onlyforaminute said:

Nope. I'll just come over to your house.

exactly!

Fels-naptha is what they made us scrub down with when I was a little kid and we got into poison ivy. It's nasty. When I went down the laundry detergent rabbit hole, the purist homesteaders said the ingredients are questionable (chemicals and talc etc), so use Ivory or Castile or Dawn detergent. Will not be making laundry soap anytime soon, but I have used dish soap in a pinch before and it worked fine, just use a lot less. Anyway, sorry for the derail - back to cooking!

TrivialPursuit said:

JoeyC said:

Oh, and the right pots and pans are important too.

So true. Everyone needs some variation of the following:

A good 5qt or 6qt cast iron pot (Dutch oven), either enamel or seasoned. If you get the seasoned black, learn to season it, don't put it in soapy water or the dishwasher. It'll build up to non-stick over time. I guarantee you that your grandma never washed her cast iron skillet. I have both, but prefer my enamal coated. Target and Walmart carries Lodge cast iron. 5qt pot is usually around $40.*

Cast iron skillet (see above about cleaning). Get at least a 12", but a 10" is good for some scrambled eggs, etc; I also have an 8" for quickie stuff. *

A good stainless steel 12" skillet, preferrably one that is oven safe and possibly tri-clad...

Hey there. Man, sorry for the late response. Been pretty busy...

So, good stuff all around. Especially concerning cast iron skillets. Those things are a must. Before she died, my mother had a cast iron skillet that was over 50 years old. She purchased it right around the time i was born. It's in storage now but when i get a chance I'm gonna grab it. Also, some of the best fried chicken I've ever tasted(from my Grandmother, and my mom) was cooked in a cast iron skillet. My grandmother was(is) old school. My grandparents had this big house in the country and when we'd go visit she would grab a couple chickens(at the time, 4 kids living at home-11 total) from the backyard, wring their necks, pluck the feathers, clean and cut them up and then get to frying...Fried chicken and Cornbread made in a cast iron skillet(along with creamy butter beans on the side ). Perfect !


Also, in my original post, i wasn't implying that just because a person doesn't, or can't, cook, something is wrong with them. My point was mainly that cooking is fun and that with a little practice, isn't that hard to do. The good thing about cooking is that there's a lot of recipes and directions out there, so when a person is cooking something, they aren't(or don't have to be) starting blind. AND, along with sustenance, cooking is about creating. And we all love to create.


Anyways, again, really good info, TrivialPursuit. And about Lidia.

[Edited 12/27/19 15:45pm]

JoeyC said:

Fried chicken and Cornbread made in a cast iron skillet(along with creamy butter beans on the side ). Perfect !

Also, in my original post, i wasn't implying that just because a person doesn't, or can't, cook, something is wrong with them. My point was mainly that cooking is fun and that with a little practice, isn't that hard to do.

Here's a cornbread tip: Put your skillet in the oven while you preheat. Let it get ripping hot. Pull it out and add some oil or butter to it then immediately add the batter and get it back in the oven. That hot skillet will help form a crispier crust on the bottom.

Cooking is fun and everyone can learn, totally agree. YouTube is anyone's friend in wanting to learn.

I'd also highly recommend America's Test Kitchen or Cook's Country cookbooks. Every recipe from every season (to the current year) is in there, plus equipment (of any kind) recommendations are in the back. I just made gumbo the first time last week, and used their recipe for chicken & sausage gumbo. It was just great.

You can keep those butter beans to yourself.

Trivial's tip is right on!

Exactly how I do it - with butter. Have a few small cast iron skillets and split up the batter for multiple crispiness. Don't let the cornbread cool in the cast iron - turn it out (after a few minutes) on a rack or something you rig - to get air on the bottom so it doesn't steam.

Cheater - 4 a solo or cornbread for 2, one box of Jiffy CB mix in a 6-7" cast iron skillet works great. Optional - mix a little finely chopped jalapeno with some honey and coat the top when it comes out of the oven.

I'm on the Butter Bean train Joey! It's one of the things that translated from my Amish grandmother to Louisiana - along with the green onions discussed earlier.

[Edited 12/27/19 17:54pm]

poppys said:

Trivial's tip is right on!

Exactly how I do it - with butter. Have a few small cast iron skillets and split up the batter for multiple crispiness. Don't let the cornbread cool in the cast iron - turn it out (after a few minutes) on a rack or something you rig - to get air on the bottom so it doesn't steam.

Cheater - 4 a solo or cornbread for 2, one box of Jiffy CB mix in a 6-7" cast iron skillet works great. Optional - mix a little finely chopped jalapeno with some honey and coat the top when it comes out of the oven.

I'm on the Butter Bean train Joey! It's one of the things that translated from my Amish grandmother to Louisiana - along with the green onions discussed earlier.

I have some 6" skillets that I do that with. Of course, corn muffins are just as tasty. And yeah, turn the cornbread out after a minute or two so it doesn't steam. I do like some pickled or fresh jalapenos chopped in my cornbread. Toss them in about 1 TBSP of flour. It'll coat the peppers so they won't sink to the bottom of your batter. (Do the same when adding chocolate chip morsels to a brownie batter or similar.)

I have a recipe for Jiffy-like cornbread.

SWEET CORN BREAD

½ cup yellow corn meal
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup + 3 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ cup +2 tablespoons oil
½ cup milk
2 eggs

1 TBSP butter

Preheat oven to 425ºF with cast iron skillet in oven. Preheat at least 30 minutes so it's very hot.

Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine oil, eggs, and milk.

Using a wire whip, add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients until batter is uniform. The batter will be slightly lumpy. Don't overbeat the batter, or your cornbread will be tough.

Working quickly: Remove hot skillet from oven, add butter. Swirl around to coat the inside. Add batter to the skillet (pouring into the middle of the skillet). Return skillet to oven.

Turn temperature down to 375ºF. Bake for 23-27 minutes.

Once done, turn out corn bread onto a wire rack for 10 minutes.

This usually works in a 10" cast iron skillet, but it's not as thick. If you have two smaller skillets, it's better. A 9x9" cake pan is perfect and you can preheat it as well like the skillet.

TrivialPursuit said:

poppys said:

Trivial's tip is right on!

Exactly how I do it - with butter. Have a few small cast iron skillets and split up the batter for multiple crispiness. Don't let the cornbread cool in the cast iron - turn it out (after a few minutes) on a rack or something you rig - to get air on the bottom so it doesn't steam.

Cheater - 4 a solo or cornbread for 2, one box of Jiffy CB mix in a 6-7" cast iron skillet works great. Optional - mix a little finely chopped jalapeno with some honey and coat the top when it comes out of the oven.

I'm on the Butter Bean train Joey! It's one of the things that translated from my Amish grandmother to Louisiana - along with the green onions discussed earlier.

I have some 6" skillets that I do that with. Of course, corn muffins are just as tasty. And yeah, turn the cornbread out after a minute or two so it doesn't steam. I do like some pickled or fresh jalapenos chopped in my cornbread. Toss them in about 1 TBSP of flour. It'll coat the peppers so they won't sink to the bottom of your batter. (Do the same when adding chocolate chip morsels to a brownie batter or similar.)

I have a recipe for Jiffy-like cornbread.

SWEET CORN BREAD

½ cup yellow corn meal
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup + 3 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ cup +2 tablespoons oil
½ cup milk
2 eggs

1 TBSP butter

Preheat oven to 425ºF with cast iron skillet in oven. Preheat at least 30 minutes so it's very hot.

Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine oil, eggs, and milk.

Using a wire whip, add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients until batter is uniform. The batter will be slightly lumpy. Don't overbeat the batter, or your cornbread will be tough.

Working quickly: Remove hot skillet from oven, add butter. Swirl around to coat the inside. Add batter to the skillet (pouring into the middle of the skillet). Return skillet to oven.

Turn temperature down to 375ºF. Bake for 23-27 minutes.

Once done, turn out corn bread onto a wire rack for 10 minutes.

This usually works in a 10" cast iron skillet, but it's not as thick. If you have two smaller skillets, it's better. A 9x9" cake pan is perfect and you can preheat it as well like the skillet.

So much cooking talent

Prince.Org Cooks!

TrivialPursuit said:

poppys said:

Trivial's tip is right on!

Exactly how I do it - with butter. Have a few small cast iron skillets and split up the batter for multiple crispiness. Don't let the cornbread cool in the cast iron - turn it out (after a few minutes) on a rack or something you rig - to get air on the bottom so it doesn't steam.

Cheater - 4 a solo or cornbread for 2, one box of Jiffy CB mix in a 6-7" cast iron skillet works great. Optional - mix a little finely chopped jalapeno with some honey and coat the top when it comes out of the oven.

I'm on the Butter Bean train Joey! It's one of the things that translated from my Amish grandmother to Louisiana - along with the green onions discussed earlier.

I have some 6" skillets that I do that with. Of course, corn muffins are just as tasty. And yeah, turn the cornbread out after a minute or two so it doesn't steam. I do like some pickled or fresh jalapenos chopped in my cornbread. Toss them in about 1 TBSP of flour. It'll coat the peppers so they won't sink to the bottom of your batter. (Do the same when adding chocolate chip morsels to a brownie batter or similar.)

I have a recipe for Jiffy-like cornbread.

SWEET CORN BREAD

½ cup yellow corn meal
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup + 3 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ cup +2 tablespoons oil
½ cup milk
2 eggs

1 TBSP butter

Preheat oven to 425ºF with cast iron skillet in oven. Preheat at least 30 minutes so it's very hot.

Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine oil, eggs, and milk.

Using a wire whip, add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients until batter is uniform. The batter will be slightly lumpy. Don't overbeat the batter, or your cornbread will be tough.

Working quickly: Remove hot skillet from oven, add butter. Swirl around to coat the inside. Add batter to the skillet (pouring into the middle of the skillet). Return skillet to oven.

Turn temperature down to 375ºF. Bake for 23-27 minutes.

Once done, turn out corn bread onto a wire rack for 10 minutes.

This usually works in a 10" cast iron skillet, but it's not as thick. If you have two smaller skillets, it's better. A 9x9" cake pan is perfect and you can preheat it as well like the skillet.

Lol TMI - I said Cheater - like fast & easy!

Personally don't like pieces of raw jalapeno cooked into my CB - changes the texture. Prefer the glaze route - but the flour coating is a good tip for many uses. I've tried lots of CB recipes and variations.

[Edited 12/28/19 17:54pm]

onlyforaminute said:

I've been wanting some hotwater cornbread so that's what everyone else is getting for NY and I'm going to be trying to make fufu, never made it before. It looks simple enough but who knows.

You can do it! Delicious CB.

poppys said: