Sometimes the best things in life are simple. This is one of those times. There is nothing frilly or fancy about this recipe. It’s easy. If you make a good patch of pesto and stash it in your freezer, it is effortless. And the payoff is incredible. Who doesn’t love bread smothered in cheese?

Every year our kids are in a Christmas program in Ole’s hometown, just under two hours from here. We spend Christmas Eve there, and it seemed fitting that they’d participate. The catch is we have to then show up multiple weekends in a row for program practice. It makes the holidays last longer… On one such weekend, Saturday night, all the kids sleeping at grandma and grandpa’s house, we decided to go out. Alone. We ended up at Blue Bricks.

In a college town, Blue Bricks is toned down from the drunken dance fest around the corner and more interesting than BW3s a few doors down. Plus they have a good selection of beer. As I watched some company office party – complete with Christmas sweaters – rub elbows in the middle of the room, I scanned the menu, which is pleasantly different from most bar food in Southern Minnesota in that it has options other than french fries, burgers, mozzarella sticks and chicken wings. I ordered something similar to this cheese bread that night.

That there is fresh mozzarella. It is tasty. It melts wonderfully. It is necessary. And the pesto, out of the freezer. I don’t add the rest of the oil when I make cheese bread. It doesn’t need it. If you’re using a store-bought pesto, try to find one on the thicker side rather than the soupy side of life.


This happens to be a Schwan’s loaf of french bread. I like to keep them around. Any decent loaf of soft french bread will do, or you can make your own if you are into that.


Cut the bread down the middle.


Spread on the pesto. Don’t be stingy. There is plenty of bread below and cheese going above to balance all the basil goodness.


Slice the mozzarella into medallions. You could also buy this pre-sliced if’n you were so inclined.


Cover all the pesto with the medallions.


Into the oven it goes.


This was about 8 minutes at 425° F. It could have used a bit more so more of the cheese started to brown ever so slightly, but I was impatient. And hungry.


It’s fantastic on its own, with or without marinara sauce to dip it in, and it is a wonderful side to steaks, pastas, chicken, whatever you happen to be eating.


It compliments spaghetti and meatballs exceptionally well.

For many years now I have been searching for a good cornbread.  Cornbread to accompany a smoky rack of ribs or a peppery beef brisket, cornbread to provide a distraction from the protein heavy creations I keep brining in from the patio.

Long ago, when my stomach could tolerate a trip to the local Boston Market, I was a fan of their cornbread.  A local BBQ chain also puts together a decent corn muffin, but for various reasons, I no longer patronize either of these two places.  Does this mean that I am to be deprived of a well balanced corn loaf?  Well, up until last year that was exactly what that meant.

Sure I tried plenty of recipes, I searched the internet, tried the packets (just add water – more like “just don’t bother”), but none were up to snuff.  Most were too dry and crumbly, others were too complex (including the suggestion of adding some yellow cake mix) and didn’t deliver.  It really shouldn’t be that hard, should it?

As it turns out, the answer was staring me right in the face.  In a desperate moment I had a revelation.  Why not try the recipe on the back of the corn meal can?   Hmm…I guess the folks over at Quaker might know a few things about cornbread.  I mean, they do manufacture the main ingredient by the ton.  Sure, why not.  So try it I did, and the result?  The best thus far.  But of course I couldn’t leave well enough alone, so after a little tinkering, I have what I believe is the best cornbread I can make.

The secret was to spice it up a bit.  Cornbread can be fairly boring.  Usually I end up putting butter and honey on it to liven up the party, so I thought, why not add the honey before hand?  That turned out to be a winner.  After I had poured the batter into the muffin pan I would go back and top each one with an interesting pattern of honey.  While the bread baked, the honey would sink down into the middle and then wait there until it was eaten.  This eliminated the need to add honey at the table, and reduced the mess with the kids considerably.

That was a good start, but I wasn’t finished yet.  Lately Shaina has been adding finely chopped, fresh jalapenos to her tasty guacamole which is amazing, and a few weeks ago, while preparing a few sides for a BBQ feast, the wheels started turning.  Cornbread, honey, and jalapenos.  Why not?  I diced up three fresh peppers and added them to a batch of Quaker endorsed cornbread.  The results were unprecedented.  Sweet corn flavor, a strong honey note, a little something to chew on, and a slow burn perfectly balanced by the sweetness of the honey.   And as a bonus, the honey sinks into the muffin and around the edges and gives the whole thing a crispy exterior that locks in the flavor.

