Thursday, November 25, 2010

Skillet? Cornbread?

I found this recipe online for someone's great-grandmother's skillet cornbread. Sounded like a winner. Only it wasn't a winner for me, but that had very little to do with the recipe. I'm beginning to feel like Sisyphus pushing that %^&*(# rock, but I AM determined to get a handle on bread-like items that can be cooked either on the stovetop or in my small tabletop oven.



Followed the directions, mixed up the ingredients (and forgot the salt!), heated the skillet... 


... and proceeded according to directions. After a few minutes, the batter formed bubbles in it the way pancakes do.


Eventually it "dried" on top and I was to turn it over so it would brown on the other side. Well, lemme tell ya, it didn't turn over easily! Yeah, I know the photo is out of focus, but I'm using it as a reference on what NOT to do. (The small skillet has the turkey liver I cooked for my cats, in case you are wondering.)

I will try this again, but I will use some flour in the batter, which this recipe did not have. Then, I will also use a smaller skillet. Part of the problem in turning the cornbread over was that the outer edges (where the skillet hung over the burner) were not getting enough heat to cook while the center was getting too browned. I don't know the BTU's of these burners but large pots of liquid take a long time to come to a boil, and only if a lid is on the pot.


Update: I finally made cornbread, just not skillet cornbread! It took several more failures, and several recipe adaptations, but I was eventually able to make a half-batch in my portable oven. I went back to trying the little oven because I couldn't find my 8" cast iron skillet, and the smaller one I have just holds a single fried egg. It wouldn't make much cornbread (even though I don't need much for my turkey dressing).




This recipe turned out nicely, and not too crumbly. Of course, my granddaddy would love any crumbly cornbread. I remember he used to eat a chunk broken into a glass of real buttermilk before bedtime.

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