deluxe cornbread

New Years Cornbread

We call this New Years Cornbread because it's so rich and tasty that you should only have this once a year to celebrate the arrival of the new year. The first time I prepared this was New Years Eve 2005 when I spent the holiday with my dearly departed friend John and his lovely wife Lois whom to this day still both remain close to my heart.

Ingredients

2 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil divided

½ tsp salt

2 tbsp sugar

1/3 red bell pepper finely chopped

1/3 green bell pepper finely chopped

1 small can sweet niblets corn

½ small onion finely chopped

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 cups self rising white cornmeal

1/2 cup all purpose flour

Approx 2 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place part of oil in bottom of large iron skillet. Swirl to coat bottom and sides of skillet. Place skillet in oven. Add eggs and oil to large mixing bowl and beat. Add remaining ingredients up to buttermilk while mixing with a large spoon or spatula. Add 1 cup buttermilk and mix. Continue adding buttermilk until consistency is right. The batter should be loose enough to easily pour but not so loose as to have puddles.

Remove skillet from oven pour off remaining hot oil into batter and stir thoroughly. Sprinkle about 1 tbsp of cornmeal in bottom of skillet and add batter. Cook 25 minutes on middle rack.

Jeffrey Cowgill 2017