smitten kitchen

Preheat oven to 25

Cut an X in bottom of each tomato and blanch in a large pot of boiling water 10 seconds. Immediately transfer with a slotted spoon to an ice bath to cool. Peel tomatoes and chop them. (The Lee Bros. also suggest seeding the tomatoes, but I drew the line there.) Otherwise, just chop the tomatoes with the skin on.

Place lettuce, greens, 3 cups of toasted corn bread, onion and tomatoes to a large bowl and toss to combine.

Drizzle with buttermilk dressing, season with salt and pepper, and toss again.

Serve immediately.Do ahead: If youre making this for a picnic or pot-luck and oh, you should I suggest keeping the croutons in one container, the dressing in another and the salad mixture in a third; this is best freshly assembled, or in the 30 minutes after.Buttermilk-Lime Dressing

Adapted from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook

Less heavy than a traditional green goddess dressing, but oh-so-much greener than my standard buttermilk dressing, this would be equally good on a salad as it would be as a dip (add 1/3 cup sour cream or crme frache, and a bit more salt) for something deep-fried. (They suggest okra, green tomatoes, oysters or hush puppies. I say yes, please.)3/4 cups whole or lowfat buttermilk (whole preferred)5 tabespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (they say from 3 to 4 limes; I only needed 1 1/2)2 tablespoons olive oil1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (optional, this was my addition to give it more zing)1 tablespoon honey1/4 cup finely minced fresh basil1/4 cup finely minced fresh flat-leaf parsley1/4 cup finely minced green onios1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

Whisk all of the ingredients together in a small bowl until combined. Can covered tightly and stored in the fridge up to two days.Thin, Crispy Corn Bread

Adapted from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook1 tablespoon lard or unsalted butter1 1/2 cups stone-ground cornmeal1 teaspoon baking powder1 teaspoon baking soda1/2 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon sugar1 large egg1 1/2 cups whole or lowfat buttermilk (whole is preferred, heres how you can make your own)2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 450F. Grease a 12-inch skillet with one tablespoon of the lard or butter, leaving any excess in the pan, and place it in the oven.In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg until frothy and then whisk in the buttermilk.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and mix thoroughly. Melt the remaining butter in a small skill (or your microwave) and whisk the butter into your batter.While the fat in the large skillet is smoking, carefully remove the skillet from the oven and swirl the fat around to coat the bottom and sides evenly.

Pour the batter into the skillet; it should sizzle alluringly, says the Lee Brothers.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until the top of the bread is golden brown and the edge has pulled away from the side of the skillet.

Remove from the oven and either serve hot, in six wedges, or let cool and reserve for Corn Bread Salad (above).See more: Arugula, Herbs, Photo, Salad, Summer, Tomatoes

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