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Hopefully, we are all nearing the end of these chilly winter days, but in the meantime, our friend Karen Morgan of Blackbird Bakery has come up with a gluten free comfort food recipe that includes Tito’s Handmade Vodka! Karen has created a variety of gluten free flour blends that make cooking and baking gluten free so much simpler (and delicious). Her flour blends are available for sale here and her latest book “The Everyday Art of Gluten Free”  is filled with recipes you can make with her blends, including a chili empanada filling that pairs perfectly with this cornbread. Karen will have samples of her cornbread available at The San Jose Hotel/Jo’s Coffee chili cook off on South Congress Avenue in Austin, Texas, Sunday, February 8th from noon-3pm. 

Tito’s Campfire Cornbread

4 slices thick cut bacon, cut into lardons
1 small white onion, diced
1 tbs Tito’s Handmade Vodka
1-4 ounce can hot green chilies
1-11 ounce can whole kernel corn

2/3 cup (143g) unsalted butter, diced at room temp
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 2/3 cup non-fat or 2 % milk
2 cups Blackbird Bakery’s Biscuit Blend
1/4 cup masa harina
1 cup cornmeal (like Pioneer)
3 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

Preheat oven to 400F.
1. First, take your cast-iron skillet and fry up your lardons over medium high heat (a low flame) until crispy and golden, about 8 minutes.
2. Transfer the lardons to a brown paper bag to drain. Pour off the bacon grease until you’ve only got 1 tablespoon of oil left. Add the diced onions and cook, stirring often, until golden. Add the vodka to deglaze the pan and continue to cook the onions until caramelized, about 3-4 minutes more.
3. Remove the onions and the sauté the corn and green chilies until the corn gets a toasted hue. Add the chilies and the corn to the onions. Now make the batter.
4. Mix the sugar with the butter until light and fluffy. That’s what wooden spoons and elbow grease are for! Whisk the eggs into the milk. In a separate bowl, combine all the remaining dry ingredients, whisking with a fork to combine.
5. Alternating between the wet and dry ingredients, stir the batter until it looks uniform and thick. Add the reserved bacon, onions, corn, and green chilies.

Wipe out your skillet so it’s nice and clean, then rub a thick coat of butter over the bottom and sides of the pan. Pour in the batter and bake immediately for 20 minutes. Then cover the cornbread with foil and continue to bake for 10-15 minutes more and a toothpick comes out clean.

Serves 8 handsomely.