Corn Bread

The title of this recipe is actually corn muffins-but I made it in a square pan to accommodate the southern meal I had made this weekend (to accompany this, and the collard greens and the catfish). I was in the mood for some serious southern cooking. Interesting.

Anyway, this was another recipe I picked up from Wilson's at the end of last summer, and it sat and sat in my recipe binder. It turns out that I completely forgot about it. When I was planning dinner for myself and a good friend of mine, I thought about that recipe again.

Corn bread, for me, can be hit or miss. I love corn bread, but a lot of the time it turns out very dry. There have been a few times I've gone out to eat and found myself with cornbread that totally crumbled and fell apart, and required a glass of water to go with it. It's not bad, I just like my cornbread more moist and muffin like. This particular recipe caught my eye because it had actual corn in it.



I know what you're asking yourself right now. Why make it from scratch when Jiffy makes a great mix (they do. I'll totally vouch for that.)? Well, I just wanted to see if it would work better from scratch. I wanted a challenge. After all, isn't that what this blog is helping me to do? I love the jiffy mixes-but I'm glad to have another option too.

I threw this together, put it in the oven, and wound up having to bake it for 30 minutes instead of the suggested 20. Maybe because it was in a pan rather than in muffin tins? I'm not sure. But if you make it in a square pan like I did, bake it for 20 minutes, then check it. If the knife's clean, more power to you. If not, just put it back for 10 more and keep checking for doneness.

So sweet. So soft. No need for a drink with it (though to be fair, a nice glass of wine was not turned away!). The corn added a nice touch too-a little bit of a different texture, but not overpowering.



This may become my (and hopefully yours too) new go-to recipe for corn bread.

Corn Bread (or Corn Muffins, depending on what you bake this in) (recipe from Wilson Farms, Lexington, MA)

1 - 1 1/2 c. corn kernels (the recipe calls for fresh-about 3-4 ears. I used canned corn and drained it well, which worked just fine)
1 c. yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/3 c. softened butter or margarine (I melted it completely because the only butter I had was frozen solid. Not an issue to melt it totally)
2 eggs
1 c. milk

-Mix together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
-Cut in the butter using a pastry blender until the mixture is just combined (or, if you did what I did, mix the melted butter into the dry mixture until it is about a crumbly consistency.
-Stir the eggs and milk into the flour mixture. Add the corn kernels.
-Pour into a well greased muffin tin or a square 8x8 baking pan.
-Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes (if you bake it in the square pan it might take you 30 minutes total).

Best served with some nice catfish, collard greens, and black eyed peas. :)