Wow, what a fast couple of days.  Since I did not have camp this week I had free days , or so I thought.  Not so.  I had tons of stuff to do. 

I had to do sheets and bedding from the spare room where my sister and nephew stayed.  I had to go to Costco and get lots of things that fit well into the Element.  I went to Jazzercise after a week away and oh my am I feeling it!  Three times this week, I feel much better even with the soreness.

Yesterday I went to BJ's and Kohl's to pick up the items that Costco did not have.  I think I'm set now on paper towels, cheese sticks, new pillow for husband, plastic wrap, hummus, and yes two new cookbooks. 

I know, it's a sickness.  I bought the Williams Sonoma Preserving cookbook at Costco and Planet Barbecue at BJ's.  I glanced through them last night and they both look great.  More cooking!

Yesterday I decided to make dessert since dinner was simple - ribeyes on the grill, pasta with pesto and fresh green beans.  I made Cinnamon Biscuit Peach Cobbler and it was good.  And pretty.  Not too difficult.  I did use pecans rather than walnuts, we are in Georgia and I like them better. 

Cinnamon Biscuit Peach Cobbler from Taste of Home Magazine
serves 12

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon plus 1/3 cup packed brown sugar, divided
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 6 tablespoons cold butter, cubed
• 1/2 cup 2% milk
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Filling:

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 3/4 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 1 cup water
• 9 cups sliced peeled peaches

1. In a small bowl, combine the flour, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda; cut in cold butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in milk just until blended.
2. Transfer to a floured surface; knead 10-12 times. Pat into a 12-in. square. Brush with melted butter.
3. Combine the walnuts, cinnamon and remaining brown sugar; sprinkle over dough to within 1/2 in. of edge. Roll up jelly-roll style. Seal dough; set aside.
4. For filling, in a large saucepan, combine the brown sugar, cornstarch and lemon peel. Gradually stir in water until blended. Add peaches. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish.
5. Cut biscuit dough into twelve 1-in. slices; arrange biscuits over filling. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
   

Today I worked a few hours at Macy's for KitchenAid, then the library, Trader Joe's, the bank, and home for laundry and dinner.  I am ready to relax!  I will be leaving tomorrow to go to Pittsburgh for my niece's baby shower.  I hope to get an early start, but still have to pack my clothes and gather the mountain of stuff from my sister's shopping spree last week. 

I am so glad that I finished the baby blanket a while ago.  I am in process on another for my stepdaughter and need to get back to that.  Life is good, all works out as it should, now to deal with the shopping mountain!

This was a long weekend for me.  A few weeks ago I asked my husband if he'd be off on Friday or Monday for the 4th of July and he wasn't sure.  I decided to mark off both days for me and take an extra long weekend.  Turns out he was off today, so I had my extra day Friday.

I had a peaceful day of a little work and a little knitting planned for Friday.  I did my weekly menu planning early Friday and saw fudgy brownies in Fine Cooking.  I had everything I needed so I made brownies pretty early Friday.  After I cleaned the kitchen and ran the dishwasher, I decided the kitchen was closed for the day. 

I had to run out to get a printer cartridge to get some library program printing done, then home for lunch and knitting.  Small trauma - when I heated my lunch the demon cat ate my knitting needle.  She's fast with powerful teeth!  After eating I ran to the yarn store for new needles.  I need to be very vigilant while knitting. 

We ate dinner out on Friday night and shopped for a new mattress and looked at new refrigerators.  Saturday morning was Jazzercise, grocery shopping and the kitchen was open again for dinner - pork piccata.  I also needed to make my breakfast casserole that was on the menu for Sunday.

I love the cookbook A Real American Breakfast by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison.  The Sunday morning breakfast was another casserole and it is delicious.

Almond-Cinnamon Toast Featherbed

Butter deep 9- or 10-inch baking dish.

