Chili Cook Off Contest…and some Cornbread

Remember this yummy cornbread that my friends and I enjoyed during our cooking trip in Napa?  Well, I made it at home not long ago to enjoy alongside some White Bean Chile Verde…it turned out delicious.

I made it using my cast iron skillet, this was a first for me.  I loved how crisp the edges turned out, and I loved having them cut into moist wedges.  I served the cornbread with some hot pepper jelly I had in the pantry and it was a delicious combination!

Before I share the cornbread recipe I want to tell you about an exciting giveaway we’re having. Bush’s Beans  has put together a great gift basket for a lucky reader that includes:

• A Sonoma Diet Cookbook signed by Connie Gutterson, RD
• Napa Valley specialty items including: olive oil, candle and chili spices
• Culinary Institute of America items including:  towel, wooden spoon and decorative spoon rest
• Bush’s Beans items including:  Bush’s Beans apron, bean strainer, assorted Bush’s Beans

To be eligible to win this great gift basket all you have to do is share your favorite chili recipe!  It could be yours, your mother’s or come from your favorite magazine, cookbook or website.  To enter the contest, leave a comment including the link to the recipe or type out the recipe to share (with it’s source please).

If it’s your recipe and you have a blog, please leave a comment with a link to your post (it can be an already posted recipe).  As a bonus, I will be posting a round up of blogger chili recipes  (with links) to share with all my readers so please email me a photo and link to your recipe post at aggiedgoodman (at) gmail.com if you want to be included in the roundup.

After you enter your chili recipe into the contest, you have two chances for additional entries!

1.  Become a fan of Aggie’s Kitchen on Facebook.  If you are already a fan, share my page with your foodie friends!  Come back and leave a comment saying you did and that comment will be your additional entry.

2.  Spread the word!  Post about this contest on your blog, Facebook or Twitter and come back and leave a comment saying you did for an additional entry.

Contest ends Saturday, April 3 at midnight, EST.  Winner will be chosen randomly and announced shortly after.

Oh and before I forget…here’s that cornbread recipe!

Black Bean Buttermilk Cornbread

Recipe from Culinary Institute of America

(printable recipe)

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup black beans Bush, rinsed
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 whole eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup rice oil (I would use veg oil)
4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted
salt and pepper

1 Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease a 9 inch cast iron pan or oven proof individual serving crocks and heat in the oven until very hot about 20 minutes.  Mix together flour, sugar, cornmeal, baking powder and salt.

2 In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, oil and melted butter until blended add black beans.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and combine until well mixed.

3 Remove the pan from the oven and pour batter into prepared pan and bake approximately 30 minutes until the surface is golden brown and a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and serve in wedges with spicy red pepper jam and butter.

(PS…to keep things on the up and up, my trip to Napa was paid for by Bush’s Beans, but Bush’s Beans is not paying me to say nice things about them.  Any opinions shared on this blog are my own.  Thanks!)