Lowcountry Sweet Potatato Cornbread

Being a GRITS person  (Girls Raised In The South), cornbread is on my menu often!  When I learned of Chef David Wilson's restaurant in one of my very favorite vacation spots, Hilton Head Island in South Carolina, I knew I had to experience it for myself!  The restaurant is Roastfish & Cornbread and Chef Wilson does everything right! His sweet potato cornbread inspired my own version, which I hope you'll enjoy!  It goes great with fall fare such as chili and soup!  I made mine in an 8-inch cast iron skillet and it just came out of the oven, filling the house with a wonderful spiciness.  After waiting a few minutes for it to cool, I just had to sample... it's a keeper!  Oh yes, if you read my previous blog entry, you know that I have a stick of butter stuck in the microwave... it's still there 3 days later but the good news is that the repair man is enroute right now!

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

2 cups self-rising corn meal mix

¼ cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 ½ cups milk

1 cup cooked & mashed sweet potatoes (I used Bruce’s canned, drained & syrup reserved for glaze*)

1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick), melted

2 eggs, beaten

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425.  Stir together the sweet potatoes & butter until well blended.  Mix in the egg and then the corn meal mix, sugar, cinnamon and milk.  Stir until just moistened and no large lumps remain. Pour the batter into a well greased 8x8 baking pan or a 9-inch oven proof skillet.

*I made a glaze with the syrup from the canned sweet potatoes:

Heat over medium heat until it comes to a boil; reduce heat & simmer for about 10-15 minutes..  Add some pecans and stir.  Spoon just a little over the top of the cornbread when it comes out of the oven.  Yummy!