All I wanted me was a little cornbread!

December 30, 2008 5:23 PM

I just made some skillet cornbread. What do I do with it?

Specifically, what does cornbread taste good with?
Can you make any sort of quick "cornbread to go" concoctions for a busy morning when you are rushing to work?
Is a makeshift sandwich out of the question?
Butter?

I just made it because I hear people talk about it.
Now, ask-mefites, help me eat it. =)

posted by Tbola to food & drink (26 comments total)

Get some canned (Goya?) black beans and make a quick black bean soup with some onion, peppers, and chili powder. Goes wonderfully with cornbread and you can keep a bunch in stock in your fridge.
posted by dunkadunc at 5:24 PM on December 30, 2008

I've always just liked using it as a honey and butter substrate. Also, in the bottom of a bowl with chili on top works really well.
posted by mikesch at 5:28 PM on December 30, 2008

It's a perfect bread to go with black-eyed peas (for luck in the New Year).

Kinda an older thing, but after meals (or, I guess less traditionally for busy mornings) you can pour a glass of buttermilk and crumble a lot of cornbread in it, then eat/drink it. Maybe that sounds gross, but I like it. Only, though, if it is Southern cornbread -- not sweet yellow cornbread (my recipe here to explain the type of cornbread I mean).
posted by Houstonian at 5:32 PM on December 30, 2008

I always make cornbread when I make chili, and my kids like to eat the leftovers for breakfast the next morning, warmed up with butter and honey drizzled over it.
posted by padraigin at 5:35 PM on December 30, 2008

Are you roasting a chicken or a turkey soon? 'Cause cornbread stuffing is the bomb.
posted by gyusan at 5:36 PM on December 30, 2008

My advice is to go cook some ham and red-eye gravy, or a nice steak with gravy, or something along those lines, and then use the bread to mop up said gravy. That's how it gets used in my house.
posted by Brother Dysk at 5:44 PM on December 30, 2008

Cornbread goes with chili in my house, too.

One skillet is a lot of cornbread. It freezes pretty well, so after the first meal I usually plastic-wrap individual wedges and pop them into the freezer. They can go to work as a nice piece of bread on the side with some spicy bean soup (crumble it in if you like), or it makes a great snack just sliced open with some cheese broiled onto it until it melts and some salsa on top.

Oddly enough it also goes well as a dessert with peaches and whipped cream.
posted by Miko at 5:54 PM on December 30, 2008

Cornbread and chili is excellent winter comfort food. Basically, any saucy, savory thing is pretty good over or with cornbread. And I like cornbread stuffing a lot, too.

But my favorite thing to do with cornbread (especially if it's not too sweet) is to crumble it up into a mix of pea-size and smaller crumbs, fry them in butter until a little toasty, and then drop a couple eggs on the bed of crumbs. Fry until the eggs are done to your liking. So, so good with sausage for breakfast (or dinner, if you're like me). Apply Tabasco liberally.
posted by peachfuzz at 5:54 PM on December 30, 2008 [4 favorites]

for breakfast, cornbread with really good jam or preserves. no butter necessary (how often can you say that?) and please no jelly.
posted by i_am_a_fiesta at 6:09 PM on December 30, 2008 [1 favorite]

Goes awesome with vegetarian chili and a dollop of sour cream.
posted by OlivesAndTurkishCoffee at 6:17 PM on December 30, 2008

White northern beans, carrots, celery and onions in the crockpot all day. Cumin, salt, pepper to taste.
posted by Enron Hubbard at 6:25 PM on December 30, 2008

Cornbread with really good jams, preserves, fruit, and cream sounds great. But don't overlook the standard slice of cornbread in a bowl with a little milk and white sugar. It's better than most people think.
posted by Science! at 6:29 PM on December 30, 2008 [1 favorite]

I grew up with it warmed and with sugar and milk poured over it. Man, I love that.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 6:33 PM on December 30, 2008

2nding crumbling it up in buttermilk. Seriously you will love it.
posted by austinetsu at 6:56 PM on December 30, 2008

I always make cornbread whenever I make stew, chili, or jambalaya.
posted by gatorae at 7:01 PM on December 30, 2008

Chez Good, we call this "the stuffing that eats like a meal".
posted by peagood at 8:58 PM on December 30, 2008

definitely good cut into slices and grilled in a buttery pan, and with a big bowl of molassessy, hammy baked beans. i've tried the cornbread sandwich and it usually just doesn't want to work. too crumbly and soft.
i've never heard of eating it with milk or buttermilk poured over it; that sounds like awesome baby food.
posted by pieliza at 9:16 PM on December 30, 2008

In addition to the suggestions above, I love it with butter and maple syrup.
posted by jenne at 9:46 PM on December 30, 2008

hot with melty real butter and melty honey.

dropped in buttered chunks into hot chili topped w/ sour cream, cheese, onions

covered w/ hot spaghetti sauce, and parmesan cheese
posted by mumstheword at 9:58 PM on December 30, 2008

If you can find some green tomato pickles - then you have a slice of heaven! Otherwise, they are great with black eyed peas and ham hocks (a new years favorite with many of my friends) or my fallback - in chicken noodle soup - truly it rocks.
posted by The Light Fantastic at 12:00 AM on December 31, 2008

2nding 'Ham and Red-Eye Gravy', as well as my personal favorite, Hoppin' John (though the wikipedia version is a bit much fo me - I usually just make and combine rice, black-eyed peas, and a bit of cumin).

If it's truly the lacy-edged, but not too greasy skillet cornbread of my youth (did you put onions in the batter? man I used to love that), then consider yourself beyond mere mortal ken - I grew up with it, and have been trying for fifteen years to cook it, and can never get just right.

At this point I think it's a mental block.
posted by eclectist at 12:52 AM on December 31, 2008

I eat it with molasses, my sweetie eats it with butter and honey. We both like to eat it with various savory beany dishes. Or just some lightly spiced black beans, for that matter.
posted by hattifattener at 1:56 AM on December 31, 2008

Mmm, with good bean chili, of course! And eat it while listening to the classic Dave Matthews song "Cornbread" so life will be extra awesome.
posted by fantine at 5:45 AM on December 31, 2008

Straight up with honey butter. Mmmm...

(Mix softened butter [I prefer salted] with honey until it tastes of awesome. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate or freeze until ready to use. Spread on warm bread, and enjoy.)
posted by Citrus at 7:09 AM on December 31, 2008

There's no such thing as too much cornbread. Pick your favorite chili/stew and crumble the cornbread (especially if it's a little sweet) over the top and eat quickly. It also goes surprisingly well with some chinese food. A dong bei restaurant near me in Nanjing makes wonderful yumi bing which is almost exactly like a 1/2-inch thick skillet cornbread. I like to use it soak up all the wonderful sauces in the other dishes on the table.

But, really, there's precious little that couldn't be improved by being served on a bed of cornbread or with cornbread on top or with cornbread crumbled over the top.
posted by msbrauer at 6:38 PM on December 31, 2008

I personally often like my cornbread "neat", particularly if it has been made in a really well-buttered skillet with corn kernels.
posted by Deathalicious at 1:25 AM on January 3