Spoonbread

I love corn. Corn pudding, corn on the cob, cornbread...it's all good. Charles even took me to the Spoonbread Festival when we first moved to Kentucky. That was a tad disappointing, but only because I'd imagined vast tubs of delicious spoonbread everywhere. Alas, no.

But now I can make my own! It turns out that my paternal grandmother's recipe is amazing, and I've got it because my dad kept a newspaper article for...50 years? That's him on the right, below:

Check out that perfect 50s family. The recipe, printed for the edification of the paper's readers, turns out to be easy, quick, and consistent. You can't ask for more than that.

7 ingredients, not counting hot water! And none of the ingredients is rare. All are probably sitting in your pantry or fridge right now.

Ingredients:

2 cups of boiling water

1 cup cornmeal

1 teaspoon salt

1.5 teaspoons sugar

1 Tablespoon butter

2 cups of milk (I used 2%)

2 eggs (whisked in a bowl)

2 teaspoons of baking powder

Directions:

• Preheat to 400. Grease a baking dish (I use the Corningware casserole you see in the photo) generously.
• Pour boiling water over the cornmeal and stir with a whisk to prevent lumps.
• Add the salt, sugar, butter, and milk, keep stirring (this is like 30 seconds - fast!). Add the eggs.
• Add the baking powder, stir it in, then pour the batter into the greased casserole.
• Bake for about an hour, or until brown on top. It will look like a souffle (but not so tall) and will deflate a little as it sits. Mine tends to take 50 minutes, but my oven's a bit wonky. When it's golden, pull it out - trust your instincts.

That's it! And it's really delicious - savory and full of corn flavor. Like the best polenta, but so much easier.