Skats Easy Cornmeal Crust Recipes

CORNMEAL CRUST

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.

EASY CORNMEAL CRUST FOR PIES, GALETTES AND CROSTATAS

Steps:

• Place flour, cornmeal, salt and sugar into a bowl.
• Using a whisk, mix until well combined
• Add butter. Using your hands mix into dry mix, the mixture will be someone mealy looking at this point.
• Add olive oil and stir until combined. There will be areas that arent completely combined, don't worry. When you add the water it will meld.
• Add as much of the ice cold water to have the dough stick together. It may seem a little stringy at this point but it is fine.
• Form into a ball and place in the fridge for 30 mins to an 1 hour until chilled.
• Onto a peice of parchment paper, sprinkle a little bit of cornmeal.
• Place chilled dough ball into the center and then dust a rolling pin with a little cornmeal as well.
• Roll dough out to 1/4" thickness. If the dough starts to stick, sprinkle a little bit more cornmeal on top.
• Bake and use according to your gallete, tart, crust or quiche recipe dictates.
• You can make this ahead and chill up to 3 days.

CORNMEAL CRUST FOR PEACH POTPIE

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.

CRISTA'S CORNMEAL-CRUSTED CRAB CAKES

Steps:

• For the crab cakes: Place a medium cast-iron pan over medium heat. Add the butter and shallots and sweat until softened and just starting to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, combine the crab, cracker crumbs, parsley, dill, softened shallots and a sprinkle of salt and pepper in a bowl. Set aside. Mix the egg, creme fraiche, mayonnaise and Dijon in a medium bowl until combined. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the crab and mix well until incorporated. Form 6 equal sized balls and flatten into discs.
• For the dredge: In a bowl, combine the cornmeal, smoked paprika, white pepper, salt, seafood seasoning and celery salt. Gently coat the exterior of each crab cake disc in the cornmeal mixture and place on a tray. Chill the crab cakes in the refrigerator for approximately 1 hour or up to 4 hours to help them stay together while cooking.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• For the celery root remoulade: Meanwhile, thinly slice the celery root and apples on a mandoline and cut into matchsticks. Place both in a large bowl and cover with the lemon juice to coat so they do not brown or oxidize. In a medium bowl, combine the mayonnaise, creme fraiche, hot sauce, tarragon, Dijon and salt, then season with the pepper. Add the creme fraiche mixture to the celery root and apples and gently toss to combine. (For a thinner sauce, feel free to add more mayonnaise and adjust seasoning.)
• In a 12-inch cast-iron skillet on medium heat, then add the olive oil and butter and heat until hot. Place the crab cakes in the skillet and sear to crispy, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer the cast iron to the oven for 5 minutes to warm through.
• For the pea shoot salad: Add the pea shoots and radishes to a medium bowl. Drizzle with the olive oil and lemon juice to coat. Add the mustard seeds, then season with salt and pepper and mix gently.
• Spread a generous amount of remoulade on a platter. Place the crab cakes on top and garnish with the salad.

S'KAT'S EASY CORNMEAL CRUST

Steps:

• Add yeast and sugar to warm water, and let proof until foamy, about 5 minutes.
• Add 2 cups of flour, salt, cornmeal and olive oil.
• Mix well.
• Gradually add remaining flour and mix until dough becomes smooth and elastic.
• Place dough in an oiled bowl, turning once to coat.
• Cover and place in warm, draft-free area until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Remove dough and punch down.
• Mix the olive oil, parmesan, garlic and fresh herbs.
• Using hands, work thoroughly into dough.
• Re-oil bowl, cover and let rise again until doubled.
• Remove dough, shape into crust, add desired toppings, and bake in a preheated 500-degree oven for 15 minutes.
• Reduce heat to 350-degrees and bake 15-20 minutes longer, until crust is evenly browned.
• Note: this tends to make a thick-crusted pizza.

S'KAT'S EASY PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Stir together the water, yeast and the sugar.
• Let rest until the yeast foams, about 3 minutes.
• Place 2 1/2-cups of the flour, salt and cornmeal in a mixing bowl and combine.
• Add the yeast mixture and olive oil and stir together to form a sticky dough.
• Remove from bowl and knead, adding the remaining flour a little at a time until the dough becomes smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.
• The longer you knead, the more texture your dough will have.
• Turn the dough into a lightly oiled bowl.
• Cover with a dry towel and place in a warm, draft free area.
• (I usually stick it in the oven. If your oven is cold, very briefly- about 1 minute- turn to highest temp, then off again, well before placing bowl in oven. Let's not melt any bowls, eh?) Let rise for at least one hour.
• When dough has doubled in bulk, punch back down.
• At this point, add any of the optional ingredients at end of recipe, or as desired.
• Let the dough rise again, until almost doubled, about 30 minutes.
• Or, if there were no extra additions, shape and add toppings.
• Bake at 500°F for about 8 minutes.
• Optional, but worthwhile: fresh herbs (I use basil, oregano and thyme), chopped minced garlic, parmiagiano-reggiano and extra cornmeal for texture.

CORNMEAL CRUST

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.