Corn Pudding Recipe…a Thanksgiving Favorite

This Corn Pudding has become a standard at our family’s Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.  All of us love it.  This is a savory, rather than super-sweet, version of corn pudding.  The sweetness comes from the corn itself, plus one tablespoon of sugar. It’s homey and satisfying, but elegant enough to fit right in with your other holiday foods.  I was first introduced to it when I worked for Greyfield Inn on Cumberland Island.  Chef Jenny Gladding would usually serve it alongside Baby Minted Peas, which makes a delicious combo and was definitely a staff favorite (Greyfield Inn staff members were lucky enough to eat the same gourmet meals served to guests…such an awesome benefit!)

Although it has been slightly adapted, the original recipe is from “The Vegetation Epicure, Book Two” by Anna Thomas.

Ruth’s Corn Pudding

Ingredients:

2 Eggs, local free-range

3 Tbs. organic all-purpose Flour

½ cup organic Cream

1 cup organic Milk

½ tsp. Salt

¼ tsp. White Pepper, fresh-ground…black will work

1 Tbs. Sugar

1 ½ cups fresh-scraped Corn (about 3 ears) OR 2 cups quality frozen corn, drained…ideally organic

3 Tbs. organic Butter, melted

3 oz. organic Sharp Cheddar Cheese, grated

This serves 4-6 people.  I always double this recipe for Thanksgiving or potlucks.  Sometimes triple.

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk the eggs and flour together to make a smooth paste.  Whisk in the cream, milk, salt, pepper, and sugar.  Add the corn, melted butter, and grated cheese and mix together well.

 

Pour into a buttered medium (smallish medium) casserole dish.  Set the casserole dish into a larger casserole dish or pan and fill the outer dish ½ full of water.  (This keeps the edges & bottom of the pudding tender).  Bake the pudding for 50-55 minutes.  It should be slightly puffed and pleasantly golden brown on top (not burned or too crusty). To check for doneness, an inserted knife should come out clean.  Carefully remove inner casserole from outer casserole.  Serve hot.

Serves 4-6 people.

 

 

Ready to Go in the Oven

 

 

 

This casserole is 2 1/2 times bigger than the above recipe.

 

 

Notes:

The original recipe adds ¼ cup finely chopped green chilis to the casserole…it sounds good, but I have never tried it.

I make this richer version for special occasions, but sometimes (for regular family dinners) I use just whole milk…or any combination of milk, cream, and half & half, as long as the total liquid is 1½ cups.

Finding local free-range eggs will be easy.  Finding local Cheddar cheese is do-able, and local milk & cream is currently harder to find unless you have an inside connection to a friend with milk cows.  At least, strive to use organic dairy products.

If you use frozen corn…choose high quality, deluxe corn.  I made the mistake of using generic grocery-store-brand frozen corn once because it was labeled Silver Queen.  I expected the Silver Queen to be exceptionally sweet (it usually is), but something had happened in the processing that rendered the corn all starch & no sweet.  It was a huge disappointment.  I made this mistake only once.

Sometimes I throw some chopped parsley in the mix.

Wishing each and every one of you a splendid Thanksgiving Day!

 

Advertisement