Mom's Cornbread

[sila-lumenn.livejournal.com]

melilot_hill came up with a wonderful idea a couple days ago to share recipes that are traditional in our home countries, since we represent so many diverse cultures. The United States, itself, is quite diverse. Regional cuisine can be found everywhere!

As a Southerner, I grew up on pinto beans and cornbread. It is still one of my favorite meals today. Another day, I'll share my technique for cooking dried pinto beans. This is my mother's recipe for cornbread. She never measures anything in the traditional way. She tends to "eyeball" amounts and pour dry ingredients into her hand instead of a measuring spoon. I've attempted to convert her "eyeball" measurements into normal measurements, but you might want to adjust for your own tastes and climate (especially the baking powder and salt).

MOM'S CORNBREAD
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tbl baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 cups milk
1/4 cup vegetable shortening

Mix together dry ingredients. Stir in eggs and milk. Heat shortening in large cast iron skillet until just melted. Pour shortening into cornbread batter, leaving a few drops to thoroughly grease skillet. Mix well. Pour batter into hot skillet. Bake at 450 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

NOTE: All measurements are approximate. If the cornbread comes out to crumbly, you might need to add more milk next time. If it has a slightly bitter aftertaste, you should reduce the amount of baking powder a bit.

Comments

[melilot-hill.livejournal.com]

I baked cornbread once before, but I didn't have a very good recipe. So I'm very happy with this one! I love cornbread. They don't sell this kind of cornbread in the shops here. (We do have another kind, which is nice too)

Of course I have another question; what is vegetable shortening?

[sila-lumenn.livejournal.com]

Shortening is solid, like lard (rendered animal fat), only it is made from corn and other vegetables with a high fat content. The brand name most people here in the USA are familiar with is Crisco. You can substitute vegetable oil or lard for the shortening.

[melilot-hill.livejournal.com]

I just wanted to let you know I baked this cornbread for lunch today, and it is delicious! I did leave out 1/2 a cup of milk, because otherwise the batter became to thin.

What do I have to eat with it to make it a "complete Southern dinner"?

[sila-lumenn.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you liked the cornbread! You did good to adjust the amount of milk. When I moved here from my hometown, I had to cut the amount of milk by a cup to compensate for the different climate.

Southern food tends to be inexpensive food. When America was still young, the southern states were populated by the very rich and the very poor. Since the very poor cooked for the very rich, many of their dishes became Southern traditions.

Cornbread goes with just about everything. The first thing that comes to mind is pinto beans, just toss in a ham-hock or some salted pork while you're cooking them. Black-eyed peas are a traditional Southern favorite. It's said you will have good luck all year if you eat black-eyed peas on New Year's Day. In fact, any dried pea or bean is "Southern." Cornbread also goes well with greens: spinach, turnip greens, collard greens, poke salad, etc. Any fresh vegetable, in season, is Southern. Fried chicken is traditional Southern.

[melilot-hill.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the information! It's really nice to learn about other places/traditions/cultures.

I know spinach (and ate it lots of times) but I haven't heard of some of the other things. At least I never ate any of it. Of some things I don't even know the Dutch translation :) (But I'm planning on buying a good dictionary tomorrow, so I will work it out).

[sila-lumenn.livejournal.com]

It is fun to learn about the foods of other cultures, isn't it? I had no idea so many of the Southern foods on my list would be things you had never even heard of! I had a pretty good idea you wouldn't know black-eyed peas or poke salad, which is why I included a picture (and a link for poke salad). Turnips are a root vegetable, like beets or parsnips. Their green tops are prepared like spinach, but have a much stronger flavor. A ham-hock is the tip end of a ham, which is usually cut off and sold separately here in the USA. They are great for flavoring many dishes, including dried beans and other things that must cook for long periods of time. Salted pork is a fatty piece of pork which has been preserved with salt. Some people slice and fry it like bacon. I think it's horrible that way, but it is nice for flavoring soups and dried beans, etc.

[melilot-hill.livejournal.com]

The black-eyed peas are one of the things I had heard of :)

Next time I'm going to do the groceries, I will see if I can find some of those things and have them for dinner (with cornbread).

[sila-lumenn.livejournal.com]

You've heard of black-eyed peas?! That does surprise me, but in a very pleasant way. Some people I know right here in the USA don't know what black-eyed peas are! Of course, they're from the north, where they do horrible things like feeding them to the cattle! ^_~

I hope you enjoy your authentic Southern dinner.

[melilot-hill.livejournal.com]

I think they even sell black-eyed peas ("zwarte-ogen bonen" in Dutch ("zwarte-ogen" just means "black-eyed" and "bonen" means "beans") in the larger supermarkets, so I don't think I will have much problem finding those :)

In the Netherlands, they mostly feet corn to the cattle :) But it's a slightly different variety then the corn "we" eat.

[sila-lumenn.livejournal.com]

Let me butt in one more time! You might enjoy reading this: Collard Greens (http://whatscookingamerica.net/Vegetables/CollardGreens.htm)
I haven't browsed the entire site yet, but it looks interesting!

[melilot-hill.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link. It looks like an interesting site!

[shirebound]

I'm so happy to see a good cornbread recipe (I adore cornbread); mine always comes out too crumbly and falls apart.

[sila-lumenn.livejournal.com]

Glad to be of service! I'm like you, I could eat cornbread with every meal. When Mom taught me this recipe I lived in Midland, where it's very arid. When I moved to Sherman, I had to decrease the amount of milk by an entire cup because the humidity made it too moist. If your first attempt comes out crumbly, try again with more milk, maybe 1/2 cup at a time. Also, if you like your cornbread a bit sweeter, you can add 1/4 cup sugar.

[oliviaramirez]

I tried making cornbread a couple of times but it never was quite right, either it was too dry or it was too sticky. I'll see if I can find cornmeal and have another go. Is this a good tin to use?

[sila-lumenn.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure that tin would turn out good cornbread, but you could try. Cornbread is best if it's not too thick. If you have two round or square cake pans, they would work well. A 9x13 baking pan would work, too. You can also make the cornbread into muffins if you have muffin tins. Since you're not using a cast iron skillet, be sure to grease the pan you use well!

[oliviaramirez]

I have a couple of square glass dishes I can use. I forgot I had them :)

[annwyn55.livejournal.com]

Sounds yummy! I'm definitely trying this.