One of the best things about potluck parties is that you don’t know what you will get to taste. It’s like a stocking on Christmas morning. There might be four pans of brownies and no sandwiches; or several plates of stuffed eggs. Hopefully there will be fried chicken -but just like magic – somehow it all works out. Plus you can almost always discover some delightful new dish that is someone’s family specialty. When I was a school counselor we often hosted potluck get-togethers when the students were out for the holidays. The food never failed to delight because teachers are generally good cooks with families to feed, they like to read and recipes are certainly fair game, and obviously, a party in the day was special treat. It was at one of those potlucks that I first tasted Cornbread Salad. It was a marvelous concoction- a brilliant way to use leftover cornbread plus sneak some delicious vegetables into a dish! The first one I sampled at that party was a basic mix of crumbled cornbread with mayo, tomatoes, onions, and green peppers – a great combination. I had to snag that recipe. Over the years our version has evolved to include fresh corn, kidney beans, pickle relish, sour cream and bacon. Clearly this is one of those recipes that can be tweaked to satisfy your crowd, but my guys are pretty happy with this one. If you don’t have leftover cornbread, an inexpensive cornbread mix will do. In fact store bought cornbread muffins could be used in a pinch. I like a very simple cornbread recipe that the great chef Edna Lewis first published thirty years ago. It can probably be found on line, but basic cornbread is all you need.
Once your cornbread is accounted for, your next step is to cook 8 pieces of bacon, cut up one tomato, a red pepper, and an onion, and shuck an ear of corn.
Mix a couple of tablespoons of pickle relish into the vegetables and set them aside while you make the dressing. That involves mixing about a cup of mayo – the lower fat canola oil one is fine - with a fourth of a cup of sour cream. Add a bit of the pickle juice, salt and pepper and that’s it. Drain your can of beans and you are ready to layer. It goes like this: crumbled cornbread, vegetable mix, beans, bacon, and dressing. Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit a couple of hours to develop flavor – overnight is fine. You can try and make a show of mixing everything together before serving– this is unsuccessful at my house but potentially more impressive for a crowd. The bottom line is that it doesn’t matter; the taste will win everyone over. My greatest wish for you is that you have a spoonful or two leftover the next morning. Don’t share that last bite. Yum!
Ingredients
8x8 pan of cornbread (about 4 cups broken in pieces)
1 onion, chopped
1 red or green pepper, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 ear of corn shucked (or a cup of frozen corn)
2 Tbsp sweet pickle relish
1 can of kidney beans, drained (you can use any bean you like)
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup mayonnaise – I use the Canola based type which is lower fat
¼ cup sour cream
Pickle relish juice
Salt and pepper
Directions
In a mixing bowl combine onion, pepper, tomato, corn and pickle relish.
In a small bowl mix mayonnaise, sour cream, about 1 tablespoon pickle juice and salt and pepper to taste.
In a serving bowl layer the salad, starting with cornbread, vegetables, beans, bacon and dot with spoons of the dressing.
Depending on the size of your bowl you will get 2 or 3 layers.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.
Mix ingredients together and serve.
