People. Do you know what occurred to me yesterday?
I have never shared my cornbread recipe with you.
I can’t even believe it. THREE YEARS I’ve been “writing” this interweb blogsite, and somehow I have neglected the cornbread. I mean, we’ve talked about butterbeans, about blackeyed peas, about pound cake – and heaven knows we’ve talked about fried chicken.
But the cornbread? Not so much. Frankly, I can’t help but feel that I’ve failed you. And I do apologize.
Because oh, I adore the cornbread. It’s one of the very best parts of fall and winter (along with flannel pajama bottoms, soft blankets, blazing fires and long-sleeved t-shirts). And over the years, I’ve taken the cornbread recipes from my mama, my friend NK’s mama, the back of the Martha White corn meal bag (not to mention the lovely Ms. Paula Deen) and blended them into some crazy amalgamation that sounds super-weird in theory but is utterly delicious in practice.
So. Before you make this cornbread, you need to know that there is one non-negotiable part of the process: a cast-iron skillet. You can’t pour this concoction into a Pyrex dish and expect to get anywhere near the optimal result. And if you don’t have a cast-iron skillet, run – RUN! – to your local hardware store and get one. It’s the best kitchen-related $20 you’ll ever spend, hallelujah.
I also think this is a critical component:
I’ve tried all the mixes. I’ve tried using corn meal and flour and salt. But this stuff is the best. It’s finely ground and makes a really dense cornbread. It can also be a little hard to find, but it’s worth tracking down. Because it’s special.
And with all that being said, the recipe:
2 cups White Lily White Cornmeal mix
2 eggs
1 cup creamed corn
1 cup sour cream
1 1/3 cups milk
1 tablespoon sugar (optional)
1/4 cup canola oil
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Put your skillet on top of your stove over medium high heat. Once the skillet is hot, add the canola oil, then sprinkle about 2-3 tablespoons of cornmeal mix on top. While the cornmeal mix is browning, mix together all your remaining ingredients in a bowl.
Once the oil is hot and the cornmeal is browned, pour about 1/2 of the oil from the skillet into your mixture, then return your skillet to the stove (CAREFUL! FOR THE LOVE OF PETE, BE CAREFUL!). Quickly stir your batter and pour all the batter into the skillet.
And then? THEN? It will sizzle like it’s on FI-IRE.
Let the skillet sit on the stove over medium heat for about two minutes (it’s making you a delicious crispy present). When the time’s up, put the skillet in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes.
And I don’t mean to taunt you or anything, but just look at the results:
THAT CRUST? IS YOUR FRIEND.
Yesterday for lunch we had some blackeyed peas with our cornbread, a combination that is utterly perfect on a chilly fall day.
And, you know, I may have added a little butter to my cornbread.
Don’t worry. It was just a pat. Or six.
I’m sure you understand.
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Oh for the love of comfort food! I am going to try this one,and when my butter(at least 6 pats or so) melts,I am going to drizzle her with a little honey!YUMMY!
How long! How long have I waited for the perfect cornbread recipe that called for both sour cream and creamed corn! And I just know I can trust you – that this is delightful and not even a little bit dry. Oh BooMama, I luh ya.
Only you, BooMama, could make me laugh out loud in the midst of unpacking a new house over a cornbread recipe. Sadly, my boring family only likes the stuff from the bag. Heck, that’s actually all I know how to make… Sad. BTW, we moved. But, we know the people who live in our old house so they’ll bring me any mail that may or may not happen to come. :)
Oh I can not wait to try this recipe!! I live in Bham and LOVE all things southern. My grandmothers both had different cornbread recipes, but this one looks fabulous!
You better tell MOST of your northern readers how to properly season a black iron skillet!–they will probably have to go buy one!
Oooo, it does sound divine. I, for one, am so glad you listed the sugar as ‘optional.’ With sugar is it no longer cornBREAD, it becomes cornCAKE.
I also love the blackeyed peas, except have you ever noticed the packaging for them (cans, bags, whatever) always seems to leave off the ‘d’ on the end? They’re sold as ‘blackeye’ peas. Every time I buy them I think someone made a silly mistake when they printed the labels. They ARE blackeyeD peas, don’t they know??!!
Mercy sakes, I’m hungry.
Love It! I’ll have to ask my husband for a cast iron skillet for Christmas. We are a Jiffy Corn Bread family. We love to put green chili’s and mexi corn in ours for a tasty surprise.
Oh my friend, we are kindred spirits because the cast iron? It makes everything better. I mean, really. How can you make a proper pone of cornbread without a cast iron skillet? Or a roux? Now I need to go home, make a big pot of red beans and eat it over a hot piece of cornbread.
