Blue Cayenne

I still haven’t figured out whether it’s scone (rhymes with phone) or scone (rhymes with dawn). (Heck! As far as elocution goes, I’m still trying to learn how to pronounce Kamala. But I digress…)

So, I found this delightful clip from a popular British/Irish TV show called This Morning.  In the clip, the hosts of the show are at Highclere Castle–you know THE Highclere of Downton Abbey fame–where they are discussing the scone pronunciation conundrum with a Highclere chef and some of the staff. If you are a foodie, this is an engaging conversation about food and food history. If you are a Downton Abbey fan, there is a cameo appearance by Mr. Carson, the high-principled and long-suffering butler. Watch it! In no time, you’ll find yourself in your kitchen sifting flour, humming the Downton Abbey theme song (here), and shaping scones.  Who knows? You may even start re-binging on those old Downton Abbey episodes while you binge on your freshly-baked scones. Sounds like a perfect spend-the-whole-day-in-your-pajamas kind of day to me.

Here is the TV clip:  Scones or Scones at Highclere.

Here are two great scone recipes to try–one sweet and one savory.

Thinking you want a sweet scone?  Today’s recipe is for the Glazed Cranberry Orange Scones pictured above. (The recipe appears at the bottom of this post.)

Craving savory scones instead? The recipe for the Cheddar Scones pictured below can be found in the Blue Cayenne archives here. 

You could, of course, go scone wild and make them both. Pandemic rules. Who needs to know?

This recipe is adapted from one on the Sally’s Baking Addiction blog. You can find the original recipe here.

Need a tamale fix for New Year’s Eve? 

Why order out? These homemade tamales rock.

Too hard? If Sarah and I could make them at home, it can be done. 

Here is a holiday (or any day) recipe for tamales. This recipe is from Blue Cayenne’s archives. Just click on the word “tamales” below. 

Happy New Year!

¡Tamales!

I’ve always enjoyed the Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald take on the Gershwin tune “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off,” particularly the riff on “you say potato and I say poTATo.”  (Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off)

I was reminded of that thin bit of difference this morning when I sat down to write about this corn fritter recipe. Is it a fritter or is it a corn pancake? I say fritter.

I have a thing for fresh corn and the season is pretty much over here. So, in a bid to grasp the last delicious taste of the season’s harvest, I decided to try this recipe adapted from The New York Times. 

This is not my first rodeo with corn pancakes (er…fritters), by the way. You can find a previous Blue Cayenne recipe for Thai-Style Corn Fritters here. In fact, you can find quite an array of corn recipes on Blue Cayenne here.

Here’s the recipe for Sweet and Savory Corn Fritters. Serve as breakfast or as a light and delicious dinner.