Cheddar Corn Bread

I'm not a big fan of traditional true-blue Southern cooking. I usually find it to be:

a) Dry
b) Overcooked
c) Flavorless
d) All of the above

I prefer my Southern cooking to be "Yankee-ed Up". For example, take the classic "corn bread". I find eating traditional cornbread as appealing as dining on a cardboard box. Hands down, my favorite cornbread comes from the "3-for-a-dollar" Jiffy box mix. It just has the right balance between sweet and bland for my pallet.

So imagine my surprise when I was flipping through my "Blue Willow Inn Bible of Southern Cooking" cookbook, and found the following recipe. This hallowed Georgia restaurant makes cornbread with Jiffy mix too. The recipe is no more difficult than the one on the box, and it is 1000% better. The texture is more like a moist cake, and the flavor is twice as good. I have all the ingredients in my pantry, and can't wait for the occasion to make it again.

Ingredients
2 (8.5 oz) boxes of corn bread/muffin mix
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 (14.5 oz) can cream-style corn
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. In a bowl combine the corn bread mix, eggs, milk and yogurt until blended. Stir in the corn and cheese.
2. Pour into a greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Bake 18 to 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cut into squares. Serve warm.

from the "Blue Willow Inn Bible of Southern Cooking"

Buttermilk Biscuits

If you are going to have a buttermilk theme week of cooking, what better way to close it out then with old fashion buttermilk biscuits. There are no shortages of recipes. This also comes from The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook, The New Classics. The recipe makes 15 biscuits.





Ingredients
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. coarse salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 cup (sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 cups buttermilk

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
2. Add the buttermilk; stir just until the mixture comes together, the batter will be sticky. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface; use your floured fingers and rolling pin to pat the dough to 1" thickness. Use a 2 1/2-inch round biscuit cutter or cookie cutter to cut out the biscuits, as close together as possible to minimize scraps.
3. Transfer to a baking sheet; bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from the oven; cool on a wire rack. Serve warm.