corn pudding

I'd never made corn pudding until a few months ago.  I was really missing out.

In early December I wanted to try to make foods that other families may think of as holiday foods, but they aren't considered holiday foods in my family.  Green bean casserole, corn pudding and experimenting with dressing namely.  The first place I looked for a corn pudding recipe was the  Junior League of Houston's cookbook Peace Meals.  I made that one and then I stopped looking for a corn pudding recipe.

corn pudding adapted from Peace Meals
2 tablespoons of butter
1 chopped yellow onion
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
2 cloves minced garlic
3 cups corn (fresh, canned, frozen, whatever)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon coarse salt
dash of cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup shredded cheese (swiss, white cheddar, whatever you've got)
4 slices of bacon
1 chopped green onion

Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Cook bacon in a 8x8 baking dish.  While bacon is cooking...

Melt butter in a large saute pan over medium heat.   Cook the onions, jalapenos and garlic for 5 minutes or until tender.  Add the corn, thyme, salt and cayenne.  Stir in the flour and mix well.  Remove from heat and separate into two equal portions.  Puree one portion in a food processor or blender (I like my handheld for this), then mix the two portions back together.  Set aside to cool.

The bacon should be ready by now.   Remove bacon from pan and crumble.  Wipe most of the bacon grease out of the pan, but leave some behind because you are going to put the corn pudding in there and you don't want it to stick.

Combine the eggs, cream, sugar, pepper, cheese, bacon and green onions in a large bowl, whisking until slightly frothy.  Add the corn mixture to the egg mixture and combine well.

Pour into the prepared dish and bake for 40 minutes or until set.

Serves 4 plus.