Corn. The glue that holds all Holiday meals together. Don’t think so? Try omitting it sometime, and everyone will just keep wondering “What’s missing here???”
I have to admit, I’ve been a corn lover my whole life. As a child I absolutely despised veggies, but corn…we got along just fine. So obviously, as an adult and a chef, I look for ways to make corn even better then it already is. I’ve found a winner here….ding, ding, ding! 🙂 Corn + cheese = yes! It doesn’t really take a genius to figure that one out though, so let’s just say I took an obvious combination and upped the ante a bit by adding a touch of white wine and a layer of crispy Fontina cheese on top!
And now… I bring to you…more processed food confessions from my childhood. Boy, I hope my parents decided my blog was too much of a snooze-fest to even read anymore because I’ve been calling them out for all the crap they fed me as a child a lot lately! I’m just going to assume they aren’t reading and proceed to call them out yet again! The cheese whiz, the frozen pretzels, and now the Kid Cuisines (among lots of other crap). I mean, seriously…why? And who? Who goes to the grocery store and thinks processed junk food in plastic containers that you cook in a microwave seem like a good idea? Apparently my parents thought it was quite nifty because let’s just say I ate Kid Cuisines a few times a week for a few years. I’m still alive! But no wonder I was fat and awkward!
In their defense, I really loved those things. I came home from school, watched Nickelodeon, ate my TV-dinner. The life of a 90’s kid! My favorite Kid Cuisine was the tacos (ok, is talking about this crap getting creepy yet?!?!?). I refused to believe the tacos had beans in them (THEY DID) because I thought I hated beans. I also was quite the little chef because I always mixed the corn and cheese sauce and it was the best combo ever. Hence…. this recipe!
One really important step in this recipe is making sure your frozen corn is defrosted! If it isn’t defrosted it will make the sauce runny when it defrosts in the oven. I made the same mistake one time but quickly fixed it by adding a few tablespoons of flour and baking it for a few more minutes. Flour fixes everything!
*I recommend looking for frozen corn that is organic/non-GMO verified! I used sweet corn that I froze this summer, but store bought is perfectly fine as well!
Creamy White Cheddar Baked Corn
By Published: December 4, 2014
- Yield: 4 Servings
- Prep: 10 mins
- Cook: 35 mins
- Ready In: 45 mins
Corn. The glue that holds all Holiday meals together. Don't think so? Try omitting it sometime, and everyone will just keep …
Ingredients
- 1 bell pepper
- 1/4 cup shallot
- 2 Tbsp salted butter
- 2 Tbsp whole wheat white flour
- 2 Tbsp white wine
- 1 and 1/2 cups milk
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- dash adobo seasoning
- 4-6 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese
- 1 and 1/2 tsp pure maple syrup or sweetener of choice
- 2-3 ounces fontina cheese for topping
- 5 cups sweet corn I used frozen
Instructions
- Defrost corn (if you do not defrost, the corn will make your sauce watery). Dice pepper and shallot. In a sauté pan over medium heat add butter, pepper, and shallot. Sauté until shallot is fragrant and translucent. Add flour to create a roux, cook for a few seconds, then whisk in white wine.
- Slowly begin adding milk, little by little while whisking, allowing mixture to thicken each time before adding more. If you mixture is slow to thicken crank up the heat a bit! When milk is incorporated add seasonings and cheddar cheese.
- Pour sauce over corn in an oven safe baking dish or skillet. Mix well. Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven until corn is hot and peppers are tender, about 15-20 minutes. Remove dish from oven, top with fontina cheese, and place dish under broiler until cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown. Be sure to watch your dish carefully as this can happen quickly!
When do I add in the maple syrup?
Sorry I didn’t specify Kat, after you add the milk when you throw in the seasonings you can go ahead and add the syrup. Hope it turns out well for you!
Is there a substitute for white wine? And can I use sugar instead of the syrup?
Michelle the white wine can be omitted altogether if you do not have any on hand. And yes, sugar can be subbed for the syrup or again omitted all together. Hope you enjoy!
About how many ounces of frozen corn do you need to make 5 cups?
Admittedly Dianna, I have no idea. I used corn that I had taken off the cob in the summer and then frozen, so I didn’t have a bag with ounces on it to go by. If you are looking to use frozen corn and trying to figure out how many bags to buy I would go with two just to be safe. You might be able to get away with one, but I’m not so sure! Hope that helps!
Can you make this the day ahead – and then bake it?
Donna I don’t see why not!
CAN U USE WHITE WINE VINEGAR IN PLACE OF WHITE WINE.
Lakisha I would not suggest using vinegar in place of the white wine. You can just omit the ingredient.
Absolutely wonderful