My Life in Recipes

By Marilyn Hunter

While searching through my recipe box the other day, it occurred to me that this little wooden box is a metaphor of my life. Every well-worn recipe tells a story, a snapshot of a particular time in my life – times when I’ve been up and times when I’ve been down.

There are recipes for celebrations (my favorite chocolate cake) and recipes for difficult times when I craved comfort food (mac ‘n’ cheese and pot pie). I can think of a recipe that has accompanied almost every milestone. These recipes tell my life story, and if a picture is worth a thousand words, then a recipe must be worth a million.

Our boys have started building their own collection of recipes; however, their generation’s recipe box will look very different from those of the past. Their collection will be bigger and better than any generation before us. They are a generation born into technology and are learning to cook with digital resources like Special Fork. They are the palates of the future and they will prove to be more ambitious and more mature than any other. It will be very exciting to watch.

I’ll share more from our collection of family favorites in the weeks ahead.

To get the recipe and shopping list on your smartphone (iPhone, BlackBerry, Android device) or PC, click here.

Cast Iron Bacon Cornbread

This recipe takes me back to big Southern family dinners. Cornbread fame belongs to the South but it’s a dish that crosses borders, cultures, and customs. This quick bread can be baked in advance but is best served hot from the oven. Fortunately, it can be assembled and baked at a moment’s notice.

1 ½ cups cornmeal
½ cup flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups buttermilk
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons minced jalapeños (optional)
1 cup diced bacon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the dry ingredients (cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt) in a medium bowl and the wet ingredients (buttermilk, eggs and jalapenos if using) in a second bowl. Set both aside.

Sauté the bacon in a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat until it’s crispy and the fat has been rendered, about 8 minutes.

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, until just mixed. Do not overmix. Pour the batter into the hot skillet. Do not stir. The bacon on the bottom of the pan forms the crust. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. (The toothpick shouldn’t have any wet, sticky batter adhering to it.)

Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edges of the bread to loosen. Place a large serving plate on top of the skillet and flip skillet over, so the cornbread drops onto the plate. Slice the cornbread into wedges for serving.

Makes 8 servings

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