From childhood I’ve loved cornbread, begging my mom to buy the Jiffy mixes that were 4 for a dollar at the A&P a few blocks away. So moist, so corny. The Husband shares my love for the corn, which we enjoy as a great accompaniment to stews, cheese-filled omelets, and anything pork. Our local bakery produces an interesting variation with a whole hard-boiled egg inside. Delicious! Riding that fine line between sweet and savory, cornbread satisfies like no other member of the “quick” bread family.
Fortunately, I’ve grown out of baking from a box. The other night I made a batch using the hot skillet method and a recipe from my dinner hero, Mark Bittman. Of course I modified things just a bit, mostly to allow for what I did (and didn’t) have on hand. This is a perfect late-summer dish because it calls for corn cut straight from the cob. Be sure to use stone-ground cornmeal; my current fave is Bob’s Red Mill. Don’t even bother with the Aunt Jemima kind in the cardboard container…it’s got none of the tasty, nutritious germ from the corn left in it.
Brown Butter Cornbread with Cheese & Thyme
– Preheat the oven to 375F. Put a stick of butter in a cast iron skillet (at least a 9-inch) and place in the oven.
– In a large bowl, mix together 1 cup each of flour and stone-ground white or yellow cornmeal, 1 T. baking powder, 1 t. salt, and 3 T. sugar.
– Pour 1 1/4 c. buttermilk into a 2-cup measuring cup. Add 1 egg and mix together. Check the butter in the oven: when it’s brown, pour 1/4 cup into the measuring cup and mix together. Leave the rest of the butter in the pan.
– Add the buttermilk mixture to the dry, mix until just combined. Fold in 3/4 c. kernels from a cob or two of sweet corn, 1 T. chopped fresh thyme leaves, and 4 oz. of crumbly cheese….farmer, goat, fresh ricotta all work well.
– Spread the batter in the pan and bake for 30 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.