The Skinny: The Comforts of Corn

Yeah, yeah. Corn. I happen to love it. I also happen to love finding wonderfully corn-y recipes in those delightful spiral-bound church cookbooks--always a gamble, but often delicious! Here are some from Clinton's First Centennial Cook Book, published by the First Methodist Church of Clinton, Massachusetts in 1950. Enjoy!

Spider Corn Cake (Mrs. Henry G. Whitman)
2 eggs                                    1/4 c. sugar
1 c. sour milk                          2 c. sweet milk
1 tsp. soda                              1 2/3 c. corn meal
1 tsp. salt                                1/3 c. flour
2 T. butter

Dissolve soda in the sour milk. Beat eggs & sugar, add 1 cup sweet milk and sour milk (with soda) and salt. Then mix corn meal and flour with this. Put spider on stove, when hot, melt butter and turn spider so butter can run up sides of spider. Pour in the mixture and put in oven. Add one more cup sweet milk; do not stir. Bake 45 minutes in 350 degree oven. When done, there should be a streak of custard running through it.

(*What's a spider? A cast iron skillet!)

Corn Pudding (Mrs. Genevieve Roncone)
2 c. stewed corn                    2 T. sugar
2 c. milk                                1/4 c. minced green peppers
3 eggs                                    1 minced pimiento
1 T. butter                              1 T. salt
1 T. minced onion

Beat eggs slightly, add milk, sugar, and salt. Combine corn with other ingredients and add to milk mixture. Mix well. Turn into buttered casserole and bake in moderate oven (325 degrees), one hour. Serve hot with cheese or tomato sauce. Serves 6.

Cornmeal Dumplings ( Isabel Currier)
1 c. sifted all-purpose flour        1 1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. cornmeal (coarse)               1 egg
2 tsp. baking powder                 3/4 c. milk

Mix and sift dry ingredients. If shortening is desired, cut in 1 tablespoon fat. Combine and stir in egg and milk quickly to make a soft batter. Drop by tablespoonfuls to rest on top of hot greens (cooked with salt pork and potatoes). Cover and cook 15 minutes on low heat before serving.

Easy Corn Fritters (Mrs. Charles Pearson)

1 c. flour                                   1/2 to 1 cup corn, fresh or canned
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder           1/2 c. milk
1/2 tsp. salt                               1 egg

Sift flour, measure and sift again with baking powder and salt. Beat egg until very light, and add flour mixture, corn, and milk. Mix thoroughly. Drop batter from spoon into 1/2 inch of hot fat in a frying pan. Brown on both sides.