By JOHN T. EDGE

For the Journal-Constitution

Louie Favorite/Staff (ENLARGE)

Aria's Pastry Chef, Kathryn King, made this cornbread cobbler.

Louie Favorite/Staff (ENLARGE)

Executive Chef Anthony Sanders' special buttermilk flavored shellfish creation.

Bita Honarvar/AJC Staff (ENLARGE)

Buttermilk and cornbread soup

Louie Favorite/Staff (ENLARGE)

On a tour of Wright Dairy near Anniston, Ala., in business since the 1940s, visitors will take in the quaint sight of long-ago implements involved in making buttermilk, a pungent staple of the rural South.

Louie Favorite/Staff (ENLARGE)

A rare talent indeed allows chef Anthony Sanders to infuse his creative tapas with a soul-food sensibility, as in this shellfish delicacy with buttermilk soubise.

Louie Favorite/Staff (ENLARGE)

'Most any good corn bread will do' to complement the liquid component of a 'country smoothie,' says Southern foodie Joe Dabney.

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Two or three times each day, a customer at Mary Mac's Tea Room grabs a stubby pencil and, as is the custom at this dowager of a restaurant down on Ponce de Leon Avenue, scratches out an order for a tumbler of buttermilk. Usually, says manager Jeffrey Palsa, they crumble in cracklin' corn bread and eat the sodden affair with a spoon, between bites of fried chicken and collard greens.

Mary Mac's isn't the only throwback. For reasons that are beyond reckoning, Southern wiener stands have long poured frosty mugs full of buttermilk, a custom that has echoes way up in New Jersey, where, at Hot Dog Johnny's in Buttzville, regulars prefer buttermilk as a chaser for deep-fried dogs.

Contemporary Southern chefs are embracing the possibilities lurking in a gallon of buttermilk. They're ennobling the essential components of a "country boy smoothie" — corn bread and buttermilk — and winning that dish white tablecloth status.

A few examples:

Corn Bread Panzanella Salad With Buttermilk Dressing

8 servings
Hands on: 30-40 minutes
Total time: 30-40 minutes (plus time to bake corn bread, if baking from scratch)

For a Southern-style version of the Italian bread salad known as panzanella, chef Ben Barker of the Magnolia Grill in Durham, N.C., uses corn bread in place of Italian white, and buttermilk dressing rather than vinaigrette. The result is a refreshing yet hearty side dish that is an excellent vehicle for tomatoes, fresh herbs and other garden vegetables. Barker contributed this recipe to Country Home magazine; we adapted it slightly. Feel free to adjust the ingredients to taste, adding chopped Vidalia or green onions, chopped sweet pepper, sliced radishes or other goodies from the garden. It's great served alongside a freshly roasted chicken.

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar or cider vinegar
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
Bottled hot pepper sauce
5 cups (about) cubed corn bread
2 cups arugula leaves, cleaned
1 1/2-2 cups vine-ripened tomatoes, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1/2 small English cucumber, peeled and seeded, cut into half-moons (about 1 cup)
1 rib celery, thinly bias-sliced
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces
2 tablespoons fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley leaves
2 tablespoons mint leaves, torn in pieces
1/3-1/2 cup bottled sweet corn relish or whole-kernel corn

To make the dressing: In a small bowl, stir together mayonnaise, buttermilk and vinegar. Season to taste with salt, pepper and hot pepper sauce. Cover and chill until serving time, up to 1 week.

To make corn bread croutons: Place corn bread cubes on a baking sheet, uncovered, for 2 to 3 hours to dry out (or bake in a 300-degree oven about 20 to 30 minutes, turning once or twice).

In a large bowl, combine corn bread croutons, arugula, tomatoes, cucumber, celery, basil, parsley and mint. Add dressing and sweet corn relish. Toss to combine.

— Adapted from www.countryhome.com; tested by Susan Puckett

Per serving: 516 calories (percent of calories from fat, 39), 11 grams protein, 69 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 22 grams fat (4 grams saturated), 64 milligrams cholesterol, 1,079 milligrams sodium.

