Mamaw's cornbread

All this wonderful weather we've been having has me thinking about cornbread and it seems that subject is on others minds, too.  I saw a blog post from Terry's college roommate's wife on cornbread and while I was up at 3:30 again last night, I saw on Facebook where Kelly Pollard's grandmother brought her some homemade cornbread yesterday.

Y'all I love cornbread.  I grew up on this stuff and I've had all kinds.  Seems that everyone makes it differently and I've YET to have any like my mamaw use to make.

I lost my mamaw (my dad's mom) to cancer when I was a junior in high school.  I miss her every day!  She didn't run around in high heels and pearls, or drive a fancy car, but I loved everything about her — everything, but her love for snuff.  lol  My brother and I use to go to papaw and mamaw's house at least two weeks during the summer and they spoiled us rotten.  My brother loved mamaw's biscuits, and I loved her cornbread.  So, every morning (and I do mean every morning) she got up and made both for us.

That's right, you read correctly, she made homemade biscuits for Brian and cornbread for me — for breakfast.  We didn't eat it all for breakfast, but we did snack on it for the rest of the day.  But, here's the thing about mamaw's cooking — she didn't use recipes and she certainly didn't measure anything out.  I'm not even sure she owned measuring cups or spoons — she measured everything with her hands.  And she mixed everything with her hands.  You could taste the love she poured into that dish in every bite.

Mamaw has been gone for fourteen years and I've not had cornbread like hers since.  Her cornbread was thick and golden brown and it had the slighted crunch on the edges and then it melted in your mouth.  What I would give to have one more day with her, just a day in the kitchen, me and her just a cooking away.  You can rest assure that I would have a thick notebook to take notes and I would treasure every minute of it.  

Now, who has a cornbread recipe that sounds like my mamaw's??  If you have one, please send it my way!!  Until then... I'll just drool over this pictures and dream of what they taste like!

Who makes the best cornbread you've ever eaten?