CORN - Baked Fresh Corn

By SMSchreiber

From The New York Times Cook Book, page 396

Ingredients

• 3 Tablespoons Butter
• 3 Tablespoons Flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
• Dash of freshly ground Pepper
• 1 1/2 Cups Half & Half
• 1 Cup grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 1 teaspoon Dry Mustard
• 1 1/2 Cups Cooked (5 to 6 plump ears) Corn cut from the cob
• 3 beaten Eggs
• 3/4 Cup buttered Bread Crumbs
• Paprika

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat the butter in a saucepan, add the flour and blend with a wire whisk. Season with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, bring the Half & Half to a boil and add all at once to the butter-flour mixture, stirring vigorously with the whisk until the sauce is thickened and smooth. Stir in cheese and dry mustard and continue to cook briefly until cheese melts. Remove the sauce from the heat and add the corn. Slowly add the beaten eggs, stirring constantly.
3. Pour the mixture into a greased 5- to 6-cup casserole and top with the bread crumbs. Sprinkle with paprika and place in a shallow pan of hot water. Bake 45 to 50 minutes.
Note: I just realized as I was typing this recipe that I didn’t EVEN read the directions when I actually made it! Typical… I added all of the bread crumbs after I added the eggs and I certainly did not place in a shallow pan of water to bake. Also, on purpose, this time, I did not use fresh corn. Instead, I used 4 cans of corn, drained. The original recipe did not include the cheese and dry mustard, but the variation of the recipe included it, so I did, too. I guess this is a pretty fool-proof recipe, because it was “Stacy-proof!” I also added some chopped onions at the very end, but I’ll bet it would have been better if I had sautéed them before adding them. So, really, do whatever you like and it will just work out fine!