I was never a fan of cornbread (even having lived in Houston for 4 years) until my husband attempted to recreate the Rutherford Grille of Napa recipe.
Contents
This is his version with my added bells and whistles, and by no means represents the official recipe of the landmark restaurant.
I prefer to roast the corn ear for a nice smokey flavor, but raw kernels are fine if you prefer. Also, you may substitute the corn ear with 1 can, drained, of whole kernel corn.
I haven’t figured out the chemistry of utilizing the cast-iron skillet as the cooking vessel, but I’m going with tradition. Lastly, if you can’t find lavender honey—Québec is famous for it—any honey that is local to you will suffice.
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound thickly-cut bacon, chopped
- 2 cups stone-ground yellow cornmeal
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup terbinado sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons of sea salt
- 4 large eggs
- 2 cups of milk
- 1 ear of corn, roasted and shucked
- 1 large Jalepiño pepper, seeded and very finely chopped
- 1 scallion, finely chopped, including green ends
- Canola oil cooking spray
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons of lavender honey
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
- You will need three vessels: two mixing bowls and one cast-iron skillet.
- Fry the bacon in the skillet until it is crispy but not scorched. Drain the bacon on paper towels and set it aside. Discard the excess bacon fat, but do not wash the skillet. Coat the skillet, while still hot, with a generous amount of cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the corn meal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt. In a medium-sized bowl, beat the eggs until they are completely homogeneous and light, then blend in the milk.
- Slowly whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until the batter is uniform and smooth, then add the scallion, corn kernels, jalapeño, and bacon.
- Pour the cornbread mixture into the greased skillet and place the skillet onto a foil-covered baking sheet, just in case some spillage occurs.
- Bake the cornbread for about 20–25 minutes, or until a toothpick plunged into the middle comes out completely clean. Meanwhile, prepare the lavender-honey butter by creaming the two ingredients together.
- Section the cornbread after about 5 minutes out of the oven. Serve it right out of the skillet with the honey and butter on the side.
- This cornbread is a must for a Southern Thanksgiving, on its own or as a perfect accompaniment to a hot bowl of soup or chili.
