Cheddar Jack Spoonbread

Remember when I moved to the South and I thought I was going to do all kinds of Southern cooking but never really did?  What is my deal!?  I really need to break out the Paula Deen.

Lately, I've been into this thing called spoonbread.  Have you heard of it?  It's this Southern cornmeal souffle concoction that's pretty delicious.  It's a great side dish and I think it would make a nice addition to your holiday table.  It looks puffy and beautiful for the first 10-15 minutes out of the oven (this one was photographed after the souffle relaxed).  I'd also serve it as a vegetarian main dish with a salad, eat a cold bowl of it for lunch (weird?), feed it to my baby, you know, the usual.  Very versatile.

I really wanted this to be a Jalapeno Cheddar Jack Spoonbread, but I had zero jalepenos to my name, so it wasn't in the cards.  But I want you to finely dice a jalepeno and throw it in there next time if you're into that kind of thing.  Or green chile!  I really should have added some green chile.. that would be DE-LISH.  Get on that, Jess!

 

So what are your thoughts?  Ready to try some spoonbread?  Have you had it before?  Are there any other variations I should know about?

Also, I'm really going to try to show you something Christmas-related before the big day arrives.. just for funsies.  We'll see what we come up with as we eat down our fridge before holiday traveling. Keep your eyes peeled!

Cheddar Jack Spoonbread
-based on a recipe from my girl, Martha Stewart

1 tablespoon butter, plus more for baking dish
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen
2/3 cup yellow cornmeal
Coarse salt

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 cup shredded sharp white cheddar cheese

1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
4 large eggs, separated 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 2-quart souffle dish or casserole; set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine butter, milk, corn, cornmeal, 1 teaspoon salt, paprika, ground mustard and cayenne. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring frequently, until mixture is slightly thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in cheese. Let cool until just warm to the touch, about 10 minutes. Stir in egg yolks quickly until combined. 

In a clean mixing bowl, beat egg whites and a pinch of salt until soft peaks form. Stir 1/3 of the whites into cornmeal mixture until combined, then gently fold in the remaining whites with a rubber spatula. Pour into prepared dish.

Place dish in oven; reduce oven heat to 375 degrees. Bake until browned on top but still slightly loose in the center, 25 to 35 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.