So how does one go about making these?  Well I’ve already given you enough, but if I have to spell it out, I will.

You will need:

1-¼ cup all-purpose flour

¾ cup Quaker Corn Meal

¼ cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 cup milk

¼ cup vegetable oil

2 egg whites beaten (do not use whole eggs, it will make the batter too heavy)

3 fresh jalapenos diced

1 tsp honey per muffin (I use buckwheat honey)

Mix the dry ingredients first, add everything else except the honey.  Then portion the batter out into muffin cups.  I like to use a mini loaf pan because I like my servings to be a little bigger and I think they dry out less in the oven – but feel free to use anything you like.  This works well in a skillet in the oven too.  For this sesson I ended up making a pan of regular sized muffins without the jalapenos for the kids and then made a second batch of mini loaves with the hot peppers for the more daring among us.

Now comes the creative part.  Adding the honey.  I like to draw out pictures for the kids, my most popular designs are butterflies, flowers, clovers and peace signs which incidentally all look the same (indiscernible) after 20 minutes in the oven.  Just give each portion a good steady squeeze as you move it around the surface.  If you’re feeling adventurous, let the kids make their own patterns.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 400 degrees.  I like to time these so that they are done about five minutes before we are ready to eat.  They are the best fresh and warm although they hold their own for a week stored in an airtight container. 

Recently I found out that leftover muffins can be perfectly regenerated in a toaster oven set at 400 degrees for 5-10 minutes, although you can cheat and just microwave them too.

I know what some of you are thinking – not everyone likes jalapenos – and you’re right, but trust me, they aren’t that hot, but there’s nothing wrong with reducing the number of peppers or leaving them out entirely.  As long as you keep the honey they will still be grade A.  So give it a try at your next hog roast but do yourself a favor and make a double batch because these muffins don’t last long.

Normally, I’m not so boastful about my offerings, but this one is so money – and it doesn’t even know it.  But you will.  And the best part about it is that it is so versatile.  Missing a few ingredients?  No problem, substitute or leave them out. This is bread; it does okay on its own, but trust me, once you try this the right way, it will be tough to go back.

For the most part, the secret here is fresh ingredients (aside from the bread) and the whole thing hinges on something the TV cooks call compound butter (which means butter mixed with stuff).  I like to make more than I need and stash the rest in the fridge for a later date. That way it’s even quicker the second time you use it.  The best part about this is the potential for creativity.  Follow my recipe if you want to, but by all means, wander off the path whenever you feel like it.

To make your own compound butter, mix the following:

4 tbsp softened butter

3 cloves of minced garlic

½ tsp kosher salt

½ tsp fresh black pepper

½ tsp fresh minced basil

½ tsp fresh minced parsley

Anything else you want.

All that’s left is to spread it on some bread and toast it.  Of course, since this is being featured in the From the Patio category, I will be grilling it and giving a little back story on the bread.

You might remember the ciabatta bread from the steak sandwiches last week.  Well, we got a good deal on a rather large bag of them and we didn’t have time to use the leftovers for a bit longer than I’m comfortable with.  They sat there on the counter, sad and neglected.  Then, during the long Memorial Day weekend, we needed a canvas for some chicken salad that Shaina had put together.  The ciabatta was a natural choice, but you can feel free to use anything you want.  If I’m planning ahead for this, I usually choose Texas Toast, a nice thick yellow bread that is quite hardy and goes well with steaks and pasta.  Or you can use an Italian loaf for a softer side.  Most importantly, just go with what you like.

For this operation I ended up slicing the ciabatta rolls the short way (like a loaf) and discarding the heels.  Then I spread the mixture on both sides and took them out to the grill.

This is where it gets a little tricky.  The cook times are extremely variable, so do yourself a favor and stay close.  The first question you need to ask yourself is “what type of toast do I want?”  Do you want a crusty crunchy toast to go with a salad?  If so, go for low heat and a long cooking time.  Do you want a crispy yet soft bread to go with pasta?  Then go for high heat and a fast grill time.  Try to flip and turn three times to create a nice cross hatch pattern because, even at home, presentation matters.

This is a perfect procedure to carry out while you have your main meat item cooked and resting in foil.  I always try to do it last because it tastes best fresh and cools off quickly.  So, give it a try this summer and when you do, make some extra butter for next time because once you put Super Toast on the table, there’s no going back.