Bacon Onion Upside-down Corn Bread

OH MY. This one you HAVE to try! It's soup and stew weather, officially, and this is the perfect bread to go with your favorite pot of yummyness.

BACON ONION UPSIDE-DOWN CORN BREAD

Oven: 350 degrees. Use 10" cast iron skillet, or other heavy ovenproof pan.

Lay in cold skillet:
2 slices thick sliced bacon
Cook over medium low heat until crisp.
Remove bacon from pan and set aside, then add to pan with bacon drippings:
1 large thinly sliced (or chopped) red or yellow onion
Cook over medium low about 10 minutes, until softened. Meanwhile, mix:
1 c. flour
1 c. cornmeal (NOT polenta)
1 tsp. salt
2 T. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
Wisk in smaller bowl:
1 c. sour cream (or buttermilk)
1/2 c. milk
2 eggs
Lightly fold wet into dry mix, mixing in crumbled cooked bacon, until barely combined. Spoon gently over cooked onions (OK if pan is hot), smoothing top.
Bake 25 min. Remove to stove top, cool 5 min. Loosen sides with table knife. Put plate or cutting board on top of pan, flip over and turn out cornbread upsidedown. Serve warm wedges.



I just made this for Anne and Matt, they didn't have a skillet but they did have this lovely coated cast iron dutch oven. It worked just fine!

This was a bit too close for good focus, I was anxious to get it my fork into it! This is a bit denser type of corn bread, not crumbly. The flavor has to be experienced - homey and tantilizing. Your kitchen will smell divine! I used the red onion, which adds some nice color.

I also used pancetta instead of smoked bacon. The pancetta was already diced, has great flavor, and was about the same price as good sliced bacon from the butcher counter, not quite so fat. Nice substitute.
I had been shopping at Whole Foods in Beaverton, a real treat for me, which is where I found the pancetta and bulk cornmeal.

This cornbread is soooo good. Moist and full flavored. You could add cubed cheese of choice to the batter, maybe an herb such as rosemary or savory. Sort of gilding the lily.

Even if you aren't a cornbread fan, give this a try, you'll like it! Promise!