As much as we all love to eat fish and wild game, you often need more to make a meal. That’s why we’re introducing the Wild Side–a new regular column devoted just to side dishes that go great with a sportsman’s harvest.
Recent frost warnings tonight mean it’s time to raid the garden one last time. There’s not much left, though I picked the last of the heirloom tomatoes and my yellow squash plant continues pumping out produce faster than I can pick it. There were just a few peppers on the jalapeno plant, maybe a half dozen–the perfect amount for this batch of jalapeno cheddar cornbread that riffs off a recipe recently posted over at the food blog Coconut & Lime. –David Draper
Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Bread
Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup canola oil
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 egg
1/3 cup shredded cheddar
¼ cup diced jalapeno (About six medium, seeded.)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 10-inch cast-iron pan with bacon drippings. Combine all but the last two ingredients in a medium bowl and beat together. Fold in the shredded cheese and jalapeno until well combined and pour into greased cast-iron pan. Place in oven and cook 15 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the pan. If it comes out clean, it’s ready. If not, bake a few more minutes, but no longer than 20 minutes total.