Comments on: Pan de Maíz: Cornbread with more Corn than Wheat

By: El Conde

El Conde — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:08:40 +0000

Maybe this way:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/75223441@N05/6766341903/in/photostream

By: El Conde

El Conde — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:07:17 +0000

If this works, I’ll next send you the Padron peppers.
[img]http://www.flickr.com/photos/75223441@N05/6766341903/in/photostream[/img]

By: Adán

Adán — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:34:37 +0000

In reply to El Conde. I think that now you can upload pictures as you comment on my blog. The pics need a URL, so you have to first upload them to flickr or other picture site. I'll look for your pic.

By: El Conde

El Conde — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:01:01 +0000

Would love to share the photo with you so let me know when your blog is ready for uploads. I’ll also send a photo of some Padron peppers that seem to grow easily in SoCal. They are mild (if picked young) and taste a great deal like Anaheim or Hatch peppers, but are thin skinned. They should go great with the corn tortilla and queso blanco (your recipe). Bought queso fresco yesterday to try it out. When we go to our favorite store, Cardenas, we’ll buy queso asadero. One Cardenas store is in Perris, about 20 miles north of us. It’s almost like an HEB but all Mexican products. Great fun!

By: Adán

Adán — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:10:19 +0000

In reply to El Conde. Hola, I am thrilled to hear about your brunch! thanks for letting me know..Wonderful!! It's great that those traditional ways are new again!! I want to see your picture, so let me see about how to add upload of pics to my blog. again, gracias.

By: El Conde

El Conde — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 22:30:40 +0000

Tried your Pan de Maiz recipe for Sunday Brunch and it was a hit! For the past 25 years or so, I’ve been using a cornbread recipe that has more wheat flour than corn meal. Never again! We cut the typical wedges, split those, topped with a fried egg and sauteed onions with a dash of chipotle power. Deli ham slices on the side. Looked so good, I took a photo. Then we devoured it! Looking forward to trying out more of your recipes!

By: Rob Marais

Rob Marais — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 00:21:28 +0000

First off Adán, thanks for moving to the WordPress site, it does your excellent content better justice. Now to the cornbread…
Great recipé! This is so close to the down home Tennessee recipé that I learned from Mama. Therefore I’ll share some Southern US cornbread trads that resonate with your pan de maís, and provide interesting contrasts and harmonies.
First, that cast iron skillet (or cast iron corn stick pan) for cornbread is de rigeur. No other type of cooking vessel will give cornbread its requisite crust, and it must be preheated with the fat to provide that crust.
Buttermilk is the only fluid put in contact with cornmeal for respectable cornbread Down South, period. In a pinch clabber will serve, but with sacrifice of cornbread’s tender crumb.
Our family used store-bought self-rising cornmeal for the job, and if fresh for the rising ingredients it always worked well. But your having folk incorporate the rising ingredients from scratch is more realistic for most of the world. It’s difficult to find self-rising cornmeal in Boston. I wonder if there is such a thing as self-rising cornmeal in México…
I always heat the fat with the skillet in the oven, then stir it into the batter carefully to get a head start on the rising before it gets poured into the hot pan. It is dangerous and can spatter, but truly helps the batter get a head start on rising and accelerates that brown crust on the outside.
As you know, purist cornbread doesn’t contain additives, but the use of finely diced chiles (especially chipotles) or shredded cheese or pork cracklins in the mix can be powerfully tasty.
Thanks Adán for letting me ramble on our cornbread affinities! So-called “Tex-Mex” (can’t remember your big word for it at the mo’) and traditional US Southern cooking have much in common! I’d love fare that could feature and embrace this affinity.