We recently received the presents from our wedding registry at the Brooklyn Kitchen. For most people, this is a happy moment. For us, in our small Brooklyn apartment, it presents a quandary: where the hell is all of this stuff going to fit?

For this reason, everything is still out in the hallway, and our kind neighbors are indulging us this occupation of common space — for now.

I cannot wait to use the Sodastream, the dehydrator, and the hand crank ice cream maker, but for now, the one piece of cooking equipment that I’ve brought into the apartment is the cast-iron corncob-shaped corn bread pan. My mom had one of these growing up, and I loved to make cornbread in it every year for Thanksgiving. I’m so excited to finally have my very own corncob pan!

This year, like every year, I made cornbread for Thanksgiving, but this year I used my new and beloved corncob pan, and the cornbread was better than usual. I chalk this up to a few reasons:

1) The bread was corncob shaped

2) I followed Mark Bittman’s recipe for cornbread

3) I used organic, farmer-ground corn meal from New York State that I bought from Cayuga Pure Organics at the Union Square greenmarket

4) Instead of regular sugar, I used Light Muscovado sugar from India Tree.

I used the full ½ cup of sugar that the recipe suggests, which is more than I usually use, and I think it made the difference in the cornbread being absolutely delicious, and not just tasty.

I wish I had a picture of the corncob bread, but it all got eaten right away. All I have left is the second most popular shape, the triangle, made of course in my cast-iron triangle-shaped pan. I will say this about cornbread. It is excellent right when it comes out of the pan, and it’s perhaps even better the day after it’s made. By the third day, however, most of its mojo is gone, so it’s better to make a small amount rather than have leftovers, unless you make it into cornbread stuffing, in which case I hope you’ll invite me over.

I hope everyone had a joyful, relaxing, and delicious Thanksgiving. Wish me luck making room for all of my new and exciting cooking implements, or say a prayer for James and I that we find a bigger apartment asap.