old favorite

Red corn spoon bread. Are there foods you remember from childhood having loved but disappoint you now?

White bread sandwiches with American cheese and mayonnaise come to my mind first--what was I thinking!?! I also remember loving spoon bread, but I had never made it myself and hadn't tasted it in probably 20 years. My brother gave me a huge bag of cornmeal he had ground from his crop of red corn, and since I wanted to try it out in something other than cornbread, spoon bread popped into my brain from the deepest recesses. I had loved it then; would I love it now?

Yes! To me, it tastes like moist, buttery cornbread, so what's not to love? Plus, it's fun to watch it poof up in the oven and then deflate when you pull it out. While it requires doing something I'm normally too lazy to do (whipping egg whites), I can state that the end result is well worth it!

Wet Corn Bread
(printable recipe)
Serves 4
Ingredients:

• 2 eggs, separated
• 1/2 cup stone-ground red cornmeal
• 1-1/2 cups milk
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter; more for the baking dish and for serving
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a deep 1-quart baking or soufflé dish.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the cornmeal and 1/2 cup of the milk.
In a medium saucepan, scald the remaining 1 cup milk.
Add the cornmeal mixture to the saucepan and cook, whisking constantly, over medium-low heat, until the mixture thickens (you’ll begin to see the bottom of the pan as you whisk), about 10 minutes.
Remove from the heat; stir in the salt, sugar, butter, and cheese.
In a large bowl, whip the egg whites until medium-stiff peaks form; set them aside.
Add the egg yolks one at a time, whisking to combine after each addition.
Gently fold in the egg whites.
Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake until the spoon bread is puffed, with a golden brown crust, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour.