Corn Puddin'

Here I present an old-time family recipe that's always popular at Thanksgiving, along with other major holidays. I don't know where it came from, but no matter what, it's popular and darn tasty. It's an interesting side dish, in that it's sweet, not cloyingly, but sweet and the changes I made to the original recipe add different levels of corniness.

Mom's Corn Pudding

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

3 eggs

2 cups drained corn kernels, frozen can be used as well.

1 1/3 cups of milk

4 tablespoons, or 1/2 stick of butter

1 tablespoon of sugar

1 tablespoon of flour

1 1/2 teaspoons of salt

In a saucepan pour in the milk, butter, salt and sugar and warm until butter is melted and the milk is "scalded," or until bubbles start to form around the edge of the milk along the side of the pan. In a blender add the eggs and 1/2 cup of the corn; blend on highest setting for 30 seconds. When the milk and butter mixture are done, add to the egg mixture with the blender still going. Then add 1 cup of the corn and the flour and blend for 5-10 seconds on low, you don't want the corn to disappear, but still be "chunky." Add the final 1/2 cup of corn, still whole, to the an un-greased pan, then pour the mixture into the pan. Bake for 1 hour at 350, until the top is nicely golden brown. Let sit for at least 15 minutes to allow it to continue cooking then cool and set.

Thanksgiving time

I figured I'd dispense with the usual Thanksgiving crap, like asking what's your favorite thing, what are you thankful for, etc. Blah. Blah. Blah. What I've been interested in are new and exciting, or sometimes weird, ways we celebrate the day.

Let's face it, it takes big cajones for a

country to have a holiday devoted to just gorging on food. But, anyway...

Here are some interesting Thanksgiving ideas I saw on Huffingtonpost.

1. Perhaps the weirdest Thanksgiving thing, EVAH. A turkey cake. Yes. You read that

correctly. A turkey cake. Even I wouldn't even try it.

2. White Castle stuffing. A stoner's Thanksgiving delight. Just be wary if they're also serving a

"smoked" turkey. But, sadly, this also sounds sooooooo good. Anyone up for a trip to White Castle?

3. Thanksgiving Pizza. This sounds downright amazing. I want to try this ASAP. It combines

two of my favorite food groups: Pizza and Thanksgiving. Maybe a little ranch dressing to add a little "zip?"

As far as what we're trying this Thanksgiving, here's what's going to be new at our table:

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms and Roasted Rosemary Cashews. I don't actually want the mushroom part, just the stuffing. Anything with mascarpone cheese, Italian sausage and carbs has to be good. Mmmmm, mmmmm, mmmm.

Sunday Recipe

Here's my inaugural recipe. It's been a favorite of my family's for a while. It was simple and satisfying in it's original form, but with the little tweaks I've made it's now classy enough to serve at a dinner party with a glass of wine.

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Here's what you'll need.

4 tubes of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts

16oz container of cream cheese

1/2 cup (4oz) of mayonnaise

2 1/2 cups of onions, sliced thinly and radially.

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil

1 tbsp salt

1 tbsp. pepper

2 tsp. Paprika

2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves (I use lemon-thyme)

Step 1.

Pre-heat the oven to 350.

Caramelize the onions over medium-high heat with 2 tbsp of oil, 1 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of pepper. After about 5 minutes add the herbs and continue to cook until deep brown and soft, then remove from heat and cool.

Step 2.

Cut the chicken into 1 1/2 inch cubes, toss with 2 tbsp of oil, 1 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of pepper, and the 2 tsp of paprika. Brown the chicken for 10-12 minutes over medium-high until brown and cooked through. When done, remove from heat and cool.

Step 3.

Combine cream cheese, mayo, remaining salt and pepper. Then when onions and chicken have cooled combine with the sauce, and chill for 10-15 minutes or until firm.

Step 4.

Open the tubes of crescent rolls, make sure they stay cold though. Use half of each tube for one packet. Close all the seams on both sides then fill with 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of the cooled filling. Crimp the sides once filled and re-close any seems that might open.

Then place 4 on a non-greased cookie pan, and place both pans in the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown and delicious.

Let sit for about 5 minutes, then serve.

Serves 8!

In a World of Celebrity Chefs, here's a Celebrity who Cooked

I was reading Huffington Post's Food section the other day, by the way it's a great place to catch up on the latest food stuff, and they had an article from the New York Times featuring Marilyn Monroe's stuffing recipe. Needless to say the thought of the original blond bombshell cooking intrigued me. But while reading through the story I was surprised to learn she was quite the cook.

Her stuffing recipe was originally written on an insurance company's piece of paper and can be seen in a new book full of little clippings from her life, called "Fragments." The ingredients list is a mile long, and has items such as livers, soaked sour-dough bread and hard-boiled eggs; and you can tell that whoever created this recipe has thorough understanding of the kitchen and firm grasp of flavors. The writers of the NYT piece say the resulting dressing is complicated, complex, and delicious.

Hopefully someday I'll get a chance to make it.

Completely New!

So I've been thinking that I need to do something that will take my mind off all the chaotic and busy life. I'll be posting things about politics and food. These are my two favorite topics and I figure I should do something to combine the two somehow.

On each Sunday I'll post a new recipe, and throughout the week I'll post random food and political things that I find interesting.

Please enjoy!

C.