Corn pudding on the side

On the cob is my corn of choice, but the whole dental situation can create a challenge.

If you want to serve the fresh item to people who might not like you with corn between your teeth, consider corn pudding.

If you make it with chives and a little Parmesan in individual ramekins, it’s quite nice for company. Turn the ramekins upside down next to a serving of salmon or three pork medallions for a beautiful presentation.

The pudding is fairly bland so keep your entire menu in mind when you’re seasoning things. If your entree is not highly seasoned, you might want to substitute something with a little more authority for the chives. Like hot peppers. A little diced jalapeno, perhaps.

For next week

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To make a nice Italian fresh peach dessert, you’ll need:
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons stone-ground cornmeal
3/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons sugar

10 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
2 eggs
Ice water
3 large ripe fresh peaches
1 tablespoon peach brandy (optional)

1 tablespoon half-and-half or cream

You can also heat things up with a dose of chili powder or a couple of shakes of hot sauce. Think Tex-Mex. You can’t go wrong with corn and spices.

Another easy option is grating a cup of pepper-jack cheese and using it in place of the chives and Parmesan. It makes for a slightly softer texture, but you can firm that up with another egg if you want.

You can also bake the pudding in a casserole dish and serve it just like that. Choose a more flat dish over a round tall one so it doesn’t dry out on the edges before the center is done. The water bath -bain-marie if you want to be fancy – helps keep the texture delicate.

Bake it until it doesn’t jiggle anymore and is golden and puffed.

And despite what food snobs might say, when fresh corn goes away, you can substitute frozen niblets. You might need a little more milk, like a tablespoon or two.

Whatever options you choose, when your guests compliment you on your scrumptious corn pudding, you can smile big.

Features editor Melanie Munk: 425-339-3430 or munk@heraldnet.com.

Fresh Corn Pudding (8 servings

6ears fresh corn, shucked

1/2cup heavy cream

1/2cup milk

3tablespoons sugar

1/2teaspoon salt

1/8teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4cup chopped chives

1/2stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

3large eggs, beaten lightly

1cup grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter eight 1/2-cup ramekins

Into a large bowl coarsely grate corn. With back of a large knife, gently scrape each cob and add any remaining pulp and liquid to bowl. There should be about 2 cups grated corn with liquid.

In a bowl whisk together remaining ingredients and stir into corn until combined well. Ladle mixture evenly into ramekins. Put ramekins in a baking pan just large enough to hold them and add enough hot water to reach halfway up sides of ramekins.

Bake corn puddings in the middle of the oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until tops are slightly puffed and golden and firm to the touch. Remove ramekins from water and cool slightly on rack, about 5 minutes. Run a knife around edges of ramekins and invert each pudding onto a serving plate.

Makes 8 individual corn puddings.