Slice bread approximately 1/2 inch thick. Toast slices until crisp and golden (If they are too thick for your toaster, this can be done on a dry griddle or on a baking sheet in a 400-degree oven.) Stir together 4 tablespoons softened butter, cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Spread mixture evening over the toast.

Arrange 2 to 3 equal alternating layers of the bread, bits of almond paste, and mascarpone in the baking dish. Cut or tear the bread slices if needed to make snug layers.

Whisk eggs with half-and-half, amaretto and salt. Pour custard over bread mixture. Drizzle the 3 tablespoons melted butter over the surface. Cover and refrigerate strata at least 2 hours and up to overnight. Remove strata from refrigerator 20 to 30 minutes before you plan to bake it.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Plan on a total baking time of 55 to 60 minutes. Cover and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and scatter almonds over the top if you are using them. Continue baking, uncovered, until puffed, golden brown and lightly set in the center, 15 to 20 minutes longer. Serve hot.

I used challah bread, a 13 x 9 baking dish and made 2 layers, mascarpone and did not use almonds.  We had some home made breakfast sausage also.  After breakfast we relaxed, read a little, took a little nap and went to a friend's house.

My chef friend Rosemary invited us to her pool for the holiday.  The pool in her neighborhood.  We arrived, got organized, went to the pool, there was a catered bbq lunch, we ate, talked, relaxed in the pool, back to the house for chatting and then home.  We had a very pleasant 4th of July.

This morning we were up and ready for 7:15 Jazzercise.  I had to drag myself there slightly, but did feel better after.  Home for breakfast which was Migas from the same cookbook.  Migas are roasted poblanos, roasted jalapeno, roasted tomato, eggs, corn chips crushed, cheese, cilantro and they are wonderful.

Tonight will be ribs on the grill. Slow cook, easy cook.  Maybe another nap and some knitting.  Maybe the pool.  The weekend weather has been perfect.

Back to work tomorrow with a personal chef customer.  I'm ready though after my long weekend.

I had such a nice time yesterday cooking for dinner last night and for breakfast this morning.  Actually dinner for tonight is done since we're having pulled pork again.

Yesterday we got the wood chips soaking and the grill burning so I could get the pork butt on by 6:00.  I wanted to make sure to get the temperature holding between 225 and 250 before we went to Jazzercise.  All went well.

About 4:30 I took the meat off of the grill to cool slightly to shred.  It fell apart so easily and was so delicious. 



Since the pork was cooking without needing attention from me, I made potato salad yesterday afternoon to have with the pork.  I do not like mayo, so I made a salad from The Barefoot Contessa and for fun used purple potatoes.  It too was delicious.



I had to wait for potatoes to get tender in boiling water so I used that time to make a breakfast casserole that we had this morning.  Here are the before and after pictures.  It was very good, a recipe from Ellie Krieger.



Blueberry Almond French Toast Bake from Ellie Krieger
serves 8

• Cooking spray
• 1 whole-wheat baguette (about 18 inches long, 8 ounces), cut into 1-inch cubes
• 8 large eggs
• 8 large egg whites
• 2 cups 1 percent lowfat milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

Spray a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Arrange the bread in a single layer in the baking pan. Whisk together the eggs, egg whites, milk, vanilla, cinnamon and maple syrup. Pour the egg mixture over the bread in the pan, spreading it around so the liquid saturates the bread. Scatter the blueberries evenly on top and sprinkle with the almonds and brown sugar. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Uncover the baking pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Serve warm, cold or at room temperature.

I have leftovers for brunch tomorrow and I'll pop some in the freezer for another day.  I love having the freezer with ready to go meals.

Since I was in the kitchen anyway and since the berries are beautiful right now, I needed to make my favorite berry pie.  I love Fresh Raspberry Pie. 

All of my cooking is done.  I did not do any knitting yesterday so I think I'll do that today.  We've been to church, had breakfast and now I can hear the dryer telling me the towels are done.

I have a library program tomorrow with teens in Rockmart.  I have all of my recipes ready and just need to get all my equipment organized.  And then the rest of the day is for relaxation!  Sounds good to me.

