Buttermilk Corn Bread

My church serves a dinner for hungry people in our community every Sunday. I am on the team that serves dinner on the second Sunday of every month, and our assigned meal is always chili with corn bread and salad. We have dedicated cooks who make vats of chili every month, and I usually volunteer to bring corn bread. Over the past year I have made a few different recipes, changing this and that and the other thing, and I think I finally found the one I like the best. I like this recipe because it's sweet with a little tang; however, you should be aware that my dinner team captain thinks it's a little too sweet, so it's possible that you will want to reduce the amount of sugar. I make this in a big batch (we feed 60 people), so it's also possible you might want to halve the recipe and use a smaller pan.

Ingredients:
1 C. (two sticks) butter
1 1/3 C. sugar
4 eggs
2 C. buttermilk
1 tsp. baking soda
2 C. corn meal
2C. flour
1 tsp. salt
Butter to grease a 9 x 13" pan

In a small mixing bowl, combine the corn meal, flour and salt, set aside. Put the baking soda in the buttermilk separately, and set that aside for a moment. Melt the butter in a saucepan, then in a large bowl, whisk the melted butter and sugar until they are thoroughly beaten together. Add the eggs to the butter and sugar and keep whisking. Pour in the buttermilk mixture, and whisk thoroughly. Use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to mix in the flour and cornmeal mixture until it's all thoroughly wet. Pour into a buttered 9 x 13" baking dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. Let it cool for at least 20 minutes before you cut into squares.