Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread.

I love cornbread. Love, love, love cornbread. I recently went to Boston Market with someone I'll dub Model Bird, and he commented that I must not like cornbread because I didn't touch the piece they gave me.

"No, I love cornbread," I replied modestly. "I just know that I can make much better cornbread than they can."

So I did. And if anyone thinks this isn't better than Boston Market cornbread... well, then they certainly aren't any friend of mine.



My mother was concerned about the jalapeno being in it. I was disappointed to realize that the jalapeno lost its bite once cooked. I should have known that, but I forget things sometimes. It still had a pleasant little kick.





This is definitely not healthy cornbread. I have a separate recipe I do for that. You could probably half the amount of cheese in the recipe and still be happy with it. But if you're gonna make unhealthy cornbread, you may as well go all the way...

Recipe from Food Network.
(Makes 16 squares, with 295 calories and $0.60 per squares.)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons baking powder

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 cups milk

3 eggs

1/2 pound unsalted, melted butter

8 ounces aged extra-sharp Cheddar

1/3 cup chopped scallions (3 scallions)

3 tablespoons fresh jalapeno peppers

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
   
2. Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
   
3. Combine the milk, eggs, and butter in a separate bowl.
   
4. Mix wet and dry ingredients carefully, not over-stirring.
   
5. Mix in 2 cups of grated cheese, scallions, and jalapenos.
   
6. Let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.
   
7. Pour batter into pan and sprinkle with remaining cheddar.
   
8. Bake 30 to 35 minutes.
   

Today's lessons learned:

• Jalapenos lose some of their kick when they're cooked.
  
• Bread gets moldy if you don't take care of it. It gets moldy faster if it's laced with cheese.