It's a little brown book dated 1909, a relic covered in tattered
cloth, shedding with each passing year.
Its pages are yellowed, stained with the grease and ghosts of meals past. On its pages are written culinary gems from an
age when wood fired stoves and icebox cabinets defined the "what" and
"how" of American tables. It
is a receipt, or recipe book, used to record family secrets...useful bits of
folk and gastronomic wisdom learned by generations of trial and error, passed
down by word of mouth, like legends of old, recorded by the light of an Edison
bulb...
Cornbread...it's been a staple of the American South
since...forever. Coming from a Southern
family, there was always cornbread on the table at dinner. Golden brown, baked in a cast iron pan, smeared
with butter and molasses, it's almost like breathing...you can't live without
it...
Most Southern cornbread is not sweet, so we can tell this
recipe came from a Yankee and is a Northern cornbread, which is ironic since
the recipe sits right above a Southern Pin Money pickle advertisement. Either way, it's good, with or without the
sugar, so use the sweet stuff to taste, and feel free to add more should you
want it "desserty".
The Original Recipe As Written Is In Bold...
1 Tablespoon Butter
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Cup Sweet Milk (Whole
milk)
1 Cup Corn Meal
1 Cup Wheat Flour
2 Teaspoons Baking
Powder
1 Egg
...put it all into a bowl, mix until you have a smooth batter,
then pour into a 12" cast iron pan or a same size square pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes in a 400 degree oven
until it is a golden, with just the slightest hint of browning.