Joe Dabney's Country 'Smoothie'

"As to recipes for the country smoothie, most any good corn bread will do. My wife often uses Jiffy corn muffin mix, which provides a wonderful taste when crumbled into a tall glass of buttermilk. The mix contains 7 grams of sugar, which makes for a sweeter product than what I usually like for corn bread. As you probably know, using sugar is a no-no among corn bread purists, but I find that the sweetness provides a nice counterbalance to the buttermilk sourness when crumbled in Elvis Presley-style and eaten like ice cream.

"I'm not a member of the chopped-onion school. ... First heard of that practice after moving to Georgia in 1963. In my opinion, onions dilute the tangy buttermilk taste. But to each his own, and God bless 'em."

Buttermilk and Corn Bread Soup

6 servings
Hands on: 45 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

John Fleer, former chef at the famed Blackberry Farm in the foothills of Tennessee, combines buttermilk and crumbled corn bread in this creamy soup. Use toasted leftover corn bread as decorative croutons for the soup. If garnishing with bacon cubes, cook them first and use the rendered fat for the corn bread.

For the corn bread:
1 cup stone-ground cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon bacon fat or butter
For the soup:
1 tablespoon roasted peanut oil or vegetable oil
1 rib celery, diced
1/2 cup diced washed leeks
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup white wine
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup crumbled corn bread
2 cups buttermilk, divided
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup chicken stock reduced to 1/2 cup

Optional garnishes: chopped chives, 1/4 cup cooked diced bacon, corn bread croutons

To make the corn bread: Preheat a small (6-inch) cast-iron pan in a 400-degree oven while assembling the batter.

In a bowl, sift together cornmeal, salt and baking soda. In a separate bowl, lightly beat the egg; whisk in buttermilk. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Coat the hot pan with bacon grease or butter. Immediately pour in the batter and return to the oven. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and cool. Set aside for soup.

To make the soup: In a stockpot or large saucepan over medium-high heat, add oil. Sauté celery and leeks until translucent. Add garlic. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Sauté for 30 seconds. Add wine and stir to deglaze the pan. Add chicken stock and corn bread. Simmer for 15 minutes. In a bowl, combine 1 cup buttermilk and cream. Gradually add some hot soup into it to temper. Pour soup and buttermilk mixture into a blender (you may need to do this in batches). Puree and add reduced stock. Just before serving, heat, adding remaining 1 cup buttermilk. Serve hot and garnish with chives, bacon or corn bread croutons.

— Tested by Jeanne Besser

Per serving: 323 calories (percent of calories from fat, 43), 10 grams protein, 34 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 15 grams fat (7 grams saturated), 63 milligrams cholesterol, 1,093 milligrams sodium.

Blueberry Corn Bread Cobbler With Orange Buttermilk Ice Cream

8 servings
Hands on: 20 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Pastry chef Kathryn King of Aria in Buckhead drew on her Southern roots to come up with this summery creation. The topping on this cobbler is more like soft, springy spoonbread than the traditional crumbly crust. The simple flavors are a perfect companion to the exotically tangy, orange-perfumed buttermilk ice cream. While she prepares them in individual ramekins, for home use we made it in a more conventional 9-by-13-inch baking dish.

2 1/4 cups whole milk
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
Pinch salt
3/4 cup stone-ground plain white cornmeal
3 large eggs, separated
2 pints fresh blueberries
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a heavy saucepan, stir together the milk, 1/3 cup sugar, 4 tablespoons butter and salt. Bring to a boil. Slowly whisk in the cornmeal. Cook, stirring, until mixture is thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the remaining 3 tablespoons butter until fluffy. Add the egg yolks one at a time, whisking until incorporated. Fold cornmeal mixture into butter-and-yolk mixture. In a clean stainless steel or glass bowl, whip the whites either by hand or with a mixer until medium peaks form. Fold into the cornmeal batter.

