While I make a “killa” Corn Bread (as I’m about to share), my fondest memory of corn bread takes me back to when my girls were much younger and we took a trip to Disney World Orlando. We had been going all morning and as it came time to have lunch we decided on fried chicken, which came with a mini corn bread. While there wasn’t anything really ‘special’ about the corn bread itself.. sometimes it’s about the scenery, people you’re with and overall memory of the event, which makes a meal/dish stand out.
You’ll Need…
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup corn meal
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 jalapeno (diced fine)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs (med)
1 cup buttermilk
Preheat your oven to 350 F. In a heavy cast-iron pan I heated (on low) the butter on the stove top, then went in for 1 minute with the diced jalapeno pepper. The goal is to soften the diced pepper and flavor the butter with the slight kick.
Allow the butter to cool a bit, then add it to a large bowl along with the butter milk, eggs and sugar. Using a whisk, give it a go until it was relatively smooth (no more gritty bits from the sugar).
In another bowl, combine the corn meal, flour, baking soda and salt. Then add it all to the bowl with the wet ingredients and combine. Try to not over-work the batter.
Since I would be using the same cast-iron pan to bake the corn bread and it was already greased from the butter earlier, all I had to do now was pour in the cornbread batter and level off. Then into the preheated 350 oven on the middle rack. If you’re not using a cast iron pan as I did, you ca use an 8 x 8 baking dish (greased).
On average it will take between 30-35 minutes depending on your oven (oven heat can vary). Stick a toothpick in the center and if it comes out clean, you’re ready to enjoy! I allowed it to cool a bit before using an offset spatula to gently work the edges before removing it out on the pan.
One of the simplest and tasty cornbread you’ll make for you and your family.. you can use this recipe as a base for employing your creativity! Move on to some added cheese and crumbled bacon next time.
Unfortunately our time at Disney wasn’t all fun and games.. never take kids on the roller coaster at Space Mountain after they’ve had lunch. Messy!
Do you own a copy of my cookbook ?- The Vibrant Caribbean Pot 100 Traditional And Fusion recipes Vol 2
