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I have a wonderful cornbread recipe!
If you use it, will you please call it "Daddy's Favorite Cornbread"? It was indeed my Daddy's favorite recipe, which he and my Mama found after many months of searching when they were newlyweds. If you want RL names to credit it, let me know by e-mail. :-)
Here 'tis:
Daddy's Favorite Cornbread
3/4 C. cornmeal
1 1/4 C. all-purpose flour
1/4 C. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. baking powder
1 egg
1 C. milk
1/4 C. oil
In oven at 400-425 degrees, heat a little unmeasured oil, shortening, or bacon drippings in a 9" cast-iron skillet, 9" round cake pan, or muffin tins; leave only a few minutes, or the oil will begin to burn.
Meanwhile, sift (or whisk) together dry ingredients. Beat egg and oil in milk; stir into dry ingredients with whisk or spoon.
Pour batter into hot pan; return to oven. Bake 20-25 minutes, until top is golden brown (crust may be cracked). (For muffins, check after 15 minutes and remove when golden brown.)
Serves 4-8. Delicious with beans, chili, or stew. Leftovers can be heated with butter and maple syrup (or molasses) for a hearty breakfast.
If you find that the cornbread is too moist, you can reduce the milk to 3/4 C. next time.
About preheating the oil:
Especially in a cast-iron skillet, the hot oil in the hot pan will brown the bottom crust better and even make a crispy edge on the top crust. Although it isn't necessary to heat a cake pan or muffin tins, you might want to set the pan over the oven exhaust while it preheats as you're mixing the cornbread, to thin the oil and make it easier to spread as you pour in the batter.
A helpful hint if you really love this recipe, as my family does:
You can make your own mix with the dry ingredients; store in an airtight plastic bag, preferably in the freezer (to prevent bugs and spoilage). Then mix with the egg, oil, and milk; bake as directed.
This recipe has more flour per cornmeal, as well as more baking powder than most recipes. It's also sweeter because of the additional sugar.
Here's another "Daddy" memory:
My Daddy used to make what we called "Daddy's Ice Cream" for his dessert after we'd have cornbread with supper. (It's more commonly known throughout the South and Central US as "Cornbread 'n' Sweet Milk.") He'd crumble a slice of cornbread into a tall glass and fill the glass with cold "sweet" milk (what we now call whole or homogenized milk, as compared to "sour" or buttermilk). Then he'd eat it with an iced-tea spoon. He'd share bites with us younger children, who usually didn't want a whole glassful for ourselves, and we started calling it "Daddy's Ice Cream."
With the toasted taste of some of the crumbs and the cornbread taste of the rest, this treat was really yummy, although I'm sure it sounds icky to some (like me now, with my milk allergy). I've often wondered whether it were similar to bread pudding or rice pudding, neither of which I've tried because of all the milk and cream and stuff (besides being a rather picky eater, I confess). Maybe some British LJ friends might know?
I hope you'll try this recipe and let me know what you think of it. I think Sam would approve, and I'm fairly sure the Gaffer would love "Daddy's Ice Cream."
no subject
Date: 2007-01-09 05:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-09 05:18 pm (UTC)Did you ever have "Cornbread 'n' Sweet Milk"?
New ovens are frustrating to get used to, aren't they?
It's so great to see you online! Is your settling-in going well?
*hugs*
no subject
Date: 2007-01-09 05:25 pm (UTC)*JUMPS OUT OF SKIN!!!!!* Holy cow! Oklahoma's emergency system decided to test just now!! It works real well!! *be still my heart*Whoosh!* Talk about *loud*
--er, as I was saying, I love buttermilk with my cornbread. One of my fave meals is homemade vegetable soup with cornbread and buttermilk. But, you know, *my* Daddy did always call whole milk "sweet milk", and he liked to put it in his ice tea, something I did myself up until I was, oh, about 10 or 11.
We are slowly getting on with it. Uh, as you can see, there seem to be some things about this state take some getting used to. *sheesh* I haven't heard one of those Civil Defense Alert tests in ages...
no subject
Date: 2007-01-09 06:11 pm (UTC)Oh, gee! Tornado-siren practice! The one in town goes off at noon every Friday. It's located near the bridge just off the town square, and boy, beware if you're downtown when that thing goes off!
Hmm, cornbread 'n' buttermilk might be even richer than with sweet milk. I never had iced tea with milk. But one of my granddads did like to put fresh whole milk over ice, not only to cool it, but also to weaken it a bit; I don't think he liked buttermilk at all!
*more hugs*
Mmm, sweet cornbread!
Date: 2007-01-09 05:25 pm (UTC)*saves, and will credit*
Re: Mmm, sweet cornbread!
Date: 2007-01-09 06:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-09 06:52 pm (UTC)Hmmm, maybe it's time to write that up in MoT. . . .
-Febobe, another sweet cornbread fan :)
no subject
Date: 2007-01-09 07:27 pm (UTC)And just the smell of that cornbread -- mmmmm!
Just a little off-topic:
Daddy's surgeon once told him that rather than using Metamucil, he could try eating cornbread to give him the fiber he needed -- very gentle to the system, yet very effective. (Probably ought to check that with a health professional before swearing by it, though!)
*hugs and cornbread*
no subject
Date: 2007-01-09 07:37 pm (UTC)*snugs and nips up cornbread gratefully*
May I borrow that name, with crediting? Gaffer's Pudding, I mean? :D
no subject
Date: 2007-01-09 10:51 pm (UTC)With pleasure!
*hugs*
*squeals*