Skillet Corn Bread with Poached Egg and Friends

First of all, I apologize if you received this post the other day and it had no write-up and recipe. That was my fault, forgot the scheduled date on the post and it went through. But low and behold here is the updated post, sorry for any inconvenience.

One thing about Fall that I notice is hunger is elevated, and the body is demanding more substantial food. Winter months are coming and lots of energy needed to keep warm. My personal preference is having a hearty breakfast, rustic, substantial, and of course, ultra tasty.

Inspirations for this particular dish came from a trip to Mexico and my first taste of huevos rancheros,  with a nice country plate setting. A blissful array of colors appetizing to the eye and luring to the palate. Today's breakfast is a combo of subtle spice, fresh vegetables and a nice rustic bread made right in a cast iron pan, could not get more rustic than that other than having a fire going in the backyard and cooking there.  One thing I always loved watching was the old western movies and the coffee is on hanging above the fire, beans cooking, eggs frying, man that made me so hungry, I could just smell the coffee. So here's to all those camp cooks and those old western chefs with our take on Mexican breakfast: Skillet Corn Bread with Poached Eggs and Friends.

This corn bread is moist,  crumbly, fragrant and semi-sweet, with a nice crisp crust thanks to that amazing even heat that cast iron produces. As this was cooking in the oven you could smell sweet corn and cornmeal cooking,  we could not wait to taste it. Have to thank those wonderful producers at the Strathcona's Market for the lovely corn and produce, and Nicoletta, my beautiful wife, for again doing an amazing job on this corn bread.

To bring a little color and spice to the dish some fresh barbecued corn salsa, with an array of red, yellow, orange peppers, and some beautiful tomatoes from my parents's organic garden, green onions and some purple onion of course, a toss of some herbs, basil to sweeten the spice, fresh parsley, crushed black pepper, and a dash of some  store-bought medium spicy salsa, with a splash of extra virgin olive oil and that makes for one fantastic side to accent the other flavors.

I had a picture in my mind of a poached egg, nestled in the corn bread, yolk creamy running down the sides of the bread and pooling into the plate. The avocado adds another level of flavor and texture along with a Tex Mex hash brown, and thought becomes real as you can see.

Skillet Corn Bread with Poached Egg and Friends

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• Author: Loreto and Nicoletta
• Prep Time: 45 minutes
• Cook Time: 45 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Category: Breakfast, Brunch

Ingredients

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Skillet Corn Bread:

• 1 cup finely ground yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp chili powder
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 ¼ cups half-and-half
• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted, divided

Salsa:

• 1 cob corn
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon fresh parsley chopped
• 1 teaspoon fresh basil chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 yellow pepper diced
• 1 red pepper diced
• 1 orange pepper diced
• 1 green onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped purple onion
• 1 Roma tomato diced
• 2 leaves fresh basil chopped
• 3 sprigs fresh parsley chopped
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 table spoons store bought medium salsa
• salt and pepper to taste

Eggs:

• 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
• 4 eggs poached over easy

Potatoes:

• 4 medium red potatoes parboiled
• 2 tablespoons store-bought medium salsa
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
• 1 garlic clove minced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 avocado sliced

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Instructions

For the Skillet Corn Bread:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400° F.
2. Position a rack in the center of the oven. Generously butter the sides and bottom of a 10 or 12-inch cast iron skillet.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt, and chili powder. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream, half-and-half, and 4 tablespoons of the melted butter (cooled slightly). Add the egg mixture to the cornmeal mixture and stir until just combined. Do not overmix.
4. Heat the skillet over medium heat. Pour the cornmeal batter into the hot skillet, jiggling the skillet slightly to level out the batter.
5. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Quickly but carefully remove the skillet from the oven and drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter over the top. Return to the oven and continue baking until golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean, about 8 more minutes. Cool and cut in desired shape.

For the Salsa:

1. In a large pot bring water to boil and place cob of corn in and cook for 15 minutes
2. Drain and heat barbecue to 375° F.
3. Place cob of corn on grill and turning to allow grill marks.
4. Mix butter, basil, parsley, salt and pepper, and brush onto corn. Once corn is evenly grilled take and cool on cutting board. Using a sharp knife shuck corn from cob and toss kernels in a bowl.
5. Mix in yellow, red, and orange peppers. Sprinkle in chopped green and purple onions, tomatoes.
6. Place in chopped basil and parsley. Pour in olive oil and salsa, salt and pepper to taste
7. Mix well, ready to serve.

For the Potatoes:

1. Cut up potatoes into bite-size pieces.
2. Toss into a pot and cover over and above with water. and a dash of salt to taste.
3. Bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes. Drain and toss potatoes with olive oil salsa, mayo, dried oregano, fresh parsley, salt and pepper to taste.
4. Heat oven to 375° F. Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes.

For the Eggs:

1. In a deep saucepan bring water and salt and vinegar to a slow simmer.
2. Carefully crack eggs and gently let them slide into the water.
3. Poach till yellow just start to turn white about 10-15 minutes.
4. With a slotted spoon take out eggs gently and place on bottom half of corn bread.
5. Spoon a nice portion of the corn salsa beside the egg.
6. Place a few slices of avocado off to one side, and finish with a small mound of the potatoes.
7. Place top half of corn bread partially on egg.
8. Now all you have to do is enjoy!

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Loreto

When I am not cooking, I enjoy playing musical instruments, singing, writing. I have learned over the years to live in gratitude and enjoy the moment.