Skillet Cornbread

I usually make cornbread to go with Senate Bean Soup, or chili, or red beans & rice. It's got a little sugar in it but is not a sweet recipe - though it's delicious with butter and honey! It is quick and easy - I make it in a cast iron skillet, but a cake pan would work just as well. Warning: it can be a bit crumbly, but again, butter and honey!


Skillet Cornbread
1 1/4 c milk or buttermilk (I usually mix a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar or a bit of plain yogurt into the milk.)
3 Tb butter or bacon grease
1 1/2 c cornmeal
1/2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 Tb brown sugar
1 egg


Preheat oven to 400 F.

Heat butter/grease on the stove until melted and bubbling, then turn off. If you are using a cake pan, you can set it inside the oven for a few minutes to get hot.

Combine cornmeal, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Mix egg, milk, and brown sugar, then stir into dry ingredients, just enough to combine.

Pour about 2/3 of the hot grease into the batter and stir it in quickly.

Scrape batter into hot skillet/pan and bake 25 minutes, until lightly browned. The sides should pull away slightly. Let it rest in the pan for at least five minutes before cutting it.

I like to split each piece horizontally, then put the butter and honey on each half.

Optional first step: combine the milk and 1 cup of cornmeal and let them soak, anywhere from 30 minutes to overnight (I would refrigerate it for that length.) Then just dump in the other 1/2 cup of cornmeal and the rest of the ingredients and whisk it all together - it will be stiff at first but will loosen up. This softens the cornmeal, and seems to make the bread a little less crumbly - and then there is still some dry cornmeal for a little bit of grittiness!

Senate Bean Soup (no politics, please!)

Senate bean soup is very tasty and hearty! Here's the text copied from my mom's recipe card (recipe format below):

"Put two cups of white beans, and a hambone with some meat on it, in 3 qts water and let them soak all night. Then start simmering them, which should continue for at least two hours. At the end of the first hour, add 1/2 cup of cooked, mashed potatoes. Stir the soup thoroughly, until the potatoes are well mixed. Then add 3 finely chopped onions, a whole bunch of celery (tips stalks & all) chopped finely, a clove of minced garlic & 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley. Let it simmer the second hour. Then take out hambone, chop pieces of meat from bone and put back in soup. A big bowl of this and all you'll need is dessert and coffee."


I am writing up the recipe below with several tweaks that I tend to use. For example, I usually don't have a ham bone, so use a smoked pork hock - which adds tons of flavor!


Note: this makes a LOT of soup. I almost overflowed our pot. Maybe try a half portion first if you're not sure your pot will fit!


Senate Bean Soup
1 lb white beans (navy beans work well)
ham bone/hock
ham (if not enough on bone - I used one pack of large-diced ham)
1 small/med potato
3 onions
bunch celery
1/4 c parsley (or some dried parsley, if you forgot to get fresh like I did)
garlic - I use several cloves, original recipe uses 1
salt and pepper

Soak beans with bone overnight in 3 qt water - or enough to cover bone.

Bring beans up to a simmer and note the time - wait an hour to add next ingredients.

While waiting, peel and slice potato, and boil in a separate pot until soft - then drain and mash. It's quite all right if there's more than a half cup!

After 1 hour, add potatoes.

Dice onions and celery, mince garlic, chop parsley, and add to soup. I put the onions and garlic in a skillet with a little olive oil and butter and cook on low heat for a few minutes before adding them.

Add the diced ham at this point as well, and some salt and pepper.

Simmer another hour. It will start sticking to the bottom so be sure to keep stirring and scraping so it doesn't scorch. Check the seasoning again before you serve.



This goes really well with cornbread, which can be made during that last hour of cooking!