The Best Cornbread Ever

Let's get something straight right off the bat, what follows is an absolutely amazing recipe for cornbread.  It is "way good!"  It is not "good for you," necessarily, unless you are looking for some added motivation to get to the gym.  So don't email me with hatred in your heart, trust me, I'm fully aware of how much butter, eggs, and other goodies abound in this recipe.  If you want cornbread that you can slather a pat of butter on and take with you to a guilty corner of your basement to enjoy, privately, with a cold glass of whole milk, then you're "home."  Read on!

You will need:

• 1.5 cups stone ground yellow cornmeal
• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons baking powder
• 8 eggs
• 1.5 cups sugar
• 14 ounces creamed corn (1 can)
• 4 ounces diced green chilies, drained well (1 can)
• 1 cup butter (2 sticks, softened)
• 1 cup shredded Monterrey jack and cheddar cheese blend
• 4 Fresh Jalapenos, chopped whole (optional)

This recipe is enough to fill two 9" cast iron skillets, enough for 12 people, or enough for 6 people and 6 "hidden sessions with your own private slice."  If you are crazy enough to make a 1/2 batch, fine.  Don't say I didn't warn you when you run out.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Get a bowl and add all of the dry ingredients together, including the cornmeal, flour, salt, and baking powder.  Mix it together and set the bowl aside.  Now, turn on the mixer (low setting) and begin to add the wet ingredients.  Start with the eggs and butter, then sugar.  Cream it together well, then move on to the creamed corn. While the mixer is turning, slowly add the dry ingredients.  Once everything is mixed in to a lovely batter, slowly fold in the green chilis, cheese, and jalapenos with a spatula (you don't want to bruise the chilis).

Now, get a couple of 9" cast iron skillets (or cake pans if you don't have the iron) and liberally lubricate the bottom and sides with vegetable oil or butter-flavored Crisco.  Pour your batter equally among the two.

Once your oven beeps and says that its at 400 degrees, wait another ten minutes to make sure things settle up to 400 in there.  Ovens are never, ever at the temperature they say they are!  To maintain 400, an oven will swing up to 415 and down to 375 so that an average temperature of 400 is maintained.  If you wait for a couple of these cycles to run, you'll be sure that "most" of your oven is truly 400.

Slide the pans into the oven and set a reliable timer for 35 minutes.  Check the middle with a toothpick every 5 minutes after that to ensure doneness.

What you'll see (if you used cast iron) is a lovely dark brown moist crust on the bottom, and an airy, "moist to the point of being juicy" cheesy middle, cornbread.  I slice it "wagon-wheel" style into 6 wedges for each pan.  Enjoy!