October 5, 2010

• Buddly Crocker's Crockpot Beef Stew. Part Two - Plated.....with Cornbread

   

   

  Got home around 4:30 and Karen had already added the flour and water and turned it up to high to cook for another hour.

  

  So it's time to make some cornbread!

  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

  To start you need one of these. If you don't have one of these, you can't make cornbread. You can make something that resembles cornbread and may taste something like cornbread, but stop kidding yourself, it's not cornbread. Buy, beg, borrow or steal. It's essential!

  This one was Karen's grandmother's cornbread pan.

  

  ******

  The dry mix.

  3/4 cup all pupose flour

  1/2 cup cornmeal, yellow or white

  2 tsps baking powder

  1 and 1/2 tsps salt

  1 tsp sugar

  ******

   The wet.

  1 cup milk, whole or buttermilk

  (if you don't have buttermilk, you can add 1 tsp lemon juice to one cup whole milk, and let set for a few minutes. Now you do!)

  two beaten eggs

  1 tbsp corn oil

  *****

  In a mixing bowl, stir dry mix together well.

  Spray iron skillet with cooking spray and add enough corn oil to cover the bottom. Place on burner and heat til the oil is hot.

  

  While the oil is heating add the wet to the mixing bowl and stir quickly til everything is dampened and you have a nice smooth batter.

  Note my mixing bowl, another precious family heirloom!

  

  When the oil is hot, pour in the batter and let cook for 15 or 20 seconds to set the bottom crust.

  

  Place in the preheated 400 degree oven and bake for 20 minutes.

  Ten minutes in, and it's rising nicely!

  

  When it's been in 15 minutes, I reach in with a potholder, and give it a shake and flip it a little to make sure it's not sticking.

  And here is the secret to moist delicious cornbread. Do not brown the top in the oven. If you leave it in long enough to brown the top, it will be a dry, crumbly, nearly inedible thing indeed!

  At 20 minutes, take it out of the oven, turn the heat up to broil, and slide it into the broiler!

  

  Check it every few seconds, it will brown quickly!

  Before long, you will have this.

  Cornbread perfection!

  

  Invert onto a plate. Check it out, it didn't stick to the pan!

  

  Karen's always hoping it will stick on me, like hers does, but it never has. lol

  

  I think it's time to eat!

  

  Lordy, that was so good! Been a long day, my bellies full, and the couch is calling me.

  G'night everybody!

   

   

   

  • 10:44 am
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