sprinklefingers

yesterday i posted a recipe for a little something i call unpacking soup. i made enough for us two adults to eat for two nights…a very exciting concept when i knew i had to work today and would be rushing to get dinner on the table tonight.

i rushed in the door from work and started dinner prep - and that’s when i noticed it. half of the soup i had refrigerated from the night before was missing. and my husband had eaten it for lunch. now, i’m not going to lie to you - i’m really stressed out right now. 5 days away from home and away from work causes things to really pile up and i don’t do very well with piles. so, close to tears, i screamed at him. uh oh. it’s moments like these when i wish i was nicer. why can’t i be nicer? why can’t this kind of thing roll right off and find me rebounding in the blink of an eye?

to my credit, as soon as i yelled i knew it was wrong (that’s something, right?) and my brain did quickly kick in to figure out what else we could eat…and then i thought of it: food in the freezer! there’s food in the freezer! food. in. the. freezer!

the husband ate fresh-from-the-freezer white bean soup while i dined on leftover-from-last-night lentil soup. the same but different, just like us. perfect.

as an accompaniment to the two soups, i made cornbread. but not just any cornbread. i made what is, in my opinion, the best cornbread. it’s not my recipe, and while i do have a few tricks when making it, alton brown’s recipe is pretty much perfect. thank you, alton! [also of note: this cornbread, when served with homemade jam, makes any husband forget you yelled at him an hour previous. it’s that good.]

alton brown’s cast iron skillet browned butter cornbread
makes 6-8 servings, depending upon how you slice

you need:

• 10” well-seasoned cast iron skillet
• 7.25 oz cornmeal - i’ve had the most success with bob’s red mill medium grind
• 10 oz (1.25 cups) milk (whole or 2%, NOT skim)
• 4.75 oz AP flour
• 1 T baking powder
• 1.5 t kosher salt
• 3.75 oz (1/2 cup) vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1.5 T salted butter, plus more for serving
• homemade jam for serving (if you’re trying to apologize to your husband through food)

to make the cornbread:

1. plunk your cast iron skillet into the oven and preheat it to 450.
2. in a large mixing bowl, soak the cornmeal in the milk for 15 minutes.
3. in a separate mixing bowl stir together the flour, baking powder and salt.
4. whisk the eggs into the oil then mix this into the cornmeal/milk mixture.
5. add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until combined. but don’t over mix!
6. remove the skillet from the oven (remember, it’s hot!) and plop the tablespoon and a half of butter into it. tilt the skillet round & round so that the butter melts all over the bottom and goes up the sides. it will bubble and brown because the pan is so hot - don’t worry!
7. immediately after spreading the butter around, pour in the cornbread batter.
8. slide the entire skillet into the oven and bake for 20 minutes. the cornbread should be golden and beautiful. if not, bake for a few more minutes.
9. when finished baking, remove the skillet from the oven and set on a cooling rack.
10. grab a stick of unsalted butter and unwrap one end of it. using the unwrapped end, rub the stick of butter all over the hot top and sides of the cornbread. once the butter soaks in, repeat.
11. place a dinner plate over the skillet and flip the entire skillet upside down onto the plate. your cornbread will slide right out!

pouring the butter into the hot skillet browns it very quickly - then the cornbread bakes in that bed of browned butter and turns out crazy delicious. i have to stop myself from eating just the edges!

in alton’s recipe he suggests that you grind your own cornmeal from polenta or grits. i have tried the recipe both ways numerous times, and i have to say that simply using a quality medium grind cornmeal to start yields results on par with grinding cornmeal from grits. plus, it’s easier and there are fewer dishes to wash!

i finally remembered to snap a photo: