Cornbread [MERGED TOPIC]

[Hahabogus]

Another Favorite is

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Red Pepper Corn bread kinda

quick breads/biscuts, Side Dish

4 cups cornmeal

2 cups flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup butter

1 cup chopped onions

1 cup chopped shallots

3 cups buttermilk

4 eggs

3 cups white cheddar (grated)

1 large roasted red pepper, diced

Saute onions and shallots until clear. Mix dry ingredients (cornmeal,

flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda) in food processor; add

chopped butter and pulse until crumbly. Combine buttermilk and eggs and add

to cornmeal mixture. Add cheese, red peppers, and cooled onions and

shallots. Mix until combined. Pour batter into buttered casserole dish.

Bake in a 375-degree oven for 50 to 60 minutes.

gonna try a half recipe

2 cups corn meal

1 cup flour

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 small sweet onion diced

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 milk with 2 tsp vinegar

2 eggs

can of creamed corn

can of green chiles

1 1/2 cup cheese

4 -6 strips bacon crumbled

** Exported from Now You're Cooking! v5.82 **

[Tri2Cook]

I spent some time in the southeast U.S. and that was one of the great things I was introduced to while there. I learned about cornbread (the straight stuff, crispy on the outside and tender and moist on the inside with no veggies, cheese, etc. mixed in to step on the corn flavor). Cornbread with collard greens (and pot liquor!) that were slowly simmered with ham hocks then tossed in a hot iron skillet with a little bacon grease and a pinch of sugar at the end. Cornbread in a cup drizzled with a little sorghum then drowned in buttermilk (Alabama Pudding? ). Cornbread with fresh purple hull peas. I don't have a particular favorite recipe though, it never seems to turn out as good as what those southern ladies were putting on the table.

[rooftop1000]

Being a northern heathen I make it from a mix and I make it sweet.

Jiffy mix, hot cast iron skillet

cook 2 strips of bacon and remove them

pour mix into hot bacon fat then crumble bacon over the batter and drizzle with maple syrup

pop skillet into hot oven

I like it

tracey

[andiesenji]

Here's my method for cornbread from "scratch."

Cornbread, the "southern" kind.

[Hahabogus]

Being a northern heathen I make it from a mix and I make it sweet.

Jiffy mix, hot cast iron skillet

cook 2 strips of bacon and remove them

pour mix into hot bacon fat then crumble bacon over the batter and drizzle with maple syrup

pop skillet into hot oven

I like it

tracey

←

Northern...Ha! I'm north of you and I don't use the extra sugar or the flour you use. You're making corn Cake not corn bread! But that's tasty too. Jiffy cornbread mix does do a nice corn muffin.

[jgarner53]

Northern, all the way. I love the recipe in Baking Illustrated, by the Cook's Illustrated people. I (gasp) make mine in a cake pan. So there.

And while I don't mind bits of corn or cheese in my cornbread, that's it as far as mix-ins go for me. Usually, I like it just as it is, hot out of the oven and slathered with butter, occasionally honey.

[hummingbirdkiss]

If I am making a pot of pinto beans I make regular unsweetened cornbread and really I just use the recipe on the box to me it just tastes so right ..I do use a preheated well oiled (with lard if I have it) cast iron skillet to get that crispy crust....very easy and imo tastes like it "should" ..then we spilt the cornbread and dump a scoop of pintos and a scoop of roasted green New Mexican chile on top...well heaven can wait cause I found it here

if I want sweet corn bread I use the Jiffy mix ...it is the only mix of anything I use ...ever ..I am not a mix user by nature ..but nothing duplicates the memories of my early marriage like this one!!!

My family absolutely adores home made apple butter so I make it in the fall ...the house smells to die for ..then serve it on the Jiffy corn bread (also cooked in the skillet) with lots of unsalted butter

there is nothing like it!

it is really a fall food for us ..the chiles or the apple butter with the cornbread screams fall ...and since I dont want to rush summer I will stop thinking about how yummy this will taste soon!!!!

Edited July 16, 2007 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[nessa]

I'm a cornbread lovin' fool! I like it just about any way I can get it. What I do at home is a basic recipe, with no flour, done in a cast iron skillet. My newest love, however, is hot water cornbread. Just take cornmeal, bacon drippings, and enough boiling hot water to make a thick paste that holds together.

Make patty, fry in bacon grease. This is a lovely side for sopping up pot liquor.

[Lindacakes]

I make the Mooswood cornbread with buckwheat honey and bake it in a cast iron skillet.

I also really like a little number called Mexican Spoon Bread by Dolores Casella. You can google it and get the recipe.

