Sweet Corn Spoonbread Food

SWEET CORN SPOONBREAD, THE EASY WAY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F (see Note above if this seems too early). Very generously grease a 1 1/2 quart soufflé dish or an 8-inch square baking dish. Whisk cornmeal and 3/4 cup of milk in a small bowl until combined and set aside.
• Melt butter in a pot over medium-high heat. Cook corn until beginning to brown, which can take as little as 3 minutes with fresh corn but with defrosted frozen corn. Stir in sugar, salt, cayenne and remaining 2 cups milk and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, cover, and let mixture steep for 15 minutes.
• If you've got an immersion blender, please use it to save time. Otherwise, transfer mixture to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Back in the pot (or still, if it had never left) bring it back to a boil, reduce heat to low and add the cornmeal-milk mixture, whisking constantly until thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes. If you want to do fewer dishes and don't mind if it takes longer to cool, you can leave it in the pot. Otherwise, transfer to a large bowl and return mixture to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
• Once cool, whisk in egg yolks. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in a medium bowl until stiff peaks form and fold it in to the corn mixture, one-third at a time. Pour batter into prepared baking dish and baked until spoonbread is golden brown and has risen above rim of dish, about 45 minutes. Serve immediately.

CHEDDAR SWEET CORN SPOON BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to approximately 375°F and have ready a casserole dish, approximately 8x10 inches, lightly buttered.
• In a clean saucepan, melt the butter and lightly sauté the finely diced onions. Add a pinch of cayenne pepper and salt.
• Add the milk and bring to a simmer. Add the cornmeal and work briskly with a wooden spoon to prevent any lumps. Cook the cornmeal for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring gently over low heat. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes.
• Next add the cheese, the egg yolks and the corn and stir well so that everything is thoroughly mixed.
• Whisk the egg whites so as they are at a soft peak stage and then incorporate 1/3 at a time to a corn mixture.
• Pour everything into the casserole and bake for approximately 20 to 30 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes prior to serving.
• Chef Michael Bonacini.

SWEET CORN SPOONBREAD WITH SMOTHERED SHRIMP, POACHED EGGS, AND FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

Steps:

• For the Fried Green Tomatoes: Soak tomatoes in milk. Mix cornmeal and flour. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. In a large saute pan over medium-high heat add butter. Dredge tomatoes in a cornmeal until completely covered. Carefully place tomatoes in a saute pan and fry for 2 minutes on each side. Drain on a paper towel; season with fresh cracked pepper.
• For the Sweet Corn Spoonbread: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bring to a boil one-cup of milk; add corn and cornmeal, stirring constantly, and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the fire and beat in butter, sugar, salt, and the remaining milk. The cold milk should cool the mixture. Beat egg yolks. In a separate bowl, beat whites until stiff, then fold the stiffly beaten whites into egg yolks. Add to cooled milk mixture. Pour the mixture into a buttered dish and bake for 30 minutes.
• For the Smothered Shrimp: In a medium saute pan over high heat add butter and saute the shrimp. When the shrimp are slightly pink, add the onions and garlic and saute until translucent. Dust with flour and stir well incorporated to a paste. Add chicken stock 1 cup at a time working, with a wooden spoon. When gravy is formed, season with salt and pepper, and finish with chopped parsley.
• For the Poached Eggs: Bring water to a boil; add vinegar and salt. Crack 2 eggs and poach for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon.
• To Assemble: In a soup bowl, scoop a small amount of spoonbread into the center. Top with poached eggs and garnish with shrimp and chopped parsley.