Crowd Pleaser

Do you ever have the occasion to take a dish for a potluck?  Covered dish? Brunch?  I have the knock-out recipe of all time.  My mom found it years ago.  We all fell in love with it, made it non-stop for awhile, then lost the recipe and forgot all about it.  Then, years later, it resurfaced thanks to the Internet.

Once we found it again, I made it one day when it was my turn for snacks at Sunday School.  The guys always love this dish because it's hearty, filling, spicy and it has pork (you know how they are about pork, right?).  The women always love it for all those reasons, but also because it's so out-of-the-norm and interesting.  After that first time of "guinea-pigging" my SS buddies, it's now become a staple.  In fact, when it's my turn to bring snacks, I sometimes get a request for this cornbread.  Most recently, we all met for wings the night before the Carolina-Clemson game and I remembered that two days later was my day.  The request was made.  I complied.  They ate, they smiled, they said nice things!

So, here's my recipe to share with you guys.  I must say...it is damn good and it's totally different, so it always gets people's attention.  It can be a brunch (or Sunday school "snack"), a lunch paired with a salad or soup, or a cool dish to take a sick friend.  I hope you'll try it and I certainly hope you'll love it as much as my family and friends do.

BLACK-EYED PEA CORNBREAD

• 1 lb spicy bulk sausage
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 (15 oz) can black-eyed peas, drained
• 2 cups shredded cheddar
• 3/4 cup creamed corn
• 1/4 cup chopped pickled jalapenos (my husband loves fresh jalapenos, but the pickled ones are hotter, most of the time because of the pickling; fresh ones can be inconsistent in heat)
• 1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chiles

1. Cook sausage in large skillet over med-hi heat to break up and brown.  I like to drain it well, let it cool and then chop with a butcher knife to make it fine.  This is because I'm not crazy about hunky pieces of sausage.
2. Combine cornmeal, flour, salt and baking soda.
3. Stir together the eggs, milk, and oil until combined. Add to the dry ingredients, stirring until just moistened.  The batter won't be smooth.  Add sausage, peas, cheddar, corn, jalapenos & chiles, stirring well.
4. Pour into a greased 13x9" baking dish and bake at 350 for an hour, until golden and set.

***Freeze baked cornbread up to a month, thaw overnight in fridge. Bake, covered, at 350 for 30 minutes.  Uncover and bake 10 more minutes until thoroughly heated through. To reheat directly from the freezer, bake covered at 350 for an hour. Uncover and bake 10 more minutes until heated thru.

So, that's the magic cornbread recipe.  It may look weird on paper, but trust me.  Make it, share it with friends and you're going to get rave reviews.  And, future requests!