Who doesn't love Sweet corn, but sweet corn simmered with milk, butter and herbs, now that’s a whole new story. So Skip the canned cream corn stuff and make this delicious creamy goodness with simple fresh ingredients. This side dish comes together in no time and the best part is you can make it few days In advance. Just heat it through in the oven before you want to serve it.
This dish is a specialty of my mother in law. My husband grew up eating cream corn casserole at every holiday table. And now our Thanksgiving is not complete if there is no cream corn on the table. Although I have updated the recipe over the years it’s still a huge hit with our family. My daughter Neda will choose her seat on the thanksgiving table based on where the corn is located. I tell you they take this stuff seriously.
Ingredients:
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter divided
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese divided
2 lbs of organic frozen corn (thawed) or 6 ears of fresh corn
1 cup half and half or whole milk
Salt and pepper
Few grates of fresh nutmeg
3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme (try to avoid the dry thyme here) plus more to garnish
3 garlic cloves smashed
1 shallot diced
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a cast iron Melt 2 tablespoons of butter.
Sauté the garlic and shallots until softened.
Add the corn, fresh thyme, season With salt and pepper and cook for a few minutes.
Add the half and half, half the Parmesan cheese and a few grates of fresh nutmeg.
Cook for a few minutes until all the flavors are mixed together.
Remove your thyme sprigs. Turn off the heat. Using your blender. Puree 1.5 cups of the corn until it’s creamy. Return the creamed corn to the pot and mix to combine. If it’s too thick thin it with a bit of half and half or milk.
Finish with a tbls of butter and Sprinkle the remaining of the Parmesan cheese on top.
You can assemble this up to 3 days in advance
The great thing about this recipe is that you can serve it straight from the stove top or you can bake it in the oven. Whichever is easier, because we know how hard your oven works on Thanksgiving day.
Once you are ready to eat. If you notice it’ too thick add a splash of whole milk and give it a stir and Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly and golden.
Garnish with parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of fresh thyme leaves.