I always forget to buy cornmeal it seems, so Sunday I saw it in the market, and grabbed it. I like it for its texture and flavor. And I love cornbread. Since school begins again tomorrow, I decided to go ahead and make a nice dinner that will carry over into lunch for a day or two. Meatloaf, cornbread, salad.
There are all sorts of theories about “Northern” versus “Southern” cornbread, with the former being with yellow corn meal and a bit of sugar, while the latter is made in an iron skillet using white corn meal.
This is a recipe for “Golden Northern Cornbread.” And another. Don’t forget to look up cornbread on Epicurious, either.
Here is a recipe for “Ben’s Southern Cornbread.” Here is an article called “The Great Corn Divide.” And here is another recipe for Southern cornbread.
Corn has been a staple ingredient in Tex-Mex, Mexican, and Southwestern cooking for a long time – after all, corn originated in the Americas. So there are other variations of cornbread still to be found.
My version is decidedly a Southwestern-style, as it has green chilis, cheese, and corn in it. For what it’s worth, here is my recipe.
Naomi’s Southwestern Cornbread
Preheat oven to 350-375 F.
1 c. flour
1.5 c. yellow cornmeal
1 T. sugar
1 T. baking powder
pinch of salt
Combine all of the above together in a large bowl.
1 stick sweet butter
1 large, fresh pasilla pepper, chopped up (you can use other peppers, as hot as you like, and perhaps some onion as well)
1 c. corn (fresh is best, but I used frozen today)
In pan, melt butter, saute peppers and corn. Even if corn is frozen, put it in with the peppers and butter and break apart. Saute till tender.
1 c. milk (can be a combination of milk, cream, yogurt, buttermilk, and water to equal a cup – good way to do it if you are short any one ingredient)
2 eggs
Beat together until well blended. Dump into corn-flour mixture. Stir in a bit, then follow it up with the butter-corn-pepper melange, and finally the grated cheese.
1/2 c. grated Jack cheese (I like a bit of cheese in cornbread – makes it nicely moist. Use more if you like it gooey!)
Pour into greased bread loaf pan. Bake 30-40 minutes until done. Turn out onto wire rack to cool. Serve plain, with butter, or reheat on skillet in morning, to toast.
Enjoy!
Ink, Yarn & Beer 