It turns out that Chris Rock was right.

I put a call out to my friends through my personal fb page, asking for suggestions for recipes to make in my new (old) cast iron skillet. The overwhelming majority of folks responded with much enthusiasm "CORNBREAD!" And so it came to be.
Aaron Piotro had this to say:

"You're from the south, but live in the north. I'm from the north, but live in the south. Why am I giving you this recipe?


1 cup of cornmeal

1 cup of reg. flour

1 cup of milk

1 egg (beaten)

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup oil or butter

couple pinches of salt, pepper (optional) and sugar to taste with a heavy hand.

Grease that pan, bake for 15-20 min at 450.

As usual, I read the recipe a few times, found a few more online to compare, and riffed in my own way. I used the measurements from above BUT I:

Heated the skillet with 2 tablespoons of veg oil in the oven while it was preheating

Soaked the cornmeal in the milk that was called for in the recipe, but used Buttermilk instead of regular milk AND let it sit for about 15 minutes while things preheated and I measured the dry ingredients.
 
I used about 1/4 cup sugar instead of pinches to taste (but I would cut back on this in the future--maybe use 1/8 cup instead so the corny goodness can shine through).
 
I mixed the wet ingredients into the cornmeal and milk mixture, and then added the dry, along with a small can of corn which I drained.
 
I mixed and then poured the batter into the hot cast iron pan and baked for about 15 minutes. So light, tender, and delicate...
 
Cornbread...ain't nothing wrong with that!