 |
|||||||||||
|
The lighter side of Thanksgiving By Kady Guyton
When the rains move in and the wind blows, any excuse to turn on the oven starts to look good. Thanksgiving is also creeping up on us and it's never too early to look for dishes to add to the feast. I love Thanksgiving, there is something extremely satisfying about creating a feast with and for all your loved ones. It is a holiday for chefs of all stripes where we get to show off for anyone who happens to stop by. In future columns I'll discuss turkey and a few tricks for the preparation, but today I'm going to start with the far reaches of the table: the side dishes. Thanksgiving side dishes tend to be very starchy - mashed potatoes, stuffing - or very processed. For instance, can-shaped cranberry "sauce" and the ubiquitous green bean casserole. I love mashed potatoes and my annual slice of cranberry sauce is a holiday tradition, but sometimes it's nice to have a dish on the table that's a little lighter. Corn pudding definitely fits the bill. This is a pudding in the British sense of the word: hot and savory served right out of the oven. The eggs and cream technically make this a custard, but corn custard just sounds strange. Most recipes call for fresh corn cut just off the cob and my grandmother used to make corn pudding in July, freeze it and pull it out in November. I never manage to plan ahead that well, so I can assure you from experience that frozen corn works just fine. This dish can also be made right now, wrapped well, tossed in the freezer and you're that much ahead come the holidays. The variations on this are endless. Add bacon, green onion and cheese for a richer version, use fresh basil or parsley for variation in color, add crab meat to make it more filling. Someone avoiding wheat could replace the flour with equal amounts of tapioca starch. I have not tried to make this vegan with soy milk and egg replacer, mostly because I doubt that soy milk has the same ability as cream to set up in this particular dish. If anyone wants to have a go at it, please let me know the results. Serve hot with all the Thanksgiving trimmings. For wine, I recommend one of the Beaujolais that will be hitting our country soon, if not already. They pair well with Thanksgiving dinner and don't require a lot of thought. Corn Pudding Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter a 2 1/2-quart shallow baking dish. In a large bowl and stir in flour, sugar, corn and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Whisk in milk, cream, and eggs until combined. Pour into baking dish and bake until center is just set, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let stand 15 minthes before serving. |
||||||||||
