Thanksgiving Corn Bread Recipe

Corn bread goes with chili and in dressing during the holidays. This recipe isn’t dressed up with cheese or chilies (though you could add some or either or both). It’s a basic recipe, made in a cast-iron pan to create a crunchy crust. Keep this recipe on file and make it whenever you need a good sturdy corn bread especially for Thanksgiving.

INGREDIENTS

•  Vegetable oil
• 1 ½ cups cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 ¾ cups buttermilk (or whole milk with a tablespoon or so of lemon juice stirred into it, left to sit for 5 minutes)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

PREPARATION

1. Preheat oven to 450. Lightly oil a 9-inch cast-iron skillet and put it in the oven to heat.
2. In a large bowl, sift together the cornmeal, salt and baking powder. In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and eggs. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients, add the melted butter and stir together until just mixed.
3. Remove the hot cast-iron skillet from the oven and pour the batter into it, then give the pan a smack on the countertop to even it out. Return pan to oven and bake, approximately 30 to 40 minutes, until the corn bread is browned on top and a toothpick or a thin knife inserted into the top comes out clean.

Adapted from ‘‘Thanksgiving: How to Cook It Well,’’ by Sam Sifton.