For those of you that have known me for a long time know that I have not always been able to cook or bake. One of my biggest failures was a batch of corn bread muffins I made for a field hockey tournament in either 8th or 9th grade (yes, I played a sport, yes, I was terrible and yes, I did quit). The muffins were so hard that prior to boarding the buses to go to the tournament from the high school, we decided to use them as hockey practice. Some things go without saying but yes, my cooking and baking skills have improved. However, until today I have never again attempted corn bread (obviously, this was a huge trauma for me ;) haha). I decided to attempt a recipe for cheesy corn bread, which I found on a recipe website. It sounded awesome in theory so I planned I would make it this week with the "Chicken Corn Chowder." I followed the recipe perfectly, making no changes or adjustments, fearing I would screw it up. Needless to say, I feel as though it failed. It was dark brown (aka almost burnt) on the sides and bottom and slightly undercooked in the center. The gooey cheesy top turned into a hard crusted cheese top and to me, the actual corn bread should've been sweeter. It seemed like the cheese should've been stirred in instead of put on as a topping and that it should've been baked at a lower temperature for longer. Did I say that it also could've been sweeter?! (note: Eric felt it tasted 'just like corn bread.' I feel he was being kind because like I said, he's always hungry.) I'm putting the recipe on here only because I would love to hear if anyone has a **good** recipe for (cheesy) corn bread.
2 c all purpose flour
1 c yellow corn meal
1/3 c sugar
1 1/2 tbsp baking soda
1/2 tbsp salt
1/2 c shortening
1 1/2 c milk
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 400 F. In a large bowl combine first five ingredients and cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl, combine milk and eggs. Stir the milk egg mix into the dry ingredients until just blended. Pour into a greased 8x8 pan and top with shredded cheese. Bake 35 minutes.
It looks good, but yeah, I think low and slow would help the gooey middle.
ReplyDeleteI use this recipe a lot: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Awesome-and-Easy-Creamy-Corn-Casserole/Detail.aspx
It's not technically cornbread, it's more of a spoon bread, but it really turns out like cornbread and you can easily mix in some sharp cheddar and it would be delicious!
Yay! A comment :) thx Sara-I'll def try that once I get over yet another corn bread failure ;)
ReplyDeleteHa, I just realized I might be the first comment? I always comment on blogs. I swear I was "following" the blog, too, but I don't see the follower part anymore.
ReplyDeleteYou need to label these bad boys. I need appetizer recipes. I'm eyeing the crab dip! :)
I did have that 'follower' thing up but on my lap top it never showed up....did it on yours? I'll try putting it back up.
ReplyDeleteLabel as in like appetizers, desserts, side dishes, etc?? I'll have to get on that ;) I love love LOVE the crab dip. Eric and I have eaten it as a meal before and it's easy to cut the recipe in half.