cornbread

Nannie Logan’s Cornbread

If you are from the south, then you grew up eating cornbread at almost every meal. I had two grandmothers, Memaw Young and Nannie Logan. They were both excellent cooks and had very different recipes for cornbread. Memaw’s Cornbread is more traditionally southern, more of a “poor man’s bread” with no eggs or flour, just White Lily cornmeal mix and buttermilk. Today I am making Nannie’s cornbread because it is the perfect cornbread for dressing and Thanksgiving is just a few days away. It is almost a cake like consistency and if you like cornbread and biscuits in your dressing, this recipe will allow you to skip the biscuit making.

Cornbread is very controversial and every family has their own recipe. I need to fully disclose- Nannie never measured anything and my mom is one of seven girl in the Logan clan, so with all the grandchildren running around, Nannie didn’t have time for one on one cooking instructions. So after playing around with the proper ingredients, this is the recipe I have come up with that is the most like hers.

Many people like to preheat their skillet with shortening, however nothing is scarier than pulling a screaming hot iron skillet filled with shortening or oil out of a 450 degree oven and trying to fill it with your mixture. I read a food blog a couple of years ago and the girl swore by shortening smeared on a cold skillet. She promised it would fall out of the pan every time. So…I tried it. It works! Also, when I say a COLD cast iron skillet, I mean a skillet right out of the cabinet, not preheated.

Nannie always had a pan of cornbread with a big pot of white half runner green beans. That is the meal I remember most in her house. And I can promise you those were the best green beans I have ever had.

Nannie Logan's Cornbread

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups Cornmeal Mix
3/4 cup Rising Flour
1/8 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups milk

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. In a bowl, mix all ingredients and pour into a COLD cast iron skillet smeared with shortening. Place in oven for 20-25 minutes.

Christy Young Goza

Potato Soup

When I first began cooking, my potato soup consisted of boiling a potato and onions and mashing them and adding salt and pepper. I have come along way since then. The one thing you need to know about me is that I have never met a potato I did not like. The second thing you need to know is I hate peeling potatoes and I make it a point to never peel one. Therefore, in all my recipes you will note I use Yukon Gold potatoes. They have a thin skin, so thin that many times the skin just disappears.

There are times, especially on a cold, rainy day, that I just need a good bowl of soup. It has rained for the last three days and this is my second batch of soup for the week.

Many people use a roux to thicken their soup. I have a bit of a gluten sensitivity, so I always thicken things with a cornstarch slurry. I have to admit, a cornstarch slurry has saved my life many times. It is an instant thickener to ANYTHING.

If you make homemade chicken stock, this is a great time to use it. My chicken stock is heavy on the celery and it goes so well in this soup. Please use freshly ground black pepper. It does make a difference.

If you have a dairy sensitivity, you can easily substitute the milk for a plant or protein based milk or use more stock. For a vegetarian version, you could easily substitute the chicken stock for vegetable stock.

This soup makes a perfect little drop off gift for someone under the weather. I keep containers on hand just for food giving.

Tonight, I made a big pan of Memaw’s Cornbread in my cast iron skillet and it was the perfect side.

Potato Soup

This is old school potato soup- no cheese, no bacon, just wonderful, buttery potatoes.

Ingredients

5-6 Yukon Gold potatoes, diced
1 cup carrots, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 tbsp butter
2 cups milk
64 ounces chicken stock
Cornstarch slurry (2 tbsp cornstarch, mixed with 2 tbsp cold water)

Directions

In a large pot, toss in butter and garlic for 1 minute. Add celery, onions, carrots and stir for 3-4 minutes. Add potatoes and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and lower heat to a simmer and cover for about an hour. Remove the lid and press a potato masher through the soup many times (10-15 times). Pour in the milk and stir. Add cornstarch slurry. Add salt to taste and lots of freshly ground black pepper.

Make this recipe your own. Use bacon drippings instead of butter. Add crushed red pepper for extra heat. Top with bacon, cheese, jalapeno slices. A splash of apple cider vinegar at the end is amazing. For a twist, add fresh herbs: Oregano, thyme or a bit of rosemary.

Christy Young Goza

Memaw’s Cornbread

If you are from the south, then you grew up eating cornbread at almost every meal. I had two grandmothers Memaw Young and Nannie Logan. They were both excellent cooks and had very different recipes for cornbread. Memaw’s is more traditionally southern, more of a “poor man’s bread” with no eggs or flour, just White Lily cornmeal mix and buttermilk. Today I am cooking Memaw’s cornbread, but I promise you there is room on your table for both. Tonight’s menu was fried potatoes and pinto beans and Memaw’s cornbread is the perfect side for this dinner. I will showcase Nannie’s cornbread in the near future, I promise!

Cornbread is very controversial and every family has their own recipe. I need to fully disclose- I have changed Memaw’s original recipe. Here is the change: she always heated shortening up in her oven in a cast iron skillet, while she was preheating it. I have also done this many times. I have burned myself repeatedly and a few times seriously (try pulling a heavy skillet of scalding shortening out of a 450 degree oven). And here is the thing- sometimes it would fall right out of the pan and sometimes it would stick. So I read a food blog a couple of years ago and the girl swore by shortening smeared on a cold skillet. She promised it would fall out of the pan every time. So…I tried it. Can you believe, it falls out of that dang pan every, single time. Side note: when I say a COLD cast iron skillet, I mean a skillet right out of the cabinet, not preheated.

I have fond memories of the menu tonight.- it was my dad’s favorite meal, and my Papaw Young’s favorite meal, and it is Jay’s favorite meal, too. When we sat down to eat, Jay said, “This was Dado’s favorite meal”. Dado is Jay’s dad and he did love to eat, especially good southern food. I was so nervous meeting him for the first time. Jay told me his favorite meal: pinto beans, fried potatoes, fried okra and cornbread. So of course, I cooked exactly that for him that night. Whoever said the way to man’s heart was through his stomach was referring to Dado.

I have never had wine with cornbread and I am not going to start now. An ice cold glass of tea is the perfect pairing. Of course these days, I take a lot less sugar in mine. The best thing about cooking Memaw’s Cornbread? I get to cook it in her cast iron skillet. You can see from the picture the years of use from this treasure. And one day soon, I will get to pass it on to Logan. I am excited to see the recipes she makes in it.

Memaw's Cornbread

Two ingredients and a cast iron skillet.

Ingredients

2 cups White Lily Cornmeal Mix
2 cups buttermilk (this is approximate, you need a thick cake like batter)
1 tbsp shortening

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees, In a bowl, mix the buttermilk and cornmeal mix and pour into a COLD cast iron skillet smeared with shortening. Place in oven for 20-25 minutes.

I have always made this in a cast iron skillet so I would highly suggest one!

Christy Young Goza