New Mexico Blue Cornbread

Heat the oven to 425°F and grease an 8-inch round cake pan by melting the butter in it in the oven. (for a thinner bread with a definite rind, heat 9-inch iron skillet in the oven and bake the bread in that.) Combine the butter and all the other ingredients except the buttermilk in the bowl the food processor and blend for 3 seconds or so. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula, pour the buttermilk, and process for 5 seconds more, stopping once again to scrape down the bowl.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake in the upper third of the oven for 30 to 35 minutes. The dough will rise with a slight hump in the middle and perhaps some cracks. It is done what is slightly browned in drawing away from the edges of pan. If, however, the center the bread sinks soon after you remove it from the oven, it is not baked through – return to oven for a few minutes more. Cornbread is always fragile to cut, so it is best to let cool for 5 minutes and then serve it in wedges from the pan.