Tag: fresh thyme

Categories
Side Dish

I ‘corn’not believe how delicious this savory pudding is

Corn pudding uses lots of herbs, along with corn and yellow onion to create the perfect mashup of sweet and savory in a delicious side dish.
Corn pudding uses lots of herbs, along with corn and yellow onion to create the perfect mashup of sweet and savory in a delicious side dish.

We have a serious love of cornbread at our house.

When we discovered the goodness that is cornbread dressing to go with our holiday turkeys, we were understandably excited.

But, being more of a traditional mindset, the rest of the extended family missed the conventional holiday stuffing at our big meals, so I went back to it this year.

Not being completely dissuaded, though, I started looking for other cornbread-like dishes we could try and stumbled on a recipe for corn pudding.

Before you recoil at the pudding idea, trust me. It’s delicious. It’s a fabulous, non-jiggly texture, and it’s savory and belly warming. It is definitely worth a try—especially if you love cornbread like I do. And it’s also worth a try if you normally find cornbread a bit on the dry side, because this is moist and delicious.

This comes from the “Southern Living” magazine. It’s by Karen Schroeder-Rankin. You can find the original recipe at https://www.southernliving.com/recipes/savory-corn-pudding-recipe. I added lots of extra seasonings in my version.

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Corn Pudding

Corn pudding uses lots of herbs, along with corn and yellow onion to create the perfect mashup of sweet and savory in a delicious side dish.
Course Side Dish
Keyword Christmas side, corn, cornbread, fresh thyme, frozen corn, garlic, sage, Thanksgiving side, yellow onion

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
  • 6 cups frozen corn thawed
  • 1 medium-sized yellow onion diced
  • 4-6 cloves garlic minced
  • 6 eggs
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup butter melted
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 4 teaspoons thyme
  • 2 teaspoons sage
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • black pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a nine-by-13-inch baking dish by spraying it with cooking spray and set it aside.
  • Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
  • Add the onion to the skillet. Saute until it is soft.
  • Add in the corn, and continue to saute until it is just a bit browned.
  • Toss in the garlic and saute for another minute or so, or until it becomes fragrant. Remove the skillet from the heat.
  • In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, cream and butter until it is well combined. Add in the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, thyme, sage, onion powder, garlic powder and black pepper. Stir to combine.
  • Stir in the corn mixture and then pour everything into the baking dish, smoothing it out evenly.
  • Bake for about 40 minutes or until the pudding is set and the top is golden brown.
  • Let it stand for five to 10 minutes before serving. Top with a little more thyme, if desired.

The flavors in this paired amazingly well with our turkey. The herbs along with the slight sweetness of the corn and onions just put it over the top.

It also reheated really well as leftovers, which was good, because this made a ton of food.

I’m hoping that I’ll be able to bring the rest of the family over to my side on the subject of cornbread dressing at some point. They didn’t seem to complain about this recipe, so I think they’re well on their way.

Sometimes you just have to start your own traditions.

This piece first appeared in print on Dec. 29, 2022.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Appetizer Snack

Wow guests with an appetizer that’s a ‘tini’ bit fancy

It may seem like a strange combination, but a creamy blue cheese spread, combined with warm, roasted grapes on crunchy crostini is a fantastic, fancy snack or appetizer.
It may seem like a strange combination, but a creamy blue cheese spread, combined with warm, roasted grapes on crunchy crostini is a fantastic, fancy snack or appetizer.

Joey and I aren’t normally Valentine’s Day people. Generally, romance on Feb. 14 is us hanging out at home and playing a board game or watching TV.

But when some good friends of ours asked us to go on a double date with them this year, we were ready to celebrate.

We ended up at the Coneburg Grill and Pub in Peabody for their Valentine’s dinner, which consisted of several courses and some specialty cocktails, too.

We had a fabulous time, and as has always been my experience at the Coneburg, we had a fantastic meal, even though it was far, far more upscale than the décor of the restaurant would’ve otherwise dictated.

Since we went, I haven’t been able to get the appetizer we were served out of my head. It was one of those dishes that looked super weird at first, but the flavor combinations were perfect, and I finally decided I just had to try it.

So I started Googling and found a recipe that seemed to fit the bill from the blog “Babaganosh.” You can find the original post at https://www.babaganosh.org/blue-cheese-spread-roasted-grapes/. I added to the instructions for making your own crostini and added a bit more thyme in my version.

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Roasted Grapes and Blue Cheese Spread

It may seem like a strange combination, but a creamy blue cheese spread, combined with warm, roasted grapes on crunchy crostini is a fantastic, fancy snack or appetizer.
Course Appetizer, Snack
Keyword baguette, blue cheese, crostini, fresh thyme, olive oil, red grapes, sour cream

Ingredients

Crostini Ingredients

  • 1 baguette
  • olive oil for brushing
  • fresh cracked pepper and salt to taste

Grapes Ingredients

  • 4 cups seedless red grapes rinsed and drained
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • cooking spray

Spread Ingredients

  • 4 ounces blue cheese crumbled
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1 pinch nutmeg

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  • Slice the baguette into about one-quarter inch slices. Brush each slice with a light coating of olive oil and place them in a single layer on a large baking sheet (line it with parchment or foil for easy cleanup). Sprinkle the slices with salt and pepper, and bake for about 10 minutes, checking after 5, until the slices are at your desired crispiness.
  • For the grapes, spread the grapes out in a baking dish (an eight-by-eight-inch or a nine-by-13 would each work fine). Spray the grapes with cooking spray, and place the sprigs of thyme around the pan.
  • Roast the grapes at 375 for 15 to 25 minutes or until they are starting to burst. Stir them at around the 10-minute mark.
  • (You can roast your grapes and brown your crostini at the same time.)
  • Transfer the grapes to a serving dish, and serve warm.
  • For the spread, combine the blue cheese, sour cream, leaves of the thyme sprigs and nutmeg into a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a small serving dish and top with a few more thyme leaves for decoration.
  • To eat this dish, spread some of the blue cheese mixture on a crostini and then top with a few warm grapes.
  • Refrigerate any leftover spread or grapes, and store crostini in an airtight container.

So, yeah, I served roasted grapes, which sounds super weird, but it’s so, so good. Adding that fruitiness to blue cheese is a great combination, and who doesn’t like eating crispy crostini?

I wouldn’t say my version is better than the pros at the restaurant, but since I’ll probably have to wait another 11 months to have theirs again, this is a darn good substitute.

I never would have guessed you could learn about fine dining in a humble town like Peabody, but I am (and my tastebuds are) so glad I did.

This piece first appeared in print on March 10, 2022.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

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