I had some time to try new recipes and am so glad that I did!  Friday night was steak, salad and bread.  Easy dinner except I made the bread and grilled it.  I found the recipe in the latest issue of Fine Cooking and it looked so delicious I couldn't wait. 

Once I started I was a little worried, the dough seemed soft, I couldn't see how it would work, but it did, it was wonderful dough and everything worked like the recipe stated.

I made 10 individual balls of dough and let them rest for about 1 1/2 hours.  It isn't a yeast dough but the recipe said "rest". I also made the pesto like filling and crumbled the cheese. 



After the resting period I just followed the recipe: Grilled Naan filled with Herbs and Cheese from Fine Cooking May 2010.

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I made mine on The Big Green Egg.  I love that grill!  Mine cooked a little less evenly than they might have with a gas grill, bit the smoky flavor is terrific. 

Saturday I made another easy dinner and used the Egg again.  I smoked some salmon, had salad with it, some angel hair tossed with pesto and grape tomatoes and fresh blueberry cobbler.



Yesterday while dinner was cooking I made breakfast for today.  I love stratas and had a new recipe I wanted to try.  This was called Kentucky Hot Brown Strata from the cookbook Real American Breakfasts by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison.  This is one of my favorite cookbooks and the strata was perfect. 

Kentucky Hot Brown Strata

• 1 (1-1 1/4 lb)  country bread or sourdough bread, crusts removed if thick (1 loaf)
• 6 ounces chopped smoked turkey or roast turkey
• 6 ounces bacon, finely chopped and cooked crisp
• 1 large tomato,  chopped
• 3/4 lb cheddar cheese,  grated (medium or sharp)
• 5 large eggs
• 2 cups milk or half and half
• 1/2 teaspoon dried sage (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  

I used sourdough bread, smoked turkey, grape tomatoes, no sage and extra sharp cheddar.  Very, very good.



No cooking tonight.  I made two appetizers this morning while the strata was baking and am taking them to my friend Rosemary's house for dinner.  It will be a nice relaxing evening with good food and good friends. 

Tomorrow I'm cooking for a customer, also Tuesday and then I'm headed to Washington DC!

I know that Georgia has been in drought conditions for several years and that the rain was a good thing, but we've had a lot now and we need to even back out.  Yesterday was rainy and windy and a perfect day to be in the house. This morning I dragged myself to Jazzercise at 7:15 and when I was done the sun was coming out.  It's sunny with blue skies now!  I feel pretty energized.

I am still trying to work through all of the food in my freezer before buying anything else.  Saturday I pulled out spaghetti sauce so I could have an easy meal for the day.  It seems like it's been a while since we've had spaghetti and meat sauce and it was perfect.

Sunday I pulled out salmon.  I buy bags of salmon and tuna at Costco to have in the freezer and discovered during this freezer cleaning process that I have a lot of salmon and no tuna.  We like both, but it's salmon for now. 

I looked at some cookbooks while menu planning on Friday and decided I am in the mood for pasta and anything that has piccata flavors.  Last night we had Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Lemon, Basil and Salmon and it was very tasty.  We'll be having it again with salmon from the freezer.

Whole-Wheat Spaghetti with Lemon, Basil, and Salmon by Giada De Laurentiis

1/2 pound whole-wheat spaghetti
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 (4-ounce) pieces salmon
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
3 tablespoons capers
1 lemon, zested
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta and transfer to a large bowl. Add the garlic, extra-virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss to combine.
2. Meanwhile, warm the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Season the salmon with salt and pepper. Add the fish to the pan and cook until medium-rare, about 2 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the fish. Remove the salmon from the pan.
3. Add the basil, capers, lemon zest, and lemon juice to the spaghetti mixture and toss to combine. Set out 4 serving plates or shallow bowls. Place 1/2 cup spinach in each bowl. Top with 1/4 of the pasta. Top each mound of pasta with a piece of salmon. Serve immediately.

