Spoon Bread?
I did a massive amount of grocery shopping at the farmer's market and grocery store yesterday. When I have such a wide array of veggies available in the house, I like to go through my cookbooks and see if I have everything I need to try a new recipe.
Last night I found a recipe for something called "spoon bread," which doesn't appear to be like bread at all. Has anyone heard of this? I don't have the recipe in front of me, but from what I recall there's eggs, cheese, corn meal, cooked rice, sage and a few other things in it.
Does anyone know what I'm talking about? Is it good? Do you recommend serving it with a roasted chicken?
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
8 Comments:
My roommate makes it all the time, - it's basically like a wet, cheesy cornbread souffle (though it is not puffy like one). I've never heard of the addition of cooked rice, but I suppose it could provide some texture. I think it would be great with a roasted chicken and perhaps some braised leeks or gently sauteed/glazed carrots.
emmab at 3:08PM on 08/19/08
1 1/2 cups milk (low fat is fine)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp salt
4 large eggs, separated and at room temperature
1 tbsp sugar
Spoon bread is a classically Southern dish that you probably won’t find just anywhere. The best way to describe it is to say that it is a hybrid of polenta, cornbread and a souffle - and that only partially describes it. A good spoon bread should be light, have an at least slightly custardy center and a crisp top. And it should be soft/tender enough that you can eat it easily with a spoon.
I copied this from bakingbites.com but it looks to be fairly accurate. My mother in law makes this every Thanksgiving and it is so good, you'll want to spank the dog. Everyone here in Bama seems to have a different recipe but I have yet to have a bad one.
Most old-time Southerners did not use sugar in their spoonbread or any corn bread recipes. Perish the thought! In Appalachian Mountains it was unheard of to put sugar in corn bread. But sugar began to appear in more modern variations of spoonbread --Yankee pressure and influence, perhaps!
Hope this helps!
Pavlov at 3:21PM on 08/19/08
I LOVE spoon bread! Sometimes my mom will give it a southwestern twist and add green chiles into the mix and some shredded cheddar cheese on top- yum! (she does it with jiffy cornbread mix, an egg, sour cream, and frozen corn & creamed corn...- packaged & prepared yes- but tasty)
oh and yes, yes, yes, it'd be great wtih the roast chicken.
bisbee at 4:13PM on 08/19/08
@Pavlov, that recipe is very similar to my friend's delicious spoonbread.
@pumpkin bear, I haven't seen rice or cheese in the spoonbreads that I've had in Virginia, but that's not to say it would be wrong or bad, just different. Like so many foods from the South, recipes for the same dish will be as many and as varied as the regions and the cooks.
I think of spoonbread as a cornmeal custard rather than a bread. It is very comforting and I think goes great with salty/smokey meats (like hams, sausages, bacon, chicken fried in lard with a piece of rendered fat back).
I am curious about the recipe you have, would you mind posting it or a link to it?
wookie at 4:22PM on 08/19/08
Spoon bread is delicious! It's so-named because you actually have to eat it with a spoon. I think it would be great with roast chicken.
chgoeditor at 5:11PM on 08/19/08
Hey Wookie,
Here's the recipe I found for spoon bread. It's in a cookbook called, "Salt & Pepper: The Cookbook" by Sandra Cook, Sara Slavin and Deborah Jones:
1 cup cooked white rice
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon chopped, fresh sage
1 tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Preheat oven to 325. Butter a shallow, 1 1/2 quart baking dish.
In a large bowl combine all the ingredients. Mix well and pour into the prepared dish. Bake until the surface is crusty and golden, about one hour.
PumpkinBear at 5:45PM on 08/19/08
I had kids allergic to wheat and we started eating spoonbread as an accompaniment to whatever I would have served cornbread with. We also had it for breakfast with honey or syrup.
ocarol at 6:15PM on 08/19/08
i've been meaning to make this recipe for a long time now...
">http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/000150.html
MadelynRodriguez at 6:40PM on 08/19/08