Southern Style Cornbread

Ingredients:

1 cup yellow cornmeal;

1/3 cup boiling water;

3 or 4 teaspoons of granulated white sugar;

1 teaspoon baking powder;

¼ teaspoon baking soda;

½ teaspoon salt;

7/8 cup low-fat buttermilk;

1 large egg;

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled;

½ tablespoon flour;

1/3 cup corn kernels (fresh or frozen);

cooking spray.

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat a 9-inch round cake pan or 8-inch square brownie pan with cooking spray. To a medium bowl, add 1/3 cup cornmeal. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine remaining 2/3 cup cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk it all together. Set aside.

Go back to the first bowl, with the 1/3 cup cornmeal. Pour water into it. Stir until it's thoroughly combined and stiff. Slowly whisk in the buttermilk until the mixture is lump-less. Whisk in egg and butter. Pour the flour mixture into the cornmeal mixture and stir until everything is barely moist. (If desired, before adding batter to the pan, stir corn kernels with flour in a small bowl until just covered. Then, add corn to the batter, stirring lightly until just mixed.)

Pour batter into pan. Bake 20 minutes or so, until it's risen slightly and top is golden brown. Remove from oven. Remove bread from pan. Cool on wire rack at least 5 minutes. Serve.

Buttermilk Skillet Cornbread

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons butter, preferably unsalted;

1 cup flour, all-purpose;

1 cup yellow cornmeal; finely ground;

2 tablespoons sugar; granulated;

1 teaspoon baking soda;

1 teaspoon baking powder;

1/2 teaspoon salt;

2 eggs; beaten;

2 cups buttermilk.

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet or a 10-inch pie pan, and place in the oven while preparing the batter.

Sift together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

In a separate, smaller bowl, blend eggs and buttermilk.

When the butter has melted, usually about 10 minutes, take the skillet from the oven and swirl the butter around to cover the bottom of the pan. Pour most of the butter into the egg-buttermilk mixture and return the skillet to the oven.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the egg mixture. Stir gently until evenly blended, but don't over-mix. Remove the skillet from the oven and pour the batter into the skillet.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden and slightly crusty. Cool the bread in the skillet, on a wire rack, for approximately 10 minutes before slicing it into wedges.