What else can I say about cornbread? It’s a staple of the south. From Mexican cornbread to buttery Jiffy cornbread to simple, plain homemade cornbread to cornbread filled with all different types of ingredients, cheese, corn, peppers, tomatoes, sausages, mayonnaise, etc…Cornbread is a valued staple and continues to be a staple for our southern food lovers. This week I have provided two of my many favorite cornbread recipes for you! I hope you enjoy them as much as I have enjoyed printing them for you! I guess my favorite is Mrs. Dyanne Rigby’s “heat-less” Mexican cornbread! I’ve printed this recipe before for my readers, and it is one of the best cornbread recipes I have ever tried. It is simply delicious and perfect with corn chowder or cooked collard greens. Also, I never use margarine with hot cornbread. I always use fresh sweet cream salted butter, such as Land O’Lakes. Margarine is most definitely a “mortal sin” in the some culinary circles, and it certainly is when it comes to complementing good southern cornbread. The other recipe this week is from my mother, and it uses a secret ingredient. Enjoy readers!!!
Mrs. Dyanne Rigby’s Mexican Cornbread
Note: Mrs. Dyanne is my best buddy, and she and her husband (Mr. Farrell) have traveled with me to Europe on many occasions. We have been doing this for years with Winston Academy, and at a dinner at her home several years ago, she and Mr. Farrell entertained us to some delicious potato soup and her awesome Mexican cornbread, which was not spicy at all. You could only taste a faint suggestion of the peppers used. I can only consume small amounts of spicy food, and Dyanne cannot either, so this was the ideal cornbread for us! Let me tell you, this cornbread was great, and I could eat a ton of it with butter. This is one of my most requested recipes, and it is so gentle on a sensitive stomach like ours! We love you Mrs. Dyanne!
2 cups self-rising corn meal
Three fourths cups cooking oil
1 cup buttermilk
3 lg. eggs
2 Mezzetta Deli-sliced tamed Jalapeno Peppers (take vein & seeds out & wash)
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup cream style corn
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
Mix and pour into a hot black skillet that is 2 inches deep- heat bottom of skillet with oil and sprinkle with meal until it sizzles. Pour batter in. Cook 30 to 40 min. in oven on 450 degrees. Take out when completely done and cut into squares. Delicious and not spicy at ALL…just a slight HINT of pepper flavor!
My Mama’s Secret Cornbread
Note: My mother (Kathy Rogers) always uses fresh Martha White cornmeal and always uses fresh cold buttermilk. The addition of Blue Plate mayonnaise has enhanced the flavor and the moistness of this cornbread. This is some of the best cornbread ever, and it goes with everything.
1 lg. egg
One and one third cups fresh, cold buttermilk
One fourth cup Crisco oil
2 cups Martha White Self Rising Enriched White corn meal
1 heaping Tbsp. Blue Plate mayonnaise (secret)
Mix all ingredients together (batter) in a big mixing bowl. Meanwhile, prepare a thick cast iron cornbread skillet (8-9 in skillet). Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Pour about a half a cup or more of oil at the bottom of the skillet and let it heat up on stove over high heat. Then when it begins to heat up, sprinkle a little meal over the hot oil to see if it will sizzle. If it sizzles, it is ready to roll. Pour batter mixture into skillet and immediately put in oven and bake for 20-25 min at 450 degrees, or until golden brown. Remove, cool and invert onto plate. Cut and serve with butter- only real butter, not margarine.
Editor’s note: Brock Wetherly Rogers is an educator, an experienced southern food writer, a Europe traveler and a passionate student of the culinary and pastry arts. Please e-mail him comments at brockrogers1@gmail.com.
