Double Corn Bread.......November's Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club

It's time for another month of the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club.  I've been doing this monthly group since July 2009 and every month this group of five bloggers comes up with a themed menu, all with recipes from Cooking Light that we share with each other and you virtually.  We have had some group changes along the way and this month Shelby and Patsy leave us but we say hello again to Helene from our original group and welcome Mary Ann from Meet Me in the Kitchen.  We're so happy to have both of these wonderful ladies in our Cooking Light Supper Club.

Sandi picked November's theme:   A Celebration of Corn   

My side dish to celebrate corn is some Double Corn Bread.  Corn meal and whole corn kernels give this corn bread it's double corn flavor.  I love the texture and flavor of adding corn kernels to corn bread.  The outside got a nice crust to it which is just how we like it.      

Click here for printable recipe of Double Corn Bread on Myrecipes.com 

Double Corn Bread

Recipe by Cooking Light

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/2 cup frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper ( I left this ingredient out )
4 tablespoons butter or stick margarine, melted
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425°.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup, and level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (flour through baking soda) in a large bowl, and make a well in center of mixture. Combine buttermilk and next 4 ingredients (buttermilk through egg) in a bowl; add to flour mixture. Stir just until moist. Spoon batter into an 8-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes.

Note:  I made my cornbread in a cast iron skillet.  I heated the pan up in the oven for a few minutes, added a tablespoon of butter to pan.  I took the pan put of the oven, swirled the butter around until melted and added batter to pan.  Batter is thick so spread carefully in pan.  I baked until golden brown, around 18 minutes.

See the list below on the other corn dishes that everyone else made.  I hope you find something you like to celebrate such a versatile vegetable.

Jamie (me) - Double Corn Bread

Mary Ann (Meet Me in the Kitchen) brought Greens with Roasted Corn and Pepper Salad

Sandi (Whistlestop Cooking Cafe) made the main dish of Curried Corn Crab Cakes

Val (More than Burnt Toast) brought a side dish of Creamed Corn with Bacon and Leeks

Helene (La Cuisine d'Helene) ended our meal with her Lemon-Cornmeal Cookies  

***If you have a "light" recipe using corn, please link it to our linky tool at the bottom of this post.  It doesn't have to be a Cooking Light recipe but any healthy recipe using corn.***

Enjoy!

Mom's Cooking Club Lesson:  If you do not have a cast iron skillet, I highly recommend one.  Not only are they perfect for making corn bread but they are an excellent skillet for pan frying fish or any meat.  They retain their heat and cook food evenly.  It would be a great gift or to put on your own Christmas wish list.

Charred Corn Relish and Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club

I've been invited to a Supper Club where everyone brings a dish and we enjoy food, conversation & meeting new people. But, this is not your ordinary Supper Club. This is where 5 food bloggers (3 from America & 2 from Canada) come together for the first time for a Virtual Supper Club. The menu will be recipes all from Cooking Light Magazine. Cooking Light has generously agreed to partner with us on our Virtual Supper Club and we will be featured on the Cooking Light website! All 5 of us love Cooking Light recipes and what a fun way to share with all of you!

I am a subscriber to Cooking Light magazine and I look forward to getting my copy every month. Not only does it have a variety of healthful recipes, there are wonderful articles on exercise, nutrition, travel and meal menus, just to name a few items. Cooking healthy or "light" doesn't have to mean bland or boring. Cooking Light magazine and it's website, CookingLight.com allows me to give balance to our family meals and to our lives.

For our first supper gathering, we have decided to showcase recipes that celebrate two holidays; Canada Day and Independence Day. These are recipes that you could make for your holiday celebration.

For me, July 4th is: birth of our nation, patriotic, Declaration of Independence, red, white & blue, fireworks, celebrations, summer, barbecues, fun.

Canada Day, which is July 1st, is Canada's National Day. It is considered Canada's Birthday and similar to our July 4th it is celebrated with picnics, barbecues, parades & fireworks.

Before I present what dish I'm "bringing", I want to introduce you to the 4 other ladies in our Supper Club.

Aggie - lives in Central Florida and is also my sister-in-law. Her blog is Aggie's Kitchen and she is bringing a salad....Spinach Salad with Stone Fruits & Maple Spiced Pecans.

Shelby - lives in Northern New York and her blog is The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch. She is also bringing a salad....Curried Chicken Salad with Nectarines.

Val - lives in British Columbia, Canada. Her blog is More than Burnt Toast and she will be bringing the main dish....Maple Grilled Salmon.

Helene - lives in Vancouver Island, Canada. Her blog is La cuisine d'Helene. She is bringing the dessert....Cool Creamy Chocolate Dessert.

Jamie (me) - lives in the Panhandle of Florida. My blog is Mom's Cooking Club and I'm bringing the side dish....Charred Corn Relish (see link for recipe).

The Charred Corn Relish is a fantastic and flavorful side dish. The sweetness of the grilled corn paired with the spice and heat of the chipotle chile was a great match. This dish adds so many good ingredients for you from the corn to the red bell pepper to the grape tomatoes. It is low in calories (only 76 calories for half cup serving) and extremely low in fat. This is a great side dish to bring to a barbecue, family gathering or picnic. You can make it ahead of time and place it in the refrigerator since this is a cold corn relish.

Mom's Cooking Club Lesson: try grilling your ears of corn this summer instead of boiling. I feel grilling your corn brings out more flavor of the corn. The slightly smoky flavor of the charred corn along with the sweetness of the corn is a great combination.

Enjoy more meals from our Virtual Supper Club next month as we have another "get-together" and eat great food from Cooking Light.

Happy Canada Day & 4th of July!