Monday, March 14, 2011

Firecracker Cornbread and close cousins


Hey all,
I'm on FIRREEE this week! Hot, more like it. Not me, but the firecracker cornbread that I made from 101Cookbooks.com - my favorite all veggie food blog.

The cornbread is a perfect accompaniment to (I don't know) amazing barbecue ribs or chicken or just by itself, which is what ended up happening with me. It was so good, that I had finished half the pan in three hours. That's a record time for me.

This recipe is a keeper and it's so easy that I suggest everyone try it and let me know how it comes out.
The other great thing about this recipe is that it can be modified in multiple ways and I've listed a few I've tried with success below:

Hot Firecracker Cornbread
Adapted from Heidi's 101 Cookbooks.com
Yield: One 9-inch cake pan
Servings: 6-8 slices

Ingredients:
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp red pepper flakes
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup fine-grain cornmeal
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp of salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
2 1/2 cups corn, fresh (alternatives are below)

Recipe
1. Preheat oven to 350F and put the two tbsp butter and red pepper flakes in the baking pan and keep ready.
2. Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt.
3. Mix the wet ingredients, buttermilk, egg, and corn and add that to the dry ingredients.
4. Stir until combined.
5. Put the baking pan that has the butter and red pepper flakes in the oven and let the butter melt.
6. Rotate the pan around to grease the sides and then pour the melted butter and toasted red pepper flakes into the batter. Mix until incorporated.
7. Pour batter into the hot baking pan and put it back into the oven for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and tester comes out clean.

Here's what mine looked like and it was delicious and I've made it several times since:



Mmmm..... Crusty delicious goodness.


Other variations:
1. Goat cheese and caramelized onions - this is amazing
2. Corn bread with jalapenos and green onions
3. Spinach and onion cornbread
4. Green beans and onion cornbread (blanch the beans first) - its a good way of getting more veggies in your diet

Kartik

P.S. Only two tablespoons of butter - I mean how much more healthy can it get?

4 comments:

  1. It sounds wonderful! I'd like to make it the next time I make cornbread. Is it a moist cornbread?

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  2. Absolutely! The buttermilk in the cornbread keeps things really moist, even though it might not seem like a lot of butter.

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  3. Hi Kartik,
    Great recipe.. i think i could beat your record and finish the whole pan in less than 3 hours! :)

    I tried making this with chopped jalepeno since the red pepper flakes aren't spicy enough for me. It was delicious!!
    - Karen

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  4. Karen,
    That's impressive! I'm glad that the chopped jalapenos helped. They add a unique flavor - almost kind of smoky spiciness (even though they aren't charred - hey! that's another idea).
    Kartik

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