Brown Butter Cornbread

From the folks at Field Skillet (fieldcompany.com), a modern take on the traditional cast-iron skillet, comes this dialed-up variation on classic cornbread that’s a sweet showstopper. The team took inspiration from their pals Melissa Clark, who published the original recipe for the New York Times, and Eric Bolyard, who’s worked in some of the best kitchens in the world. “This recipe is a fusion of what we’ve learned from them,” they say. #Community!

Ingredients

Makes one pan

12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter

½ cup Grade B and/or Dark Amber Maple Syrup (more flavor!)

2 ¼ cups buttermilk

3 large eggs

1 ½ cups yellow cornmeal, fine or medium-coarse grind (or mix both — all fine gives a more cake-like consistency)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 ½ tablespoons baking powder

1 ½ teaspoons Kosher salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

Preparation

Step 1: Preheat

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Step 2: Brown that butter

In your Field Skillet — or other cast iron pan that measures 10" or more — melt the butter over medium heat. Cook, swirling the butter in the skillet to lightly coat sides and bottom, until the foam subsides and the butter turns a deep nut-brown color. Watch carefully to make sure not to burn the butter. You can always turn up the heat if you start too low. If you prefer the easy route, pick up some Black & Bolyard butter (that’s Eric’s preferred brand!).

Step 3: Mix the batter

Pour the brown butter into a large bowl — if there’s a little left over in the pan, all the better. Whisk the maple syrup into the butter, then whisk in the buttermilk. The mixture should be cool to the touch. If it’s warm, let it cool before whisking in the eggs. Then whisk in the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.

Step 4: Into the oven

If the skillet is no longer hot, reheat it briefly over medium heat on the stove. Scrape the batter back into the skillet. Bake at 375°F until the top starts to become golden brown and a toothpick inserted into it emerges clean, which should take 30–40 minutes. Let it cool for 10 minutes in the skillet before slicing — and feel free to set your Field Skillet on the table with a butter knife for people to help themselves. Cast iron doubles as both cookware and servingware.

Making Coleslaw

The real secret to coleslaw is to remember that this is basically a cabbage salad (that’s actually where the word comes from). You don’t want coleslaw that needs to be served in a bowl. Coleslaw shouldn’t be a runny mess that soaks through your paper plate. The problem many people have is that they shred the cabbage too fine. Cabbage tends to be pretty low in water, but if you run it through a food processor you’re going to get a wet, drippy mess. Cabbage for Coleslaw should be chopped with a sharp knife and kept coarse enough that the water stays in the cabbage. Don’t grind your slaw into a soup.

The next point is to only add similarly dry vegetables to your coleslaw. Tomatoes, citrus fruits, avocados, and other mushy, wet vegetables need to stay out. Carrots, onions, celery and similar veggies are great. As for the dressing, remember that it is a dressing and not the primary ingredient of coleslaw. No matter what you mix together to dress your slaw it needs to be used in moderation. This means just enough to coat it and not drown the coleslaw. You can use most anything for your dressing including mayonnaise, vinegar, fruit juices, and oils.

Lastly, you need to season your coleslaw. Traditionally, people tend to use black pepper, salt and some herbs and spices. Caraway seeds, sesame seeds, red pepper flakes (if you want some heat), fennel, garlic, parsley, dill, oregano, and basil are all used in Coleslaw. Remember that you will want plenty of flavors because you don’t really want the taste of the cabbage to be all you get.

Once you have chopped the cabbage, the other vegetables, and the dressing ready, all you have to do is mix it together. The thing that makes Cole slaw different from other salads is that you want to mix it all together ahead of time. Coleslaw is best if it has had an hour or two in the refrigerator for the flavors to combine.

Now there are a lot of recipes out there so if you’re picky about your coleslaw I’m sure you can find the right recipe for you.