Chili Cheese Cornbread
Long grain sticky white rice, salmon (faux catfish), and green Beans
Ever once in a while I get a cravin' for the food of my youth. The above menu is typical and often I was the one making the cornbread. One of the key parts of the baking process was placing bacon drippings into an oblong baking pan and putting it into a hot oven. After the batter had been prepared, it was poured into the sizzling pan of drippings, creating crunchy, crispy corners. The four corners were the desired pieces. We did not have salmon often, if ever, and seldom catfish. My mother prepared a fish called Whiting which she dredged in egg and then into flour and fried. I thought it was FABULOUS. I recently saw it in the frozen food section of a grocery store. No, I did not buy it. Some things are better left to memory.
I would give you my cornbread recipe, but it is on the back of the Albers cornmeal box. I did add a cup of grated cheese, 1/2 can of diced green chilis, and 3/4 c. of frozen corn. It was FABULOUS! For Chuck.....not so much. These California boys don't know good food when they taste it. Chucks idea of a good meal is a hamburger, cottage cheese and potato chips....nuf said?
Seriously, he does enjoy a medium rare filet mignon.
Know that Charles would love your cornbread with green chilies-me too! As for Chuck - Charles thought the steaks were always medium to medium well? or maybe it's the girls who like their meat more well... hmmmm.
ReplyDeleteI loved those crispy corners, just didn't remember how she got them crispy. Mother used to eat that hot cornbread with icy cold buttermilk. Oohh she loved that. Just a few years ago I decided that surely my taste buds had matured enough to love buttermilk. I cooked up some cornbread in the frying pan, cut out a pie shaped piece, poured a big glass of buttermilk, dipped that yummy cornbread into the buttermilk. Oh my hell, was that the most horrible thing I ever tasted. It was hideous. What was that you said about memories?
ReplyDeleteOh, one more thing. Were the green beans crispy? I do love them crispy. Just like at Threadgills in Austin.
ReplyDeleteVery glad to see that you fondly remember your roots by the fact you recall growing up in one of the major rice growing regions in the United States!
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Try this link
ReplyDeletehttp://www.riceromp.com/animations/states.cfm
Great writing! I am sitting at my computer laughing at Chuck's love of hamburgers, cottage cheese and potato chips. Yes, the fried Whiting and tartar sauce conjures up all kind of memories.
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