Corn Pudding

I never had corn pudding before, until my husband and I were invited to a friend's house for dinner.  Our hostess served corn pudding with spiral sliced ham.  I can hardly believe that I haven't experienced this combination before.  I'm very grateful to have received the following recipe, and will likely serve corn pudding with my spiral hams in the future.  Recently, I doubled the recipe for a church potluck.  Many people that tried it had never had it before either.  Guess what? They discovered they liked corn pudding too.  In addition to ham, corn pudding goes well with pork or steak.

Corn Pudding
2 cups corn (I used frozen white petite corn)
2 tablespoons of flour
1 teaspoon of salt
3 tablespoons of butter
3 eggs
2 Tablespoons of sugar
1 3/4 cups of milk

1. Blend melted butter, sugar, flour and salt

2.  Add eggs beating well

3. Stir in corn and milk

4.  Pour ingredients in a buttered casserole and bake 45 minutes at 325 degrees. (Use a small square casserole if making the recipe as is, if doubling, use a 9 x 13 casserole dish as pictured)

5.  Stir once halfway through cooking (when done, the pudding will be lightly golden brown and a knife will come out clean)

Note:  The mixture can be made the night before and kept in a jar in the refrigerator.  Shake well and pour into buttered baking dish when ready.

Warm Spinach Dip for a Crowd

I fell in love with spinach dip over twenty years ago at a Greek restaurant called Telly's Place.  Serving the dip warm so the cheese is oh-so gooey is only one secret to a great spinach dip.  There are at least two other secrets to this recipe:  feta cheese and chicken bouillon.  Whether you serve this dip with toasted baguettes or tortilla chips your guests will love it.  In this case, so much so that I almost forgot to take a picture.

Warm Spinach Dip for a Crowd
4 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese, room temperature
1 lb. of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dried
8 oz of feta cheese
3/4 cup of shredded cheddar, Monterrey jack, or a blend
1 bouillon cube (I used gluten-free vegan version because it was the only thing I could find with no MSG)

1)  Place the cream cheese in a large mixing bowl.

2)  Add the spinach.

3) Add feta, bouillon cube, and mix well.

4) Place in a 1 1/2 to 2 quart casserole dish, top with shredded cheese, and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and the dip is warmed through.  Serve with baguette slices or tortilla chips.

Steakhouse Sweet Potato with Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Butter

One of the most popular posts on this blog is for a steakhouse baked potato.  Of course, there is more than one kind of potato that you can get at most steakhouses.  Let's not forget the sweet potato!  Recently, I actually had a craving for a sweet potato (which is unusual).  Then, I remembered how my brother, who taught me how to make this amazing whole wheat linguini with mushrooms and lemon-garlic gremolata, also made some amazing sweet potatoes for my family a couple of years ago.  I'm grateful that he gave me the recipe for these steakhouse sweet potatoes.

Steakhouse Sweet Potato with Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Butter
1 sweet potato per person, small to medium in size
1 teaspoon of butter for each potato

For the cinnamon and brown sugar topping 
(you can make as much or as little as you want with this recipe)
1 part sugar
1 part light brown sugar
1/2 part cinnamon
1/8 part cloves (optional)

For the whipped butter
1 stick of butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons of half and half, milk, or water

1. Wash the sweet potatoes, coat the potatoes with butter, and wrap in tin foil.

2.  Bake potatoes at 350 degrees for about 50 to 60 minutes.  Great this picture shows me how badly I need to clean my oven.  Boo:-(

3.  Meanwhile mix all the ingredients in a small bowl.  If making a large quantity for a dinner party, divide into individual ramekins for each guest.

4.  Whip the butter with your choice of half and half, milk, or water using an electric beater or immersion blender.

5.  When the potatoes are cooked through and soft, cut a "+" in each potato.  Using your thumbs and forefingers push each corner of the  of the "+" to create a circular opening.  This pushes the loose sweet potato up so it looks fluffy.  This is a restaurant presentation secret that you can use with regular baked potatoes too.

6.  Using a melon baller, add a scoop of whipped butter.

7.  Serve with a side of the cinnamon and brown sugar butter.