Skillet Cornbread

There's something about cooking in a skillet that makes me think of miners kicking back at the end of a long day while supper sizzles in a cast-iron pot over an open fire. Living in the middle of a large metropolis, I don't do much panning for gold or any other precious metal, but I can always dream while stir-frying veggies or flipping turkey burgers in one of my well-seasoned skillets. They're solid and heavy (sometimes, when filled with hot stew, perhaps a little too heavy) and seemly indestructible, though their enemy is rust, which does happen when the pans sit in water for any length of time.

My love affair with the skillet awakened a fondness for a particular recipe for skillet cornbread from one of my go-to cookbooks, Ruth Reichl's 2004 The Gourmet Cookbook. It's simple, relatively quick--less than an hour from mixing ingredients to finished product--and the bonus for those who aiming to reduce the gluten in their diet is that, unlike most cornbread, this one doesn't contain any flour at all. I like to serve it with one of those other things I enjoy making in a skillet--stews and chili. It's also perfect with a bowl of soup (isn't everything?) or with a drizzle of honey or maple syrup for breakfast. The buttermilk keeps the bread moist and even a little bit creamy in the center. I upped the sugar from 1 tablespoon to 2 (I've even been known to increase it to 3!), but that's the only change I made from the original recipe. Here it is:

Skillet Corn Bread

Serves 8

(from The Gourmet Cookbook)

1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground, medium-grind

2 tablespoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 3/4 cups well-shaken buttermilk

1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened

Special Equipment: a well-seasoned 9- to 9 1/2-inch cast-iron skillet*

Mix until just combined before pouring into the skillet.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Heat a skillet in the oven's center rack for 10 minutes.

2. Stir together dry ingredients: cornmeal, sugar, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.

3. Whisk together eggs and buttermilk in a medium bowl until blended.

4. Remove hot skillet from the oven and add the butter, swirling it gently with a fork until melted. Don't worry if the butter sizzles and browns a bit around the edges. Try to leave a slight coating of butter on the bottom and sides of the skillet so that the cornbread won't stick.

5. Whisk the butter into the egg and buttermilk mixture, and return the skillet to the oven. 

6. Stir cornmeal into the buttermilk mixture, combining until evenly moistened but still a bit lumpy.

7. Scrape batter into hot skillet and bake until golden--20 to 25 minutes. Let cornbread cool for a few minutes in the pan before turning upside down on a rack to cool completely. **

Lodge 9-inch skillet

*Reichl says that a regular pan will produce an "anemic-looking" cornbread. If you don't own a cast-iron skillet, you can buy one that's already seasoned and ready to use through Amazon or Lodge, one of the major manufacturers. They're also available at many cooking supply stores.


**I've found that the cornbread sometimes sticks a bit to the skillet if you try to take it out immediately after removing it from the oven. If you allow it to cool slightly, it tends to hold together better when you remove it to a plate. Another thought is to just serve it straight from the skillet.

Nutritional Info (1/8 recipe)

Calories: 165

Fat: 8 grams

Carbs: 45 grams

Fiber: 4 grams

Protein: 3 grams

Weight Watchers Points: 7

On the Side

Ruth Reichl includes a recipe for buckwheat honey butter to serve with the cornbread. Combine 1 stick of softened butter (8 tablespoons) with 2 tablespoons of honey. Mix well. It works just fine with other honeys or maple syrup.

Pumpkin Pecan Bread: Less Fat, More Pumpkin

To me, pumpkin bread is the ultimate in comfort food. But, even when I feel the need for comfort, I avoid making it in summer because to me pumpkins mean autumn--even if here in Southern California, temperatures are registering in the 90's. Whatever the thermometer reading, I felt justified in making pumpkin bread this week.

The recipe I chose is adapted from a reduced-fat and calorie pumpkin pecan bread I found at MyRecipes. Here's my version, with nutritional information and suggested variations at the bottom. I used homemade pumpkin puree, which is very simple to make and I think enhanced the bread's flavor and texture. You can read about how I did it elsewhere on my blog. If you're pressed for time (and who isn't?), use the canned variety. It will be great either way!

Pumpkin Bread With Toasted Pecans

(Two 9x5-inch loaves)

Ingredients

2 cups white all-purpose flour

1 1/3 cups white whole wheat flour (or regular whole wheat)

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup dark or light brown sugar, packed

3/4 cup egg whites (from about 4 large eggs, or use egg substitute)

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

2/3 cup water (or liquid from steamed pumpkin)

15 ounces of pumpkin (2 cups fresh pulp minus 1 ounce--or one 15-ounce can)

1/3 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray two 9x5-inch loaf pans with oil.

