Cornbread recipes?

I make this with and without pears - sometimes I add salsa, or cherry tomatoes, or fresh corn, depending on the time of year:

http://www.food52.com/recipes/14402_southern_cornbread_with_buttered_pears

I agree--the taste of cornbread baked in a preheated cast iron skillet is the best, but we heat the skillet with 2 tsp. of bacon fat rather than butter. Also cornbread here is made with white meal, with more meal than flour and never with sugar. Delicious crispy edges...

Whichever recipe you use, I think cornbread is the best when you heat a 10-inch cast iron skillet in the oven while it preheats, take it out and put a tablespoon of butter in it, swirl it around until it melts, and then add your batter.... When done, flip upside down onto a plate.

love the version from Moosewood Restaurant New Classics, but cooked in a ten-inch cast iron pan with caramelized onions in the bottom

It's hard to beat the authenticity and many kinds in Crescent Dragonwagon's "cornbread gospelsz "

I don't remember where I got this one, but I make it frequently, and adapt it (add herbs or fresh corn, etc.) when I'm feeling creative.


The Best Cornbread

1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1 cup coarse cornmeal (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. Kosher salt
1 cup sour cream
1 large egg
¼ cup milk
1 stick melted butter, divided

In a medium bowl, whisk together first 6 ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream, egg, milk and ¼ cup melted butter. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients.
Pour remaining ¼ cup melted butter into an 8-inch square baking pan; place in a preheated 400° for 5 minutes. Pour batter into hot pan; smooth top. Bake cornbread 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan; remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

This one is pretty spectacular

http://herbivoracious.com/2009/04/best-cornbread-ever.html

Here are some awesome ones featured on this site:

http://www.food52.com/recipes/8195_doublecorn_corn_bread_with_fresh_thyme

http://www.food52.com/recipes/12497_triplethreat_southern_cornbread

They're both really tasty!