Happy Easter and Day 6 of Passover!
I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday weekend. We spent the day packing up and moving to a tiny apartment. More on that later, but I wanted to share why recipes have been scarce and why I haven’t made anything fabulous for Easter. In fact, it’s Easter morning and I have very little groceries and am not sure what I’m going to scrape up.
I guess last night was our celebration dinner, because we ate at a fun restaurant downtown called Lambert’s. If you’re ever in Austin and you want to try some barbecue, but you want to eat it off plates with glasses of wine instead of napkins and sweet tea, definitely try Lambert’s.
So last night we were waiting for our ribs, brisket, and chicken (all served with a myriad of fancy sauces and little salads) and Fuzz scarfed down all three of the jalapeno corn muffins. She’d never even tried a regular cornbread muffin much less one spiked with peppers, but it occurred to me I never posted my Chipotle Cornbread recipe.
I’ve refined this over the years and sometimes make it with bacon, sometimes without. It’s spicy, so I never served it to Fuzz (though I will now), and Todd likes it even though he generally doesn’t care for cornbread.
I make this in an 8 inch cast iron skillet. You can make cornbread in all shapes and forms, but cooking it in a skillet where the batter is poured into very hot butter gives it a crispy crust.
Chipotle Bacon Cornbread
2-3 canned chipotle peppers, rinsed, chopped and seeded
5 sliced bacon, cooked and chopped
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup yellow cornmeal
2/3 cup all purpose unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1-1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 scant teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black better
4 teaspoons sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
Toss the chipotles with the bacon and set aside.
Set the butter in an 8 inch cast iron skillet and put the skillet in the oven. Preheat oven to 350 F and set a timer for 5 minutes just so you don’t forget about the butter. It probably won’t be melted and hot at 5 minutes, so set it for another 5. The timer is just to remind you that it’s there. You want the butter and skillet to get nice and hot, but butter will smoke if it gets too hot.
While the butter is melting in the pre-heating oven, mix the cornmeal, flour, soda, baking powder, salt, pepper and sugar in a large bowl.
In a second, smaller bowl, whisk the buttermilk and eggs. Gently add buttermilk and egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir only until moist. Batter will be lumpy. Stir in bacon and chipotle mixture.
Carefully remove the hot skillet of melted butter from oven. Pour cornbread batter into hot butter. Bake for 20 minutes to 25 minutes or until edges are browned and bread appears set. Let cool slightly, remove from pan and cut into 6 wedges.
Tanis
Sounds good, I like it spicey so don’t think I would rinse or seed the chipotles…..
was that one ingredients 1/4 tsp black pepper (better)?
Will definitely try this as I just opened a can of chipotles yesterday.
Kelly
This sounds fantastic and soooo comforting. This is definitely something I would bring to a bbq.
Cheryl
sounds yummy! what a great alternative! glad you enjoyed your dinner out:)
Anna
Sue, I’ll have to try Bobby Flay’s recipe. And yes, it is fun to watch kids’ tastes evolve.
Gloria, we’re just moving local. I post more about it later, but we have to live in temporary housing for a while. Also, I don’t like things that burn my mouth either. A little heat is okay, but I hate it when my tongue gets so hot the heat drowns out the other flavors.
Louise, thanks! It’s 1 large egg. Our cornbread was always served plain as well, but hot & spicy cornbread is pretty popular these days.
Katrina, I forgot about them but I tried Bobby’s Flay’s at Mesa Grill too. Happy Easter.
Katrina
All moved out, or should I say in? Been thinking about you, knowing that’s what you were up to!
I made Bobby Flay’s blue corn (spicy) muffins last year, too, after having the real thing at Mesa Grill. Loved them. I really like cornbread, but the hub does not. Sigh. I do like it with a little kick!
Happy Easter!
Louise
I assume the last ingredient is “1 large egg”. We like cornbread, but it’s usually consumed with chili, which I do on the very spicy side, so cornbread is meant to cool the palate. I’ll have to try this cornbread for another occasion. Sounds like one we’d really like.
Gloria
Happy Easter and Passover!
I love cornbread and bacon-never had them together. Not a spicy girl so no chipotle for me….but this recipe still looks great-cornbread cooked with butter and bacon…yum!
Not that it is any of our business, but are you moving?
Sue
Happy Easter!
We love cornbread. Last year I made Bobby Flay’s cornbread muffins and liked them a lot. They were my first spicier corn muffins. I’ll give yours a try sometime soon. I love trying new cornbread recipes.
Aren’t kids funny with their evolving likes and dislikes? Our son was a very finicky eater. We once asked him where he’d like to go to dinner and he said anyplace that didn’t serve health food and didn’t have hummus on the menu.
Fast forward a couple of years later. The first time we went to visit him after he left for college we suggested that he pick the restaurant. He chose a Greek restaurant!! (It had hummus and health food!) We were flabbergasted. The next time we visited he chose a Chinese place and that isn’t so surprising except that he ordered a hot and spicy dish! When he lived at home everything had to be PLAIN and not spicy. He’s quite the adventuresome eater these days even at home.
I’m glad Fuzz enjoyed the cornbread muffins!