The only change I made was to toss the spinach in a large bowl with the garlic, oil, salt and pepper.  I then added the hot pasta to wilt the spinach and then tossed with the basil, capers, etc.  I place pasta in serving bowls and topped with the salmon.  

Friday night was the birthday party and I had a good time.  The girls had fun too.  I taught them to make pizza dough, sauce, cupcakes, frosting, a pink smoothie.  We even had enough pizza for mom, dad and grandma to make their own. 

This is the third day of sun and no rain so far!  I know we have been in a drought situation, but we have had too much rain.  After making my mind up to go to Jazzercise Monday morning, it was cancelled Tuesday because of the rain! Not good.

Wednesday morning I spent a couple hours in the basement vacuuming up water.  Not too bad, the basement isn't finished but the water had to come up.  I think it's looking pretty good now since we've had no more rain.  I think this weekend could bring additional though.  We'll see.  In comparison to the pictures on the news, we had nothing to complain about.

Tuesday evening I taught a class for a friend who was unable to teach.  It's always scary for me to teach someone else's class, but the class went well.  The title was Bacon, Bacon, Bacon, and most everyone loves bacon.  I found a new kind of bacon and it was delicious.  You might want to try Pine Street Market. 

Wednesday evening I made lasagna which usually takes some time.  Since normally I don't exercise on Wednesday night I take more time with dinner.  I used The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook again and I was very happy with the meal.   I have found that while I like lasagna, I don't usually love it, but this was good.  I'll use this recipe again. 

I made the variation with mushrooms and spinach, you could make simple cheese lasagna. 

Simple Cheese Lasagna

• 15 ounces ricotta cheese (1 3/4 cups)
• 2 1/2 ounces parmesan cheese, grated (1 1/4 cups)
• 1/2 cup minced fresh basil
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 6 cups tomato sauce
• 12 no-boil lasagna noodles, Ronzoni preferred
• 1 pound whole milk mozzarella, shredded (4 cups)

Chunky Tomato Sauce for Lasagna

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, minced
• salt
• 6 garlic cloves minced
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• pepper

Simple Mushroom and Spinach Lasagna

1. Before assembling the lasagna, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a 12 inch skillet until shimmering.  Add 1 pound assorted mushrooms, trimmed and sliced thin and cook until the mushrooms are browned, about 10 minutes.
2. Stir in 2 minced garlic cloves and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds.  Off the heat, stir in 10 ounces spinach, thawed, thoroughly squeezed dry and chopped.
3. Season with salt and pepper. 

 Instructions for Sauce

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering.  Add onion and 1 teaspoon salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
3. Stir in the tomatoes with their juice, oregano, and red pepper flakes.  Simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, about 15 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper. 

Lasagna Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle positions and heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan, basil, egg, salt, and pepper in medium bowl with fork until well-combined and creamy; set aside.
3.  Spread 1/4 cup of sauce over the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Place 3 of the noodles in top of the sauce and drop 3 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture down the center of each noodle, then spread to an even thickeness.  Sprinkle a third of the mushroom and spinach mixture over each layer of ricotta when assembling the lasagna.
4. Sprinkle evenly with 1 cup of mozzarella.   Spoon 1 1/2 cups of sauce evenly over the cheese.
5. Repeat layering of noodles, ricotta,spinach, mozzarella, and sauce two more times. Place 3 remaining noodles on top of sauce, spread remaining sauce over noodles, sprinkle with remaining cup mozzarella, then with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan. Lightly spray a large sheet of foil with nonstick cooking spray and cover lasagna.
6. Bake 15 minutes, then remove foil. Return lasagna to oven and continue to bake until cheese is spotty brown and sauce is bubbling, about 25 minutes longer. Cool lasagna about 10 minutes; cut into pieces and serve.

Tonight we're having meatloaf that I had in the freezer.  I'm going out to dinner with a friend tomorrow so my husband has lasagna. Perfect menu planning.  I try to plan one meal with leftovers. 

