Cook the Book: Truman Capote's Family's Cornbread
The first of our cornbread recipes this week is for a Southern cornbread. Crescent Dragonwagon, the book's author, has helpfully broken up The Cornbread Gospels into regional divisions, explaining the differences among them. There are too many to go into here, suffice it to say that this cornbread should do you right no matter where you live. It's a recipe adapted from Sook Faulk, whose niece Marie Rudisill was Truman Capote's aunt. Faulk reportedly gave the recipe to Rudisill "with the understanding that [she] would share them with Truman Capote, [her] sister's child, who had been brought up in Sook's hometown, Monroe, Alabama."
Truman Capote's Family's Cornbread
- makes 8 wedges -
Adapted from The Cornbread Gospels by Crescent Dragonwagon.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter or bacon drippings
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups stone-ground white cornmeal
Procedure
1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Place the butter or drippings in a 10-inch cast iron skillet; place it in the oven.
2. Combine the eggs and buttermilk in a small bowl or measuring cup, whisking together well with a fork.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, salt, baking soda, and cornmeal; stir well to combine.
4. Stir the egg mixture into the dry ingredients, beating just until the dry ingredients are moistened and no more.
5. Pull the skillet from the oven. It should be hot, with the fat sizzling. Swirl the pan to coat. Quickly transfer batter to skillet; return skillet to oven.
6. Bake until browned and pulling away from skillet, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve hot, in wedges.
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3 Comments:
cornbread/muffins/pone/spoonbread can be wonderful but is often too bland and dry. an entire cookbook!
gorzd at 8:17PM on 04/07/08
Too make your cornbread taste good add layers of flavor. Buttermilk and chopped up bacon or scallions or jalapenos.
My fav is buttermilk and chooped scallion. It is very good.
JerzeeTomato at 4:22AM on 04/08/08
Some cornbread is bland and dry but good cornbread is a treat. Preheat your baking pan and coat the inside with melted butter before pouring the batter in. This results in a dark buttery crust that will contrast with a tender, moist bread. Try finding a recipe that incorporates fresh or frozen corn for added moisture and texture.
I have this cookbook and love it. Of course, I'm predisposed to enjoying cornbread in any of its manifestations.
MelsDiner at 8:14AM on 04/08/08