I have no standards whatsoever and will eat any form of it.

However, I do order my corn meal stone ground from Falls Mill.

[nessa]

I make the Mooswood cornbread with buckwheat honey and bake it in a cast iron skillet.

I also really like a little number called Mexican Spoon Bread by Dolores Casella.  You can google it and get the recipe.

I have no standards whatsoever and will eat any form of it.

However, I do order my corn meal stone ground from Falls Mill.

←

OhhhhhHHHHHHHhhhhh. My mother used to make spoonbread. That takes me back about 30 years!!! Must call and get recipe!!!

[patsikes]

I go one step past Northern.....

This is a "Marie Calendars" type cornbread or corn cake:

Mix a Jiffy Corn Bread Muffin and a Jiffy Yellow Cake Mix together with their respective ingredients into a 9x9 pan.

Bake at the higher of the two's temperature for a little longer than it says....

Yum!

I have just never been a fan of the cast iron skillet type corn bread...I have had lots and it is always so dry.

[Lindacakes]

Thanks for sharing that recipe again, Andie.

I have been looking for an all-corn cornbread for some time and I can't wait to try it.

[andiesenji]

Regarding the problem of dry cornbread - you can get a result that is a bit more tender and more moist by substituting 1/2 cup of oat flour for 1/2 cup of the cornmeal, without altering the flavor or texture. Oats help retain moisture in baked goods that contain little sugar.

Sugar is of course the ingredient that retains most moisture and retards staling but if one wants to reduce or omit sugar, the oat flour will make a big difference.

[hummingbirdkiss]

I thought some types of cornbread was supposed to be dry to soak up the juice from your beans?

[paulraphael]

this Peter Reinhart recipe is the best I've had.

[tim]

Harold's in Atlanta, a neighborhood house/restaurant near the old baseball stadium had wonderful cornbread.

It was cooked in cast iron and had lots of large chunks of wonderful smoky fat. I would love to see their recipe.

Tim

[infernooo]

I am an Aussie, and cornbread is pretty much unheard of over here.

However, after a business trip to the states where I was determined to try authentic Barbecue for the first time in my life, I found cornbread.

The first recipe I ever made I found linked from these boards and has won a number of contests. Needless to say I am no expert in cornbread, but I know what I like, and this was absolutely beautiful:

Keri's Blue Ribbon Cornbread

Ingredients List:

1-1/2 cups plain cornmeal (not cornmeal mix or self-rising)

1/2 cup flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 - 1/3 cup sugar

1-1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

5 rashers of fatty bacon

Cook bacon in CAST IRON SKILLET until it has released its oil, remove and use for something else.

Preheat oven to 400°F,

Blend dry ingredients in a large bowl. Blend milk, oil, and eggs in another bowl, then add to the dry ingredients. Blend until all is combined.

Place the skillet in the oven until almost smoking hot.

Remove skillet from the oven and pour in the batter - it should sizzle.

Bake at 400°F until golden brown on the tops, about 25-30 minutes. You can also use a toothpick/cake skewer and make sure it pulls out dry when pushed into the center.

Using a cake wrack, carefully place the cake rack on top of the pan and invert. The cornbread should come out easily.

<HARDEST PART> resist cutting into it for 5 minutes - it will still be plenty hot.

Cut into wedges and serve buttered with baked beans, and BBQ.

You can also serve it with honey butter if you want it as a real sweet treat - Mix together a 2:1 ratio of softened salted butter and your favorite honey.

[andiesenji]

I'm bumping this topic up because I had a request for my cornbread recipe - which seems to be difficult to find in RecipeGullet - it took me several searches with the "advanced" feature to get to it.

GRAMMAW'S BLACK-SKILLET CORNBREAD

And then I had a difficult time finding this topic as it does not show in the list of "my" topics - I guess it is too old or the link was purged.

Anyway, I have been experimenting with some alternate corn varieties - red and purple from Barry Farm,

some blue that was sent to me by a friend in New Mexico and some cream and lavender that I found at a local Philippine market.

I had purchased the fresh type in the past but had never before seen it dried.

It had the same appearance as other flint corns and when ground had a bit more moisture - in that it clumped when pinched. I used a bit less liquid in the recipe.

I'm very pleased that some people are continuing to grow and sell heirloom varieties that have different properties from the standard stuff now generally available.

The flavors of all these corns, when baked into cornbread, have a more intense "corny" flavor, to my taste anyway.

I've tried the blue cornmeal that is sold commercially and find it has a bitter aftertaste which is lacking in the cornmeal I ground myself. I don't know if that is because of the processing, the time spent on the shelf after grinding or ???.

