Buttermilk Cornbread
1/4 pound butter
2/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 375º. Grease an 8 inch cast iron skillet. Melt butter in skillet. Pour butter into mixing bowl. Return skillet to oven to keep hot. Add the sugar to the butter in the mixing bowl and mix well. Quickly add eggs to butter and beat until well blended. Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into bowl. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain. Pour batter into the hot skillet. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes.

Cast Iron Skillet Seasoning
1. TO PREPARE FOR SEASONING (and burning off old cure): First, scrub any loose rust off. I even took an SOS pad to it. Dry it off. Put in in your oven (do not put grease on it at this time) and run the self-clean cycle. You will probably have some smoke, so turn on the vents. Let it cool completely. When cool, brush off any remaining residue and scrub any left over stubborn spots with an SOS pad again.
2. TO SEASON: Preheat oven to 500º. Using your fingers or a kitchen towel, smear solid shortening over every surface and into every nook and cranny. (Important note here...do not use anything but solid shortening here, ie Crisco. The use of spray oils or vegetable oil at any point in the curing of the skillet is said to leave a sticky, brown, uneven cure.) You want this coating to be very thin. Put the skillet upside down on a rack in the middle of the oven. Put another rack directly under it with a piece of aluminum foil to catch the oil drippings. Let it bake for 2 hours. You may need the vent again. Now, let the skillet completely cool in the oven before moving it. The long cool down is essential. You should repeat these instructions in #2 one more time before actually using the skillet.
3. GENERAL CARE:
~Do not wash with soap after skillet is properly seasoned.
~Usually a rinse with hot water is all that is needed.
~For really caked on/burnt on food, put a little pure canola oil in the skillet. Pour Kosher salt into the pan to create a paste and use a clean sponge to scrub the burnt on food. The salt works as a scouring agent, and washes out easily. Wipe out the pan, apply a thin coating of shortening, and then wipe it off, and the piece is ready to be stored.
~Always dry the skillet well before storing.