Chili con carne, steamed corn bread buns

I am showing this cheese because if you live some place normal you might not know in America individual slices of cheese are actually wrapped individually and sold in packages as a uniform block, except individually wrapped. Every single slice of cheese has its own wrapper. And the wrapper is plastic. See? That shows you. It is not real cheese that lives. No self-respecting cheese-maker would do that.

But that doesn't mean it is bad. American hamburgers require this cheese and so does American macaroni and cheese. I am not saying they cannot be made otherwise, or even made better, I am saying they would not be American.

Heavy cream added around edges and not mixed.

Corn bread mantou. Steaming, what a great way to make buns. 

The thing is, kids prefer sponge-type white bread, the worst kind. And they like the crusts cut off. I did. Because the crusts are rough. The texture is wrong. For kids. 

Eating a whole bun is eating all the crust of a small loaf of bread all at once. Steamed buns got no crusts because they're not baked. 

I bet you $100 steam buns were invented because it was not so common to have ovens. Easier to steam. 

The next time I will not bother with processing popcorn and pre-cooking it like polenta. I will use masa harina instead, plus it is better, not just easier,  1/2 masa harina, 1/2 white flour. I love these little buns. 

They do not have to be this shape, of course. If the buns are to be used for bbq or something sloppy as is done with duck, then stretched out flat shape is better, one that can be folded in half  rather than a bun that is cut in half to hold something.