Sweet Corn Spoonbread

I have those days that I can't find a recipe that trips my trigger.  I look and look and everything is so un arousing....if you will.  Well, I take that back, there is always something to salivate over at Bon Appetit and Food and Wine but 10 times out of 10 I'm without the majority of  ingredients.  These days will lead me to two places.... P Dub  and Smitten Kitchen.   At these ladies feet, I can usually find a family pleasing meal and well, something to please myself too.  

P.s. For those of you that make separate meals for your children and or revolve your diet around their liking.  Don't. Don't insult their palate, thinking it can't decipher between good food and bad.  It can.  There is so much exciting food, don't limit your children to pop tarts, ketchup, and mac and cheese.  And if you must...make your own.  Richen the flavors. Give them something REAL to sink their teeth into.  Whoops, ok I'm done.

On Thursday....which I thought was Wednesday.  Don't ask.  David walked in the door  to me standing in the kitchen bewildered in front of the laptop and the ketchup I had just made.  I knew I would be making a meatloaf....Tyler Florence's  Meatloaf , a request from David.  The companion I had chosen was a Sweet Corn Spoonbread recipe from The Smitten Kitchen.  I was realizing that both of my dishes were about the same cook time and was confused where to start.  David gave me a hard time pointing out I had put too much unnecessary stress on Thursday's dinner and might possibly be in over my head.  Seeing that I thought it was Wednesday this was most certainly true, especially since it was already 5:15 and all I had made was ketchup.  Despite how true that was, being the jewel that he is... he jumped right in to help me out.  

I have only included the Sweet Corn Spoonbread.  I was missing several ingredients for the meatloaf and improvised on most of it but all was derived from Tyler Florence's recipe.  Why in my head do I keep hearing Friar Lawrence every time I say Tyler Florence?  I digress.  I will include how I make ketchup.  If you are a ketchup connoisseur and this upsets you....well, sorry.  

Ketchup Round My House

1 can Tomato Paste

Palm full of Dark Brown Sugar

1-2 tbs of vinegar (distilled white or red wine) 

1 tbs of olive oil 

Salt to Taste

*Now, this recipe changes every time I make it and frankly I don't measure anything out. 

Be creative, it's ketchup, no need to be scared.  If you don't have kiddos you can spice this up and add some nice fire to it.  Also, you can add water which is most acceptable but adding water to much of anything just makes me sad.  To each there own.  

*Question from Mary Kathryn...If I go so far to make my own ketchup to cut out processing why am I ok with using canned tomato paste.  An excellent question.  I googled, How to make Tomato Paste.  I hope this explains to you why I have yet to venture that way.  If you think I'm lazy...well you are entitled to that opinion.  Maybe one day, I'll give it a whirl.  

Let's get started.

Sweet Corn Spoonbread

Toss your butter in, melt, and toss in corn.  I used frozen and let it thaw a bit before hand.

Whisk Cornmeal and Milk....it'll be thick.  It's all good.

Brown up that Corn.  Yum.  I wish corn had more nutrition....

When browned toss in your spices and milk.
Bring to a boil  and then set aside and let steep for 15 minutes.

It's a shame all my pictures are terrible from this.  Because I don't separate eggs.  And I happen to think I did quite beautifully.  If you disagree, don't burst my bubble.

This is David whipping the Egg Whites and Cream of Tarter.
He did a lovely job.
Although, the first time he misread and added 2 tsp. of Cream of Tarter.
It's 1/4 tsp. Totally, something I would do.
At this time I whisked the egg yolks into the mixture that was brought to room temperature via the fridge.
It was super thick and I was worried but again...All Good.
Frankly, what David was doing was much lovelier than my task so his got the pic. 

The Peaks.

David folded "The Peaks" in a third at a time.

I did not have a Souffle Dish which would have made a much more esthetically pleasing dish.
I did have an 8 inch casserole dish that worked swimmingly.

In fact, here I would like to say I make recipes A LOT when I'm missing special
equipment.  You know... women made lots of things with nothing
but a their hands, wood fire, a wooden spoon, cast iron skillet,
and a heavy pot.  Furthermore, in lots of countries it's even less
than that.  Don't ever let this be a deterrent to
making a dish.

Think of those ladies and gents on No Reservations, cooking numerous
dishes, for one meal I might add, out of a kitchen with two burners and two feet of counter top.
Do you feel convicted?  You should.  We think we need a Viking,
Granite, and a Sub Zero to cook a decent meal.
Shame on us.
For those of you that have all of that.
I'm just jealous.

Work it out. 

Tossed those Bad Boys in......well if my Sweet Corn Spoonbread had a sex,
I think it would be a she?
Don't you think?  Let's rephrase that.
We tossed that Bad Boy and Girl in the oven.

Isn't He Lovely....even charred.
Ok, so the meatloaf was to be at 350 degrees but my Spoonbread was to be at 400.
We are elevated here and I have a knack for deflating things.
We evaluated....and Spoonbread won.
That's pretty much how it works.
He doesn't look too upset by it.

Pictures Terrible.
Still looks pretty yummy though, right?


Afterthoughts: Now,if I was to make this again.
I might would add a pinch more sugar and cayenne.
Texture was brilliant but it could use a bit
more spice in my opinion.
Also, this was not near as intimidating
once I got in there.

Special thanks to my very handsome, Sous Chef.

Sweet Corn Spoonbread

Serves 6, generously
1 cup cornmeal
2 3/4 cups whole milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus additional for greasing dish
2 cups corn kernels (from 3 to 4 ears of corn, or frozen, if defrosted and well drained)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
3 large eggs, separated
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Preheat oven to 400°F (see Note above if this seems too early). Very generously grease a 1 1/2 quart soufflé dish or an 8-inch square baking dish. Whisk cornmeal and 3/4 cup of milk in a small bowl until combined and set aside.
Melt butter in a Dutch oven or large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Cook corn until beginning to brown, which can take as little as 3 minutes with fresh corn but with defrosted frozen corn, took me closer to 10 minutes. Stir in sugar, salt, cayenne and remaining 2 cups milk and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, cover, and let mixture steep for 15 minutes.
If you’ve got an immersion blender, please use it to save time. Otherwise, transfer mixture to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Back in the pot (or still, if it had never left) bring it back to a boil, reduce heat to low and add the cornmeal-milk mixture, whisking constantly until thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes. If you want to do fewer dishes and don’t mind if it takes longer to cool, you can leave it in the pot. Otherwise, transfer to a large bowl and return mixture to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
Once cool, whisk in egg yolks. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in a medium bowl until stiff peaks form and fold it in to the corn mixture, one-third at a time. Pour batter into prepared baking dish and baked until spoonbread is golden brown and has risen above rim of dish, about 45 minutes. Serve immediately.