Why I'm divorcing Mr. Mustard...
So, if you read my previous post about chili, you'll have noticed a few pointed remarks about cornbread.
Let me explain.
There's this wonderful store, Metropolitan Market where I love to wander the aisles and fondle the products. My one quibble is that they don't carry Norman Bishop's G*D mustard. But, they do have an open olive bar that Baby Balsamic loves to sample everytime we visit, so I'll give them a pass on this one transgression.
In the evenings, they often have a food specialist preparing recipes and serving samples. And it's miles above your standard Costco pizza-on-a-stick offering (although that is tasty). They often have foodstuffs such as Creamy Polenta and cilantro salsa over blackened Salmon. The other day, I wandered by and saw the chef preparing samples of something, but I was confused because they had out stacks and stacks of Stonewall Kitchen Garlic and Onion Jam, but they weren't offering dipping like things. Then this cornbread appeared. This steaming, beautiful cornbread. I took a bite and almost passed out on the floor. It transcended the earthly definition of cornbread. It was like this was the true cornbread, conceived in a heavenly domain, but kept from us meer mortals because we're not worthy.
But that day, I was worthy. And they had the recipes printed out for the general public. I grabbed one and eagerly scanned it and guess what the secret ingredient was? Garlic and Onion Jam!
I rarely bake, but I had to make it, so I lovingly tossed all the ingredients together and was able to produce it in my very own kitchen. And it was as good as it had been in the store. It's sweet and savory and moister than your usual cornbread and the recipe calls for canned or frozen roasted corn to be added, so you get these smoky bursts of corn flavor shot through your bread experience.
Somewhere, my poor crazy German Naturopath who ordered me to refrain from corn, wheat and dairy is screaming in anger at me because the recipe contains all these things. And I'm going to post it for all of you.
BUT YOU MUST PROMISE ME THAT IF YOU MAKE IT, YOU WILL TELL ME HOW YOU LIKE IT.
Mr. Mustard didn't care for it because he likes his cornbread "dry." Sometimes, it's like I don't even know the man I married.
Trust me. It's amazing cornbread.
House Secret Buttermilk Cornbread
Makes 16 square
1 cup cornmeal (I used blue. It was pretty!)
3/4 cup unbleached flour
1 tbsp chile powder
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk (I used lowfat)
2 eggs (oh yeah, my Naturopath told me to stay away from eggs too. Oops!)
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup prepared savory jam (like Garlic and Onion Jam!)
1 cup fresh or frozen corn, defrosted and blotted dry
Step 1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease 9x9 baking pan.
Step 2. Mix cornmeal, flour, chile powder, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a bowl; stirring to blend. Beat buttermilk and eggs together. Heat butter until melted, stir in jam, and then stir in corn. Blend with buttermilk mixture.
Step 3. Combine wet ingredients (sounds naughty!) with dry ingredients; stirring just to blend. Do not over mix. Bake in oven until a knife inserted in center comes out clean and the cornbread is a golden color, 20 to 25 minutes.
That's it. And don't feed it to your ungrateful spouse, partner, girlfriend, boyfriend, or person you met at a bar.
Condiment Grrl
Let me explain.
There's this wonderful store, Metropolitan Market where I love to wander the aisles and fondle the products. My one quibble is that they don't carry Norman Bishop's G*D mustard. But, they do have an open olive bar that Baby Balsamic loves to sample everytime we visit, so I'll give them a pass on this one transgression.
In the evenings, they often have a food specialist preparing recipes and serving samples. And it's miles above your standard Costco pizza-on-a-stick offering (although that is tasty). They often have foodstuffs such as Creamy Polenta and cilantro salsa over blackened Salmon. The other day, I wandered by and saw the chef preparing samples of something, but I was confused because they had out stacks and stacks of Stonewall Kitchen Garlic and Onion Jam, but they weren't offering dipping like things. Then this cornbread appeared. This steaming, beautiful cornbread. I took a bite and almost passed out on the floor. It transcended the earthly definition of cornbread. It was like this was the true cornbread, conceived in a heavenly domain, but kept from us meer mortals because we're not worthy.
But that day, I was worthy. And they had the recipes printed out for the general public. I grabbed one and eagerly scanned it and guess what the secret ingredient was? Garlic and Onion Jam!
I rarely bake, but I had to make it, so I lovingly tossed all the ingredients together and was able to produce it in my very own kitchen. And it was as good as it had been in the store. It's sweet and savory and moister than your usual cornbread and the recipe calls for canned or frozen roasted corn to be added, so you get these smoky bursts of corn flavor shot through your bread experience.
Somewhere, my poor crazy German Naturopath who ordered me to refrain from corn, wheat and dairy is screaming in anger at me because the recipe contains all these things. And I'm going to post it for all of you.
BUT YOU MUST PROMISE ME THAT IF YOU MAKE IT, YOU WILL TELL ME HOW YOU LIKE IT.
Mr. Mustard didn't care for it because he likes his cornbread "dry." Sometimes, it's like I don't even know the man I married.
Trust me. It's amazing cornbread.
House Secret Buttermilk Cornbread
Makes 16 square
1 cup cornmeal (I used blue. It was pretty!)
3/4 cup unbleached flour
1 tbsp chile powder
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk (I used lowfat)
2 eggs (oh yeah, my Naturopath told me to stay away from eggs too. Oops!)
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup prepared savory jam (like Garlic and Onion Jam!)
1 cup fresh or frozen corn, defrosted and blotted dry
Step 1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease 9x9 baking pan.
Step 2. Mix cornmeal, flour, chile powder, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a bowl; stirring to blend. Beat buttermilk and eggs together. Heat butter until melted, stir in jam, and then stir in corn. Blend with buttermilk mixture.
Step 3. Combine wet ingredients (sounds naughty!) with dry ingredients; stirring just to blend. Do not over mix. Bake in oven until a knife inserted in center comes out clean and the cornbread is a golden color, 20 to 25 minutes.
That's it. And don't feed it to your ungrateful spouse, partner, girlfriend, boyfriend, or person you met at a bar.
Condiment Grrl
posted by CondimentGrrl at 8:35 PM
3 Comments:
Hm, an interesting variation on a timeless classic. I'm with you, in that I prefer my corn bread/Johnny cakes on the moist side, which has compelled me to always add about a half cup of honey, plus some diced jalapeno peppers and a drizzle of their juice into my own version of the recipe (and yes, it ain't corn bread without whole corn kernels, IMNSHO).
But, the mustard on the chili - I don't think I ever would have thought of that myself.
And BTW, did try the NB G*D Mustard on a nicely grilled piece of Ahi Tuna a few night's back, and must say, although I thought the overall effect was quite pleasant, I was just a tad disappointed that the mustard didn't have a bit more "bite" to it. I like my mustard on the spicy side, and so I wasn't expecting the mildness of the NB. Still, the combo of mustard, dill & garlic was definitely a nice adjunct to the tuna, and I would definitely recommend it to people, particularly as a suitable low-fat alternative to my beloved-but-highly-caloric Sauce Tartar.
G*D mustard is a milder mustard, but the kick, for me, is in the combination of flavors. And it tastes fatty, but it's not, which may be one of the reasons that I love it so.
I'm trying to think of my favorite spicy mustard. I'll go through my collection and see what I find...
Yummy. I can't wait to try this recipe! And you'd better believe I will try it in my chili - just made chili last night, so it will have to make its way into my next batch! Thanks for the yummies. Pop by to dish about condiments anytime!! It's my LOVE.
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