There is, however, a difference that is quite noticeable both to me and to the folks who sampled my "experiments."

Has anyone else done anything with any of these products, or similar ones or know of a source for other types of heirloom corns?

Inquisitive person here!

[janeer]

In Rhode Island we use stone-ground RI white cap flint cornmeal from Gray's, Carpenter's, or Kenyon's. Here is a little background on this true heirloom variety, also called Indian Meal by Rhode Islanders. RI white flint corn has a natural bitter edge that is prized.

[SouzaKH]

What a wonderful post on cornbread. It is perhaps the centerpiece of Southern cooking, well, next to biscuits. I have never been able to recreate my grandmother or mother's biscuits, but I am proud of my cornbread. I have varied my recipe from yours a bit. Your's is exactly like that of my heritage, but are are my modifications:

• I replace 1/2 cup of cornmeal with flour
  
• I add one tablespoon of sugar
  

I cannot stand sweet cornbread, but the tablespoon of sugar does not come through as sweet as much as it serves to round out the flavors of the corn. I never encountered sweet cornbread until I was in college pulled a piece off of a cafeteria line and was met with the shock of my life when I tasted the dessert-like concoction.

Best bedtime snack ever - leftover cornbread crumbled into a glass with buttermilk pour to cover. Dig in with a spoon.

[Jaymes]

I cannot stand sweet cornbread, but the tablespoon of sugar does not come through as sweet as much as it serves to round out the flavors of the corn. I never encountered sweet cornbread until I was in college pulled a piece off of a cafeteria line and was met with the shock of my life when I tasted the dessert-like concoction.

Best bedtime snack ever - leftover cornbread crumbled into a glass with buttermilk pour to cover. Dig in with a spoon.

Yes, best bedtime snack ever from the "old south" for sure.

Back when you could actually get real buttermilk with the little yellow flakes in it, this was a favorite family evening treat. You'd make sure that buttermilk was ice cold before you poured it into the tall glass of crumbled cornbread. Take your iced-tea spoon and head out to the front porch to sit a spell and watch the barefoot kiddos playing "Mother May I" and "Red Light Green Light" in the gathering dusk on the front lawn while the lightening bugs danced around them.

And how about "Cornbread Cereal"? Did you ever have that? Just crumble your left-over cornbread into a bowl. Pour a little whole milk or half & half over, then maybe a little sugar or molasses. Or some Georgia peaches. Best cereal ever.

How about Cornbread Salad? I still make this all the time to take to potlucks. Never fails to surprise and please.

I love Cornbread Salad.

And you know, that sweet cake-like cornbread just doesn't work well for any of these applications. You need a sturdy, dry cornbread to hold up to the additions.

I'm not saying I don't like sweet cornbread ever. I think it's a pretty good dessert with butter and honey or maple syrup. And it's an okay side dish with a really spicy main like a bowl of chili.

But not for sopping up the pot likker from a mess o' greens, or beans, or black-eyed peas and ham-hocks.

When it comes to the traditional supporting role that cornbread plays on southern tables, that sweet fluffy cornbread doesn't cut it.

It may be tasty, but it just doesn't play well with others.

Edited December 4, 2011 by Jaymes (log)

[MSRadell]

What's with all of this white cornmeal these days? It used to be very easy to find yellow cornmeal but now days it's very difficult to find it when you do find it it's normally self rising. I don't know what anybody else but I certainly prefer my corn bread to be a nice yellow and want to add my own rising ingredients. I certainly do agree with the 1 tablespoon of sugar and I also like a little regular flour in the mix.

[toolprincess]

My aunt makes an awesome cornbread but she takes the batter and fries it into little cakes instead of the skillet kind. Very very tasty with stew (especially brunswick).

[RWood]

My aunt makes an awesome cornbread but she takes the batter and fries it into little cakes instead of the skillet kind. Very very tasty with stew (especially brunswick).

We always called it "fried cornbread". It was a faster way than waiting for a whole pan to bake. Haven't had it in years. Oh, but to have some Brunswick Stew though . Don't get that in California.

[Jaymes]

My aunt makes an awesome cornbread but she takes the batter and fries it into little cakes instead of the skillet kind. Very very tasty with stew (especially brunswick).

We always called it "fried cornbread". It was a faster way than waiting for a whole pan to bake. Haven't had it in years. Oh, but to have some Brunswick Stew though . Don't get that in California.

And if they were flat, we called them hoecakes. Fat little ovals, deep-fried, hushpuppies.

And then we get into corn mush. Fried mush was one of my father's favorite breakfasts.

That's something you don't see very often anymore.