Frankie Fights Food

I’m a terrible southerner sometimes. I don’t watch football. I don’t eat grits. I don’t own a gun. And, until the other day, I didn’t eat cornbread. Every cornbread I had ever made was just too dry. I can find a bit of beauty in the dusty flatlands where my parents live, but I don’t want that kind of terrain in my mouth.

But I also don’t like to waste anything. When I went on a pizza marathon not that long ago, I bought some cornmeal for dusting the crust. Then I made those lemon muffins topped with blackberries and had a full pint of buttermilk left over. Corn meal and buttermilk? Cornbread seemed my only option, so I did what any good southerner would do: stuffed it with jalapeños and cheese. It was so moist and spicy and sweet, once I topped it off with some crumbled blue cheese, I was in hog heaven.

So, now I’ll eat cornbread. This cornbread at least. But don’t expect me to start painting my face and go tail-gating.

Jalapeño & Jack Buttermilk Cornbread
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped jalapeño
2 tsps jalapeño juice
1 cup Monterey Jack, shredded

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8 inch square pan.

Melt butter in large skillet. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Quickly add eggs and beat until well blended. Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into mixture in pan. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain. Then toss in jalapeños and cheese and mix well. Pour batter into the prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.