(repost from February 2013)
After a month of eating almost exclusively Indian and Chinese food, my body and mind rebelled and told me it was time for some Good Ole American food, so I went back to the mother of it all, Fanny Farmer. Her cookbook, although updated many times since it first appeared in 1906, remains retro-tastic. And by that I mean e.g. that a good 50% of the vegetable recipes call for both cream AND butter 🙂
My copy is slightly crispy around the edges because I inadvertently left it on an electric burner that I was preheating. The back cover, until it fell off, had a nice set of concentric ring burns as a reminder.
So I made myself a big pot o’ Pickled Pigs’ Feet, which I hadn’t had since I was a kid, until last year in Mexico. And bought the ingredients for Stuffed Green Peppers, Chicken & Bacon Crepes (French-ish), and Scalloped Corn.
I had a hankerin’ for that most American of dishes, Bangers & Mash, but I substituted kielbasa (Polish sausage) and added sauerkraut (German-ish). I forgot that I no longer have a working mixer, so after a good ten minutes with a pastry blender and whisk, and a good dose of elbow grease, ended up with still very lumpy, but yummy (the secret ingredient is nutmeg!) mash.
Good Ole American food!
This recipe is copyright Fannie Farmer AND delicious!
Scalloped Corn
3 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
Pinch cayenne pepper
3 Tbsp. butter
1 small green pepper, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped fine
1 cup milk
2 cups corn kernels, fresh or canned
1 egg yolk, slightly beaten
2/3 C. buttered bread crumbs
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (205 Celsius). Generously butter a 1-1/2 quart baking dish. Mix the flour, salt, paprika, mustard, and cayenne pepper together; set aside. Melt the butter in a skillet, add the green pepper and onion,and cook until soft. Stir in the flour mixture and cook, stirring and smoothing, for 2 or 3 minutes. Add the milk, stirring constantly, and bring it to the boiling point. Stir in the corn and egg yolk. Spoon into the baking dish and sprinkle with the crumbs. Bake for 25 minutes until the crumbs are brown.
-R