Cornmeal Drop Biscuits

Terrific flavor, easy to make

American-style biscuits are a great addition to any festive dinner – like Thanksgiving. They’re also wonderful for breakfast.

These biscuits include cornmeal for extra goodness and flavor. And because they’re drop biscuits (rather than ones you roll and cut), they’re very simple to make.

We find that appealing. Because simple are us.

Cheesy Grits with Jalapeño (or not)

This traditional dish is the perfect sidekick for breakfast, lunch, or dinner

Grits are all-American. That’s because they’re made from corn (maize), a key crop of the New World.

Grits are traditional in the southern states of the US, where they often serve as a breakfast side dish. In recent years, though, they’ve been getting more love in the rest of the country. And not just for breakfast—we often see them served at dinner, where they make a perfect bed for rich meat or seafood dishes.

We like to add jalapeño for a bit of spice, though you can omit this ingredient if you want something less incendiary. But don’t skip the cheese—it adds creamy richness.

With or without jalapeño, these cheesy grits will fire up your taste buds.

Cornmeal Pancakes

These updated “johnnycakes” are festive breakfast fare

Who doesn’t like pancakes for breakfast? Or lunch or dinner? They’re wonderful anytime.

And they seem particularly suited to festive occasions. Such as Thanksgiving morning (or the morning after).

Cornmeal makes an especially succulent pancake, as colonial Americans discovered. Early European settlers practically lived on a version of cornmeal pancakes called “johnnycakes.”

So what could be more appropriate at Thanksgiving time? Bet you never knew that history could be so tasty.

Easy No-Stir Oven Polenta

Serve this gluten-free goodie as a side, or as the bed for a saucy main

Polenta is the food world’s shape-shifter. Essentially cornmeal porridge, it’s a dish that can be served any number of ways, any time of day. All good—except you have to cook it first. And traditional recipes are labor-intensive, calling for nonstop stirring for 30 minutes or more. How exciting.

So imagine our delight when we discovered a foolproof way to make polenta that requires little more than measuring out the ingredients. And that cooks virtually unattended. All the great flavor without any of the tedium. Sign us up for that.

Serve this dish at your next dinner party, and the guests will think you spent hours slaving in the kitchen. We won’t tell if you won’t.

Skillet Jalapeño Cornbread

Great with chili or soup—or all by itself

Cornbread is a New World original. Long before Europeans landed in the Americas, corn (maize) was a food staple here. Native Americans prepared corn in many different ways—including grinding it into a coarse meal and baking it.

Nowadays, we usually make cornbread as a “quick” bread (i.e., one that’s leavened with baking powder). The modern version is also richer, often including milk and/or eggs.

Cornbread is pretty tasty stuff as is, but it’s even better when you add some zesty jalapeño peppers to the mix. Jalapeño cornbread pairs perfectly with spicy chili or hearty soup. And it makes a terrific snack all by itself.

Best yet, it bakes in 30 minutes or less. So you can whip up a batch and let it bake while you finish the rest of your dinner preparations.

Fresh hot bread for dinner? You’ll be a hero!