Chipotle Corn Bread

One of the items that I miss down here is a variety of breads. Both artisan and normal types.

I've tried to make the French Style baguettes with mixed results and also bagels. I have to do special things to compensate for the high elevation here. But breads like corn bread are easy and pretty simple, never having had one fail yet! And it's pretty easy to make.

I love making corn bread because you can toss a lot of different stuff into it to have a variety of outcomes for all occasions. This one is nice to use with dinner when cooking the Steak Recipe with chili from the ranch cookbook.

First find a suitable vessel either a Pyrex pan or even a cazuela that is about 2 or 3 inch high. Butter the sides and have at it.

To start preheat your oven to about 375F. Or 190 C.

Use the middle rack of the oven.

Mix the cornmeal, sugar, flour, baking soda and power and salt in a large bowl. Next stir in the Chihuahua cheese, in another bowl, whisk the milk, eggs, crema, melted butter and chopped chipotles.

When mixed well, combine it to the dry ingredients and stir just enough to blend. The less you mix the better it will be.

Throw the mix into the buttered pan.

Put it into the oven.

Go make yourself a cup of coffee or a margarita.

Return to the oven in about 25 minutes and find yourself a wooden match or I use a wooden kabob skewer. You can also use a wooden toothpick or whatever you have around.

Jab it into the thickest part of the pan (not the pan actually but the corn bread mix that's baking in the pan)

If it comes out clean, the bread is done.

IF it comes out with bits of mix on the sides of the wood, put it back in the oven for another 5 minutes, then repeat the test until it comes out free of residual cornbread mix. (oven temperatures may be different, so an average is about 30 minutes.)

Let is sit around to cool for at least 1/2 hour.

Run a knife around the edge of the pan, just to be sure. You can either cut it into serving pieces in the pan or turn the pan over and see if the bread drops out on to the counter. If it does you are ready to serve it.

Stuff you will need.

1 cup cornmeal or polenta.

1 cup all purpose flour

¼ cup brown sugar

2tea baking powder

1tea baking soda

1tea salt

½ cup grated Chihuahua cheese

½ cup whole milk

½ cup crema

5 TBS melted butter

2 seeded and then chopped fine chipotle chilies (without adobo)

3 eggs

Also this is one of the recipes that you can add stuff and experiment. Like, raisins, corn kernels, chopped dates or nuts, this is also great with pine nuts, (toast first) other items like chopped pimentos or red bell peppers, dried onion bits, bacon bits, chocolate bits, scallions,etc.

Now, if you have left over Chipotle Corn soup, you could add that instead of the milk, but still keep the creama. IT will taste even better!