Cornbread: A southern staple

Cornbread, cornbread, greasy, greasy, making this cornbread is easy, easy! A recipe for fluffy cornbread with a crispy crust!

By Carolyn Roberson - Monday 07 Nov 2011

Most anywhere you eat in The South, you find cornbread as a side dish. Cornbread is truly southern cuisine, and a base in many dishes such as cornbread dressing, chili pie, and cornbread salad.

Herman Cain, the presidential candidate from Atlanta, Georgia shared with People Magazine that Cornbread was his CB handle in the 70s, and would probably be his CODE name should he be elected President. Not to mention, he loves to eat cornbread! Breaker, Breaker 1-9, I love cornbread too!

Momma made very thin cornbread. It didn’t have a fluffy middle: basically, it was a crust on top and bottom. We ate it buttered, in buttermilk with minced onion and lots of pepper, in vegetable soup, or covered with turnips or black eye peas. Sometimes, she would use mayonnaise or sour cream instead of egg. It was good, but it was all that I knew.

My sister brags about the time mother used a half packet of Ranch Dressing powder and sour cream, and made the best cornbread she ever ate. I missed that batch.

Daddy, or Dutzy as I called him, didn’t make cornbread much, but made little corn pups, even before Krystal ever thought about corn pups. He would slice a wiener in 3 sections, insert toothpicks, dip them in a cornbread mixture, and fry them until golden brown. Yummy!

Cornbread comes in many shapes, sizes, and tastes. Different people prefer different cornbread. I’m just a cornbread connoisseur: I like it all.

The first fluffy cornbread I ever ate was at my friend’s house. Her mother made it for supper one night, and we topped it with butter and honey. Wow, I loved that!

The first sweet cornbread I ate was made from Jiffy Mix, and from then on, I sought out sweet cornbread versions. My mother-n-law used yellow cornmeal, which gave her cornbread dressing the best flavor.

My husband loves cornbread too! When he was little, his mother made cornbread for supper every night. When it would come out of the oven, he would smell it. While her back was turned, he would dash through the kitchen, pinch the middle out of the cornbread, and take off like Forrest Gump – Runnin'. His mother would be yelling his full name as he ran out the door. You know, the FULL NAME when you know you are in trouble!

“Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes” introduced my readers to Nanny. Nanny was an elderly, grandmotherly-type woman who lived next door. She was a wonderful cook, and I sought out her companionship especially when it came to learning to cook. Nanny’s cornbread was the bomb! I HAD to learn to cook Nanny bread. I was on a mission.

Nanny made her cornbread in a square skillet, and finding one was difficult. When I did find them, I bought three. One skillet was for me; one was for my brother, and one for my sister. She also had a square plate that she dumped her bread out on. It was a 1959 square calendar plate. I’ve never seen one at an antique store, or on E-bay. I did find a square Corel plate at Wal-mart that I purchased.

The day I learned to cook Nanny bread was a bright spring day. I was sent to the store with a list of items needed for my bread. I purchased two 5-pound bags of Martha White Hot Rise Cornmeal, a small 2-pound bag of yellow cornmeal, baking powder, egg, vegetable oil, buttermilk, and sweet milk.

It took 4 or 5 attempts that day to even come close to Nanny’s cornbread. I’d make a batch, we would try it, and out to the birds it would go. The back yard was full of bricks of cornbread, and one batch of bread the birds wouldn’t even eat because it was so hard. How funny was that day, and what memories it holds of Nanny and me.

Nanny’s Cornbread

 

1 cup Martha White Hot Rise Cornmeal
½ cup White Lily Flour
½ cup yellow cornmeal
1 tsp baking powder
1 egg
Buttermilk to mix
Sweet milk to make soupy

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray skillet with Pam, pour in 1/8 cup vegetable oil, and insert into preheating oven.

Combine cornmeal, flour, and baking powder. Add partial beaten egg, and stir to mix. It will be dry. Add just enough buttermilk to mix. It will be thick. Let sit while skillet is heating.

Just before removing the hot skillet from the oven, pour in sweet milk to make the batter kind of soupy. It will have started rising from the baking powder. Sit aside.

Remove hot skillet from the oven, and sprinkle the entire bottom of the skillet with yellow cornmeal.

Pour in batter. The grease and cornmeal will bubble up around the sides and onto the top. This gives it a wonderful crust. Bake at 425 degrees until golden brown.

This is the ultimate cornbread recipe! The hubs says, “it’s better than cake.” I get all kinds of raves over my bread. I hope you enjoy making Nanny’s cornbread, and eating it.

Recipe substitutions:

For Gluten Free:  substitute brown rice flour for wheat flour, and add 3 tsp baking powder instead of one.

For Milk Free:  substitute with Rice milk, or your choice of milk substitute.

For Egg Free:  substitute with Egg replacer, or veganaise.