Thanksgiving "Pop" Corn Pudding

Thanksgiving, can't get more American than that. Not even our neighbors to the North can get it right, celebrating a month too early. About 7 or 8 years ago I discovered this little recipe for corn pudding and it has been a holiday staple ever since. It is simple (frozen corn, milk, eggs) and tasty, and can even be made the day before and just reheated prior to eating to ease the burden of the day. I always host/cook dinner at my house, ever since my mother relinquished her duties 15 years ago. I must also say, turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy and stuffing are flat out my favorite meal and always the best thing my mother made when I was growing up. The woman knows how to make gravy, let me just say that. She is also famous, or infamous depending on your position, when it comes to her stuffing. It basically consists of  herbed bread cubes (dried), bulk pork sausage, celery, onions, chicken broth and the pan juices from boiling the neck of the bird. Over the years, I have tried to recreate how she does it all, with pretty good success, especially since none of her "recipes" are written down or have any exact measurements. It's more like 'add the broth until it's moist'. But the corn pudding is my addition to my mother's Thanksgiving dinner. Try it, you'll like it.

On a day devised merely to give thanks, I suggest a cornucopia of the finest Thanksgiving episodes TV has to offer. First, you've got to watch the Peanuts in "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving". It remains unclear to me why all of the children have been left alone to fend for themselves on the hoilday, but Snoopy rises to the occasion and is a master chef when it comes to his popcorn and toast dinner. Then, if you haven't already, watch the "WKRP in Cincinnati" turkeys can't fly episode - empty your bladder first, just a word of warning. Then, you can move on to "The Brady Bunch" and the Un-underground Movie episode depiction of the first Thanksgiving, "The Bob Newhart Show" when Emily goes out of town and Bob, Howard and Jerry get drunk and order chinese food. A hilarious TV moment when Bob slurs the order and says Moo-Goo-Goo and wonders if he's ordering chinese baby food. Another good one is the "Cheers" Thanksgiving at Carla's that ends up in a food fight (there are times when that could actually happen here). And finally, the "Friends" episode where everything completely goes awry and Joey ends up with a turkey on his head. Forget the football, give thanks to classic TV.

The Recipe:

30 oz. frozen corn, thawed
3 cups milk (2 + 1)
4 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Puree half of the corn and two cups of the milk in a blender until almost smooth. In a large bowl, whisk eggs with the sugar, flour, nutmeg, and salt. Then whisk in the pureed corn mixture, along with remaining corn and cup of milk. Pour into a 9x13 or other shallow 4qt baking dish. Bake 40-45 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and very loosely set.  Serves 10.

Note: I often cut the recipe in half for smaller crowds or when serving other vegetables. It can also be made and baked up to two days in advance. Cool completely, cover and refrigerate. Reheat in a 400 degree oven for 25-30 minutes.

Happy Thanksgiving!