Mexican sour cream cornbread

A nice accompaniment to Mexican oatmeal soup, also taken from Yvonne Young Tarr's 1972 New York Times Bread and Soup Cookbook. As with the soup, however, I question the "south of the border" authenticity of this spoon bread. The copious amounts of sour cream and cheese are delicious, but would dairy products be quite traditional in Mexico's climate?



It is delicious, so perhaps our answer should be "oh, never mind."

Mexican cornbread

3 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil (not olive oil)
2 cups sour cream
2 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
2 and 1/4 cups cornmeal
2 jalapeno peppers
1/2 green pepper
1/4 tsp chili powder
2 cups canned, creamed corn
2 and 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat the oven to 350. Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Add the oil, sour cream, and salt, and mix well. Mix the baking powder and cornmeal together, and add to the first mixture. Chop the jalapeno and green peppers and add, along with the chili powder and the corn. Beat with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes.

Grease a heavy skillet, and pour in half the batter. Sprinkle with half the cheese. Top with the remaining batter and then the rest of the cheese. Bake for 45 minutes; serve from the skillet (it makes 8 wedges).