Spread the blueberries into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and pour the cornmeal mixture over them. Sprinkle with the brown sugar and remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Bake until the topping is just set, about 50 minutes. Cool about 10 minutes before serving (the juice thickens as it cools).

— Tested by Deborah Geering

Per serving (without ice cream): 296 calories (percent of calories from fat, 43), 6 grams protein, 37 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 14 grams fat (8 grams saturated), 107 milligrams cholesterol, 78 milligrams sodium.

Orange Buttermilk Ice Cream

8 servings
Hands on: 10 minutes
Total time: Varies with ice cream maker

More tangy than sweet, and laced with liqueur, this frozen dessert is decidedly a treat for grown-ups.

Zest of 2 oranges, finely grated, no pith
1/4 cup orange liqueur, such as Grand Marnier (or orange juice)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
A few drops natural almond extract
4 cups good-quality whole-milk buttermilk (low-fat or nonfat may be substituted)

Combine zest, liqueur or orange juice, sugar, extract and buttermilk and freeze according to ice cream maker instructions.

— Tested by Deborah Geering

Per serving (using low-fat buttermilk): 151 calories (percent of calories from fat, 7) , 4 grams protein, 28 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, 1 gram fat (1 gram saturated), 4 milligrams cholesterol, 129 milligrams sodium.

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Crab-crusted Scallops, Mussels and Clams With Corn Bread Gremolata and Buttermilk Soubise

4 servings
Hands on: 40 minutes
Total time: 1 hour

Executive chef Anthony Sanders of Rare restaurant in Atlanta grew up watching his grandmother cook in her soul food restaurant and combines those memories with his professional culinary training to devise creative Southern-style tapas. He proves his showmanship by stuffing a scallop-filled crab cake into a mussel, and then into a clam, drenching them in a buttermilk-enriched broth and topping with an herbed corn bread crumb mixture. We elected to forgo that fancy presentation and simply combined the individual components together in the broth. Make your own corn bread or buy it from a market.

For the crab crust:
12 ounces crab meat
4 tablespoons mayonnaise or aioli (garlic mayonnaise)
1 tablespoon minced jalapeño
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
1/4 teaspoon paprika
12 scallops (or 6 very large scallops, cut in half)
For the corn bread gremolata:
1/2 cup crumbled cooked corn bread
1/4 cup chopped Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
For the buttermilk soubise:
1 tablespoon butter or bacon fat
1/2 shallot, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
3 cups clam juice
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 to 2 tablespoons chopped tarragon, or to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
For the assembly:
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 garlic clove, sliced
Pinch red pepper flakes
1 cup white wine
2 cups reserved soubise
1/4 cup torn basil
12 mussels, optional
12 clams, optional

To make the crab crust: In a bowl, combine crab meat, mayonnaise, jalapeño, green onions and paprika. Form into 24 (1/4-inch-thick) discs and wrap around scallops. Refrigerate.

To make the corn bread gremolata: Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Spread crumbled corn bread on a baking sheet and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy, stirring every 10 minutes for even cooking. Set aside to cool. In a bowl, combine corn bread, parsley, garlic, lemon zest, olive oil and salt.

To make the soubise: In a saucepan, melt butter and slowly cook shallot and garlic until translucent. Add flour and stir well to combine. Add the clam juice and buttermilk; cook for about 8 to 10 minutes over medium heat, skimming if necessary. Add lemon juice and tarragon and salt and pepper to taste. Reserve 2 cups.

To assemble the dish: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large ovenproof sauté pan over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Sear each scallop until golden, carefully flip over and transfer to the oven for 2 to 4 minutes, until not quite cooked through. Remove and set aside.

Meanwhile, in another sauté pan, heat the remaining tablespoon olive oil. Sauté garlic until golden brown. Add the red pepper flakes and wine and reduce by half. Add the soubise and basil (and clams and mussels, if using), then cover and reduce heat to a simmer. (As each clam and mussel open, remove from stew.) In 4 large, shallow bowls, assemble the scallops, clams and mussels, then add the hot broth and sprinkle gremolata on top.