Xandra
I was all good until you added the blackeyed peas. My mouth is watering at 8:00 AM.
Would you please, please, pretty please come to my house and make me some of that?
Yummmmmmy!
Two things:
1. Don’tcha love it when you can use the word “amalgamation” in a post?
2. Your cornbread ministry is sure to earn you jewels in your crown. Hallelujah
oh my cornbread goodness – that big thick slab looked like a piece of cake sans chocolate icing.. who am i kidding? i can no longer have chocolate. Butter? lather it on, please!!!
Shut your mouth, that looks good! I have some turnip greens from my mama’s garden that will be mighty good with some of your cornbread, peas, and somebody else’s fried chicken….because I can’t fry it to save my life. (No lie — I’ve started a small fire every time I’ve tried. Sophie –help!)
Oh my word…you have got to be kidding me…I am a Texan living in Southern California….not sure I am going to be able to find the White lily mix. I will check wal-mart. And darn the luck I am not sure anyone in this state has ever heard of a Cracker Barrel (to get that already seasoned cast iron skillet). However, there is hope for me, I will be home for Christmas and will totally track that down if I cannot find it here, and just lug it back with me!! What will airport security say?? I love me some beans (even blackeyed peas)and cornbread and it is totally a meal all by itself… not many people around here know what it is either. How many of you love fried okra??? try finding some in California…and I am not talking about the frozen kind in the store, I am referring to fresh in the produce section so you can fry it yourself..it ain’t happening…!!! My boss laughs at my liking the “fuzzy weed”….I want to move back where the comfort food is comforting…and not a uncooked piece of tuna…pray for my swift return ;-)
OK ladies, I just checked White Lily’s website and store locator, it seems White Lily is not available west of Louisiana…however you can order it online from Smuckers.
http://onlinestore.smucker.com/display_category.cfm?cat_id=63
Gotta go place my order… :-)
THANK YOU! I have tried and failed so many cornbread recipes! (Thank God for Jiffy mix!) I’ll be giving this one a try next time I make your black eyed peas!
I’ve always been a fan of the cornbread.
But last year? I started making it in my new-old cast-iron skillet.
It rocked my WORLD, my friend. I believe I ate half the pan the first time I made it. And I’m not even joking.
I now consider cornbread to be made outside of a cast-iron skillet to be zombie cornbread: It may look similar, but it has no umph.
Looks amazing. I’ve never seen cornmeal in France, and no sour cream, either. too bad for this Texas girl :(
My southern heart (and stomach) thank you.
One of my all time favorite meals on this planet!!!! With some white beans too!! Mmmmmm Mmmmmm goood!!!
Would you believe there are people livin’ in THIS COUNTRY who don’t know what a blackeyed pea is? I met one the other day. Heartbreaking, isn’t it?
Oh, Boo! I LOVE black eyes….peas, that is.
When can I come to dinner?
Dear Jesus,
Thank you for placing it upon Sophie’s heart to share this fine Southern recipe. I repent of my gluttonous coveteousness right now. I also ask that you give me grace and mercy as I drag 5 children to Walmart tomorrow to pick up the ingredients that I am missing, since I cannot possibly wait to make this.
Amen.
Since I can’t scroll through all your comments, I am wondering if you get the same effect from heating the skillet up in the oven while it is pre-heating. Which is the way I currently do it.
It looks so delicious and the addition of corn sounds scrumptious!
Just printed this up–but alas in Colorado I can find no White Lily corn meal. I’ll have to look in Texas, when we go!
Hope you are having a wonder-filled day, friend! You know…I am praying for you.
Love,
Holly
As with the perfect hairstyle and the perfect brownies, I am always on the prowl for the perfect cornbread. Will definitely try your recipe! But I do have 2 questions: 1. The 2-3 tbsp. of mix that you brown in the oil–is that in addition to the 2 cups or out of it? 2. Do you pour some of the browned mix into the batter w/ the oil? Just need a little clarification so I can achieve corny perfection! And I love me some black-eye peas w/ it, too. And Hoppin’ John’s even better! Thanks, Sophie!
oh… my… stars…
that pictures stirs up every single little ol’ speck of the good southern girl in me. it reminds me of my granny and her garden (the peas of course) and everything southern is of course the cornbread. causes me to weep… just a little…
OH MY HEART.
Can’t find that kind of heavenly goodness up here in Boston. :(
Your cornbread recipe is to die for!!! I’m a Texas girl, so I added jalapenos. Thanks for sharing. I enjoy reading your blog….you sound like such fun!
I found the cornmeal mix!!! Unfortunately, I did not notice the need for sour cream and creamed corn in your recipe. So I’m going to have to wait to make it! Sound so yummy!
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