutes. By this time, the mixture will have started to boil. Lower the heat to a strong simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reduces, 10 minutes. Stir in the tapioca starch and cook until the mixture thickens and resembles, blueberry jam, 5 minutes.
• Transfer the mixture to a large bowl, then stir in the remaining 4 cups blueberries, the remaining 1/3 cup sugar, and the blueberry jam, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt. Cool completely, about 45 minutes.
• To assemble and bake: Roll 1 chilled dough disc into a 13-inch round (about 1/8-inch-thick) on a lightly floured surface.
• Roll the dough onto a rolling pin, then unroll it into a 9 1/2-inch glass deep-dish pie plate, letting it hang over the edge. Evenly spoon the chilled filling into the pie plate.
• Roll out the remaining dough disc into a 12-inch round and place it over the filling. Press the crust edges together and trim, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Roll up or pinch the overhang to seal. Crimp as desired.
• Make five 2-inch slashes in the top of the crust. Chill for 30 minutes.
• Position a rack on the lowest shelf of the oven and place a baking sheet on the rack. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Whisk the egg and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl to make an egg wash. Brush the egg wash on top of the chilled pie, including the crimped edges. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.
• Put the pie on top of the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Lower the temperature to 375 degrees F and rotate the baking sheet. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through for even color, until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling, about 1 hour. If the edges begin to brown too quickly, cover them with foil or crust protectors. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow the pie to cool completely on the baking sheet.
• Slice the cooled pie into 8 to 10 pieces before serving.

Steps:

• Prepare the butter and lard, if using. Cut the butter into 1/2-inch (12-mm) cubes (a bench scraper is perfect for this, but a sharp knife works well too), and cut the lard into small pieces. Return them to the fridge to cool.
• In a liquid measuring cup, stir together the milk and vinegar. Refrigerate the mixture until ready to use.
• On a clean flat surface or in a large shallow bowl, toss the flour, cornmeal, cornstarch, sugar, and salt together lightly to blend. Add the butter and lard (if using) to the dry ingredients and, using the tool of your choice, cut the fat into the flour with speed and patience, until the fat has been reduced to small pea-sized chunks. Try to use a straight up-and-down motion, as the more you press on the flour the more tough gluten will develop. Avoid using your fingers, as the heat from your hands will melt the fat and further encourage gluten development. Unlike with pasta or bread, gluten is the enemy of pie dough, so be gentle, and be quick!
• Once your fat has been cut down to size, spread your mixture out to expose as much surface area as possible. Gently drizzle about half of your milk mixture over the flour, trying to cover as wide an area as you can. Using bench scrapers or a large spoon, lightly toss the flour over the liquid, then spread everything out again, and repeat the process with the second half of the liquid.
• You should now have a dough that will just hold together when pressed against the bowl, with visible little chunks of butter. If you need to add more liquid to bind it, do so with more cold milk, adding a tablespoon at a time until you reach the right texture. It's not an exact science, as everything from the humidity in the air to the dryness of your flour will affect the consistency of your dough.
• Once you've reached your goal, cover the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 1 hour. The dough can be kept in the fridge for up to 1 week, well wrapped, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Steps:

• Pulse flour, cornmeal, sugar, and 1 3/4 teaspoons salt in a food processor until combined. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with no large pieces remaining. Add yolk, and drizzle 1/4 cup water evenly over mixture. Pulse until mixture just begins to hold together when pressed between 2 fingers (it should not be wet or sticky). If dough is too dry, pulse in more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
• Turn out dough onto work surface, and knead once or twice to combine. Divide dough in half. Shape into disks. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Steps:

• For crust:
• Whisk 3 tablespoons ice water and egg yolk in small bowl to blend. Mix all purpose flour, yellow cornmeal, sugar and salt in processor. Add chilled butter. Using on/off turns, process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Drizzle egg yolk mixture over. Using on/off turns, process until moist clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball. Flatten dough into disk; wrap disk in plastic and refrigerate 30 minutes. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.)
• Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 350°F. Roll out dough between 2 sheets of waxed paper to 12-inch round. Remove top sheet of waxed paper. Invert dough, paper side up, into 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Remove waxed paper from dough. Crimp dough edges decoratively.
• For filling:
• Using electric mixer, beat 6 ounces cream cheese in large bowl until fluffy. Add 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup golden brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and egg yolk 1 at a time. Add remaining ingredients and beat until well blended. Pour filling into prepared crust.
• Bake pie until filling is slightly puffed and just set in center, about 55 minutes. Transfer pie to rack and cool completely. Cover pie and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Keep pie refrigerated.) Serve pie cold.