The Cornbread Gospels (25 page)

7.
Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool slightly on a rack, then serve, warm.

M
AKES
12
MUFFINS

“Aztec two-step” refers to three things: first, Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s phrase from an untitled poem in
A Coney Island of the Mind;
second, the name of a dynamic and much-loved New York City folk-rock duo; and third, these muffins.

Step one: traditional Aztec flavorings and native foodstuffs: chocolate, cayenne, blue cornmeal, and mesquite meal. Step two: contemporary ingredients and cooking methods. Put them together, and what a delectable dance these exquisite, hauntingly piquant muffins do! Not too sweet, these have several mysterious, delicious backbeats of flavor.

Please note the range on the cayenne. A quarter teaspoon gives you just the faintest whisper of heat, a full teaspoon turns up the volume considerably. Tone it down, if you must, but please don’t omit this ingredient.

Vegetable oil cooking spray

3 tablespoons butter

1 ounce semisweet chocolate

¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour

¾ cup stone-ground blue cornmeal (see Pantry,
page 350
)

½ cup mesquite meal, preferably Peruvian (see Pantry,
page 355
)

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ to 1 teaspoon ground cayenne

2 eggs

⅓ cup dark brown sugar

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup milk

½ cup raisins or dried cherries

¼ to ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips (optional)

1.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with oil.

2.
Melt the butter and 1 ounce semisweet chocolate together in a small saucepan set over low heat, stirring occasionally. When the chocolate has melted, set the saucepan aside to cool slightly.

3.
As the chocolate cools, combine, in a medium-large bowl, the whole wheat flour, cornmeal, mesquite meal, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cayenne. Stir it all together very well (you don’t want to run into a clump of unmitigated cayenne).

4.
Beat the eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla into the cooled chocolate.

5.
Combine the chocolate mixture, the flour mixture, and the milk, stirring together until just blended. Then quickly stir in the raisins or dried cherries and chocolate chips, if using. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin and bake until crusty and firm on top, about 20 minutes. Mmm, what a fragrance as they bake!

M
AKES
12
SLIPPERDOWNS

Muffins made with leftover cornmeal mush in Colonial days were called “slipper-downs,” possibly because they were initially made fireside on a hanging griddle, a process that sounds as if it would involve a great deal of the batter slipping down. But, baked in an oven, muffins incorporating leftover cooked cereal grains are much neater. And they’re excellent: moist, grainy, satisfying. I love these gems, in which the earthy flavor of wild rice combines with cornmeal’s characteristic texture. However, you could use almost any leftover cooked grain: oatmeal, brown rice, any of the numerous multigrain porridges (you know, that bit leftover from breakfast). The more moist the cooked grain, the moister, though heavier, the finished slipperdown will be.

⅔ cup buttermilk or plain yogurt

3 tablespoons butter or mild vegetable oil

½ cup stone-ground white or yellow cornmeal

½ cup very well-cooked wild rice (the kernels should be split open), well-drained and tightly packed, or any other cooked grain

3 tablespoons brown sugar or unrefined sugar (see Pantry,
page 356
)

½ teaspoon salt

2 eggs, separated

½ cup unbleached white or whole wheat pastry flour

Vegetable oil cooking spray

2½ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1.
Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2.
Combine the buttermilk or yogurt and butter in a small saucepan. Place over medium heat until scalding hot (the butter will melt).

3.
Meanwhile, place the cornmeal, wild rice, sugar, and salt in the work bowl of a food processor or a blender. Pour the scalded dairy mixture over it and buzz quickly (and carefully—hot liquid!) to make a thinnish but textured porridge-like mixture, leaving the grains of wild rice cut but not puréed. Let stand for about 10 minutes. When the mixture has cooled to lukewarm, pulse in the 2 egg yolks.

4.
Transfer the cornmeal-rice mixture to a large bowl. Stir in the flour.

5.
Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with oil, and place the tin, unfilled, into the oven to get good and hot.

6.
Place the 2 egg whites in a small, high-sided, very clean bowl. Beat the egg whites until they’re stiff but not dry (see Beating Egg Whites,
pages 186
–
187
).

7.
Sprinkle the baking powder and baking soda over the batter and stir it in thoroughly. Add a little of the egg whites, stirring them in, too. Then, gently fold the remaining egg whites into the batter.

