May 11, 2009: We tried Mexican-Italian-Swiss-USA Cornbread

The big dish, a variation on Paula Ann Abbott's Mexican Cornbread, included Stone Cross Farm sausage, Swiss cheese, local Sapori d'Italia aged goat cheese, homegrown Wayne County corn, Campsie green garlic, Elmwood Stock Farm's 2008 sweet red peppers (roasted and frozen) as well as their gorgeous pastured, free range, certified eggs, and more.

I also tried Drowned Cornbread a third time - and that's it for that idea, until someone develops a better way to make the American Corn recipe work with its promised layer of custard.

The third cornbread was an olive oil version of traditional Kentucky/buttermilk/boiling water, baked in sticks, muffins, and a small skillet.

I failed to collect little descriptive food labels after people left, except for the one labeled "Pink Beauty Radishes from the Koch backyard." Beauties for sure! And they appealed to one of our one-year-old Cornbreaders, who ate several as if they were popsicles.

I remember a wonderfully aromatic chick pea dish, several lovely salads, and objects on the dessert table - but not what they were. Any reminders welcome!

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Boone Tavern Spoon Bread, the 1950s recipe

We have tried spoonbreads (soft, luscious, buttery—described by James Beard as a "heavy, dense soufflé") as Cornbread Supper mainstays before, and used great recipes, but the spoonbreads always did what spoonbreads (and soufflés) do: deflate. Through serendipity, and thanks to a Cornbread Supperian, I lucked into the old Boone Tavern (Berea College) recipe for spoonbread, and it is far less droopy. Perhaps Boone Tavern developed an approach to spoonbread that preserves all its goodness while still working for a busy restaurant. In any case, with thanks to Kentucky food and foodways author and guru John van Willigen, here's an excellent recipe for that can be doubled, tripled, and quadrupled to feed spoonbread to a crowd. It did just that on Monday, February 25, 2013. From Richard T. Hougen. Look No Further: A cookbook of favorite recipes from Boone Tavern Hotel, Berea College, Kentucky. New York: Abingdon Press. 1955. Southern Spoon Bread 1955 Ingredients 3 c...

We remember Vicky Schankula, 1947–2016

Vicky Schankula, at right, in purple One of life's most gracious and delightful people, Victoria Fairbanks Schankula, found Cornbread Suppers early on, and took joy in the weekly gatherings. She came to Cornbread Supper faithfully, bringing beautiful food, laughter, a camera for her "picture of the day," a lovely British accent, a commitment to helping clean up, and a constant interest in each other person in the room. When Vicky entered the house on Monday nights carrying a particular large round plate, children (and a few adults) trailed her to the dessert table to see what she had brought. The favorites: lemon bars, brownies and her mother's most unusual, delicious carrot cake. Vicky graciously shared and allowed us to publish recipes for Lemon Bars and Isabel Fairbairns's (Gangy's) Carrot Cake on this site. Gangy's Carrot Cake on Vicky Schankula's special dessert plate When illness prevented Vicky from returning to Cornbread Supper...

Cornbread Supper now is resting

For all the Cornbreadians and would-be Cornbreadians -- it was a good run. A bit more than nine years. You came on Mondays. Conviviality ensued. You made community. Gratitude to all. It was a gift to us.

Cornbread Supper

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