Wild Side: Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

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.