Making Stovetop Cornbread for One Recipe

likekinds
Gold Post Medal for All Time! 523 Posts

December 2, 2016

Stovetop Cornbread for One First let's get out of the way what traditional cornbread isn't. Delicious cornbread is simple cornbread. It is meant to accompany vegetables, not compete with them. Therefore, it should not have added ingredients such as cream style corn, peppers or other ingredients to make it reminiscent of another country's cuisine.

Nor should it it be made with meal or corn flour processed with lime, as this treatment is what gives corn tortillas their characteristic taste. I like tacos, but I don't want my cornbread to taste like them.

Cornbread should not be sweet, contrary to the millions of boxes of a popular corn bread mix sold annually. I assume the ridiculous amount of sugar in this product is to appeal to children.

Cornbread should not have a distinct 'eggy' taste. If eggs are used, only enough should be added to make a richer cornbread. You should not taste the eggs. Cornbread should taste like cornbread.

I'm off my soap box now.

I said cornbread should not be sweet, but I do add sugar. It improves the cornbread crust. When I buy 5 lbs. cornmeal mix, I dump it into a pail and add a half cup sugar and mix. This is so I don't have to add a tiny sprinkle of sugar each time I make cornbread.

Also, if you've had your cornmeal for a while, the leavening agents might not be as potent as when first purchased. When this happens, I add a tiny bit of baking soda to the batter, less than one sixteenth teaspoon.

Prep Time: 3 minutes

Cook Time: 10-12 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 1-2 servings

Source: Americana

Ingredients:

½ cups Tenda-Bake self rising corn meal mix (I use yellow)
½ cups buttermilk
1 Tbsp butter + 1 pat
¼ cups water

Steps:

Over low heat, melt butter in a 7½-8 in. skillet. While it's melting, put cornmeal mix into a mixing bowl, and add buttermilk. When the butter has melted, (do not overheat), pour it into the mixing bowl over the meal and buttermilk. Do not wipe the pan. Leave the butter residue. Return the pan to the burner and set the heat on medium.
With a whisk, quickly mix the ingredients in the bowl. You will find that the batter is thick. Add enough water while whisking until the batter is about the consistency of a thick cake batter.

Turn the batter into the pan and cook. Now, you can shake the pan once to level out the batter. When the edges show signs of browning, carefully lift an edge to check for the degree of brownness you want. When ready, using a wide egg turner, remove the bread from the pan onto a plate, keeping it right side up.
Place the pat of butter into the pan and swirl. As soon as melted, flip the cornbread from the plate, back into the pan to finishing cooking the other side. After 4-5 minutes lift an edge to check for degree of doneness.
When done, remove cornbread from pan onto a plate.

A few foods that go well with cornbread: If you love the beans but not the artillery that comes with them, don't fret. Crumble cornbread into a soup bowl and pour a generous amount of bean soup over it. Delicious!
Collards, turnips and turnip greens.
Put a big slab of cornbread into a soup bowl and top with a cup of homemade beef stew with vegetables. Man food!
You may even enjoy a piece of hot cornbread topped with a pat of butter and a drizzle of Blue Label Karo Syrup or a good, mild molasses.
Pictured is my old standby, neufchatel cheese.
Who needs Maxims-de-Paris with their $800.00 a plate dinners when you have good ol homemade cornbread?

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Making Stovetop Cornbread for One Recipe

Recipe: Stovetop Cornbread for One