Monday, October 12, 2009

Don't Put Sugar in the Cornbread

My husband is the reason that I can make a good cornbread. He loves it. When we were first married I tried any number of recipes, but they were not "nearly as good as Granny Treat's". Well, that was a throw down if I ever heard one! I asked Mom for her recipe, but she doesn't have one. I tried all the recipes in the southern cookbooks I have to no avail. They just weren't quite right. After much trial and error, I now have a recipe that is "almost as good as Granny Treat's." That's good enough for me!

Terry likes cornbread with chicken and dumplings, my dad likes it with sweet milk, I like it with beans or chili. Or just put lots of butter on it and eat it all by itself -- add honey if you're eating it for breakfast!

Save the mix for that broccoli casserole thing. Make cornbread from scratch. It's way easy.
Just remember, you HAVE to use a cast iron skillet, and you won't get a good crisp crust if you don't preheat the skillet and the oil.

Heat a 8" cast iron skillet with 2 Tablespoons of oil or bacon grease to 375 degrees.

Mix the following dry ingredients:
1/3 cup flour
2/3 cup white cornmeal
1/2 Tablespoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon salt.

Add wet ingredients:
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk

Blend until well mixed. Add carefully to hot skillet. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Variations:
Use soured milk instead of buttermilk by adding a few drops of vinegar or lemon juice to milk.
Add 1/2 - 1 cup grated cheese to batter.
Add a small can of chopped geen chiles (mild) or 1 jalepeno chile (hot) to the batter.
Triple the recipe for a 12" skillet (which you'll need for dressing).

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