— Tested by Jeanne Besser

Per serving: 542 calories (percent of calories from fat, 48), 29 grams protein, 39 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 27 grams fat (5 grams saturated), 111 milligrams cholesterol, 1,528 milligrams sodium.

Buttermilk Corn Bread Pudding Souffle With Molasses Caramel and Buttermilk Chantilly Cream

8 servings
Hands on: 45 minutes
Total time: 2 hours

John Currence, chef/owner of the City Grocery restaurant in Oxford, Miss., transforms corn bread and buttermilk into an unexpected decadent treat. For a dessert base, he says a sweet, cakey corn bread is preferable to the typical dense, sugarless, flourless discs most Southerners prefer with their entrees. This is best if the corn bread is made a day ahead and sits overnight to dry out a little. (There will be some corn bread left over.)

"Yankee" corn bread:
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, preferably not non-fat
1/3 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly plus extra for greasing the pan
Custard:
2 eggs
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter, melted
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 egg whites
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus extra for dusting
Molasses-Caramel:
6 tablespoons favorite caramel sauce
2 tablespoons molasses
Buttermilk Chantilly Cream:
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
6 tablespoons buttermilk

Prepare corn bread: Preheat a 10 or 12-inch cast-iron skillet in a 400-degree oven while assembling the batter.

In a bowl, combine corn meal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

In a separate bowl, lightly beat the egg. Whisk with buttermilk and butter. Slowly stir the wet ingredients into the dry until fully combined and smooth.

Grease the hot pan with a little butter to coat. Immediately pour in the batter and return to the oven. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cornbread is set and golden brown. Remove and cool completely, preferably overnight. When cooled, crumble about * of the pan of corn bread and reserve.

Prepare custard. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter eight 8- or 10-ounce ramekins and dust with powdered sugar.

In a bowl, beat eggs. Whisk in buttermilk, sugar, milk, butter, vanilla, nutmeg and salt until well combined. Add enough crumbled cornbread until the mixture is thick and all the custard has been soaked up. Set aside. Whip egg whites to stiff peaks with powdered sugar. Fold in u25CA of the whites into the custard mixure until combined. Fold in the rest of the whites until combined and divide into prepared ramekins (they should be about é full.) Place ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove when souffles are tall and golden.

While soufflÄs are baking, prepare Molasses Caramel: Stir molasses and caramel together. Set aside. Prepare Buttermilk Chantilly Cream: Whip the cream to medium peaks with powdered sugar and vanilla. Drizzle in buttermilk and continue to whip until cream hold medium to hard peaks.

When soufflÄs are done, break the top, drizzle with caramel and top with chantilly cream.

* Tested by Jeanne Besser

Per serving: 437 calories (percent of calories from fat, 38), 8 grams protein, 61 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 19 grams fat (11 grams saturated), 116 milligrams cholesterol, 520 milligrams sodium.

Bourbon Buttermilk Punch

1 serving
Hands on: 5 minutes
Total time: 5 minutes

Currence serves this punch alongside his Buttermilk Corn Bread Pudding Souffle.

2 ounces Old Rip Van Winkle 10 Year Old Bourbon or other bourbon
1 1/2 ounces whole buttermilk
11/2 ounces half and half
3 tablespoon confectioner’s sugar
1 dash nutmeg
1 dash vanilla
Small pinch salt
Kahlua, optional

Pour bourbon, buttermilk, half & half, sugar, nutmeg, vanilla and salt into a shaker with ice and shake vigorously.

Swirl a double old fashion glass with kahlua, dump and fill with crushed ice.

Strain milk punch into glass and top with another dash of nutmeg.

* Tested by Jeanne Besser

Per serving: 290 calories (percent of calories from fat, 25), 2 grams protein, 26 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, 4 grams fat (3 grams saturated), 14 milligrams cholesterol, 194 milligrams sodium.