• Skillet cornbread topped with tomatoes and rosemary
    Baking,  Food

    Skillet Cornbread Topped with Tomatoes and Rosemary

    Skillet cornbread may be the best kind to serve, as it cooks up with a toasty bottom and tender middle.  I love to top mine with garden tomatoes and chopped rosemary to hold onto every last bit of summer. Since corn is available through September, fold some into the batter for added texture and flavor using the recipe below. Recently I recommended this as the ultimate side to my summer Cobb salad, and with Labor Day weekend here, this is a crowd-pleasing addition to the menu.  By the start of September, our vegetable gardens have become looser, more natural and sprawling, and our dishes follow suit.  The actual amounts of…

  • Wild rice and cornbread stuffing in baking dish
    Food

    Savory Wild Rice and Cornbread Stuffing

    A savory accompaniment to roasted chicken or Thanksgiving turkey, this stuffing combines nutty-flavored wild rice with crumbled skillet cornbread, sausage, and plenty of fresh herbs. Baking the cornbread in a skillet ensures a buttery, toasted bottom crust. Rather than cube the bread, I crumble it before mixing with the rest of the ingredients. Wild rice adds even more texture. Since I will make this recipe many times during the holiday season, I keep fresh herbs on the windowsill for easy clipping. Whether you serve it for a holiday or cozy weeknight dinner, classic Thanksgiving sides like cranberry sauce and roasted vegetables round out the plate. The scent of fresh sage,…

  • Sun-Dried Tomato Cornbread
    Baking

    Sun-Dried Tomato and Scallion Cornbread

    When I was young, my father would fill up the kitchen with pots and frying pans as he made batches of a cornmeal recipe he had committed to memory, a fried polenta-like dish known as cornmeal mush. If you’ve been to any of my Food Traditions workshops, you may have heard me reference this as well as the butcher shop foods on my mother’s side. Recipes are lost for many reasons – the passing of a loved one, damage to a handwritten cookbook, or the simple fact of never having been written. I love working with individuals and groups to rediscover and recreate their traditions and encourage you to book…