FIRST PLACE – Cajun Party Cornbread

Ingredients

Cornbread ingredients:
1 cup self-rising cornmeal
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1 8-ounce can creamstyle corn
1 8-ounce carton sour cream
2 eggs

Topping Ingredients:
1/2 stick butter
1 cup diced onions
1 cup diced red bell pepper
1 cup diced celery
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 pound Andouille sausage cut in quarters lengthwise, then in 1/2 inch slices
1/2 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined and halved
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese
Chopped fresh Italian parsley for garnish

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 F. In a medium bowl, mix cornbread ingredients together. Melt butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté vegetables, Cajun seasoning and garlic until limp; spoon into a strainer to drain and reserve liquid. Add sausage to hot skillet; cook to render some fat. Add shrimp and cook until shrimp are just done. Use a slotted spoon to remove sausage and shrimp to a bowl. Do not drain grease from the skillet. Stir the reserved vegetable liquid into cornbread mixture, then pour batter into hot skillet. Place skillet into preheated oven and bake for five minutes. Remove from oven, spread reserved vegetables evenly over the top, then top with reserved sausage and shrimp. Return to oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, spread cheese over top and return to oven for additional five minutes. Remove, and sprinkle chopped parsley over top.
-Polly McClure, Jefferson County