Cornbread. It seems simple, but to me, it has always meant more than just something to put on the table.

I still make cornbread at least once a week. It’s also a frequent request when my daughter, Karen, comes home. Some recipes just stay with a family.

Even though my parents both worked full-time jobs, raising their own food was important — and sometimes essential — to our household. When I was growing up in the ’40s and ’50s, we always had a cow, a few pigs, and plenty of chickens, along with a large vegetable garden.

My dad (Papa Spivey to all the grandkids; pictured below) planted two fields of corn every year. One was field corn, which was dried and later ground into meal for cornbread, grits, and hominy. The other field was sweet corn for eating fresh and putting up for the winter months.

The field corn was left standing until early fall so the kernels could harden. I remember getting off the school bus one afternoon and seeing my daddy pulling wagonloads of picked corn from the field. That was my signal. There would be shucking to do.

After the husks were pulled back and the corn was dried, my dad taught me how to remove the kernels. He would hand me two ears of corn — one in each hand — and show me how to rub them together. The kernels would fall away into the bucket below. It was simple, practical, and effective. That was just how things were done.

The corn had to be cleaned before it went to Arrendale’s mill for grinding. It was part of the routine. Work came first, and everyone had a role.

Looking back, I understand how much care went into something as ordinary as cornbread. It wasn’t fancy, but it was made from what we grew and what we worked for.

This is the recipe I’ve carried with me through the years — and the one I hope my daughter continues to make in her own kitchen.

Sometimes, the simplest foods are the ones that stay with us the longest.

Mama Spivey’s Cornbread

Ingredients

1 1/2 c plain cornmeal (We love to use our local favorite from NORA MILL GRAINARY)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 c. buttermilk
1/4 c. vegetable oil (plus a little to put in the skillet)
1 egg

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400° F. Preheat a cast iron skillet on medium high heat while you make the cornbread batter.
  2. While the skillet is heating, add the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk together. Add egg and buttermilk and whisk until just combined (do not overmix).
  3. Add your oil to the skillet. Add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan sufficiently. When the oil starts to smoke a bit, add a little cornmeal to the bottom (but don’t let it burn). Then, pour batter into the hot skillet and allow to sit for just a minute. You want a super hot skillet with plenty of oil to achieve the best crispy crust.
  4. Transfer cornbread to the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. For best results, loosen cornbread from the pan with a spatula and flip over to keep the crust from getting soggy and help it stay crispy.