Green Chile Cheese Cornbread

It's the end of the garden season here, except for the heartiest of veggies. I picked the last of the green chiles, a mixed bag of Hungarian sweet, mild and medium Mexican chiles. They are small, so not worthy of roasting. I sautéed them in a little bit of oil and waited from some inspiration to strike.

Green chile cheese cornbread!

I used to get cheesy green chile grits on ski trips. A friend from Alabama with a taste for spicy introduced me to them. They were rich! This isn't so rich, but it brings in many of the same flavors. You could even make it with roasted red or green peppers. Not spicy at all but very delicious. It's a tasty way to get a little bit of vegetables into your cornbread and it goes well with School of Eating Good cauliflower-leek soup.

Green Chile Cheese Cornbread
(makes 9 servings)

non-stick cooking spray for pan
¼ cup vegetable oil or melted butter
1 egg
1 cup + 1 Tablespoon milk
¼ cup plain lowfat yogurt
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all purpose flour
2 ¾ teaspoons baking powder(see Note)
⅛ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup grated Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
½ cup roasted or sautéed peppers, diced

Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray an 8"x8" baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together vegetable oil, egg, milk, yogurt, and sugar. In a small bowl, mix together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix only enough to moisten all dry ingredients. Stir in cheese and peppers. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes. Test with a toothpick; if wet batter sticks to it, bake another few minutes. But, cake is moist even when done and 25 minutes should be enough. Allow to cool, and cut into 9 servings.

Because the cake is so moist, it does not keep well at room temperature. If you don't plan to eat it all within 24 hours, freeze it. It freezes beautifully if you wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, then place in a plastic bag.

Note: this recipe was tested at 5300 ft. If you live near sea level, like most people, reduce milk to 1 cup, and use 1 Tablespoon of baking powder.

Adapted from a basic cornbread in Pie in the Sky by Susan G. Prudy, William Morrow, 2005.

Best Cornbread Ever

We've been posting a lot of cold weather soup recipes lately and I thought I'd include one for cornbread to eat with those soups. This is a sweet cornbread that also goes really well with chili or a salad (try it with the curried chicken salad we posted a while ago). Or, cut a piece in half, toast and butter it and eat it for breakfast.  It's based on a recipe from "A World of Breads" by Dolores Casella. You do need a 9-inch square pan, but you'll use that for lots of other things, so it's well worth getting.

Sweet Cornbread (total price $4.35)

3/4 cup butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups coarsely ground cornmeal
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk, at room temperature

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy with an electric hand mixer. Add the eggs and beat until blended. Stir in the cornmeal. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir the sifted dry ingredients into the creamed mixture alternately with the milk. To prepare the pan, either butter the entire 9-inch square pan or take a 9-inch wide piece of parchment paper or non-stick aluminum foil and place it in the pan with the ends coming over the sides (you'll use these for handles to remove the bread). Butter the 2 sides not covered with the paper/foil. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes, until the cornbread is browned and tests done with a toothpick. Cut into squares.

This bread freezes well.  I usually wrap 1 or 2 squares in plastic wrap and then put all the wrapped pieces in a freezer bag.  That way, I can easily take it out one serving at a time.  Microwave on high for 20-30 seconds to defrost each serving.