Mexican Cornbread and a Broccoli Bonus

OH YES, Boys and Girls, 

It's Mexican Cornbread time. When else would you have it but Taco Thursday? Another Sissy classic, this dish has it all. The preparation is a breeze and then you can pop it in the oven and have plenty of time for clean up while it bakes. 

This may be cooked the old fashioned way in a seasoned cast iron skillet, or you may opt to bake it in a glass casserole. I baked mine in a skillet because I just happen to have a fantastic 10 3/8 inch glossy black,  deep dish fryer that my brilliant husband picked up for $28 at an antique store. If you don't know about cooking in cast iron, I suggest you google how to season your pan with oil, before using it the first time. We always look for cast iron in antique and thrift stores because the older pans have completely smooth interiors, and the new ones have little bumps that just don't release the bread (or other foods) like they should. 

Now, if you do have a seasoned skillet, you might already know this part if you've ever made cornbread, but I'll talk about it anyway for folks who might not. When you use the skillet, you put about a TB of oil in the pan and spread it all over the interior surface. I use a paper towel to spread mine. Put the oiled skillet in the oven while you are preheating it. When your batter is ready, you will pull out your HOT skillet and pour the batter in. When it's done, the bread releases like a dream.  

On with the show!
Here's the ingredient list for Mexican Cornbread.

Batter:

1 1/2 cup corn meal 

3 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

1 can creamed corn

2 eggs

1 tsp. salt

3 TB chopped bell pepper

2 jalapenos chopped (I used 2 heaping TB diced)

Filling:

1 lb ground pork sausage, browned and crumbled

1 cup shredded cheese (cheddar or Mexi-blend)

Preheat oven to 425F. Now's the time to put your skillet in if you are using one. Brown sausage, drain, and set aside. Mix all batter ingredients. Take the HOT skillet out of the oven very carefully and place it on a heat resistant surface. If you are using a glass casserole dish (do not preheat), you need to grease it or spray it with a flour release like "Baker's Joy".  Pour half of your batter in the pan, then spread the sausage and cheese. Pour the remaining batter on top and spread evenly. The original recipe says cook 45 minutes or until brown. In my oven it only took 32 minutes, and a few of the other recipes I found said 20-25 minutes. You should probably watch it, so don't get too distracted when you are cleaning the kitchen. ; )  If you smell the tasty, corn tastiness in the air, you should probably look at your bread.  A knife inserted in the middle should come out clean if the bread is done. 

After baking, let it "rest" and cool before flipping it out of the pan. I tasted mine while it was still warm, and I definitely liked it better after it cooled. Sis kept this one and broccoli cornbread in the fridge after she baked them. I chose to garnish mine with sour cream, green onions, and a little more cheese. This is hearty enough to be a meal alone, especially if you pair it with a fresh green salad and  tomatoes.  

A note about corn meal vs. corn meal mix. This recipe calls for corn meal AND powder AND soda. If you get corn meal MIX, you may omit the powder and soda. Little Martha White has been kind enough to add them for you. When people stopped making their own cake batter and started buying boxed ones from the store, they quit keeping staples like baking powder and soda in the home. I thought for the longest time baking soda was used for making things smell better. It never dawned on me you might actually bake with it. 

 

Like the fondues, this cornbread usually got baked in pairs to keep everyone happy. Its partner is the broccoli cornbread I promised as a bonus, so here ya go! I won't be as detailed here, because now you are a cornbread expert and you can figure out how to pour the batter in the hot skillet. 

Broccoli Cornbread

10 oz frozen broccoli cooked and drained

2 eggs beaten

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1 cup grated cheddar

1 tsp salt

1/2 stick margarine melted

8 oz sour cream

8.5 oz box JIFFY cornbread mix

Bake at 400F til brown

28 to 30 minutes

This one is AH-MA-ZING with  potato soup. I guess I'll  have to find that recipe for you soon, but for now

you will have to hang out and wait for Buttermilk Cake with Mocha Chocolate Frosting, Swedish Meatballs, and maybe some Angel Biscuits.

Guess who will be doing two a days at the gym?! It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make for you. Okay, well for you and strawberry cake. That's my next recipe search. What are you hungry for?

The Fondue Two

So, I figured I would start with a Sissy classic. Fondue. Was your favorite meat or cheese? It doesn't really matter, she almost always made both. My cousin Jennifer said it best, "There wasn't just one pot of fondue going, there was two. Just to make sure everyone was happy :) I would love to know how many loaves of bread she cooked between the fondue and her dressing."  I'm sure the bread thing doesn't make sense to you now if you've never had Sissy's fondue, but keep reading. You shall be enlightened...right before we fatten you up. You look hungry.

fondue pot

Go get out your fondue pot. Really. If you don't have one, purchase one. They are about $20 and they come with the forks. You're going to need those for the cheese version. Using a fondue pot is the best way to make this because the temperature stays even, plus you can serve in it. The fondue is meant to be eaten warm, although there were plenty of times when we had the leftovers heated in the microwave from a Country Crock Margarine container. Remember those? Cheap "Tupperware". Our fridge looked like we had some kind of vegetable oil spread addiction. Nope, just Sissy bringing us food. It was a major score when you found the one with chicken and dumplings in it. Mmmm.

