Skillet Cornbread, Yankee Style (reposted) & Rain Roses

I re-made this recipe with new pictures. When I first posted this, in January, I was just getting the knack for photographing what I make. My family was very new to having to wait, while salivating, while I tried to figure out how to find the macro button. (Can many of you relate?) So, I only had one picture-- a cast iron skillet with two pieces of bread. Boring.

Friday night, I had a craving for Beef Vegetable & Barley Soup (will post this tomorrow). On the way home, I was seriously going to make the Golden Corral Rolls (which are fantastic, by the way) to go with this. I tend to get a little over-ambitious on my 40 minute drive home. By the time I started to chop and prep for my soup, I realized that baking homemade rolls at 5:30pm wasn't realistic.

Cornbread is so easy to make, that I can't fathom buying cornbread mix. My Southern friend says that putting sugar in cornbread is blasphemy. I'm a Yankee. Sue Me. I like my cornbread sweet, with butter and honey. If that's how you like it, this is the recipe for you.

But, first, can we talk? I have an internet buddy "Wyn" who has poo-pooed cast iron skillets. I once felt that way, because I had no idea how to take care of one. I used to wash mine with soap & water and scrub it with a brillo pad and moan about what a pain they are to clean. That was many years ago...

Since then, I've learned that cast iron skillets need some simple TLC. Recently, I recently recorded an episode of Cook's Country TV and learned how to bring a cast iron skillet back to life. I had just made a breakfast skillet of eggs and hash browns. I simply added about 1 Tablespoon of kosher salt and scrubbed the skillet with a paper towel. The skillet was clean and seasoned with a non-stock finish of vegetable oil, and ready for the next use-- which happened to be this skillet cornbread.

I also learned that if you have a cast iron skillet with a lot of caked on food, or it looks old and useless-- you can heat some vegetable oil and add a generous amount of kosher salt. Using thongs and some paper towels, scrub the skillet and it should look as good as new. Wyn, are you with me?

Your ingredients are: (No photo, you know what they look like...)Flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, sugar, vanilla, milk (I use 1%), and eggs.

Prepare your skillet (or, you can use muffin tins or a baking pan) with a light coating of butter, set into the oven and preheat it to 400F.

In the meantime, prepare your wet ingredients:

Add to your dry ingredients. (NOTE: The recipe says to alternate wet ingredients and dry ingredients into the melted butter and sugar. I spaced, and added all wet into the dry. It worked out just fine for me. Your choice.

Remove the skillet from the oven (very carefully, it's hot). TIP: I place an oven mitt on the handle so I don't accidentally grab the handle. I did that years ago and my eyes still water at the pain of it. Pour the batter in... you might hear a nice sizzle sound. Perfect.

Bake for about 22 minutes. NOTE: When I tested the bread, my toothpick came out clean. When I cut into the bread, it was still gooey in the very middle. I simply put it back in the oven and the bread baked just fine. I'd go by a nice golden color.

Cornbread goes perfectly with chili and hearty soups. I love it with honey butter. Yum! Who needs Jiffy Mix?

Sometimes, I turn leftover cornbread into homemade stuffing. Who needs Stuffing Mix? Yuk! I just add cooked vegetables, seasoning and chicken stock.

My husband is suffering from a severe migraine. Poor baby. I'll use this time to enjoy "Me Time" to catch up on reading cookbooks and to figure out my meal plan for the week. I'm not sure if he's going to feel up to eating much. I think I should roast a chicken and make Matzo Ball soup. Love it! That should be good penicillin for him.

Yesterday, as I was headed to my hair appointment, I could not resist photographing the roses at my front door. Wow! It had just rained, and my roses are opening up like crazy!

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