MANA'S CORNBREAD

Mana had a special 8" iron skillet that she never used for anything else. The seasoning on this skillet was perfection so her cornbread just slid right out every time. Several pans of this cornbread were made 2-3 days before a big holiday when mom was making turkey dressing. She would also make up her biscuits. 2-day old cornbread and biscuits would be crumbled up as the base for the dressing (don't go too heavy on the biscuits or it will be doughy).

Preheat oven to 425°.  Use a knife to spread a layer of crisco around the side of an 8" iron skillet and put the pan in the preheating oven while you mix the following ingredients. Only leave long enough to melt the shortening. (option: Mom sometimes used some bacon grease for extra flavor. She poured the grease from breakfast into an aluminum canister conveniently labeled "Drippings", always kept by the stove with a strainer in the top to catch the bacon bits. She'd go a bit lighter on the shortening and add some bacon drippings around the sides, heated the skillet in the oven till it was sizzling but not smoking, and poured into the mixed batter just before popping in the oven. Gently fold in the grease (let's call it what it is), poured back into the hot skillet, so it was already cooking a crust on the bottom before you ever put it in the oven. Don't overcook! 

Mix together:

2 c. self-rising corn meal
1/4 - 1/2 c. All Purpose Flour (use Gluten-free flour in same proportions)
1 t. baking powder
3/4 t. salt

1 t. baking soda
2 c. buttermilk

DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT PUTTING SUGAR IN MANA'S RECIPE!!

Remove the iron skillet of melted shortening and pour heated oil on top of the mixture and mix all together.  Pour batter back into the preheated iron skillet and bake 20-30 min. (To test if it's done, at 20 min. insert a knife into the center and withdraw to see if wet batter is on the knife blade. If knife comes out clean, remove from the oven.  Overturn onto a plate.

Note:  Mana had a skillet she used only for cornbread and nothing else and she only wiped it out with a paper towel between uses. Her cornbread never sticks because of the well-seasoned skillet!

Daddy loved to take leftover cornbread and crumble it into a tumbler that he then filled with ice-cold buttermilk. He'd eat this with a spoon; don't know it till you've tried it!