Leanza cornett's classic cornbread

8 servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
2 cups Self-rising cornmeal
1 cup Self-rising flour
¼ cup Sugar
1 Egg, beaten
1¼ cup Buttermilk
2 tablespoons Vegetable oil
Bread-and-butter pickles

Directions

Fresh from her tour of duty as Miss America 1993, ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT reporter Leanza Cornett is happy to trade her tiara for a chef's toque. I cook all the time now," says Cornett. "It's a major joy for me, especially because I spent a whole year on the road eating out and not having my own kitchen." The Virginia-born beauty's specialty is Southern-style cuisine. "I know it's not the best thing for you," she says, "but every now and then I regress into Southern cooking. It's the kind of food I grew up eating - grits, fried okra, and this recipe for cornbread, which is not like anything toy'll find in a restaurant."

As Miss America, Cornett had as little time to spare for moview as she did for cooking. Now she's making up for lost time and has seen most of the films nominated for major Academy Awards. On Monday night she'll be rooting for "Schindler's List" and Jonathan Demme's AIDS drama "Philadelphia." "I have personal reasons for wanting to see 'Philadelphia' win an award," says Cornett, an AIDS activist. "I loved the story, I loved the way Tom Hanks played it. One of my best friends is living with AIDS. When I walked into that movie theater and saw that it was filled not just with gay couples and homosexual men, but with straight people, I thought, 'These are the people who need to hear what Demme is trying to say.'" In the category of her best assignment for ET, Cornett nominates Mister Rogers. "I've interviewed everyone from Michael Bolton to Sawuille O'Neal to Diana Ross," she says, "But Mister Rogers is my favorite. I never missed his show when I was little, and walking onto his set was like being 6 again. He probably the most peaceful, honest man I've ever met."

Preheat oven to 425'F. Combine sornmeal, flour, sugar, egg, and buttermilk in a large bowl and mix to consistency of pancake batter.

Heat oil in 10" skillet or 9" square pan until sizzling; pour into batter. Bake 20-25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Serve with bread-and-butter pickles on the side.

Submitted By MICHAEL ORCHEKOWSKI On 10-10-94

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