From my cookbook… Dave’s Cornbread Two Ways
I love cornbread in any form! It’s great with winter soups and stews, and of course, I love it with chili. Check out these simple but delicious cornbread recipes.
There are over 300 recipes in my recently published cookbook, Everyday Cooking for Everyday People Like Us (Click on the link in Note 1 to get your own copy). Even in these inflationary times, we can prepare delicious meals for our family and do so in a way that does not break the budget. And it’s all in the cookbook!
David Giustozzi’s Cornbread Two Ways
Unless you grew up in the South, you probably did not eat cornbread. My mother never made it, but given she was from Russellville Alabama, you better believe we had it when we visited her parents!
Over the years, I found that some meals just really demanded cornbread. Soups, especially any kind of bean soup, split pea soup and chili all come to mind. Well, as I started cooking those foods, I had to learn how to cook cornbread. I tell you; I’ve tried a bunch of cornbread recipes. I’ve learned a lot!
There are endless ways to cook cornbread, and everyone has their own and that’s the only right way to them. I’ve narrowed it down to three different types. In all cases, and I tell you from many failures, there are two constants: good cornbread needs to be made in cast iron skillet and you must use buttermilk. Forget any recipes that don’t include these two items. Beyond that, I’ve found three variations that I think are good and I’m going to give you two choices here. See David Giustozzi’s Jalapeno Cheese Cornbread for the third (and best) cornbread recipe. Note that I use self-rising flour for the old-fashioned cornbread. Self-rising flour was used a lot in Southern cooking many years ago.
David Giustozzi’s Simple Crunchy Cornbread
This is cornbread at its purest. Just cornmeal as the main ingredient and a few other items. This is cornbread a lot of people who grew up eating beans and cornbread remember and prefer. It’s mostly flat, mostly crunchy, kinda dry.
Ingredients
2 cups course ground cornmeal, sifted if desired
1 teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups buttermilk, more if needed
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) butter
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Begin heating a well-seasoned 12-inch cast iron skillet on the stove on medium heat (Note 1).
Whisk dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs and buttermilk, whisking minimally, only until everything is combined. Add more buttermilk as necessary.
Place the butter in the skillet on the stove and swirl to melt and coat bottom. Pour batter in and shake to ensure it is level. Turn off stove and place skillet in oven.
Bake 25-30 minutes or until browned on top and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Allow to rest a few minutes, then flip onto a wire rack to cool. Place back in the skillet and cut.
Notes
Some recipes recommend heating the skillet in the oven, I like the stove as it is easier, and I think safer. The trick is to heat the entire skillet over enough time and at the right heat so that when you melt the butter it does not immediately burn but is hot enough for it to bubble and the batter bubbles and begins to cook before you place it in the oven. It’s something that comes with experience. Also note that as you pour in the batter, the butter will come up the sides and maybe even on top of the cornbread, adding additional buttery goodness!
David Giustozzi’s Old Fashioned Cornbread
This cornbread mixes flour and cornbread so it rises higher and is fluffier than the crunchy cornbread. Not for the cornbread purest but I like it a lot.
Ingredients
1 cup self-rising flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 large eggs, beaten
1 cup or more buttermilk
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) butter
Directions
Follow the same directions as with crunchy cornbread
Dave’s Cornbread Two Ways
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Call to Action
Show someone how much you love them by preparing a delicious meal for them. Later, enjoy the time and money you save by relishing your leftovers, either for lunch at work or dinner at home. Take comfort in knowing you are eating hearty food you prepared. All because you made a good decision to follow the recipes and tips in the cookbook I developed just for you.
Besides getting a copy of the cookbook for yourself, it makes an excellent gift for those you love and care for, especially for those with a young family who are looking to save time and money in the kitchen. And learn a few things in the process! What a great idea!
Recommended Resources
Everyday Cooking for Everyday People Like Us by David Giustozzi (Note 1).
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Notes
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Everyday Cooking for Everyday People Like Us by David Giustozzi: https://amzn.to/437OhVQ