Cornbread is so under-rated, don't you think? There are so many fun things you can do with it. For example, this recipe incorporates buffalo chicken, cheddar cheese, blue cheese and freshly chopped cilantro right in the batter. Um, yum!
And if that deliciousness isn't quite enough for you, a flavorful salad is served right on top of a generous wedge of the cornbread, making this an excellent addition to your weeknight repertoire. Before eating this, I had never seen a salad served on TOP of cornbread, which I thought was pretty creative and made for a great pairing.
Upon first bite, Brad was hooked. He loved this cornbread, and I'm usually the only bread fanatic around here. In fact, this dish is so fantastic, that it actually won first place in the Martha White-Lodge Cast Iron National Cornbread Cook-Off in 2009! I mean, come on...You can't go wrong here.
I was also hooked the first time I had this dish. It was at the Martha White/White Lily Southern Baking Retreat last year, which I blogged about HERE. That was SUCH a fun trip!! The first day of the retreat, we had the opportunity to sample winning recipes from previous years of the cornbread cook-off. This particular dish certainly stood out to me, along with several others. Needless to say, we were all one bite away from total cornbread comas after lunch. ;)
Speaking of the National Cornbread Cook-Off Recipe Contest, they are currently accepting entries through 2/28. So, if you've got a cornbread recipe that you're famous all over town for, this is your chance to shine!
To celebrate the cook-off, Martha White is hosting a virtual cornbread potluck, and this dish is what I'm bringing to the "table." There are 9 other fantastic bloggers participating, so please take a moment to give their blogs some lovin' and check out their cornbread recipes. This list will surely get your cornbread wheels turning and might even inspire you to enter the contest yourself! The official contest rules can be found HERE.
Pass the cornbread, ya'll!
Robyn: Add a Pinch
Melissa: Melissa’s Southern Style Kitchen
Lorie: Mississippi Kitchen (Lorie was last year’s Grand Prize winner at the Cook-Off!)
Tina: Mommy’s Kitchen
Stacey: Southern Bite
Christy: Southern Plate
Jackie: Syrup & Biscuits
Brandie: The Country Cook
Monte Cristo Cornbread Skillet
Bon Appetit, my friends!
Buffalo Chicken Cornbread & Blue Cheese Salad
Adapted from: marthawhite.com
Note: The original recipe called for iceberg lettuce, but I substituted with a spring mix to add a few extra nutrients and pretty color. I also omitted the red pepper flakes, because I'm a total wuss and can't handle the heat. ;)
Ingredients:
- Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
Cornbread:
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons Crisco® Pure Olive Oil
- 1 (6.5 oz.) package Martha White® Yellow Cornbread & Muffin Mix
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
- 2 cups cooked, frozen, boneless buffalo-style hot wings, thawed and diced
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Salad:
- 4 cups spring mix salad, roughly chopped or torn into small pieces
- 1 cup sliced celery
- 1/2 red onion, sliced
- 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
- 2/3 cup blue cheese salad dressing
- 1/2 cup tomatoes, diced
- Cilantro, chopped
- Heat oven to 400º F. Spray 10 1/2-inch Lodge® cast iron skillet with no-stick cooking spray. Stir egg, milk and oil together. Add cornbread mix, Cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup blue cheese, diced hot wings, red pepper flakes and 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro. Stir until well blended. Pour mixture into prepared skillet, spreading evenly. Bake 20 to 30 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven. Cool.
- Combine lettuce, celery, red onion and 1/2 cup blue cheese. Toss with blue cheese dressing. Cut cornbread into 8 wedges. Top each wedge with an even amount of salad. Garnish with diced tomatoes and cilantro.
VARIATION
- RANCH STYLE: Omit blue cheese from cornbread and salad. Substitute ranch dressing for blue cheese dressing.
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