We might end up having some lasagna on Saturday too.  I'm teaching a library class in the afternoon and am helping serve at a function for some personal chef friends that need help Saturday night.  Leftovers and a microwave, a perfect combo!

Yesterday I finally was able to get my car in for it's first major scheduled maintenance.  The reminder came at the end of May, but June was very busy and I needed the car.  My service manager told me that the service would take 4 to 5 hours so my husband and I dropped the car off at 7 am and he brought me back home.  I don't mind waiting a little while, but that's too  long.

Since I was trapped at home I thought it would be the perfect day to practice my canning.  I had class last week, it seemed easy, I made sure I purchased my cans while I was out and about on Tuesday.  I decided on the peach preserves from the book Putting Up: A Seasonal Guide to Canning in the Southern Tradition by Steve Dowdney. 

I got things sterilized, cleaned off the counter and went to work.  They worked!  And look beautiful. I made 12 half pints and have some extra in the fridge.   I am going to have some on toast this morning.

I can't wait to do more.  I looked through the book and I think my next batch will be mixed berry.  I did learn a few things that I didn't get from class.

1. Use a bigger pot than you think you need since once the peaches turn into peach lava, it pops all over the stove.
2. Use oven mitts on your hands so they won't get multiple burns from stirring the molten peaches.  My hands hurt today.
3. It's much more peaceful to make preserves in your own kitchen than with the 20 other people, no matter that they were very nice, that were in the class. 

Today I have plans to go get ingredients to make spaghetti sauce.  I have none in the freezer and I'll be somewhat trapped today by the workers installing new windows.  I also need to get berries!

So far July is "recover from June" month and re-stock the house. 

I love bread.  Good, warm bread, nothing like it.  I would like to bake more, but it does take time and I need to plan ahead.  Because I have been trying to avoid new cookbook purchases, I tried to ignore all the posts I read about the wonderful book Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. 

Alas, I also talked to some people who gave great reviews so I caved and bought it.  Since I was already buying one book, I figured I may as well get 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer which has also had great reviews.  I haven't opened that yet but will be exploring Indian food soon.

I made dough on Saturday, put it in the fridge to rest and on Monday made a loaf of bread for dinner.  It is really easy and the bread was good!  I have enough left to make 3 more loaves and it stays good in the fridge for 2 weeks!  So as much as I might want to, we don't have to have bread every day.  Now of course I need to play with different shapes, flours, herbs, etc.

This was the first attempt with the master recipe that if you follow the book, you should make first.  I think it looks pretty good.  And it tasted good too.

I spent this morning getting ready for my class on Saturday.  If you have any 3 to 5 year olds and think it's time they get in the kitchen, I know there are still some open spots.  We're making delicious desserts, all treats, due to customer request.  We'lll get back to meals after this class.  You can contact The Cook's Warehouse in Decatur for more information on this class. 

I'll try and get pictures, we're making lemon fudge, brownie cupcakes and a frozen dessert.  Lots of butter, sugar, flour, marshmallow cream!

I need to get ready for quilt class now.  I just loaded the car which is all I seem to do.  This time it was with sewing materials and a sewing machine, usually it's groceries and containers.  I always carry pots, pans, a food processor, mixer, rolling pin, muffin tins, etc. 

I don't have the day off exactly, I have done my normal Monday office work to be prepared for my customers this week.  I need to make sure I have recipes, containers, grocery lists, labels and heating instructions before I go to the store and to the house. 

I woke for good at 5:30 this morning.  There was a cat fight on me about 4 or so.  Bandera was under the covers with me, Cody was on top of the covers, there was growling, hissing, I encouraged all cats to leave me!  I went back to sleep for a short time.  I was in the office at 6:30, worked, talked to my sister for a while, have breakfast in the oven. 

I'm still having the potato cravings so this morning I am trying a potato and bacon cake.  It's in the oven, we'll see how it comes out.  If it looks good, maybe there will be pictures. 

