Cheesy Jalapeno Cornbread

Yes, folks … it’s that time again … time for another installment of The Secret Recipe Club!

Faithful readers of Rhubarb and Honey know that I’ve been participating in The Secret Recipe Club for the last few months. The idea of The Secret Recipe Club is similar to other blog exchanges in that each participating blogger is assigned another participating blog to make a recipe from, but the twist with The Secret Recipe Club is that you can’t tell anyone whose blog you have—shhhh, it’s a secret!—until you finally post about the blog you were assigned and the recipe you chose. It’s been a great way to “meet” other food bloggers and expand my blog readership as well. If you’re a food blogger, I highly suggest you join.

This month, my Secret Recipe Club blog assignment was The Yummy Life, a fun blog authored by Monica, a blogger who loves spicy food and hates raisins in baked goods. When I first arrived at Monica’s blog, I started looking through all her posts and found not only lots of delicious recipes, but fun craft ideas, lots of gift ideas, and even household tips … it’s chock-full of information!

After choosing the recipe I wanted to make, I decided to check out Monica’s “about page” … and lo and behold, she’s from St. Louis as well! I guess it’s not such a small world after all!

So, are you curious what recipe I chose? Well, I recently made a slightly unique version of pork and beans … and what goes better with that than cornbread. Monica had a delicious looking recipe for “cheesy jalapeno cornbread” so that’s what I chose.

As suspected, this cheesy, spicy cornbread was delicious. My only critique was that it needed a bit more salt, so I’ve increased that in the recipe shown below. I’ve also made a few tweaks based on our spice preference as well (ie, more minced jalapeno!). It’s the perfect accompaniment to a hearty bowl of soup or even a funky version of pork and beans. Enjoy!

Cheesy Jalapeno Cornbread

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups stone-ground yellow cornmeal
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 2 tablespoon minced jalapeno
• 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Spray an 8 x 8 baking pan with cooking spray. You can also use a 12-cup muffin pan or cast iron skillet if desired.
2. Combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. Whisk together.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, buttermilk, and honey together. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients. Stir until just mixed; don’t over mix.

4. Add onion, corn, jalapeno, green chiles, and cheese; fold into batter until mixed.

5. Pour into baking pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes.

Notes: The original recipe called for only one tablespoon of minced jalapeno so use that amount if you’d prefer less spicy cornbread.

P.S. To learn more you about The Secret Recipe Club or to join in (you do have to have a blog with a decent number of recipes for others to choose from), click here to read about it and sign up!