Cheesy mielie bread with tomato and chilli butter
- BREAD
1cups - plain flour
150g (grams) - white maize meal or polenta
2teaspoons - baking powder
1teaspoon - salt and freshly ground black pepper
150g (grams) - grated cheddar
2tablespoons - chopped chives
- kernels from 2 mealies
2 - eggs, lightly whisked
300ml (millilitres) - buttermilk
100g (grams) - unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- sliced red chillies and sliced avocado to serve
- TOMATO AND CHILLI BUTTER
1 - head garlic
80g (grams) - drained sun-dried tomatoes
2teaspoons - drained, sliced, pickled jalapeño or other chilli
150g (grams) - unsalted butter, softened
Method
Description: Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease and line a loaf pan with baking paper.
BREAD Combine the flour, maize meal or polenta, baking powder, salt and pepper, 100g of the cheddar, the chives and the corn kernels and stir to combine.
In a jug whisk the eggs, buttermilk and melted butter, then gradually stir into the corn mixture.
Spoon into the prepared loaf tin and smooth the top, then sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
Place in the oven and bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the loaf comes out clean.
BUTTE Put the head of garlic in the centre of a piece of foil and wrap it up, then place it in the oven and bake for 25 minutes until very soft. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Once cool, squeeze the garlic from the clove – you can snip the head with scissors to make it easier to press it all out. Add to a food processor with the sun-dried tomatoes, chillies, butter and 5ml (1t) each salt and freshly ground black pepper. Blitz until smooth.
Serve slices of the bread with the tomato butter and, if you like, some sliced avocado and chilli.
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Using canned vegetables and other prepackaged ingredients, he nervously threw together an enchilada casserole. 'Was it edible? Yes,' Harr said, but it wasn't necessarily good. 'I'm mortified — we would never make that today.' Almost three decades later, Harr has moved away from the bland firehouse staples that he used to keep on rotation — like boiled meat and potatoes and casseroles made with canned soups — opting for more-creative, flavorful meals made with fresh ingredients that take more time, effort, and a few extra kitchen appliances to pull off. The KitchenAid 5.5 Quart standmixer made quick work of whipping potatoes into a creamy puree. Elissa Sanci and Jason Toledo/NYT Wirecutter Though not an essential for the firehouse cooks I spoke with, a stand mixer is nice to have when they're planning to make something more adventurous. On the night I visited the AFD, they used a KitchenAid 5.5 Quart Bowl-Lift Stand Mixer to whip together creamy mashed potatoes (it's a recommendation in our guide to stand mixers). In the past, they've used the mixer to make fresh pasta and homemade bread. On the menu: Braised short ribs, mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus, and salad. Elissa Sanci/NYT Wirecutter Harr has found that a reliable rice cooker comes in handy when cooking for a crowd, too. Instead of tending to a boiling pot while juggling a number of other tasks, he can set it and forget it until it's time to eat. When preparing big batches of rice, the Aurora firehouse cooks use a Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker & Warmer, the top pick in our rice cooker guide. Though it's on the pricier side, Harr says the Nuero Fuzzy Rice Cooker is worth the cost. 'It's so consistent,' he said, adding that it makes the exact same rice every time. And, if cared for correctly, the machine can last years. 'My mom has had hers for … I don't even know how long!' The AFD Engine 16 crew sits down for dinner together every night. Elissa Sanci/NYT Wirecutter 'In our line of work, it's stressful. We see a lot of bad things,' McGraw said. Gathering around the dinner table offers the crew a chance to decompress and connect. 'It makes it that much better when it's a good meal that everyone enjoys.' Sometimes, though, dinner can be interrupted by an emergency call. 'That's the hardest thing' about cooking family dinner, Harr said. 'We try to make really good meals and we get interrupted.' When a call comes through, someone pushes an emergency button that cuts the power to the kitchen, which safely brings the cooking process to a standstill while they respond. On those nights, 'we eat a lot of cold food,' Harr said. This button cuts the power to the kitchen so the Aurora firefighters can safely respond to emergencies even if they're in the middle of cooking dinner. Elissa Sanci/NYT Wirecutter Because they're always cooking for a crowd, the firehouse cooks usually have leftovers to pack up after every meal. 'A lot of the single guys will take the leftovers home,' Harr said. 'And if it's something that I made that I like, then maybe I'll take it home.' To store all that extra food, the crew relies on durable Pyrex glass containers that can handle just about anything. Firehouse kitchens run on teamwork, tradition, and the kind of cooking that brings people together. No matter how many mouths they're feeding, these firefighters rely on tools that are tough enough to handle daily use and dependable enough to keep the crew well fed. And while their meals might occasionally go cold, the ritual of cooking and eating together always makes the effort worth it. This article was edited by Megan Beauchamp and Maxine Builder. Cooking can seem intimidating, but having the right tools makes all the difference. These 12 items are bound to give your kitchen ego a big boost. These buy-it-for-life Wirecutter picks will pass the test of time thanks to durable materials, solid construction, and generous warranties. They have one job, and they get it done! From our favorite cherry pitter to a leak-stopping peanut butter stirrer, here are the one-trick ponies we recommend.