Last night in an effort to move from the potatoes we had Sweet and Spicy Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Spinach Salad.  Both of the recipes came from The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger which is a great cookbook, all of the recipes I've tried have been good.  If you watch the Food Network she has a show called Healthy Appetite by Ellie Krieger.

Sweet and Spicy Grilled Cheese Sandwiches by Ellie Krieger

Ingredients

Directions

1. Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Lower heat to medium. Add onions and saute, stirring, until edges are browned, about 10 to 12 minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
2. Place 3/4-ounce Cheddar on 1 slice bread. Spread 1 tablespoon caramelized onions on top of cheese and top with 3/4-ounce pepper Jack. Top with 1 large or 2 medium slices tomato and other slice of bread. Repeat with 3 other sandwiches.
3. Spray a nonstick skillet or griddle with cooking spray and heat until hot. Place sandwich on griddle and weigh down with a heavy skillet or plate. Lower heat to medium-low and grill until underside is a deep brown but not burnt and cheese is partially melted, about 5 to 6 minutes. Flip sandwich and grill other side, an additional 4 to 5 minutes. Slice in half and serve hot.

I only made two of the sandwiches and used a small skillet with a 28 ounce can of tomatoes for a weight.  They looked golden brown and were very tasty.  I've made the salad before and might have already posted the recipe, but I'll do it again here just in case.

 Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon and Apple Cider Dressing by Ellie Krieger

 I have time now while breakfast is baking to zip through the shower and get a load of laundry in.  I also better check my Fly Lady flight plan for today to see what the mission is. 

Have a great President's Day!

I cooked for my new customer family yesterday and while I thought the food was good and the day went well, I always need to make sure the customer thought so too.  I chatted to them when I left and assured them that I would call and check on them to make sure the instructions made sense.

This morning I checked email and this is what I received from the head of the house:

"The chicken and dumplings were wonderful. Jimmy jenna and I ate like we were going to the electric chair. Thank you very much for the wonderful food and preparation as it was nice to come home and have a great meal."

As I have said in the past, I love my job!  I am so happy that I made life easier for this family.

This morning I went to my bible study which is from 7:30 to 8:30.  I am an early riser so the time is perfect and today looks like we will have a pretty nice day.  The sun was coming up with lots of colors which are hard to see here, but it was a nice vision on the drive.

I made it to the bank already and have nothing else on the calendar for today.  I do have quilt homework, two squares to make so I plan to do that soon.  I again only finished one during class, this was a difficult square for me, I'll take pictures once I finish homework.  That could be Sunday!

I made a new cake recipe on Tuesday and it was wonderful.  I used one of my favorite cookbooks Classic Home Desserts by Richard Sax.  In the cookbook, he says that this is an adaptation of a recipe from 1837.

Eliza Leslie's Indian Poundcake by Richard Sax

•  1 1/2 cups cornmeal
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon fresh-grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• grated zest of 1 lemon
• 8 large eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons brandy

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Butter and flour two 9x5 inch loaf pans; set aside.  Sift the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, spices and salt onto a sheet of wax paper; set aside.
2. Beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light.  Add the brown sugar and white sugars and the lemon zest and continue beating until very light.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well.  Add the milk and the brandy.  Lower the speed to slow, and add the sifted dry ingredients just until combined.  Divide the batter into the prepared pans. 
3. Bake until each cake is golden and a toothpick inserted near the center emerges clean, about 45 minutes.
4. Cool the cakes in the pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes.  Unmold and turn right side up; cool.  Serve at room temperature.

This cake looked great and the aroma from the oven was fantastic.  I instant messaged my husband and told him to pick up a cake on the way to his meeting.  We did not need to have 2 in our house!  Once I tasted the cake I knew it was the right decision to send one away, I could easily have eaten both!

 Have a great day.  I'm looking forward to opening the windows to let in fresh air while I work on my squares.