May 4, 2009: Lots of People, Lots of Children

Beautiful platter that held local caprese salad

Funny how good the "every bit local"caprese-style salad looked after the long months without fresh local tomatoes. The big platter of Bleugrass Chevre goat cheese/Roland Macintosh hydroponic tomato/homegrown herbs/vinaigrette may have lasted three minutes - and then the beautiful pattern on the platter underneath got to show itself off.

A lovely large crowd of people brought a record-setting number of young people with them, many of whom ended up moist (that's a euphemism) from (parentally approved) play in outdoor puddles, romps through the back yard, climbs on the mulch pile, and other adventures. Quite a few people new to the Cornbread Suppers appeared this week, with and without children.

The left behind food labels for the evening included these:

Chili with beef + beans + ??
Grandma Neal's homegrown pepper relish (McCreary County) SPICY
Zucchini and yellow squash saute' -- vegetarian, vegan
Rhubarb Compote
Chocolate pound cake with strawberries and whipped cream
Trifle: Blue, black, and raspberries w/organic cream & yogurt
Rice Pudding with Cinnamon - enjoy!

Cornbreads for the evening:

New England (sweet) Corn Muffins with Reed Valley blueberries (vegetarian)
Add-in Cornbread; corn, bacon, Campsie green garlic
Traditional buttermilk hot water cornbread: sticks, muffins, pone

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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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