Corn Timbale

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...To market, to market to buy a fat pig, but I came home without one jiggity jig. That's not to say I came home empty handed. Corn, at twelve ears for a dollar, was an unprecedented bargain, even for markets in this area. I loaded my basket with 24 ears and hatched a plan to do some recipe testing that I've postponed for a long time now. I've been holding on to two very old recipes that I wanted to try, and corn, at that price, provided the incentive I needed to finally proceed. Both recipes are variants of corn pudding. One of them turned out to be very pedestrian and is not worth your time. The other is Julia Child's corn timbale and it is interesting only because the recipe is hers. I must admit a prejudice going into this. I have never understood why it's necessary to take a delicious vegetable and try to make something of it that it's not. Corn is a very basic thing. A timbale usually is not. A timbale is a molded dish that holds a custard that's used to bind a mixture of cheese and vegetables or meat together. A true mold has high sides and is closed at the bottom, much like a charlotte pan. The dish is baked in a hot water bath and allowed to sit briefly before unmolding. The corn timbale is a good looking dish, but it takes a lot of butter and cream to get it to the table and I'm not much into showmanship these days. I'll let you read the recipe and decide if you want to proceed with it on your own. I found it to be pleasant, but strangely bland for one of Julia's recipes. If you don't have a corn creamer, you can use the large holes of a box grater to scrape the ears and make corn milk. Here's Julia's recipe. Bon Appetit! Kinda! Sorta! Maybe!

Corn Timbale...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, courtesy of Julia Child

Ingredients:
3 cups corn milk (scraped from the cob with a corn creamer)
6 large eggs
3 tablespoons minced onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs
2/3 cup grated swiss cheese
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper

Directions:
Butter an 9-cup charlotte mold or high-sided baking dish and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper. Whisk together corn, eggs, onion, salt, parsley, breadcrumbs, cheese, cream, red pepper, and black pepper. Pour into prepared charlotte mold. Set mold in a larger dish and pour boiling water around it to come two-thirds of the way up its sides. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, then turn down the oven to 325 and bake for 45 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes, then unmold onto a serving plate. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Spoon Bread with Leeks and Gruyere Cheese - One Perfect Bite
Summer Corn Pudding - Stacey Snacks
Southwestern Corn Pudding - Janet is Hungry
Baked Corn Casserole - Never Enough Thyme
Corn Spoon Bread - Deep South Dish
Classic Corn Pudding with Cheddar and Chives - The Runaway Spoon
Corn Pudding - Closet Cooking

Carrot Timbales

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...When Julia Child first captured the culinary airways she taught her viewers how to make timbales of spinach and mushrooms. The timbales were delicious and easy to make, and that first venture led many of us to explore other varieties. Timbales became popular at dinner parties and holiday celebrations. Then food styles changed and they seemed to disappear from the culinary scene. While there are many types, the most common timbale is a savory custard or pudding that is baked in a drum shaped mold. It is heartier than a souffle and has the consistency of a rich pudding. I use to make them on a regular basis. Now before you start to roll your eyes and think I'm putting on airs, I must quickly add that I had a sick child who didn't eat a lot and need to be coaxed - bribed - to eat. There was a period when the only thing she would touch was pudding. I very quickly learned how to make egg-enriched vegetables look like pudding. This recipe survived that era and I still serve these timbales for an occasional guest dinner. Their great advantage is that they can be made ahead of time, unmolded and reheated before serving. A true timbale uses copious quantities of heavy cream and is usually served with an additional dollop of sauce. This recipe has been pared way back and uses buttermilk or yogurt in place of cream and is served without an additional sauce. These are lovely with roast pork or ham and are as easy to assemble as the parent recipe from which they sprung. I no longer have timbale molds, so I use my popover pans to achieve a drum-like shape. If you have neither, feel free to use custard cups. Here's the recipe for a pretty dish that is simple to make but worthy of your guests.

Carrot Timbales...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite with inspiration provided by the Vegetable Gardene

Ingredients:
1-1/4 pounds carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons vegetable oil or butter
3 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
Pinch of nutmeg
1/3 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt
Parsley or scallion for garnish

Directions:
1) Heat oil or butter in a heavy saucepan. When oil shimmers or butter has melted, add carrots and toss to coat. Cook, covered, over medium heat until tender, about 30 to 40 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes.
2) Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease or spray four (6-oz.) molds. Set aside.
3) Scrape carrots into bowl of food processor. Add eggs, salt, paprika, nutmeg and yogurt. Puree for 1 minute or until mixture is perfectly smooth. Spoon carrot purée into molds until they are 7/8th full. Place timbales into a roasting pan. Bring a kettle of water to a boil. Pour water into roasting pan until it comes 2/3 of the way up the sides of molds. Bake in hot water bath for 30 to 35 minutes. Unmold gently by running a knife around sides of timbales. Serve warm or slightly chilled. Yield: 4 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Moroccan Carrots - One Perfect Bite
Braised Carrots and Shallots - One Perfect Bite
Herb Roasted Carrots - One Perfect Bite