Cornbread

Any meal in the South requires a minimum of one black skillet full of cornbread. Pinto beans, turnip greens, you name it; a hot piece of cornbread to sop up the juices is mandatory. I never knew how to fix cornbread until I was a grown woman. This is one dish my Mother has never made. I owe thanks to my former mother-in-law for training me and my husband for sharing his family recipe.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

A black iron skillet is a must. My favorite skillet is the one that serves up 8 triangles of cornbread. The outsides are nice and browned and perfect with soups and beans.

Coat the bottom of the skillet with vegetable oil and let it preheat with the oven. The oil is hot enough when a drop of batter sizzles when it hits it.

In a small mixing bowl mix:

• 1 cup of Martha White self-rising cornmeal*
• 1 egg
• 1 cup of buttermilk 

Make sure mix is thin. If too thick, add a little more buttermilk. Pour in hot skillet. Bake at 450 degrees for around 20 minutes. 

*I do all of my measuring by eye. To fill my triangle skillet, I have to use a little more meal and buttermilk. 

When Andy's the chef, he uses 2 cups of meal, a 1/4 cup of flour and a tbsp. of sugar with buttermilk.