Brown Sugar Cornbread. I wish I had some sort of schmaltzy cornbread story to share. Cornbread is the kind of food I grew up with. But truthfully cornbread is so ubiquitous the details that make it special can get passed right over on a blog like this. Cornbread is like mashed potatoes. It’s just there. When it’s good you’re pleased, when its bad you just squinch up your face and think to yourself, who can fuck up cornbread?

The basic cornbread recipe is so simple and forgiving that you may “find yourself making it as often as your mother made mashed potatoes.” To borrow a phrase from Mark Bittman.

I quote Mr. Bittman because he got it just right. I don’t mean his recipe for cornbread. Frankly I’ve never really given his recipe for cornbread much of a look see. Because, like I said, you have to be a pretty terrible cook to fuck up cornbread.

What I mean is, just like your mother’s mashed potatoes, cornbread is a blank canvas. Ready to to be twisted and cajoled into any shape, any form, any flavor you can imagine. Which is why, when it comes to blogs, you’ll find fancy pants recipes for cornbread of every kind and on every kind of cook’s URL.

Cornbread with whole corn kernels. Cornbread with jalapeños. Cornbread with cheese. Grilled cornbread. Mini cornbread muffins. And my entry into this tired cornfield. Brown Sugar Cornbread with Bacon Crumble.