Foodsday Tuesday: Thanksgiving With a Twist

Know how, on Thanksgiving, we tend to eat (and decorate with!) a lot of corn?

You've got your colored, dried ears of corn in the centerpiece. You've got creamed corn or corn pudding or corn on the cob or cornbread or cornbread stuffing. But that's all old hat.

Now, anybody from my part of the country will tell you that the first Thanksgiving didn't really happen in November of 1620 in Plymouth, but in April of 1598, in my hometown. (Yes, it's a matter of pride.) In order to reconcile the traditional American holiday with the older, less politically-correct one (remember why the Spanish came to America, folks), my family will periodically make this dish, a twist on your regular Turkey Day cornbread. And, because it's an actual recipe, you won't have to do your normal Foodsday Tuesday guesswork. Consider that our Thanksgiving gift to you.

Jalapeño and Cheese Cornbread

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees.

Mix with spoon in LARGE MIXING BOWL:
1 17 oz. can cream corn
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup cooking oil
1-1/2 cups corn meal
2 eggs slightly beaten
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

Have ready:
1 4 oz. can chopped green chile (drained well)
2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Pour 1/2 of the batter in a greased pan (a 10 x 6 x 2 pyrex works well). Sprinkle with 1/2 of the cheese and 1/2 of the chile. Cover with remaining batter, then top with remaining cheese and chile. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting. Store in refrigerator or freezer.
Serves 8-10

Photo cropped from original by Sumeja on stock.xchng, and used under a Creative Commons license.