Big Daddys Sweet Corn Spoon Bread Recipes

CORN-BACON SPOON BREAD WITH TOMATOES

Steps:

• Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees. Prepare the spoon bread: Cook the bacon in a skillet until just crisp; transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate with a slotted spoon, leaving the drippings in the pan. Grease a 6-cup shallow baking dish with some of the drippings and dust with 2 teaspoons cornmeal. Place on a baking sheet.
• Add the milk to the remaining drippings in the skillet and bring to a boil over high heat. Whisking constantly, gradually pour in the remaining cornmeal. Add 1 teaspoon salt, the sugar and cayenne. Lower the heat and simmer, whisking, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the corn, scallions and bacon; remove from the heat.
• Beat the eggs with a mixer until very pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes; add the baking powder. Stir a quarter of the whipped eggs into the cornmeal mixture, then carefully fold in the rest. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish; bake until puffed and golden, about 50 minutes.
• Prepare the tomatoes: Toss the tomatoes, olive oil and herbs in a bowl with salt and black pepper to taste; set aside for at least 5 minutes. Let the spoon bread rest 10 minutes; serve with the tomatoes.

BIG DADDY'S SWEET CORN SPOON BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Combine the corn and eggs in blender and puree until thick and smooth. Transfer the puree to a bowl. Add the butter, sugar and milk and fold gently to incorporate well. Stir in the mozzarella cheese and bacon. Add the smoked paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper. The mixture should be thick and creamy.
• Pour the corn mixture into a greased souffle dish and sprinkle with the Parmesan and parsley. Bake until browned, about 45 minutes. Let cool for about 15 minutes before serving. Serve warm.

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.