In a medium-sized bowl, mix together flours, baking powder, soda, salt and spices. Whisk the dry ingredients until well-combined.

Place the sugars, oil, egg whites (or substitute) and buttermilk in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer (or by hand) at medium speed until well blended. Add the pumpkin and water, beating at low speed until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat briefly at low speed, making sure that all ingredients are incorporated but not over-mixed.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Sprinkle toasted pecans on top.

Bake in the oven for 50 minutes to an hour, checking toward the end to make sure the loaves aren't browning too quickly. If they are, place some foil loosely on top. The bread will be done when a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaves comes out clean.

 After Words

Each loaf makes about 12 generous slices. To reduce the calories even further, cut them in half! The bread keeps for 2 or 3 days at room temperature and freezes well (for about a month) when wrapped tightly in a double thickness of saran, then placed inside a deflated plastic bag. Warmed in the microwave for a few seconds, it tastes as if it just popped out of the oven!

Nutritional Info (1 3/4" slice)

Calories: 183

Fat: 6 grams

Carbs: 31 grams

Fiber: 2 grams

Protein: 5 grams

Weight Watchers points: 5

Variations & Enhancements

1. Mix toasted, chopped pecans with 2-3 additional tablespoons of brown sugar and about 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Sprinkle on top of the loaves before baking.

2. Allergic to nuts? Substitute lightly toasted rolled oats for above.

3. Fold in 1/2 cup dried cranberries, raisins or chopped dried apricots--or 1/4 cup chopped candied ginger--just before pouring the batter into the loaf pans.

4. Use chopped walnuts or mixed nuts instead of the pecans. Incorporate the nuts in the batter, then sprinkle a few more on top.

5. Add the grated zest of an orange to the wet ingredients, substituting orange juice (preferably fresh) for the water.

6. Spread the bread with cream cheese, pumpkin butter--or both--for a decadent treat.

7. Serve heated with a scoop of pumpkin or vanilla ice cream for dessert.

3-B Pancakes: Light, Low-cal and Delicious!

Blueberries in summer--what could be better? Folding them into a pancake batter made with three types of bran (wheat, oat and corn) and leavened with fresh buttermilk. A touch of maple syrup, a smidgen of oil, a hot skillet glazed with a film of oil and voila--pancakes!

I like to tinker with recipes to see if I can lower the fat and calorie content and up the whole-grain fiber while still keeping it tasty. Sometimes, I must admit, I'm left with a sub-par result that winds up in the trash. But my blueberry-bran-buttermilk combo was very tasty, I thought. Here's the recipe--and you can do some tinkering yourself, which I'll expand on at the end. I doubled my original recipe, but you can halve or double it again if you've got a crowd.

3-B Pancakes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup bran (wheat, oat, corn, or a combination of all three)*
1/2 cup flour (I used 1/4 cup spelt + 1/4 cup white whole wheat)
1 teaspoon baking powder (sifted)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (sifted)
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1 egg and 2 egg whites
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
A pinch of nutmeg (optional)
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions:

Measure bran, flour, baking powder, soda and salt into a medium-sized bowl. Whisk together and make sure that baking powder and soda are well-incorporated and not in clumps (that's why sifting them is a good idea).

Whisk eggs and/or egg whites together until light. Add maple syrup or other sweetening, oil and buttermilk. Blend well and add spices, if using, and blueberries.

Pour wet mixture into dry, and mix using the whisk or a wooden spoon so that wet ingredients are just incorporated, but try to avoid over-mixing.

Use a few sprays of oil in a skillet or nonstick pan, and add batter when pan is hot but not scorching. Keep heat on medium and don't flip until you see edges of pancakes begin to brown and/or bubbles start to appear and pop in the batter. Recipe makes about 10 medium-sized pancakes, about 75 calories each. For Weight Watchers, the points-plus count is about two points each. Serve with maple syrup and butter if you like, though I was happy without the butter and with a generous dollop of blueberry or strawberry preserves, which ratchet up the sweetness--you might even label these babies "berry good"!

Bon appétit!

Tinkering:

- Experiment with different flours, such as white or gluten-free.
- Try adding a few chopped walnuts or pecans.
- Use four egg whites or 1/2 cup egg substitute
- Use raspberries or strawberries instead of blueberries
- Instead of berries, add a tablespoon or two of preserves to the batter, barely mixing so that the pancakes are laced with sweet bits of jam.
- Substitute white or brown sugar, molasses or honey for the maple syrup

*Note:

I bought a package labeled "Ultra Bran,"a mix of the three brans, at an L.A. health store, but it would be fine to use wheat or oat bran alone. I've never tried corn bran, but it may work as well.