Once in a while you just have to mix things up a little. And that’s exactly what I did this Christmas. Since I was a small child, I have looked forward to my grandmother’s Dried Corn Casserole. I love it, and since leaving home and preparing my own holiday feasts, I have served it as regular as rain. But for whatever reason, this year I decided to change things up a bit. I knew I still wanted to incorporate dried corn into the mix, but what I was craving was a softer texture to the overall dish.

So I decided to take a fairly basic corn pudding recipe and give it a new spin. I decreased the amount of sugar, used whole milk, added sour cream and dried corn, and sprinkled the whole mess with paprika and fresh parsley. (The picture doesn’t show the parsley because I was taking the pudding to my nephew Eric’s home to be reheated just before dinner. At which time I then added the parsley. So the picture was taken after I removed the pudding from my oven just before leaving for Eric and Sandi’s home.)

Now I realize dried corn is not a product you normally find on a grocery store shelf. This I frankly don’t understand, but it is non-the-less a fact. But making your own is as easy as opening a bag of frozen corn, throwing the corn kernels on a rimmed baking sheet, turning on your oven, and placing said pan in the oven. In fact, that is the whole way you make dried corn! (If you don’t believe me, check my grandmother’s recipe at the bottom of this post!)

And the pudding? Well I think it turned out really delicious. It’s creamy with a great corn flavor, slightly chewy from the dried corn component, and rich, but not too rich. I received a lot of corn-gratulations from my extended family for this dish. And instead of saying thank you, I should have just said “aww shucks!” folks, but that would have been too corny! (Sorry – sometimes I just can’t help myself!)

• 6 T. unsalted butter
• 6 T. unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 T. sugar
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper (not too much)
• 1½ c. whole milk
• ½ c. sour cream
• 1 can cream-style corn
• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
• ½ c. dried corn (this is what makes this pudding so yummy – see “recipe” for dried corn below)
• 6 eggs
• paprika
• 1 T. chopped fresh parsley, opt.

Melt butter in heavy saucepan over low heat. Whisk in flour, sugar, salt, and pepper. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk and cook over medium heat, whisking the whole time, until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat, and stir in sour cream, cream corn, whole corn, and dried corn. Beat eggs well.

Gradually stir the eggs into the mixture. (The corn mixture should be cool enough from the addition of sour cream, cream corn, etc. to not cook the raw eggs. But if for some reason the mixture is still hot, wait until it cools down before stirring in the eggs.)

Pour into a buttered 3 quart casserole; sprinkle lightly with paprika. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until soft set. Just before serving, sprinkle with parsley.

Hint: This pudding is best if allowed to sit in the refrigerator unbaked overnight. This resting period allows the dried corn to rehydrate a bit and allows the other ingredients to get to know each other and become a team.

DRIED CORN

Place 1 lb. frozen corn kernels on a large baking sheet (the kind with a rim) in a single layer. Dry the corn by baking it in the oven on the lowest temperature setting until there is no moisture left in the kernels. Turn occasionally. (It could take as many as 16 hours to dry out the corn completely.) When dry, the corn kernels should resemble grape nuts. (Different color, but you get the picture.) Store the dried corn in an airtight container. No need to refrigerate or freeze.

For a picture of dried corn, see my recipe for Dried Corn Casserole on this site. (Also very good, BTW.)