Day 72: Tomato Upside-down Cornbread

I have received recipes from so many of you! I appreciate them a lot. In a few months, I'll appreciate them even more! I'm a little worried about finding new recipes to try. By the end of the year it is going to be really hard. I have a lot of grade A and grade B recipes right now, but when I run out of my good recipes, I'm afraid there will be a lot more C and D recipes. My family may start to think that I'm regressing in my cooking skills. Speaking of my cooking skills, I can't believe how much I've learned. I used to think I was a pretty good cook for someone who learned to do it on my own. But I have come a long way in the last 72 days. I can't think of anything really specific, (except that keeping roux in the fridge is the best idea EVER) I just cook smarter and I am so much more confident now. After learning to adapt recipes for the DO (which isn't that hard) and sharing my mistakes with all of you, nothing intimidates me anymore. So a big thank you to all my readers for helping me become better!!

This is a recipe I have wanted to try for a while now. I was going to wait for summer and garden fresh tomatoes, but I just couldn't. I adapted it just a little based on my experience with it. But the changes were very minimal. It comes from Rogue Dutch Oven Cookers. It is one of the sites I follow and there are some good recipes there. So go check it out!

Tomato Upside-down bread

10" dutch oven

2 Tbs. vegetable oil

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 Roma tomatoes, sliced 1/4" thick

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 cup flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal

3 Tbs. sugar

1 Tbs. baking powder

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/4 cup minced onion

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup milk

3 Tbs. ketchup

2 Tbs. vegetable oil

1 lg. egg whites, lightly beaten

In a bowl, combine flour and next 7 ingredients. Add milk, ketchup, oil and egg whites, stirring just until moistened. Preheat you DO with about 20 coals on the lid. I just set my lid on top of my chimney for about 5 minutes. Heat 2 Tbs. oil in your oven over about 15 coals. Add the Italian seasoning and garlic; saute 1 minute. Remove from heat and arrange the tomato slices in a circular pattern in the bottom of the oven. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour the batter into the DO, slowly, over the tomatoes. Put your DO back on the heat with 8 coals on the bottom and 16 on top. Bake at 400* for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Mine took about 25 minutes. Remove the lid you are cooking with. Place a clean bandanna or dish towel over the oven and a cool lid (not the one you cooked it with) over the bandanna and oven. Then invert the oven to drop the bread on the bandanna or towel covered lid. I used a cookie sheet to invert mine. A 12" pizza pan would work too. Serves 8.

The Finished Product

The Review

This was SO GOOD!!! I can't believe how good this was. It is moist and delish! I really liked the onions and cheese, and the ketchup gave it a nice reddish color. I only used 1 Tbs. oil to saute the garlic and Italian seasoning, and it wasn't quite enough, because the bottom of the bread stuck to the pan. I think 2 Tbs. would be better for me. My family loved it, even my tomato hating 7 year old thought it was the bomb! I think this is my new favorite cornbread recipe. It is delicious and beautiful! Grade A+.