It all started when I was sent downtown to Michigan Ave. to pick up some cornbread from a restaurant called Bandera. Doreen brought some of their cornbread the last time Mitch made chili (for Hannah's birthday, I believe) and it was delicious. I'm not sure what drove me to think this way, but I thought that making cornbread is something that I should be able to do well. I've always liked cornbread, and it never seemed like something that was too difficult or technical to bake (plus you bake it in a cast iron skillet, which is the most manly way to bake stuff), so I figured I would take it upon myself to learn to bake really good cornbread so that next time, we don't have to go all the way to Michigan Ave. to get it. So I added it to my "bucket list," figuring that it would be a pretty easy one to check off.
My first attempt was yesterday. I used some Target gift cards I received from families of kids I teach (thank you!) to get a skillet and the basic ingredients. It proved to be every bit as simple as I thought it would be to make the stuff, there's enough milk in the recipe I had that even mixing the batter was a cinch. I poured it in the skillet after warming it in the oven with bacon fat melting inside and cooked it for about half an hour. When I pulled it out and tasted it, I was surprised by how moist it was. I suppose there are different kinds of cornbread and this was definitely a more cake-like version. I'd like to tweak the recipe a bit and see if I can perfect it. My main obstacle, I'm sure, will be finding willing recipients for all my mediocre attempts in the meantime as I don't think my family is going to put away a ten inch cornbread as often as I'd like to practice making them.
So, if you have a really good cornbread recipe, or a secret ingredient you'd like to share with a novice (albeit one who can fake a pretty good southern accent if that helps), please do. I'd like to have this one taken care of well before we have Mitch's chili again (drool).
2 comments:
Had my second attempt this weekend with the help off Kelly. Added more corn meal, less flour, and used
Butter instead of bacon grease the pan. Also added some feta cheese on top. This one turned out much better. Good texture, not too sweet but sweet enough, sweetness that was well balanced by the saltiness of the feta. Still not perfect, but definitely a great improvement on my first attempt. Judging by the time it took everyone in my house to finish it this time, I would say the improvement was clear.
i would like to offer my assistance in helping you polish off said corn bread. i'm here for you, colyn.
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