Green Chili and Cheese Cornbread

green chili cornbread, originally uploaded by Kim De.

Cornbread! One of my favorite foods. Moist or dry, with corn or not, put cornbread in front of me and I will eat it!

Keeping with my Rick Bayless theme these days, I found this at Fronterafiesta.com.

Green Chili and Cheese Cornbread.

Well you know the first thing I got to do was roast peppers! Boy do I love that task! Because I was cooking for company, I left out the jalapeno and just added the poblano for a touch of heat and smoke. The recipe you see below, however, is as written. If you can tolerate a bit of heat, I think you should try it that way!

Another note, and if you know me you will find this a bit strange - I would leave out the cheese the next time. You know, I couldn't taste it or even tell that it was there. So why add the calories?

If you like a sweet bread, this one isn't for you. If you are a "southern purist", you may not like this - it isn't bone dry. But it really is a tasty treat and goes great with chili!


Green Chile and Cheese Cornbread (Rick Bayless)

1 poblano chile

1 jalapeño pepper
1 ¼ cups cornmeal
¾ cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon each: baking soda, salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup milk
2/3 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons melted butter
2 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese

Roast poblano and jalapeno over a gas flame, turning often, until skin is blackened on all sides. Wrap in a towel and let cool. Peel, cut into half, remove seeds and core. Cut poblano into ¼-inch diced. Finely chop the jalapeno.

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Generously grease a 9 by 9-inch baking pan.

Whisk cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Mix eggs, milk and buttermilk in small bowl. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir just until moistened. Gently fold in melt butter, poblano, jalapeno and cheese. Do not over mix.

Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Serve warm.