Corn Dog Corn Bread

If there's anything more purely American than cornbread, it's cornbread with hot dogs, recognized nationwide as  Corn Dogs. If you're too calorie conscious and nutrition savvy to give in to the guilty pleasures of the Wiener Popsicle, you can easily justify the more respectable pleasure of Cornbread with Hot Dogs.

The concept is nearly too obvious to set out in a recipe. Mix up some cornbread and bake hot dogs in it. Top with mustard and ketchup, and there you go.

Okay, maybe that's a bit too simple. Suppose we're heading out to a neighborhood potluck and need a full meal in a single pan. So we'll take the same idea, starting off with a quick bread recipe, stir in onions, corn kernels and cheese, then bake hot dogs in that. We can't call it cornbread, too confusing. How about Corny Bread?

Recipe: Corny Bread

When serving a specific number of people, leave the hot dogs whole and cut the bread so each person gets their own hot dog.  If baking for a crowd, slice the hot dogs into circles, and serve the bread in squares or wedges. 

1 c. all purpose flour
1 c. whole wheat or spelt flour
1 Tbs. raw sugar
1 Tbs. baking powder
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. salt
1/4 c. olive oil or melted butter
1 c. milk
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 c. shredded sharp cheddar
1 chopped onion
1 c. corn kernels (drained or defrosted)
1 lb. hot dogs, whole or sliced

Stir oil, milk and egg into combined dry ingredients. Add cheese, onion, corn and hot dogs if sliced, stir just to moisten everything. Turn batter into greased 9" square pan or cast iron skillet. If using whole hot dogs, arrange them on top of batter.  Bake at 375 degrees for 30 - 35 minutes, or until bread tests done. Cool 5 minutes before cutting. Serve in squares or wedges while warm.

Recipe: Basic Corn Bread

For cornbread with crisp brown crust, preheat the oiled cast iron skillet in oven or on the stovetop before pouring the batter into the skillet.

The combination of half cornmeal and half flour makes for tender bread, while eliminating the flour and using 2 cups of cornmeal produces a more coarse whole-grain bread.

To use buttermilk or sour milk, reduce baking powder to 2 tsp., and add 1 tsp. baking soda.

1 c. cornmeal

1 c. all-purpose, whole wheat or spelt flour

4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 c. brown sugar

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 c. milk

1/4 c. oil or melted butter or bacon grease

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil or spray a 9" square pan or cast iron skillet. 

Combine dry ingredients then stir in egg, milk and oil until just moistened.

Pour into pan and bake 25 minutes or until edges pull away slightly from pan.

Serve hot or cold.