Corn SpoonBread

OK.

I guess back in the south they sure do like their corn.
I have no idea, we barely get much corn in the middle-east.
Still, when in Rome {georgia, USA}   do as the Romans do.


So.

Take 3 thick slices of bacon and fry them on low heat till they are browned.
Then flip them, then a few more minutes. When you are done leave them on paper
towels, they will harden up and you will be able to chop them into bacon bits.
{6-10 minutes}

Take a non-stick pot, I use non-stick as it helps avoid loss of stuff due to it sticking.
If you use a regular one, then oil the sides with some fat before starting.
Take 2 cups of milk and start boiling them, add 1.5 tsp of salt and 0.5 tsp of pepper.
Make sure it doesn't boil, it needs to be nice and warm with a bubble popping every 10 second.
You should be able to stick your finger in without it burning you.
Mix 1 cup of  cornmeal,  {cornmeal is rough ground corn, you can get it in WholeFoods itself or you can try
http://www.bobsredmill.com/coarse-grind-cornmeal.html  if you need to order it online.
Bob's OK, their website had some malware a while back but it's now back in form and catering to us folk.
So, don't add the cup all at once, add 1/8 of a cup at a time, then mix it, then a minute later add another 1/8 of a cup, this way you won't have chunks.
When you are done adding it, keep mixing for another 2 minutes. Then remove it from the heat.
Add 4 table spoons of fat, it can be butter. I just recycle the bacon fat from the frying pan.

Take 1 cup of cheddar and add it, I suggest you use a block of cheddar, the reason is that they will coat the "ground" cheddar with wax to keep it from spoiling. So if you get a block there is no wax.
Take 3 green onions and chop the white parts from them and add them.
Take 1 cup of corn kernels and add them. I use fresh corn, you can buy in wholefoods
and simply run the knife along the corn husk to remove the corn kernels.
Take 1 chili, I used Guajillo which is pretty mild


If you use a "hotter" one I'd recommend just chopping it finer or if your
chopping skills are not that good, just use a grater.

So we are almost there.
Now take 1 cup of room temperature milk.
Take 3 eggs that are room temperature and separate the yolk from the eggs white
add the yolk to the milk, mix them to a nice consistency. Then add them to the mixture we have.

Now, this is the KEY of the whole dish.
You need to whisk the egg whites.
This is NOT easy, if the egg whites are too cold it won't go up.
If you use plastic, it tends to be very difficult to go up.
So I recommend you invest in a copper bowl.
Copper causes a chemical reaction that makes the egg whites become well whipped.
If you try whisking 1.5 egg whites it won't work either. You need more egg white material for it to work
so don't try to "half" this recipe.
Anyway once you whisk for a few minutes you should get some nice consistency.
The consistency should have a structure and should be able to maintain a little weight.
This is KEY to the fluffiness of the dish.

Mix 1/8 of the egg whites into the mixture
Then slowly another 1/8.
Now DON"T mix, use an up and down motion, reach down to the bottom and scoop some stuff
then go up and pour it over the top and repeat. Don't do a boring circular motion as it breaks up the white egg structure.
When you are done.

Take it all and put it in serving dishes.


This is one example courtesy of
http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2010/11/sweet-corn-spoonbread/


I just used my Frying pan


My Swiss(tm) frying pan is non-stick and can go in the oven.
I also used the same pan to cook the bacon so it was nicely oiled already.
So I scooped the mixture on the pan.
Then put it in the oven.

I did 20 minutes at 350F .
I would recommend you test after 15 minutes every 2 minutes. It makes for a less pleasnt presentation
but it should give you a measure.
The goal is for it to NOT be dry but not be too watery.
This is supposed to be bread you eat with a spoon.

When you are done scoop it to plates and let your guests drizzle honey on it or mapel.
The sweet honey mixes well with the savory cornbread.


I'd like to thank Rick Rodgers   "breakfast comforts" and the SF library for the recipe.