When Brian was in preschool, we attended the obligatory Thanksgiving Pilgrims and Indians feast. Every school seems to have some variation of this re-enactment, from full on turkey and all the trimmings meal to popcorn and pie. In addition to all the staples, Brian's PQ Preschool served up a corn casserole dish that had the sweet taste and texture of the corn cakes some Mexican restaurants like to dollop onto a combo platter. I'm not gonna lie - I absolutely loved that little addition to plates at Chevy's and other restaurants where we would eat Mexican food. The ever so addictive queso blanco that I eat by the bowlful when I'm at Miguel's hadn't been invented yet, but those little corn cakes were equally anticipated and quickly devoured.
When I came across this Pioneer Woman recipe the name had me fooled into thinking I'd be making something with a texture more like the corn cakes. Turns out Ree's version of "casserole" actually winds up being creamed corn that is slightly less heavy (creamy?) than other cream corns I've eaten. My sister-in-law Jody used to always make creamed corn for our holiday meals and I loved hers...but, as I've gotten older, I think I prefer things that are a little less heavy on the sauce side. Like this corn casserole.
Also, I admit that I love scraping corn cobs right down to the hard cob itself. There's something satisfying about watching those kernels peel off and then going pack for a second pass to get as much of the juice out as possible. Our family recently watched an episode of Shark Tank where some nut job was pitching this super icky gag toy that simulated picking and popping pimples. I won't go into more detail because it makes me sick to even think about it. My advice is to NEVER buy one of those absolutely awful contraptions but, rather, stick with denuding cobs of the last bit of corn juice. Way less gross and far more tasty. Ewwww....
Corn Casserole
From Pioneer Woman
Ingredients:
8 ears Corn, Still In The Husk
2/3 cups Heavy Cream
3 Tablespoons Butter (salted)
1/2 teaspoon Salt To Taste
Ground Pepper To Taste
INSTRUCTIONS
Remove the corn from the husks. In a large, deep bowl, slice off the kernels of corn. With the dull side of the knife (or a regular dinner knife), press and scrape the cob all the way down to remove all the bits of kernel and creamy milk inside.
Add heavy cream, salt to taste, a generous amount of ground pepper and butter; mix well. Pour mixture into a baking dish. Bake at 350Fº for 30 to 45 minutes or until thoroughly warmed through.
