From my cookbook…David Giustozzi’s Jalapeno Cheese Cornbread
This is the best cornbread I’ve ever had. Mike drop. Walk away…
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!
It’s Fall and time for soup, chili, and of course, cornbread!
Cornbread is definitely a Southern thing, although I did not eat it much growing up in Alexandria, Virginia, and I don’t think my mother ever made it. We never had it on my father’s Italian side in Old Forge, Pennsylvania, but we did have it on my mother’s side in Russellville, Alabama. And of course, since I moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, it’s pretty common here.
Because I enjoy one-dish meals like soups, stews, and chili, I began searching for something to accompany them, rather than the plain and bland crackers often served with these types of meals. My recipe collection contains almost 8,200 recipes that I’ve collected over the last 40 years or so. I have 32 different recipes for cornbread, and I’ve made most of them in search of the best one. I never found it among those 32 recipes but I did take what I liked from many of them and that’s where this recipe came from and is, hands down, my favorite.
Cornbread purists, like chili purists who insist on only meat and seasonings in their chili, may squawk at the fact that I mix flour and cornmeal together for my cornbread, and even add vegetables such as peppers, onions and corn! Heck, I even add cheese! None of that will matter once you taste this cornbread and you will make it again and again! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Oh, and a final note. Using a cast-iron skillet, heated according to the directions, is absolutely key to this recipe.
David Giustozzi’s Jalapeno Cheese Cornbread
Cornbread is one of those things that almost every family has a favorite recipe, at least every Southern family. I did not grow up eating it, although my grandmother on my mother’s side (Blanche Mitchell from Russellville, Alabama) used to make it. Once I started cooking and making chili and different soups, I started cooking it, and I’ve gone through a bunch of recipes, believe me!
This recipe has a lot of ingredients, it rises high, is very flavorful and is moist, just the way I like it. My mother-in-law (Betty Ishmael, Tulsa, OK) just made hers very plain, cornmeal and buttermilk, essentially. Although she did bake it in a skillet, it was thin, sort of dry and did not rise. But they loved it that way and enjoyed it a lot with simple pinto bean soup and fried potatoes.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ tablespoon sugar
11/2 cup buttermilk, plus more to thin (Note 1, 4)
2 large eggs
5 small jalapenos seeded, cored and diced
4 green onions diced
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
8 oz. frozen corn, thawed optional
½ small yellow onion, minced, optional
¼ to ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
Directions
If using yellow onions and corn, cook in a skillet with a little olive oil until the onions are soft, reserve.
Heat oven to 400 degrees. If using corn and onion, heat oven to 350 degrees.
Place a large cast iron skillet on the stove with butter and set on low to warm skillet and melt the butter. Don’t rush this step, it takes a little while for the cast iron skillet to heat completely.
Mix all dry ingredients. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Fold vegetables, cayenne, if using and cheese into mixture. Thin with buttermilk as necessary. Do not over stir, it’s ok if a little lumpy.
Increase heat on skillet to medium high until butter is very hot but not browning. Pour mixture into pan. It will sizzle and start to brown on the bottom. Using a hot pad and being very careful, remove skillet from stove and transfer to the oven
Bake 30 minutes, check and continue to bake until a fork or toothpick comes out clean from the center and cornbread is beginning to brown on the top and the edges are separated from the side of the pan.
Remove from oven to a stove top, allow to rest a few minutes and slice into 8 pieces. At the table, slice horizontally and butter each piece generously. You will gobble this up, it’s that good!
Notes
You will probably need up to 2 cups of buttermilk so ensure you have enough when you start.
Cooking times will vary depending upon your oven and if you add corn and onions. Ultimately, you want a browned bottom crust, browned top and a completely cooked center.
The cornbread freezes well. Slice into wedges, slice down the middle and place each piece in a zip lock bag and place in the freezer. When you are ready to enjoy it again, remove from the freezer, microwave to thaw, butter each slice and place under a broiler until crisp and browned.
Use leftover buttermilk to make David Giustozzi’s Buttermilk Pie and/or biscuits of your choice.
Dave’s Jalapeno Cheese Cornbread
Afterburner Success Partners
What’s in it for me?
Good eats, that’s what!
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 healthy 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
Up Next
Back to our regular post schedule.
Notes
Please note that as an Amazon Affiliate, I may earn a small commission on the sale of any of these recommended resources.
Everyday Cooking for Everyday People Like Us by David Giustozzi: https://amzn.to/437OhVQ