·:[ Jason On A Shtick ]:·
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Had a fabulous meal at Giuseppe’s Ristorante Italiano and admired their treatment of my favorite bourbon…

Another Kentucky custom classic, though I’m not sure of its intended function…

One of the nice things about getting older is that you start to have an appreciation for the little details that you didn’t pay much attention to when you were younger.  Case in point: my mom’s delicious fried cornbread.  I’ve had this stuff many times, but only in recent years have I come to truly enjoy it.  There’s nothing like going home to visit mom and dad and being treated to some real down home cooking.

I gave mom’s cornbread recipe a shot this weekend and it turned out pretty good.  Here’s what you’ll need:

• One and a half cups of Quaker white corn meal
• Half a cup of flour
• One egg
• One cup of buttermilk
• Two teaspoons of baking powder
• One teaspoon of salt

In a bowl, mix everything with a whisk to a consistency a little thicker than pancake batter.  Heat a skillet to medium heat and melt Crisco to cover the bottom – yes, Crisco!  I started with half of a one cup shortening stick.

Scoop two or three tablespoons (I used one large serving spoon) of the batter into the skillet to make one cornbread patty.  You can probably cook four at a time and this recipe makes eight patties.  Watch for the bottom of the patties to start getting brown – it only takes a few minutes.  As they brown up, flip each patty one time with a spatula.  As the second side gets brown, remove each patty and place it on a plate covered with paper towels to absorb a little of the grease – hey, we’ve gotta draw the line somewhere!

Melt the other half of the Crisco stick for the second set of four patties.  Rinse and repeat the scooping and flipping process.

I made them a little big in the first batch, but you can’t argue with the results!  Thanks mom!

A couple of points that folks have made to me after reading this one:

• You don’t have to use Crisco; I have followed my mom’s recipe and she has tried other things, but they just didn’t taste the same to her.
• The importance of a cast iron skillet cannot be understated – it spreads heat evenly and of course can be “seasoned” for flavor!

No, prohibition hasn’t been declared (yet).  This is simply the line at Liquor Barn to get this year’s Keeneland Maker’s Mark bottle.  More folks show up every year, but they always seem to have enough for everyone to make more than one pass through the line.

I am a big fan of organization and efficiency and Liquor Barn does not disappoint.  They have the bottles out and ready and all of their registers open.  They even bring around a free coffee and snack cart – can’t beat that on a windy, rainy day!

Here we are on the second pass with people frantically running to get back in line after stashing their first bottle in the car.  Take it easy, people – there’s plenty to go around!

If I have my facts straight, this is the thirteenth Keeneland bottle, with 1997 being the first (please correct me if I am wrong).  I have everything from 2000 on (thanks to my next door neighbors having a few extras of the first couple of years) as well as several other special edition bottles.  I may need more shelf space!

One of my favorite Kentucky inventions!  Is it a trailer?  Yes!  Is it a truck?  Yes!  It’s a trailer-truck-trailer!