mix, mix…stir, stir

If The Cornbread Gospels missed your radar when it was released two years ago, you need to circle back around and catch this book. I picked up a copy because I flat-out love cornbread. Well actually, I love corn in all forms, including candy. You might question the value of an entire book devoted to this simple, comforting food; I was skeptical too, at first.

The Cornbread Gospels by Crescent Dragonwagon is deeper than a collection of recipes; it’s also a collection of stories reflecting our American culture and cultures the world over. The recipes are great, but it’s the stories that grabbed me, they feel important. How could they not, when the story of cornmeal in this country begins with providing desperately needed sustenance to the first settlers, slaves, and Civil War soldiers?

Thirded Colonial Cornbread with wheat and rye flours and molassas

It’s the deep-rooted, passionate, regional differences in cornbread that make it so interesting. Crescent Dragonwagon dives into all of it sharing interesting lore and history to anchor the recipes in context. She also nails down the often confusing lexicon of cornbread, for example, what’s a babycake vs. a muffin, or a johnnycake vs. a jonnycake. Rhode Island actually has a state regulation defining what exactly qualifies as a “jonnycake” without an “h” compared to one with. Talk about deep-rooted and passionate!  Along with her personal cornbread stories she shares an entertaining collection of cornbread related quotes and stories from a numerous characters she met during her six year cornbread odyssey.

New Spain-Style Corn Pudding with corn kernels, goat cheese, pablano chiles, scallions and a hint of cinnamon

Recipes in The Cornbread Gospels travel the globe illustrating just how worldly this humble grain is. There are Mexican, Colombian, Portuguese, Greek, and even South African recipes in the book. In addition to numerous regional cornbreads there are recipes for pancakes, waffles, yeasted breads, spoonbreads, steamed breads, and desserts. There is also a chapter dedicated to using leftover cornbread that starts with the wise advice to always make a double batch of cornbread so you have some leftovers.  If you’re like me and happy to serve cornbread as the main event, you will appreciate the “go-withs” chapter, filled with side dishes that compliment the star of the table.

Yankee "Spider" Cornbread with a Custard Layer

I have made oodles of recipes from this book and they have all been good, but the Yankee “Spider” Cornbread was thrilling. It self-generates a creamy custard layer that rests on top of the cornbread, but just below a crispy top crust. It’s remarkable and incredibly addictive. I have a difficult time not tucking flavor infusions into cream and milk, so I played around with this one a bit and infused the milk with a few sprigs of fresh sage to create a sage custard layer that was spectacular.

Blue, Blue, Blueberry Blue Corn Muffins

A few other favorites from the book are the Blue, Blue, Blueberry Corn Muffins which are light and tender with a delicate blue hue from the blue cornmeal. The “Thirded” Colonial Cornbread was a completely new and delightful experience. Thirding is apparently a technique the colonists used to stretch their precious wheat supplies, so this recipe uses cornmeal, rye flour, and wheat flour. The texture is soft and delicate and the addition of molasses gives it an irresistible flavor reminiscent of Boston Brown Bread. Miss Kay’s Dark Secret Cornmeal Cake is a perfect snack cake for any occasion and just as easy to make as a batch of cornbread. The addition of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice give it a warm deep flavor that blends nicely with the dark secret – a touch of cocoa.  The Cornmeal-Oatmeal Cranberry-Orange loaf is a balance of sweet, tart, crunchy and tender. The cornmeal adds a layer of flavor and texture making it more satisfying than most quick-breads without being the least bit oily, a downfall of so many quick-breads. Crescent Dragonwagon was kind enough to share three recipes with us from The Cornbread Gospels so you can have a little taste of what awaits you in this gem of a book.

Blue, Blue, Blueberry Corn Muffins
Yankee “Spider” Cornbread with a Custard Layer
Cornmeal-Oatmeal Cranberry-Orange Loaf

Cornmeal-Oatmeal Cranberry-Orange Loaf

Besides the fact that The Cornbread Gospels is a wonderful book, how could you not want to read and cook from a book written by someone with such an intriguing name? Crescent Dragonwagon is also the author of Passionate Vegetarian, Dairy Hollow House Soup & Bread, and Dairy Hollow House Cookbook, nine children’s books, and two novels. She teaches writing workshops, and blogs about cooking, eating, and writing at Nothing is Wasted on the Writer, where you can also read the story behind her unique name.

Rosemary Corn Crackers

You should also check out I Love Cornbread. It’s the international network for all things cornbread!

All photos by David Peterman unless otherwise noted

This entry was posted on Monday, August 17th, 2009 at 10:14 am and is filed under Books. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.