Masa harina and sugar change a classic cornbread — for the better. (Ben Mims/Los Angeles Times) One afternoon, as I was preparing a Southern meal for friends coming over for dinner, I realized I had ...

Cornbread is to me what rice, potatoes or pasta is to other people: a staple carb of my diet. I grew up on it, so making a batch on a weeknight is no more difficult for me than making a pot of rice ...

The half dozen or so cornbread recipes highlighted in my column through the years only scratch the cast-iron skillet surface of all the possible variations. In the "Typically Texas Cookbook" (1970, ...

One afternoon, as I was preparing a Southern meal for friends coming over for dinner, I realized I had forgotten to make the cornbread. But since I keep all the ingredients on hand at all times, I ...

The recipe -- my grandmother's, which I have made countless times in my life -- made with masa harina produced a cornbread that was distinctly different from what I was used to but was equally ...