Corn Bread

This is delicious with lentil soup or chili, and quite sweet — cut the sugar a bit if it feels wrong to serve something vaguely cakelike with dinner.

Hands-On Time: 15 minutes
Ready In: 40 minutes
Yield: 8-12 pieces

1 1/4 cups cornmeal
3/4 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt (or half as much table salt)
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
2/3 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons butter, melted, then cooled slightly

1. Heat oven to 425 and either grease a 9-by-9-inch cake pan or put an equivalent-sized greased cast-iron skillet into the oven to heat. Whisk together dry ingredients in one bowl and wet ingredients in another.
2. Add the dry to the wet and stir just until moistened. Scrape batter into the pan and tilt it around a bit to level. Bake until bread is golden and not at all jiggly, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.