From my mother's recipe file to your kitchen, this spicy cornbread will stand up to your best red-hot chili. I am always on the lookout for recipes that introduce Mexican ingredients to American classics, and as a Southerner, I think cornbread is a great place to start.

Plus, it could not be easier to make: no need to separate wet and dry ingredients here. If you use regular cornmeal, use 1 3/4 cup minus 1 1/2 tablespoons of cornmeal and add 1 1/2 tablespoons of baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon salt.

This recipe owes its moist texture to the addition of creamed corn, and it owes its slightly tangy flavor to buttermilk. If you make pan cornbread in a cast-iron skillet, you will get a crust that is deeply golden. Some people prefer the soft middle of the cornbread, though, so in that case make muffins, which will not brown as much.


Recipe

1 3/4 cups self-rising white cornmeal
2 large eggs
1/3 cup canola oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 small can creamed corn
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
Chopped jalapenos, to taste (I use about 2 tablespoons of canned peppers; fresh may also be used)
1/4 tsp. ground red pepper

Mix all ingredients until combined.
If this batter seems too dry, add a little more buttermilk; if too wet, add a little corn meal.

For muffins: Spray muffin pan, bake at 400 degrees 15 to 20 minutes or until tops are brown.
For pan cornbread: Put 1 tablespoon oil in heavy skillet, preheat skillet in 450 degree oven until it smokes. Pour batter in and bake until the top is browned, 20 t0 25 minutes.

Menu planning

Even beyond chili, I love the idea as using this jalapeno cornbread recipe as a springboard for a menu that fuses Southern dishes with Mexican flavors. For the main course, what about serving catfish topped with your favorite salsa? Salsa with the addition of diced ripe mangoes would work particularly well, I think. For this entree, you could make the cornbread recipe into hushpuppies instead.

As for sides, I always serve hot-pepper sauce with slow-cooked greens like collards or turnips, and recently I used Chipotle Tabasco. It was a match made in Gulf of Mexico heaven. Chipotle also complements sweet potatoes, an common in both cuisines. Then there is that Southern staple, black-eyed peas, which could be mixed with black beans and pinto beans and jazzed up with hot peppers for a fusion three-bean salad.