Cornbread
My first batch of cornbread was just okay. The recipe in the Bittman book is pretty straightforward:
1.25 cups of buttermilk
2 tablespoons of butter
1.5 cups of medium grain cornmeal
.5 cup flour
1.5 teaspoonms of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 egg
Basically you mix everything together in a bowl -- except the butter which you melt in the pan -- and then bake it at 375 degrees for half an hour. My second batch was much better. I doubled the amount of sugar and added in half a can of sweet corn and approximately half a cup of shredded cheddar cheese. If I ever make cornbread again, I will add even more cheese.