Cornbread Happens!
Hey! Cornbread, named after corn, happens to be the single best bread to make for a lot of reasons. First, it’s so easy. All you have to do is mix the ingredients together, pour into a skillet, and bake. No kneading the dough, no coming back
an hour later to knead it some more after it’s risen. No scoring. None of that artisan cock and bull. Just put it in the oven for half an hour, and you’re done.
But wait, there’s more. It keeps for days on end. Whereas most bread gets hard and stale after a couple days, cornbread stays just the way it was when you first made it—hard and stale. But that’s not all. Cornbread is good not only for chili (crumble it right in), but it also makes a great snack with some cream cheese or butter. Oh God yes. And it’s good FOR you. Why I had some for breakfast, and I lost 30 pounds just this morning. But please don’t microwave it to reheat. Think toaster oven.
- Rule 1: Everything that can go in the oven goes in the oven.
- Rule 2: Always check what’s in the oven before turning it on.
Corn Bread I (Martha White Box)
1 1/2 c. corn meal
1 c. flour
1/4 c. (or more) sugar
2 Tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 c. milk
1/4 c. vegetable oil
- Put a piece of aluminum foil in a cast iron skillet and preheat it to 375-400
- Mix dry ingredients in a bowl using a big spoon, then add wet ingredients and mix again.
- Wait until the skillet is really hot (for crispy crust), then pour in the batter.
- Bake about 25-30 minutes or until it’s as crispy as it wants to be. Lift cornbread from skillet using the foil. Flip and peel foil away. Let cool. Eat.
Corn Bread II
1 c. corn meal
1 c. flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Southwest seasoning (optional)
3 eggs
1-2 jalepenos or other pepper, diced (optional)
16 oz can cream style corn or cooked, fresh corn kernels and/or some cream (optional)*
1/2 c.+/- any combination of honey, brown sugar or white sugar
cayenne hot sauce (optional)
1-2 Tbsp butter
1-2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 c. Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port ’77
- Follow same instructions as above recipe.
* Hey, if you want to really be creative, try using various canned, creamy vegetable-type things (pumpkin, green pepper, clam chowder).
I’m sure if you stand in the soup aisle long enough, you’ll come up with some pretty cool ideas, and that’s not even counting the ones about cornbread. As for the Port, it absolutely must be Taylor Fladgate ’77 or possibly Fonseca ’83, otherwise you might as well not bother. Don’t try to take shortcuts with an inferior vintage or lesser port houses, like the ones that don’t even use real, naked little boys to crush the grapes. And don’t think you can get away with using an ’85 or ’94 either. If you’re going to waste great port by opening it too young, then I’m sorry but I just can’t help you.
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