The Cornbread Gospels

I own 150+ cookbooks. Only a few have I cooked literally every recipe on it. This is one of them! my original print copy is battered, stained and loved. I bought a backup Kindle version. And over the years, purchased yet more copies as gifts (often with good quality cornmeal and/or a cast iron pan). This Christmas it's being gifted to my 20 something nephew who has begun bringing Jiffy jalapeno cheese cornbread to the family Thanksgiving potluck. He asked me about the cornbread & muffins I've been making for years. Here's the upgrade, nephew! Delightful recipe notes, always works recipes, simply wonderful!

I love this book! I've had the physical book for years and just bought a Kindle version because I love this book so much! The stories about the recipes and the regional differences just her in the US alone made it a fun read! It's nice to know where the recipes came from! :) I've made many of the different recipes and enjoyed the results! My adventure making cornbread was to start with the earlier Colonial recipes... and work my way around the world as I could! I was so glad to find the South African mealie bread here, too! Johnnycakes... hoe cakes... I could go on and on! This was my first introduction to Crescent Dragonwagon and her work - and it remains my favorite! I had bought the book because of the the name and the topic... and her name! However, I fell in love with the book for the variety of cornbread, the anecdotes, and overall charm of the book. The recipes are delicious! This is my "go to" book if I need a cornbread recipe - and then I agonize over deciding which one! I still enjoy this book and had to buy another because mine is a bit beaten up from use and moving! If you love cornbread, you will enjoy this book!

As another reviewer suggested, this is the sort of cookbook that you'll want to keep near you for lively, inspired reading. By the time I finally got this book back into the kitchen, it was already dog-eared, and I've been cooking from it almost every day since. The recipes are clear, delicious, and fail-proof. I have been a big fan of Crescent Dragonwagon's Inspired Vegetarian cookbook because she's such a fantastic, generous writer. In The Cornbread Gospels, she dives deep into a beloved subject and just keeps dishing up great recipes, corn-lore, and people stories. She also has included recipes for side-dishes and ways to use leftovers. When you open up your oven to pull out a batch of sweet-smelling cornbread (try the Dairy Hollow Skillet-Sizzled recipe), all will be right in your world. Crescent Dragonwagon knows how to satisfy our bellies, minds, and hearts.

I'm not much of a cookbook kind of guy. I tend to read recipes, and once the basic ingredients and methods are clear in my mind I put the basics (dough, prepped food, utensils, etc. together, and let it cook. Since a lot of my food is done by a slow-cook method I can take it easy and not get anxious about exact timing, etc. I grew up in Georgia, where biscuits and cornbread (including muffins, corn sticks, pan-fried breads and so forth) were a daily part of my diet. But I took these things for granted, and simply enjoyed them. It wasn't until I was "on my own," married with children, that I developed an interest in baking the same sort of corn and flour-based goods that I grew up eating. Alas, by that time most of my older cooks, along with their secret techniques and special little add-ins that made their cornbread and biscuits so delicious, was lost. So now I'm on a quest to find and master the basics, and then go from there. After reviewing many of the cornbread cookbooks available, I decided to start with "The Cornbread Gospels" because it seems well written, not too technical, and not too sentimental either. It gives a lot of information that I can use as my skills increase, and that's the best way for me to develop proficiency in a technique. I received the book quickly and immediately began to plan my first attempts to enter the world of cornbread. I may amend this review once I've done a few recipes and gotten a feel for how practical and well-written the book is, but for now, "The Cornbread Gospels" is my new go-to reference book. I like that it covers so many variations on the basic recipe for cornbread, which means I'll be referring to the book for a long time. And yet it's not so heavy or intimidating that I feel afraid to get the pages smudged with stray batter, or to underline or highlight important ideas, or make notes on a page. So, although I'm not a cook who follows recipes "religiously," I do look forward to "The Cornbread Gospels" to be my guide to a new world of warm, crunchy, buttery goodies that will make many meals all the more savory or delightful. This is early November, which gives me plenty of time to develop some skills before I try to make cornbread dressing or other homemade breads for the holidays. May all your baking experiments turn out to be wonderful successes! Remember, SLOW cooking keeps everything more moist, and helps flavors blend together. Let any anxiety or past "failures" go, and start again (I'm now 60, and just starting cornbread mastery!). Make cornbread as often as you can -- not just as part of "important" meals, but just to practice consistency. Soon we'll all be making lots of cornbread delicacies, and delighting our friends and family with fresh breads that come alive with some butter at the table! Best of everything, -Russell (transplanted from Atlanta to Manhattan).

While I am strongly in the do not add sugar camp on cornbread this book is a delight as it shares Southern and Northern and International cornbread's. While some of the Southern and Northern recipes become repetitive the rest of the book was informative and fun. I love the section on using leftover cornbread and deserts!

As a southerner, cornbread is one of the religions I gladly practice, and Crescent Dragonwagon's The Cornbread Gospels makes me want to testify! This book has been part of my library for some time, and I delight in flipping through for inspirations. It's indispensable for me - I so enjoy trying a new recipe and remaking favorites to enjoy on their own or with meals. Dragonwagon writes her recipes clearly and concisely; each that I have tried - and I have tried many - have easily accessible ingredients and easily understood methods. Regardless of your regionalism, I highly recommend The Cornbread Gospels.

I have to say that I am a huge CD fan! I have all her cookbooks and adore her funky writing style. But when I discovered she was writing a cornbread book. Well, I was first in line. =D Everything you could ever want to know about cornbread and more. This book takes you through northern, southern, native, and progressive cornbread styles and then an entire other section packed with what to eat with your cornbread. Even dessert. One thing I LOVE about CD's books are her menus. Dotted throughout are menu ideas inspired by holidays, happy days, or just good days to bake some cornbread. It's that little jolt of inspiration we sometimes need when dinner time rolls around. Perfect for cornbread lovers, quasi-vegetarians, and anyone who loves cozy comfort cooking.

I bought one of these cookbooks for myself, and I liked it so much, that I bought one for my daughter-in-law. It's an excellent cookbook that has a lot of information on corn/cornmeal. I consider the book educational, and it has very good, diverse, recipes. I'm satisfied with what this book has to offer. It's better than I expected. I bought my book from another source, and paid too much for it. I got my daughter-in-law's book from Amazon, and got a better deal for her's...a new book MUCH cheaper than mine. Much cheaper.

Cornbreads sind bei uns kaum bekannt und das ist schade. Crescent Dragonwagon, bekannte Koch- und Kinderbuchautorin hat einen wunderbaren Schatz amerikanischer und internationaler Rezepte für das in den Staaten sehr oft gebackenes Cornbread gesammelt. Süd- und Nordstaaten haben alle so ihre eigene Rezepte und es ist schön, die verschiedene Unterschiede zu lesen. Für diejenige die gerne schnell ein Brot backen und auf Sauerteig verzichten wollen, können hier tolle Rezepte finden. Eine echte Empfehlung!

I love cornbread and waa surprised to find a whole cookbook devoted to it. I was even more surprised to find one written by the author of one of my favorite books (To Take a Dare). It was a match made in heaven. The author includes lovely little notes and helpful tips. Everything you never knew you needed to know about cornbread is here.

I was using this book without a cast iron skillet as I had a pan the right weight, shape and size to substitute. Wonderful recipes. Luckily my husband was able to rescue and recondition two cast iron skillets and now the recipes turn out even better.