BY PATSY R. BRUMFIELD – THE SOUTHFACIN’ COOK   

New in Nola’s leader, Carlie, reported her first taste of Southern spoon bread recently and was curious about how it’s made.

Carlie, you are in luck! I’ve discovered my great-grandmother’s recipe amongst my collection from my mother and grandmother. It looks pretty easy, and I’m going to test it out for everybody. I could use a hand-mixer for this, but I suspect “Mummy” did not, so I’m going old-school with a wooden mixing spoon.

This is a great Southern alternative to potatoes or rice. It tops well with gravy or a dab of butter or nothing at all.

Holiday alert:

The weather in Northeast Mississippi has the feel of fall today, which means I’ve started thinking about Thanksgiving, when I’ll host a dozen or so family members for our annual culinary debacle. In weeks to come, I’ll post how-to recipes for individual dishes for our holiday table and show you how to brine the turkey, a technique that will forever show you how delicious the big bird can be.

header image via flickr user @colleengreene

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EQUIPMENT

 

• large mixing bowl
• measuring equipment
• wooden mixing spoon
• cereal bowl
• whisk
• vegetable oil spray
• 8×8 baking dish

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup corn meal (I use yellow)
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 2 eggs, well beaten (room temperature)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup boiling water (my mother underlined “boiling”)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder (make sure it’s fresh, read use-by note on container)
• 1 cup whole milk (room temperature)

LET’S GET STARTED

Preheat oven to 350. Get water boiling.

In cereal bowl, combine milk and eggs. Whisk well. Add baking powder. Whisk again to dissolve baking powder.

Into mixing bowl, measure corn meal, salt and butter. Combine. Add boiling water slowly, then whisk until smooth.

Slowly pour egg/milk/baking powder mix into corn meal mixture. Combine well.

Pour into greased baking dish. Be careful you don’t slosh this around – it’s very liquid.

Bake on middle rack for 50 minutes or until brown on top.

SERVE

This is “spoon” bread, so spoon it out onto your plate and top with a little butter or gravy just like you would grits or mashed potatoes. Yum. Serves 4.

GW Fins served seared fish and sauteed corn on top of spoon bread as a coolinary month special.

Come back to NewinNOLA.com every week for “Southfacin’ Cook,” where Patsy explains the basics to Southern cooking and eating. Contact her with suggestions, questions or requests at patsy.brumfield@gmail.com.

Previous recipes from Patsy: