I’m still playing with the cast iron skillets. One of the recipes that got me started on this kick was for cornbread with caramelized apples and onions. It was intriguing, to say the least.

I used my multi-use cast iron skillet, not the one for cornbread only, since I had to caramelize the onion and apples in the pan. After the onions softened and took on a little color, I added paper thin slices of Pink Lady apples.  When they softened and began to give up their moisture, I added granulated sugar and died thyme, and stirred it all together.

I try to follow a recipe exactly the first time for a baseline flavor assessment. I used all butter for the shortening in the cornbread and three tablespoons of sugar in the batter along with buttermilk and eggs.  It is no wonder that this cornbread clocks in at 400 calories a slice!

Half the apples and onions were folded into the batter and half were reserved for topping the cornbread.  It baked for about 45 minutes.  The recipe was supposed to be for an 8 inch skillet. I used a 9 inch skillet and it still overflowed the edges.  Thank goodness I had put it on a foil covered baking sheet, just in case.

The apples, onions and thyme were a savory delight on the palate.  The cornbread was almost as sweet as a cake – a little too sweet for my personal taste. I think I’ll make this another time, but with my usual corn bread recipe in which I use canola oil rather than all butter for shortening.  Since half the apples and onions are folded into the batter, it will still have some sweetness.  And, I’m thinking, stirring in some crispy chopped bacon wouldn’t be a bad thing.  I’ll let you know when I experiment again.

The headline says Sunday dinner at the doublewide. In addition to the cornbread, I pan browned and oven finished center cut pork loin chops and fried up the last of the green tomatoes.  The bowl of ‘maters I’d been planning on using are ripening quickly and I wound up with just two small green ones to fry.  That was probably a good thing.

Monday will be a day of repentance with dinner at the salad bar.