Two Days in a Row!

So I'm actually posting two days in a row, which I consider a personal win. I absolutely have been taking pictures of everything I'm writing about, but of course, as soon as I do one thing, something else happens. I can't find the cord that connects the camera to the computer, so hopefully I'll find where that is soon, and post pictures. Anyway, to the food.

Fig Honey Cornbread
I wanted to make something sweet for a family I was dropping food off for (they had just had a baby), but not too sweet, and I wanted it 'to go' with what I was making them for dinner..(Empanadas). I always seem to have an overabundance of either cornmeal or those cheap Jiffy cornbread mixes you can buy at the grocery store 6 for $2 or something like that. So I decided I would make a sweet cornbread. I also had some green figs (which I am obsessed with during summer), which were starting to get past their peak, so I thought, why not mix these two fantastic things together, right?
So what do you need?
2 boxes of Jiffy cornbread mix. Make to box directions (obviously doubling for the two boxes)
6-8 whole green figs, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons good honey (or whatever you have really)
1 pinch of nutmeg
1 pinch of cinnamon
Once you've mixed the cornbread mix together, add honey, nutmeg and cinnamon. Then gently fold in figs. Bake to the box instructions.
If you like making things look a little fancy (and who doesn't) before you throw these in the oven, sprinkly a little cinnamon and sugar on top. This makes a sweet, slightly crunchy top. Amazing! Z helped me with every single part of this recipe. Instead of chopping the figs, we pulled them apart. It's messier, but who doesn't love messy with kids?

Amaretto Coffee
Okay, so this one is sort of a no-brainer, and it's not very child friendly (although it has been known to help make YOU more child friendly). I was having an...interesting day...full of temper tantrums and the like. I was exhausted. I was frustrated, I really need coffee, and a drink. I almost always have amaretto on hand. It's great to add to make a quick sauce for a dessert, and I love it over ice at night instead of dessert, especially in winter. Well I took a cup of coffee, made to my particular specifications (half and half, about a teaspoon) and added a good glug of amaretto to it. Oh My God. Amazing. There is this beautiful nutty flavor to the coffee with a little zing but not enough to make you feel tipsy, or, anything other than a little bit nicer to my child. Try it, you'll like it!

Baked Fish and Chips
I have a newish friend that my husband and I have been meeting each week for the past month or so to cook one another a type of cuisine. One of us hosts and cooks the majority of the meal and the other brings drink and either an app or a dessert appropriate to the cuisine chosen. The week that I recently hosted it was the opening ceremonies for the Olympics (I know this is a bit off). So we held an English feast. Being American, I thought it would be funny, if we did a take on fish and chips (instead of making a pie or a pasty). It helped that we happened to have fish and sweet potatos from a recent grocery trip.
What you'll need:
Dependent on the amount of people you are serving. We had 4, so I used 8 small pieces of hake
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
salt and pepper to taste
4 medium sized sweet potatos
1/2 cup olive oil
Beat egg and add water in small bowl
put flour in a small bowl
put breadcrumbs in a small bowl
Dip each piece of fish in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Put fish on a glass dish that is lightly brushed with about a tablespoon of olive oil.
Preheat oven to 400 F
Set fish aside when completed
Cut the tips of of each potato. Wash. Roughly cut potato. I recommend, cut in half, then in half again then half again. You should be able to cut the potatos in half one more time forming rough steak chips (or fries).  Put on a lipped cookie sheet. Add remaining olive oil and season with salt and pepper (and whatever else you like, Old Bay? Steak Seasoning?) Pop chips and fish in the oven for 15 minutes. Check. My oven was finished cooking at this time, but it burns hot. I would check and then see if you fish and chips are done, if not, bake another 5-10 minutes as needed.