­
  • Home
  • About
  • Books
  • Music
  • General Posts
  • Food
  • Media Kit
  • Contact

Norman Mathews

  • Home
  • About
  • Books
  • Music
  • General Posts
  • Food
  • Media Kit
  • Contact

Buttermilk Corn Bread

Home FoodButtermilk Corn Bread

Buttermilk Corn Bread

September 2, 2019 Posted by Norman Mathews Food

In last week’s post, Pennsylvania-Dutch Chicken Corn Soup, I promised that I would provide the perfect accompaniment to that soup. Well, here it is: Buttermilk Corn Bread.

It’s an easy-to-make, moist,and delicious corn bread that can accompany many dishes. I prefer my corn bread somewhat sweet, but not to the point of tasting like a cake or dessert. If you prefer a less sweet bread, reduce the amount of sugar accordingly.

Three things are essential when making corn bread. First, have all your ingredients ready, measured out, with the eggs and buttermilk at room temperature.

All ingredients are measured and ready to go.

Second, you must have a hot oven (425°) and a baking pan that is preheated in that oven with 1 tablespoon of shortening. If you put the batter in an unheated pan, you will get a pale and lifeless bread. Ugh!

The final essential is that you work as quickly as possibly in assembling the batter.

In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients. Whisk them thoroughly until they are fully combined. This works just as well as sifting and is much easier.

For the shortening I combine cold, unsalted butter and lard. I believe the combination imparts the best flavor and the tenderest crumb. If the idea of lard turns your stomach, you can substitute vegetable shortening or use all butter.

The whisked dry ingredients with the shortening.

Cut the shortening into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender until it becomes coarse crumbs.

The shortening worked into the dry ingredients.

Beat together the eggs and the buttermilk. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients, and combine with a wooden spoon, using as few strokes as possible, until just blended.

Combining the liquid and dry ingredients.

Remove your hot pan from the oven, swirling around the added tablespoon of shortening, then dumping out any excess. Quickly add the batter to the still hot pan, and bake for about a half hour. Serve with plenty of butter and possibly honey.

The completed corn bread should be golden brown.

I find that if I have any corn bread left over, it stores best in the refrigerator. Then when I use it again, I sprinkle it with a few drops of water, wrap it in foil, and heat it at 350° for 12-15 minutes. It’s nearly as good as the freshly made.

To print or download the recipe, click here.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Click to share on Yummly (Opens in new window) Yummly
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn

Like this:

Like Loading...
Tags: BreadsButtermilkCorn BreadCorn RecipesQuick Breads
Share
0

About Norman Mathews

This author hasn't written their bio yet.
Norman Mathews has contributed 177 entries to our website, so far.View entries by Norman Mathews

You also might be interested in

Buttermilk Raspberry-Chocolate Shortcakes

Buttermilk Raspberry-Chocolate Shortcakes

Aug 4, 2019

It’s summer. It’s hot. And the cookin’ should be easy.[...]

Irish Soda Bread

Irish Soda Bread

Mar 16, 2025

Irish Soda Bread is a delicious and easy non-yeast bread[...]

Corn Pudding

Corn Pudding

Sep 8, 2019

The end of summer; the end of fresh corn. Make[...]

Loading

Go to Books Tab for Information on My Autobiography

.
On Sale Now!

Featured in Kirkus Reviews The Best Books of 2018

My article, “When News Drives Creativity,” which discusses Trump’s executive order not to report civilian death’s by drone, is featured in Theater Art Life Magazine. Click here.

Critical Acclaim for The Wrong Side of the Room

“The book’s second half is fully stocked with accounts of stage shows galore—not to mention impressive name-dropping (Barbra Streisand, Betty Grable, Dorothy Lamour, Gene Kelly). These anecdotes from the theater’s social scene glide alongside vivid imagery from the author’s performances and other successes. The book also has a delightful, chatty sense of humor with moments of wry wit that make it exciting to read.
In the end, it effectively celebrates a life of artistic inspiration alongside the giddiness and glory of live theater.”

—Kirkus Review

Read the entire Kirkus Review here.

 

Readers’ Favorite Review
by Asher Syed

The Wrong Side of the Room: A Life in Music Theater by Norman Mathews is an autobiography chronicling the author’s life as he transitions from a confusing and often abusive childhood, born in a sleet of uncertainty (literally, as it turns out). Masked by imagination and written with a humor that most would not be able to apply to such situations, Mathews is able to harness this creativity and hitch it to his own ambitions as a rising star. When an injury threatens to derail an ascent that defies all odds, Mathews is forced to reinvent and reignite himself once more, and does so amid a whole host of personal and professional turmoil, scandal, and the kind of stories that are all the more shocking – and inspiring – because they are actually true.

Norman Mathews delivers a riveting memoir with The Wrong Side of the Room that opens with a contentious genesis and powerfully surges through to its finale. This is the ultimate tale of a man who is knocked down seven times and gets up eight, except in this case our tenacious narrator is struck to the ground far more than that. But he does continue to rise and appears to have carved out a genuine niche for himself until, “I woke up one morning with a strange pain in my back and running down my right leg. In a few days, it got much worse, and I began limping.” With the support of his partner Todd, he buys a Steinway, dives into formal education, and…well, at first that all implodes too. But Mathews is the consummate phoenix and, much like he displays in the writing of this book, skillfully maneuvers the trajectory of his life’s own narrative into a story that we are fortunate enough to have shared in The Wrong Side of the Room.

Impressively candid, exceptionally informative, deftly written, organized and presented, “The Wrong Side of the Room: A Life in Music Theater” is an extraordinary memoir that will have special and particular appeal for anyone with an interest in show business. . .very highly recommended for both community and academic library Contemporary American Biography collections.

—Midwest Book Review

News

The Wrong Side of the Room is the Bronze-Medal Winner in the Non-Fiction —Music/Entertainment Category of the Readers’ Favorite Book Competition.

To see my coming-out video on YouTube, click here.

 

BOOK CORRECTION: In my autobiography on page 152, I state that Carolyn Morris died in a motorcycle accident. I learned from her daughter-in-law that though she was severely injured she did not die. She is still living in Rutland, Vermont.

Get a free copy of Chapter 1 of my autobiography just by commenting on whether you think Sondheim or I am right about setting Dorothy Parker’s verses to music. Click here.

Read my new article, Sicilian Classics from Nonni’s Kitchen in the Times of Sicily. The article gives 4  of my grandparents’ interesting recipes.

Read my interview about my autobiography, The Wrong Side of the Room, with Norm Goldman, editor of BookPleasures.com here

The Wrong Side of the Room has been listed on Vincent Lowry’s site eAuthorSource. Click here.

 

Follow Us

Instagram

Follow Me!

Contact Us

We're currently offline. Send us an email and we'll get back to you, asap.

Send Message

© 2025 · Your Website. Theme by HB-Themes.

Prev Next
%d

    Notifications