Cornbread is a winter time staple as it pairs perfectly with soup and chili. This Sour Cream Corn Bread recipe can be made ahead of time and due to the sour cream, stays moist and tender. Grab the recipe plus check out my cookbook review of Make It Ahead: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, filled with easy make ahead meals.

The other day I casually mentioned some of my goals for Kitchen Concoctions this year. I also mentioned that I was hesitant to share these goals since I feel like whenever I do, I can’t follow through and there is this guilt that I am letting you all down when really, I’m sure you all really don’t mind and will still show up to read what I am sharing.

Cookbook reviews are one of the things that pushed me into blogging. I have always had a large collection of cookbooks, stemming from my Mom who has a TON of cookbooks too. And well, I guess she gets it from my Grandmother, who has an entire wall of her kitchen with built in bookshelves filled with cookbooks. 

But sadly, before blogging, I would carefully read these cookbooks, *maybe* make one recipe and then put the book on the bookshelf and never touch it again. THEN when I started reading blogs so many years ago, I saw several bloggers doing cookbook reviews and knew that was a feature I wanted to add to my own blog when I started blogging.

Herb Crusted Baked Potatoes with Whipped Feta (page 154)

But these cookbook reviews took a lot of time, because my cookbook review system back then wasn’t very realistic. Also, I didn’t want to seem like I was copying these other bloggers, even though this was something I enjoyed reading on their blogs and I enjoyed sharing cookbook reviews on my blog as it helped me actually cook through my cookbooks.

My cookbook review process is still something I am working on, but it is a feature I want to continue. So hopefully this year, I’ll be able to share a cookbook review or two a month.

First up Ina Garten’s Make It Ahead: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. I was actually given this cookbook as a gift when it first came out and have made several of the recipes since then. The idea behind the book is dinner party, Sunday supper and weeknight type dinners that you can make ahead of time, so you can enjoy your dinner time with your family and friends and not have to worry about dinner.

This is a beautiful cookbook with many different types of recipes, beautiful photos and lots of helpful meal planning/party tips.

Crunchy Iceberg Salad with Homemade Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing (page 68)

Here are all the details:

Pictures: Yes, this cookbook is filled with beautiful photos taken and EVERY recipe has a photo! There are even pics of Ina and her husband and some nature ans style photos too.

Prep Time, Cooking Time, and Number of Servings listed: No times, which I think would be helpful information for a cookbook about “making it ahead”. It does have the servings listed.

Nutritional Information Provided: No

Clear, easy to follow directions and ease of preparation: For the most part the recipe directions are easy to understand and easy to follow. And while there are many simple recipes, there are several with many steps involved.

Easily available ingredients and budget friendly: For the most part, most of these recipes contain readily available ingredients and are budget friendly, however, there are a few that use lamb, expensive seafood (like mussels and halibut) and a few other more expensive or hard to find ingredients.

Variety of recipes: This cookbook has not only a wide variety of dinner recipes, including side dishes, but make ahead breakfast, lunch, dessert and appetizer recipes.

Special feature: Not only does each recipe have a “Make It Ahead” tip on the side of each recipe, each chapter includes additional party planning and meal prep tips like “10 Make Ahead Tips for Parties,” “Freeze it Ahead,” and “Make Ahead Thanksgiving” tips.

You can purchase Ina Garten’s Make It Ahead cookbook here.

So far I have made (all pictured):
Sour Cream Corn Bread (recipe below)
Crunchy Iceberg Salad with Homemade Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing (page 68)
Herb Crusted Baked Potatoes with Whipped Feta (page 154)

Other recipes I have bookmarked:
Spanish Tapas Peppers
Ham and Leek Empanadas
Summer Paella Salad
Pastitsio
Lemon Ginger Molasses Cake

I know compared to the other recipes in this cookbook, that Sour Cream Corn Bread isn’t that exciting. But corn bread is a staple this time of year as a side dish for soups, stew and chili, so it never hurts to have another recipe in your arsenal. The great thing about this recipe is that because of the addition of sour cream, this corn bread is moist and tender, which is great if you are making it ahead!

Ina also suggests to serve this corn bread at breakfast, with butter and jam. Corn bread is not my first thought for a breakfast quick bread, but slathered with jam or honey, it really is perfect for breakfast or brunch and something I’ll have to think of more often!

Continue to Content

Sour Cream Corn Bread

Yield: Serves: 6

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

This moist and tender corn bread can be made ahead of time and served with dinner or for brunch!

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Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted, plus extra to grease the pan
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2/3 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 large egg, room temperature

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8x8-inch pan with extra butter and line with parchment paper, leaving enough paper to overhang on all sides. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, sour cream, and egg. Slowly whisk in the melted butter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir just until combined and there are no lumps, making sure not to overmix.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake in preheated 350-degree F oven for 20-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Place pan on a rack to cool and use overhanging parchment paper to remove from pan and slice. 

Notes

Make It Ahead: Bake the corn bread and cool completely. Wrap cooled corn bread tightly in plastic wrap and place in a freezer baggie. Refrigerate for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost, if necessary, slice and toast.

Recipe adapted from Make It Ahead: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten