Recipe: Tuscan Cornbread

Why melt butter if extra-virgin is already liquid? Here is my Tuscan-style cornbread recipe.

• 1 tablespoon vinegar and milk to make 1 cup liquid (because I don't have buttermilk)
    • 1 tablespoon sugar or molasses
    • 1 1/2 cups cornmeal (I use my best, stone-ground heirloom polenta)
    • 1 1/4 cups soft wheat flour
    • 1 tablespoon baking powder
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
    • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
    • 3/4 cup quality extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 F. Put one tablespoon vinegar in a measuring cup and add milk to make one cup liquid. Dissolve molasses in milk (or add sugar).

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.

Heat a lightly oiled 10-inch cast-iron skillet over a low flame.

Add milk, eggs, and extra-virgin to dry ingredients and stir to barely combine. Scrape into the skillet and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until golden brown.

To read Faith's article about reinventing Thanksgiving for her Italian husband and friends, click here.