Yes, there are regional differences. Vive la difference! Otherwise we'd be eating a diet as predictable as McDonald's. If anyone would like to try an authentic Southern (i.e., non-sweet) version of cornbread, this recipe I posted a while back is my favorite version. I will grant a point to those who use 'adulterants' (grin) like sugar and flour: unless the quality of the corn meal is very good, cornbread made with just corn meal can be bitter. Meal can go rancid and stale pretty quickly. But cornbread made with fresh cornmeal, preferably stone-ground locally, is plenty sweet on its own. I generally only buy small quantities of cornmeal--just enough to make whatever recipe I'm making, and I buy it at a store that seems to have a good turnover of product. (That means not buying it at a gourmet store. No telling how long that stuff has been on the shelf.) Fortunately in my area of South Carolina there are a few grist mills not too far away that supply the local stores. Bernard Clayton's 'New Complete Book of Breads' actually has a listing for 2 different breads. One he calls "Yankee Corn Bread" (sugar, flour, yellow corn meal) and the other is Southern Corn Bread (white corn meal, no sugar or flour.) I find, though, that the freshness of the meal is more important than whether it's white or yellow. For those with access to good fresh meal I recommend this recipe from Clayton: Southern Corn Bread 2 eggs, room temp 2 cups buttermilk, room temp 1 tsp baking soda 2 cups white cornmeal (but yellow is okay, too) 1 1/2 tsp salt Preheat oven and baking utensil (skillet or 9 x 9 pan) to 450 while mixing batter. In a small bowl beat the eggs and mix in the buttermilk. In a mixer bowl, mix the baking soda, cornmeal and salt. Pour in the egg-buttermilk mixture and mix well until smooth. Pour batter into the preheated pan, return to oven for 20 to 25 minutes. It's done when a knife inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean & dry. I use this recipe when I make cornbread dressing for Thanksgiving; a quadruple recipe just barely fits into a 5 quart KitchenAid mixer bowl, and into an 11 x 14 pan. Absolutely delicious. This is what you use to soak up the pot juices from cooking black-eyed peas or greens. I always called those juices 'pot liquor' but my wife wondered what the heck I was talking about when I used that term. I guess that's southern as well.

Well, you can send all the baby reds to me & that takes care of half your problem. Seriously though, baby reds are fantastic just boiled skin on & served w/ butter, salt & pepper. Alternatively, they're also very good roasted w/ oil & garlic. I would even mash them, skin on. That's because I just love red potatoes. Reds aren't considered a good masher. A dish that I love but my family doesn't is to grate raw potatoes, tie them up in an old dishtowel & 'wring' the excess water out of them. Heat a nice OO in a saute pan & lay the potatoes in, mashing them into a flat pancake with a spatula. (Season w/ S & P) Cook until well browned & the potatoes on top are just starting to get soft. Flip them and just a couple of minutes before they're ready to come off the stove, top w/ crab or imitation crab, cubed fresh tomatoes & fresh (preferably) basil. Sounds like a weird combo, but it really is very good, my family's opinion not withstanding. Another thing I like to do is to grate cooked potatoes and mix into pancake batter. I usually use a pancake mix. Cook your potato pancakes & serve w/ butter & hot maple syrup or just applesauce. And then there's 'New Potatoes & Green Beans'. My mom made this a lot. Cook the baby reds w/ fresh green beans seasoned w/ either ham or bacon, some onion and water to cover.. This is one of those dishes that is good overcooked to the point that the potatoes are wanting to fall apart and even better heated up the next day as leftovers.

Best cornbread I've ever eaten. I serve this cornbread with pinto beans or black beans or black eye peas for my DH. Oh, and yes I realize this is high in calories, and it is not a heart-healthy recipe, but it is very easy and very good! I can't stand sweet cornbread! LINDAS CORNBREAD Martha White corn meal mix, white or yellow (Dont use the Jiffy corn meal because it has too much sugar in it.) Follow the directions on the package, 1 egg, substitute buttermilk for milk, add one 11 oz. can of whole Mexican corn, drained, add one cup of shredded cheese, add a couple of drops of hot sauce. and mix well. 2 slices bacon ¼ finely chopped onion 1 finely minced garlic clove (optional) You can add the following variations: pork cracklings jalapeños, bell peppers or other peppers Chop up two slices of bacon into a cast iron skillet and add ¼ cup finely chopped onion and garlic (dont let the garlic burn); heat bacon and onion in the oven at 400°; cook until the fat is rendered out of the bacon and the onion is tender. Dont drain, but pour the mixture directly into the very hot cast iron skillet and cook for the given time on the package. This recipe is from Texas Monthly. I haven't tried it yet, but it sounds interesting. Black-Eyed Pea Pie From Chef Kathy Ruiz at Evans, Houston. 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock 2 cups dried black-eyed peas 2 cups chopped yellow onion 1 tablespoon finely ground white pepper 1 bay leaf 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced 1 ham bone (optional) 8 cloves garlic, minced 3 bunches collards or mustard greens, destemmed Cornbread (recipe below) 4 cups mashed potatoes In soup pot, combine stock, peas, 1 cup onion pepper, bay leaf, jalapeño, ham bone, and half the garlic. Boil 5 minutes over high heat. Reduce heat, and simer 2 hours. Drain, reserving liquid. Fill saucepan with water. Add greens and remaining onion and garlic. Boil 6 to 10 minutes, until greens are wilted. Drain, reserving liquid. Tear greens into small pieces. To assemble: Crumble cornbread, and pack 1-inch deep in bottom of 9-inch springorm pan. Tope with layer of peas, then layer of greens. Alternate peas and greens until pan is almost full. Spread mashed potatoes on top, and brush lightly with melted butter. Bake at 350 degrees until set. Combine reserved liquids, and use as optional sauce. Note: This recipe is a good way to use leftover cornbread and mashed potatoes. Serves 4 to 6. Cornbread 1/4 cup chopped yellow onion 1 tablespoon butter 2 jalapeños, seeded and minced 1/2 cup fresh corn kernels 1/4 cup chopped pimento 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 1/2 teaspooons baking powder 1 1/2 tablesppons sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 cup buttermilk 2 eggs 3 tablespoons melted butter Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Sauté onion in butter. Remove from heat, and add jalapeños, corn and pimento. Mix dry ingredients in bowl. In another bowl, combine buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter. Combine corn and liquid mixtures, then add to dry ingredients. Dont overmix. Bake in greased 9- by 9-inch pan 25 to 30 minutes. Note: Stale cornbread works well in black-eyed pea pie, so make cornbread a few days ahead of time.

Maryann, No you don't really taste the cottage cheese in the cooked cornbread. It just gives it a moister taste. But, I like cottage cheese. Now my husband Hates cottage cheese, but he LOVED this recipe with the cooked cottage cheese. He said he like it better than regular cornbread, so I am going to start using this recipe for our cornbread but leave the broccoli off unless I want it in there. It is just a better tasting cornbread. I don't think I will use it for my cracklin' cornbread recipe, though. I was thinking of ideas, and I think you could substitute the broccoli for corn, green tomatoes, or bell peppers. I think either of those would be worth a try....That is what I am going to experiment with anyways...LOL. But that is just me....LOL