Sunday Dinner: What's On The Table Out Yonder
09/01/2007
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 Sunday dinner in East Tennessee, fresh from Chuck Shuford's garden. This is a summer lunch we prepared in early August. Those are pole lima beans, fresh-off-the-vine blackeye peas and what I believe is a Celebrity tomato, all from the garden. The slaw is a delicious chipotle slaw that also goes wonderfully with fried catfish. Of course, we have to have cornbread to round out the meal. Please note there is no sugar in the cornbread. This is not a cake. In the South, at least, we don't hold with sugar in the cornmeal. CHIPOTLE SLAW Make the Chipotle Slaw by combining the chipotle pepper, mayonnaise, honey and lime juice in a large mixing bowl. Stir well, then add the shredded cabbage, red onions, green onions and stir to thoroughly combine. Season with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and refrigerate until ready. CORNBREAD In a mixing bowl whip 1 egg with a wire whisk. Add 1 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of baking soda and mix thoroughly. Add 1 cup of cornmeal and while stirring slowly add 1 cup of buttermilk. (This should make a medium thick batter). Put two 2 tblsp. of bacon grease or safflower oil or whatever oil you use into the skillet and let it get smoking hot on a burner on the stove. Add half the oil to the batter and mix well. Immediately pour the batter into the skillet and place the skillet on the bottom rack for 5 minutes and then move to the middle rack for 12-15 minutes more. This should give you crispy golden brown crust. When the cornbread's done, I merely turn the skillet over a cooling rack and the bread falls right out of the pan. You can also add sliced onion to the hot oil and let sizzle for just a few seconds before pouring in the batter if you want something a little different. EDITOR'S PLEA: Send photographs of a Sunday dinner in your parts to the Daily Yonder. Could be a barbecue plate. Could be what's served at the country club. Could be an RC Cola and a Moon Pie. We want it all.
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Comments
Mr. Shuford's Cornbread
I would like to thank the Yonder for the dietetic cornbread recipe. I am sure it would be tasty with gravy. My grandmother made a similar pone with more bacon grease in the skillet. And instead of adding any grease to the batter, she spatula-ed in, let's say, a third of a cup of mayonaise. This bread was the gold standard in our family. At Thanksgivings the turkey dressings made with other relatives' cornbread crumbles went wanting til hers was eaten.
She grew up on a farm in northern Alabama. My grandad was from north Georgia. At their house maynoaise was the other food group: used to improve nearly all garden truck, peas, beans, tomatoes. And it was an essential ingedient in fine baking.
Mr. Shuford replies...
"The recipe that I use (and contributed to the Yonder) is a Kentucky recipe. Mr. Davis may for the first time in history have used the word "dietetic" as an adjective for cornbread. In any case, I have had the great pleasure to eat Mr. Davis's cornbread in his Kentucky kitchen but I notice that he now uses yogurt to replace the mayonnaise. The '70's had a lasting impact on many of us.
Maybe the Yonder needs a cornbread department where recipes can be stored because there is a gracious plenty out there.
Richmond to Forth Worth, Davenport to Natchez,
Burly 'bacca fields to your snow cotton patches;
No matter where you're headin' when the train leaves the station
You still take your supper in the Cornbread Nation
(from the "Cornbread National Anthem" by Tim O'Brien)"