Texas Cornbread

This is what I learned to love when I finished high school and attended college and worked in hospitals in Texas, thin, crispy crusted, unsweetened Texas Cornbread. In all those places, the kitchens served cornbread EVERY noon and evening, big pans of it. It was expected.
This recipe, from “Southern Living Our Best Recipes Volume 2", comes closest to what I remember. If you have a 10” cast iron skillet, it’s the perfect size. The ability of the cast iron to hold heat makes the bottom crust crispy; the pan needs to be preheated.
If you have an 8" skillet, halve the recipe.  You can measure out your dry ingredients and liquids separately ahead of time to speed up the process.
Country Corn Bread
1 1/2 Cups Cornmeal
3/4 Cup Flour, All-purpose
1 Teaspoon Salt
2 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
2 Large Eggs -- beaten
1 1/2 Cups Milk
6 Tablespoons Lard or Shortening
Combine cornmeal, flour, salt and baking powder. Combine beaten eggs and milk and stir into cornmeal mixture. Mix well.
Spoon lard or shortening into a 10" skillet and place in 400° oven. As soon as fat is very hot, coat sides of skillet and stir remaining fat into corn bread mixture.
Spoon mixture into hot skillet and bake at 400° for about 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Yield: 8 servings.
Cost 2010:  $1.31 for 8 generous servings
Per Serving: 270 Calories; 13g Fat (43.3% calories from fat); 6g Protein; 32g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 59mg Cholesterol; 460mg Sodium. Exchanges: 2 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 2 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.