From a Southern Oven by Jean Anderson

Author:Jean Anderson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Published: 2012-07-29T16:00:00+00:00

Green Corn Pudding

Makes 6 to 8 Servings

In the South, “green” means young and sweet and fresh, not underripe. In most parts of the South, Silver Queen corn reigns, but I personally prefer “butter and sugar” corn with plump yellow and white kernels on each cob. When I lived in New York, I’d stroll down to the Union Square Greenmarket a few blocks south of Gramercy Park, my home for 20 years, and buy a dozen ears of “butter and sugar” at a clip, most of it fresh from Long Island. I keep looking for it at farmer’s markets here, even tried to persuade some vendors to grow it. So far, no luck. Of course, the small white kernels of the beloved Silver Queen work just fine. Note: Pre–food processor, making creamy-style corn was both tedious and messy. How our grandmothers would have loved this “new-fangled” appliance.

6 large ears sweet corn (about 31⁄2 pounds; see headnote)

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon salt

1⁄2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1⁄4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg or 1⁄4 teaspoon ground mace

1 cup half-and-half

1 cup milk blended with about 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly butter shallow 21⁄2-quart casserole and set aside.

2. Shuck corn, removing all silks, then standing ears one by one in shallow pan, holding almost perpendicular, and using your sharpest paring knife, cut straight down freeing kernels several rows at a time (you should have about 8 cups). Pulse corn in two batches 8 to 10 times in food processor until you have cream-style corn (you should have about 5 cups); set aside.

3. With hand electric mixer, beat eggs, salt, pepper, and nutmeg in large bowl, first at low speed, then at high until thick and lemony—about 3 minutes. Whisk together half-and-half, milk mixture, and butter, beat into eggs, then fold in corn.

4. Turn into casserole, slide onto middle oven shelf, and bake uncovered about 1 hour until center is just set and top lightly browned.

5. Serve hot as an accompaniment to any roast—beef, veal, lamb, pork, turkey, or chicken. Delicious, too, with baked ham or fried chicken.

Eggplant Gratin

Makes 4 to 6 Servings

Eggplant, or Guinea squash as it’s also called in the Deep South, has long been a favorite below the Mason-Dixon and recipes for it appear in some of our earliest cookbooks. What follows is an updated version of a recipe that appeared in a Virginia church cookbook nearly 125 years ago.

1 medium eggplant (about 11⁄2 pounds)

1 large egg

3⁄4 cup half-and-half

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1⁄8 teaspoon ground hot red pepper (cayenne)

1 cup coarsely grated sharp Cheddar cheese

1 cup moderately fine soda cracker crumbs tossed with 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter (Topping)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spritz 5-cup au gratin pan or shallow casserole with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

2. Peel eggplant, cut in 1⁄2- to 3⁄4-inch dice, and place in ungreased 2-quart casserole that has a tight-fitting lid. Add enough boiling water to cover eggplant, put lid on casserole, slide onto middle oven shelf, and bake about 20 minutes until eggplant is tender.

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