8.
Remove the heated muffin tin from the oven and divide the batter among the oiled, hot muffin cups (it should sizzle slightly as it goes in). Don’t worry; the batter for these gems is a little thinner and somewhat differently textured than the usual muffin batter.

9.
Bake until the tops are rounded, golden brown, and crusty, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the tin and let it cool slightly before running a knife around the edge of each muffin and turning them out.

The flavor of the wild rice is highly compatible with that of toasted nuts, especially walnuts or pecans. Add an extra tablespoon of brown sugar to the batter, and stir ⅓ cup coarsely chopped toasted nuts in with the last few folds of egg white.

M
AKES
16
TO
18
CORNSTICKS

This delectable, rich, almost cake-like farmhouse recipe using milk, sour cream, eggs, and butter, dates from the days when caloric intake was irrelevant because labor was physical. The ingredients came from right there on the farm, and when you had them, you had them in abundance.

As with skillet-baked cornbread and the gems that follow, to get the ultimate delicious crustiness, the cornstick molds must be well seasoned (see How to Season a Cast-Iron Skillet,
pages 16
–
17
), well greased, and heated to smokingly, sizzlingly hot before the batter is poured in.

⅓ cup butter

1¼ cups stone-ground yellow cornmeal

¾ cup unbleached white flour

2 to 3 tablespoons sugar

¾ teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup milk

¾ cup full-fat sour cream or plain yogurt

2 eggs

Vegetable oil cooking spray

1.
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place an ungreased cornstick pan (or pans) in the oven to preheat.

2.
Melt ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) of the butter.

3.
Combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, beat together the milk, sour cream or yogurt, and eggs. Whisk in the melted butter.

4.
Quickly combine the wet and dry mixtures, being careful, as always in cornbreadland, not to overbeat.

5.
Carefully remove the hot cornstick pan or pans from the oven. First spray them very, very well with the cooking spray, then divide the remaining butter, placing a little chip of it in each cornstick mold. It will sizzle a bit as it goes in. Shake the pan a little to distribute the now-melted butter in the bottom of each mold.

6.
Divide the batter among the hot molds of the cornstick pan(s), filling no more than two thirds of the way. Bake until the cornsticks are golden, crusty, and fragrant, 12 to 15 minutes. Let rest for a few moments, then turn the sticks out of the pans, nudging each along with the tip of a knife. (If you only have one cornstick pan with just a few molds, you may have to repeat this a few times.) Serve hot, from a basket lined with a calico napkin, to the great delight of everyone at your table.

M
AKES
14
TO
16
CORNSTICKS

Want to make a simple bowl of lentil soup and a salad into a special meal? Try a basket of these rich, flavorful cornsticks. They’re not much more elaborate than a typical cornbread or muffin, but they are just jazzy enough to make you say “Wow!” with each bite. You want the sharpest Cheddar cheese you can find: aged Vermont, English Cheshire, or Canadian Black Diamond are all good choices. The scallion–black pepper mix is better than it has any right to be.

Also, make sure your cornstick pan is well seasoned (see How to Season a Cast-Iron Skillet,
pages 16
–
17
) and grease it very well, just to be sure; the cheese might want to stick otherwise. Depending on the number of molds your cornstick pan has, you might need to bake a couple of batches.

1½ cups unbleached white flour

1¼ cups stone-ground yellow cornmeal

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 to 1½ teaspoons coarse freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 cups (8 ounces) very finely grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese

2 eggs

1¼ cups buttermilk

¼ cup (½ stick) butter, melted

3 scallions, chopped very, very fine

Vegetable oil cooking spray

1.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2.
Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and black pepper in a large bowl, stirring very well. Remove 2 tablespoons of this mixture and toss it in a small bowl with the finely grated cheese. Set aside.

3.
Beat the eggs and buttermilk together in a medium bowl, then beat in the melted butter. Stir this into the flour-cornmeal mix with just a few strokes—it shouldn’t be fully incorporated yet. Sprinkle with the scallions and cheese and stir a few more times, just until combined.

4.
Spray the cornstick pan very liberally with oil, and spoon the batter into the molds. You want the molds about three quarters of the way full.

5.
Bake until the cornsticks are crusty and golden, 18 to 20 minutes. Cool briefly in the pans, then turn out onto a rack to cool a little more. Serve warm.