Apr 8

Written by: Sandra Simpson
4/8/2005 12:25 PM

Memories of Gandaddy..Cornbread Salad with Buttermilk Dressing
This recipe is great for using left over cornbread and end-of-the-season salad vegetables. And don’t worry if you don’t have any buttermilk in the house. I will tell you how to turn any white milk into “buttermilk”.
The combination of the cornbread and buttermilk is inspired by one of my favorite memories of my grandfather sitting at the kitchen table dunking his cornbread into a glass of buttermilk. A little cornbread always escaped to the bottom of the glass and combined with the heavy cream that sat there waiting. His last swallow was one big glob of soggy cornbread. It was slow moving for that last gulp. Granddaddy had to knock the glass around, swish the contents a time or two. Sooner or later he persuaded that heavy combination from the bottom of the tall glass to his lips. None of us grandkids liked buttermilk but we sat and watched how much he enjoyed every last bite. We all waited until he wiped his sleeve on his mouth and said “do you know how the horse bites corn?” Before we could say “yes” he would chomp down on our knee with his big thumb and middle finger. We would giggle out loud, squirm around in our kitchen chairs, jerk our knees around and wish that granddaddy would never stop. After a few “bites” to our knees he would return to work and we would run off and play.
When putting my cornbread salad together I experimented with several different dressings, all of them O.K. but none of them great. And then it hit me, “cornbread and buttermilk”. The only draw back to this buttermilk ranch dressing is that you have to make it a little in advance so it can sit in the fridge and become thicker. You also have to cook a head of garlic, but this is very easy. If you find you don’t want to take the time to make the dressing use your favorite store-bought buttermilk ranch.

About any combination of salad vegetables will work or you can use the ones I have listed. If you use a glass bowl your guests will get to see the wonderfully colored layers of vegetables. I have an old-fashioned glass bucket with a handle that I fill with this cornbread salad. I call it my bucket of salad. This dish looks as good as it tastes. .
Salad Ingredients: Clean out the fridge or use the following:
1 small red onion, peeled and sliced in thin strains julienne style
2 thinly sliced peppers, one yellow and one red
2 scored and cut-up small cucumbers or one large cucumber
2 tomatoes, one red and one yellow, slice into wedges.
1-2 avocados, ripe peeled and diced
Fresh parsley to taste
Left over cornbread cut in 1 to 2 inch squares and toast.
Layer the salad vegetables, except the avocado. Just before serving, add the avocado, cornbread “croutons”, and dressing.
Ingredients for Salad Dressing:
1 cup of buttermilk
1 cup of plain yogurt or sour cream
Lemon pepper to taste; I use a little less than a heaping tbs.
Fresh herbs chopped finely or ones from your kitchen shelf
1 cooked garlic head. Squeeze the cooked cloves out of their skins.
Celery Seed to taste
Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or blender. Mix very well. Put in fridge for at least one hour. Shake or stir before serving.
Ok, now for the secrets for success;
1. Add cooked and crumbled bacon if you would like to jazz the salad up.
2. If you don’t have buttermilk use a teaspoon of lemon juice or a teaspoon of vinegar to turn your regular milk into buttermilk. This can save a lot on calories if you are accustomed to low-fat milk.
3. Baking garlic is easy and you can use the cooked peeled cloves to spread on crackers as well as include them in the salad dressing. Cut off about 1/3 of the garlic head. Rub with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and bake (covered) at 375 for about 20 minutes, or until they are tender.
4. Use cornbread that has a consistency of “cake” and has a little sugar. The best recipes I have found for this type cornbread can be found on most cornmeal bags.

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