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This week’s guest is Sandra Lee of Tennessee. I met Sandra at an event I provided desserts for recently. She mentioned that she makes great cornbread. I once took second place in the National Cornbread Festival in South Pittsburg, TN, where entrants have to come up with a main dish recipe using a packet of cornbread mix. I have had a fascination with cornbread ever since.
Southern cornbread has many variations, with some using yellow cornmeal while others use white. Some recipes use a little flour, while others use all cornmeal. Unlike cornbread that is made further north, southern cornbread is usually not sweetened with sugar. Southern folks say the key to the best cornbread is to use a very hot cast iron skillet with plenty of oil to create a crispy crust.
Sandra is originally from Mississippi and her recipe was taught to her by her mother over 50 years ago. Cornbread was often served at dinner and supper. She remembers her grandfather enjoying it for Sunday supper. He grew up in East Tennessee and his supper was composed of a bowl of cold cornbread and butter with buttermilk poured over.
Sandra first came to Ely in 1999 for a canoe trip with her husband. Their two sons were working at the Boy Scouts Canoe Base as interpreters (canoe guides). A few years later, her husband retired and worked there for 10 years. Meanwhile, she and her husband bought a house in Ely and started spending their summers here.
Aside from her love of cooking, Sandra enjoys hiking, gardening, walking her Airedale Terrier, reading, and watercolor painting during Makers Mornings at the Ely Folk School. She has participated in many other activities here, such as joining the Ely Garden Club, taking the Minnesota Master Naturalist class, participating with the Ely Field Naturalists, and singing with the Ely Methodist Choir. Sandra has also been a Boy Scout Leader for 37 years.
I would like to thank Sandra for sharing her cornbread expertise with us.
