I'm a firm believer that one can never have too many good cornbread recipes. Sure I have my go-to recipe, the one I can make from memory. But I'm always on the lookout for new recipes, too. This one from Crescent Dragonwagon's book The Cornbread Gospels uses a blend of half flour and half cornmeal and has a touch of sweetness without being sweet.
It is the cornbread that was served when Dragonwagon ran the restaurant at Dairy Hollow House in Eureka Springs, and this cornbread works wonderfully in the Sweet-Savory Cornbread Dressing recipe also in this section.
Dairy Hollow House Skillet-Sizzled Cornbread
1/4 cup mild vegetable oil, plus more for coating skillet
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups buttermilk (see note)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 10-inch cast-iron skillet with vegetable oil; set aside.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt.
In a separate bowl, stir the baking soda into the buttermilk. Whisk in the sugar, egg and 1/4 cup oil.
Place the prepared skillet over medium heat, and add the butter. When the butter melts and just begins to sizzle, tilt pan to coat.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix quickly, using as few strokes as possible. Scrape batter into hot skillet and transfer skillet to oven. Bake 20 minutes or until cornbread is golden brown. Cool slightly before cutting into wedges.
Makes 8 servings.
Note: Using regular milk will result in a drier texture.
Food on 11/19/2014