Tuesday 16 October 2012

Corn Bread

In the words of the immortal Jesse "This week I have mostly been eating Cherokee Trail of Tears beans" [this is a reference that only fans of The Fast Show will understand!], so a couple of Mexican  / Texan style dishes have been on the menu. One of them was that pork casserole with chipotle chillies (about which I wrote about the other day), and this absolutely HAD to be accompanied by corn bread, so I made some...


My recipe is adapted from one which appears in the Good Housekeeping Step-by-Step Cookery Book, first published in 1980. (Our well-used copy dates from about then!)

Ingredients:
  • 200g fine corn meal (polenta)
  • 50g plain flour
  • 15ml (3 level tsp) baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 200ml milk
  • 60ml (4 tbsp) vegetable oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp crushed dried oregano
  • 1 large red chilli, de-seeded and finely diced

Method:

Heat the oven to 200C.
Put all the dry ingredients in a large bowl:


In another suitable receptacle (I used the jug in which I measured the milk), mix the milk, oil and eggs, and then add them to the dry ingredients. Lightly stir the whole lot until everything is well mixed together, and then pour the mixture into a greased loaf-tin. (Mine was a 26cm one).


Cook for approx 30 mins, or until done (check after 25mins). If a skewer inserted into the bread comes out clean, the bread is done. This is what you get:-




This close-up shows the lovely golden yellow colour of the loaf, with its fine crumbly texture and nicely-distributed little flecks of oregano and chilli.


I don't often bake, so I'm quite proud of that!  It went really well not only with my pork-and-chipotle casserole, but also with a creamy Butternut Squash soup that Jane made. Yummmmmm!

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Here's something else yummy, in the making - my Sloe Gin. It has now reached the colour of a robust Rosé wine.


I invert each bottle every day, to encourage the Sloe juice to seep out.


When it's ready I will need to filter it to remove the cloudiness. I usually use a coffee filter-paper for the task. It won't be ready for that until mid-December, but it's already looking promising...


18 comments:

  1. I so love cornbread. And the sloe gin is looking very pretty.

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  2. I like the look of the cornbread, especially as I have quite a few ripe now. It'll be nice not to just use them in a curry. Thank you Mark.

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    1. Talking of things conspiring against you, I tried to reply to this on your own blog just now, but Blogger won't let me make comments on it. I'm due to get a new computer this week, so maybe with a new OS things will be better! I wanted to say how much I admire your taste in wine-box plant-containers: a Bordeaux Grand Cru, no less!

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    2. I blagged that from my sister in law who is French, I just saw something I could use for planting :)

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  3. Your cornbread recipe looks great! I shall try this one! Loved the Fast Show too - the Brazilian TV sendoffs were my faves.

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    1. Channel Nine! We once holidayed in Brazil, and they really did have a TV channel which was practically the same as that portrayed on The Fast Show. We also watched Jamie oliver's Naked Chef dubbed into Portugese - very amusing!

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  4. I grew up eating cornbread (very southern american). Yours looks very tasty. I think the chilli would give it a nice little kick.

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  5. oh man oh man oh man.... LOOK at that stunning cornbread... LOOK at it I tell you!... well, you got to eat the bad boy and I can only stare in wonder at it's glory and just imagine how GOOD your kitchen must have smelt and how great this would have been with your amazing pork casserole... drooooooling....

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  6. Thanks for the cornbread recipe. It looks wonderful. Will have to try that one soon! Your sloe gin looks great too. I have never had any of that.

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  7. The corn bread recipe sounds so easy, I may give it a try.

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  8. As a Gin lover, I've been thinking about trying to make some infused Gin myself, but didn't know where to start. I'm wondering if you've ever tried any other flavorings?

    Your cornbread looks fantastic! Whenever I bake cornbread with chilis I add a little shredded cheddar cheese to the mix, and a little sprinkled on top, it's a perfect compliment!

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  9. That loaf in the window is a lovely shot - the natural light shows off the loaf. The color of the sloe gin is quite nice indeed. Looks like it would be the perfect main ingrediant of a holiday punch.

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  10. I have made corn bread but can't remember what I made it to go with possibly smoked haddock chowder - which we are having tonight incidentally. It is so easy I don't know why I don't make it more often. We have a backlog of sloe gin so haven't made any this year.

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  11. I’ve never made corn bread but this looks fab so will definitely be giving this a go and I think the chilli will give it that extra zap!

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  12. THIS LOOKS WONDERFUL, BUT HOW DO I TRANSLATE THE MEASUREMENTS TO CUPS? IM YOUR NEWEST FOLLOWER, I JUST FOUND YOUR BLOG TODAY ITS A WONDERFUL BLOG TO VISIT..I LOVE THE GARDEN. I HAVE A BLOG @ SPOONWITHER.BLOGSPOT.COM...MZ WITHERSPOONS COME BY AND VISIT SOMETIME...HAPPY SUNDAY WITH LOVE JANICE

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    1. Janice; Welcome! It's nice to have your company. You will find a Weights and Measures conversion chart at the bottom of my blog's sidebar, which should help you to convert things to Cups.

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  13. I came over after reading your chilli con carne recipe. I still have some polenta left and I'd love to bake this bread. Glad you shared this recipe. Such a treat to see your posts and pictures...

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