Cornbread Y'all!!

Okay, so cornbread. Sounds simple and it is very simple to make, but when it comes to the theology of cornbread the camps are many and they each take exception to how it truly should be made. Some people get real fired up about their cornbread!

The two major camps: South vs. West Coast

In the south they prefer a heartier cornbread, a bit more dense and with little to no sugar

In the west we like ours very sweet and light, sort of like dessert served with dinner.

There are more contingencies as well:

Yellow corn meal or white

Buttermilk or regular milk

Butter, bacon squeezin's or lard

Flour or no flour

Corn kernels or none

So, where do I stand on my theology of the bread? Where any mother of three little ones does, with whatever is in my kitchen at the given time of dinner prep. However, what my "pantry" whips up is usually right down the middle, call me a moderate cornbread theologian, if you will. I tend to go with a less sweet version, since I try not to feed our kids too much sugar--but I do add some. I also prefer a good cornmeal to flour ratio (not too much flour), I like it to be a bitty gritty. I like the moisture you get from butter and quite frankly am scared to death of lard. I adore buttermilk in homecoming and love the flavor it lends, if I don't have any on hand I will usually make my own sub in a pinch. As to the kernels, I live on a whim here, sometimes I add them, sometimes I don't, sometimes I puree them, then add them, sometimes I don't.

Cooking is art, and art expression changes with the mood, so go with the flow people! Don't take your food too seriously, just enjoy the inspiration of it, enjoy the process and share the bounty with those you love in wonderfully rich memories.

There is one very important detail to cornbread however, that I think both camps could come to an agreement on, and that is the skillet. Cast iron, indeed! Light and crispy around the edges, moist and soft in the center...the only way to go people!

Here is a recipe that I found recently that was, to me, almost the perfect happy medium. Even though this recipe is conservative with the sugar, I scaled back even more. Here is what I ended up with.

Happy Medium Cornbread

Ingredients:

1 3/4 c flour

1 c cornmeal

2 tbs sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 buttermilk

1/2 cup butter -- melted and cooled

1 egg

Plus more softened butter for the pan

How To:

1. Preheat oven to 375. Add your skillet to the oven as it preheats, this is a must!

I took a picture of the pan in the oven to be super concise for you all, then realized my oven is a mess! and I am not ready to be that intimate just yet.

-I have no idea what happened to the pitures here. I don't know if I even took them. Probably had to wipe a tiny bum and lost all focus. Just use your imagination for these next to steps.

2. In a medium bowl mix together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking pwd, baking soda, and salt

3. In another bowl wisk together the buttermilk, butter and egg

4. Poor the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and mix until just combined.

5. Remove the pan from the oven. Melt a tablespoon or so of butter in the preheated pan and swirl around to get a nice coating.

6. Poor the batter into the warm, buttery pan. Oh yeah!

7. Bake for 20-25 min, until golden on top and cooked through in the center. Be careful not to overcook as it will continue to cook in the pan. Err on the side of slightly undercooked, you don't want a dry cornbread.

Cut into wedges and serve warm.

Again with the wedges, I know.

Just follow my advise, they taste better people.