I don’t think have ever made cornbread myself.  Growing up, I remember standing at the kicthen counter and helping my mom stir the batter for cornbread muffins before dinner. 

Recently on the Food Network, chef Alex Guarnachelli made cornbread in a cast iron skillet on her show “Alex’s Day Off."  She described making it growing up very early in the morning before her parents woke up. They would then wake up and wonder how she made such a great cornbread.  She said this was when she knew she wanted to become a chef. This inspired me to try her recipe! Plus, I have been wanting to get some use out of my cast-iron skillet so this was a great excuse to bring it out.

 On her show, Alex heated the cast-iron in the oven while she mixed the ingredients.  Then, when she was ready to pour the batter in, she pulled the skillet out and put a tablespoon of butter in it (it bubbled and sizzled from the heat. Then she immediately poured the batter in the skillet and put it in the oven. 

My family loved this cornbread!  It’s a great recipe and very simple because you just pour it in one skillet and bake instead of pouring it into muffin tins.  Once you let the cornbread cool a little you can easily cut it into pie-shaped triangles. It has great texture because it’s soft in the middle but still has the perfect amount of sweetness and crumbliness! :) 

Cast Iron Skillet Cornbread

 (Recipe courtesy of Food Network’s Alex Guarnaschelli) 

• 1 ¼ cups coarsely ground cornmeal
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 cup whole milk (I used skim milk)
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and place a 9-inch cast iron skillet inside to heat while you make the batter.

- In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk in the milk, buttermilk, and eggs. Whisk in almost all of the melted butter, reserving about 1 tablespoon for the skillet later on.

-Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Coat the bottom and sides of the hot skillet with the remaining butter. Pour the batter into the skillet and place it in the center of the oven. Bake until the center is firm and a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes and serve.