Cast Iron Skillet Corn Bread

You see I am married to a man from the South.  Ryan and his family hailed from Tennessee.  Even though Ryan loves Filipino food, his comfort food will always be the soulful cooking from the south.  So over the last year, I have been trying out all the good cooking from the south (because I am also a big fan!) and have been successful so far!  Ryan loves corn bread (if rice is a staple food in the asian dish, corn bread and potatoes is to the South), so I figured I would attempt to make one, the true Souther way – using a cast iron skillet!    I tell you what – I am a proud southern wife because it taste good! 

I got the recipe from Alex Guarnaschelli of food network.  I tweaked it a little because I love sweet corn bread and made it a little sweeter.  Now all we need are some greens and ham hocks to go with it.

Ingredients –

• 1 1/4 cups coarsely ground cornmeal
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preparation –
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and place a 9-inch cast iron skillet inside to heat while you make the batter.
In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk in the milk, buttermilk, and eggs. Whisk in almost all of the melted butter, reserving about 1 tablespoon for the skillet later on.
Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Coat the bottom and sides of the hot skillet with the remaining butter. Pour the batter into the skillet and place it in the center of the oven. Bake until the center is firm and a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes and serve.