Okay, on to the recipes. There were two different versions available to us, meat and cheese. I'll start with the cheese since it's practically the base for the meat version.

Rhine wine and fondue forks

Ingredients: Cheese Fondue
1 Cup Rhine wine
1 lb Kraft Deluxe American cheese
1 (10 oz) can Ro-Tel tomatoes and green chiles-mild

Step 1: Simmer wine in fondue pot about 10 minutes, but don't boil it. Just let it bubble in the pot. My particular pot does this at a medium setting, but I have to lower the heat about 6 minutes in. This is where you learn about cooking slowly and patiently and staying with what you are cooking. I burned up a fondue pot once because I was being impatient and put everything on high heat. Sissy wrote notes for me in the original of this recipe. It would drive her crazy when I cooked on high. I know why now.  She also told me to use a plastic fork so I wouldn't scratch the "Tefla" coating on my pot. You should do the same. ; )

Step 2: Add cheeses to simmered wine one slice at a time and stir each addition until melted.

Step 3: Liquify Ro-Tel in a blender or food processor. It will be sort of pink and frothy. Add to melted cheese.

Step 4: Serve with toasted garlic bread squares. (Remember the bread comment?)  Yep, Sis would toast loaves of bread and chop it into little 1" squares for us to eat with our fondue. Sissy Hint: If your bread is really fresh, let it dry out some before toasting. It makes it firmer and easier to cut.

Ingredients:Meat Fondue
1 lb ground chuck, browned, drained, and crumbled
2/3 cup Burgundy wine
1/2 lb Velveeta Mexican cheese (mild)
1/2 lb Velveeta cheese
1 (10 oz) can Ro-Tel tomatoes and green chiles-mild

Step 1: (Assuming you have already browned your beef) Simmer wine as with the cheese fondue.

Step 2: Slice and add cheeses one piece at a time and stir until each addition is melted.

Step 3: Liquify Ro-Tel in a blender or food processor. It will be sort of pink and frothy. Add to melted cheese.

Step  4: Add meat and warm on medium heat until fondue is thickened.

Step 5: Serve with tortilla chips.

handwritten recipe

Again, these are meant to be served warm, but that never stopped us from spooning hunks of this meat fondue over tortilla chips right out of the fridge and microwaving it. Either dip can be re-heated in the fondue pot if there is any left. I remember us kids being crowded around waiting for more toast squares. I don't know how she kept up.

Speaking of keeping up, this is perfect football food. How many games do you think she was following at one time? Let's see...the radio and TV in the bedroom, the TV in the living room, the radios in the two guest rooms. That's five by my count. I distinctly remember some LSU and MSU players being called "TOADS,"  too.

Tribute

"Sissy" Circa 1997

"Are you hungry?"

"I just made fondue. I have Chex Mix. Are you sure I can't get you something to eat? Have you eaten? How about a sandwich?" 

When you showed up at Sissy's that's what you heard just as sure as the greeter at Wal-Mart saying "Welcome to Wal-Mart." It was her thing. Sissy fed us all. 

We had big Sunday dinners, breakfast, supper, any day of the week supper, and all the snacks you could cram between those meals. Feeding us was  her love language. She was always in the kitchen. She was the only person I knew who didn't have a worn spot on her sofa cushions. She just didn't go in there. 

Since she passed away, we've all been looking for recipes she used. We all have our favorites. I don't know how many times I've been asked, "Hey, do you have Sissy's (fill in the blank) recipe?" "Remember when she used to make that for us?" 

On a trip home to my dad's this summer, we opened a box of her cookbooks and found the book of books. Her red Betty Crocker with all the hand written recipes and notes. Our family history is in this book. Not literally, but it's there between the lines. Its in the memories evoked through the tastes and aromas conjured up when we prepare these dishes. 

My heart beat all too quickly as we thumbed through the pages. I couldn't possibly bring them all on an airplane with me, and I wasn't about to let them be checked baggage or mailed. Too Risky. Finally, I bagged what I thought was most important and left a stack in order of priority, to be swapped out later. I carried that bag like it was full of gold. Twenty hours of flying from Mississippi to Alaska, and I don't think I took my eyes off the bag once.

 My big goal was to scan and catalog all the recipes and make a family cookbook, so everyone would have the recipes, and photos of her original notations in the books. I started to scan them once I got home and found that it was all just too mechanical. You see, these aren't just recipes. Remember? They are little pieces of our family's history.

Every time you waited for that "something to eat" you were also getting quality time with whomever was sharing the seat next to you, and better yet, quality time with Sis. Someone was asking you how your day went. There were no cell phones on the table, no computers, no ipods. Just talking and laughing. And eating. Lots of eating.  So, that's why the scanning and cataloging just wasn't right for this. This blog is a tribute. It is a journey through recipes from my father's and uncles' childhood, as well as my brothers', cousins', and my own. Generations of one little lady feeding us all. 

I hope you'll follow. Each post will be a new recipe taken right from the books. Old school cooking.  This isn't to win a health foods contest or creative recipe match. This is preservation of what has already been done. I will also be preparing each recipe as I blog it, so it will take some time. Hopefully my family members will  request their favorites, so I can get started on those first. And it is my sincere hope that they will share their memories of her with me so we can add them here with the food. 

Welcome to Sissy's Kitchen. Can I get you something to eat?