NOVEMBER 2019 / SOUTHERNLIVING.COM
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Coarsely chop squash flesh, add to
shrimp mixture in large bowl, and stir
to combine. Add eggs, green parts of
scallions, 1 1/2 cups of the breadcrumbs,
and 2 tablespoons of the parsley, and stir
to combine. (Stuffing should be moist
but not wet, with ingredients evenly
mixed throughout.)
- Arrange squash shells snugly in a 13-
x 9-inch baking dish or a rimmed baking
sheet, with larger, firmer shells around
the edges and any torn or broken shells
wedged in place among the sturdy ones.
Fill shells evenly with prepared stuffing.
- Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a
small microwavable bowl on HIGH for 30
seconds. Stir remaining 1/4 cup bread-
crumbs and 2 tablespoons parsley into
butter. Sprinkle breadcrumb mixture
evenly over stuffed squash.
- Bake at 375°F until stuffing is firm,
fairly dry, and lightly browned, 30 to 40
minutes. Transfer squash to a serving
platter, and serve hot or warm.
KENTUCKY
THE PLACE FOR
CORN PUDDING
In the heart of the Bluegrass State, a
beloved establishment prepares to
welcome guests to its annual feast. The
Beaumont Inn opened its doors 100
years ago, in Kentucky’s oldest town of
Harrodsburg, in what had been a college
for women during the mid-1800s.
Family owned and operated for five
generations, it has grown from a small
guesthouse for alumni of Beaumont
College to an award-winning hotel.
Its Thanksgiving menu draws return
visitors along with new guests, not just
for turkey with all the trimmings but
also for corn pudding—which is one of
the inn’s signature dishes and most
requested recipes.
Beaumont Inn’s corn pudding was
perfected in the 1960s and is served at
lunch and dinner daily, earning genera-
tions of fans who’ve come to expect it on
the menu. Their nontraditional recipe
calls for white corn and involves three
sessions of careful stirring with a fork
during the baking process. The result is
a dual-textured casserole with a delicate
custard on top and the pleasing crunch
of white corn beneath.
Our simplified recipe, which uses
yellow corn for a pop of color (white
corn will work just as well) and parsley
and scallions for extra flavor, doesn’t
require nearly as much effort and has
a light and fluffy texture that might just
rival the original.
Fluffy Corn Pudding
ACTIVE 15 MIN. - TOTAL 1 HOUR, 5 MIN.
SERVES 8|
Baking spray with flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
3 cups fresh or thawed frozen
yellow or white corn kernels,
divided
3 large eggs
2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 Tbsp. chopped fresh flat-leaf
parsley
1 1/2 Tbsp. finely chopped scallions,
divided
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously coat
a 9-inch square glass or ceramic baking
dish with baking spray with flour. Stir
together flour, sugar, salt, and pepper
in a small bowl, and set aside.
- Pulse 1 cup of the corn kernels in a food
processor until smooth, about 5 times,
and set aside. Whisk eggs by hand in
a large bowl until smooth and lightly
beaten. Stir in flour mixture and milk
until combined. Whisk in melted butter.
Add corn puree, parsley, 1 tablespoon
of the scallions, and remaining 2 cups
corn kernels. Stir to combine well.
- Transfer corn mixture to prepared
baking dish. Bake in preheated oven until
lightly browned, puffed up all over, and
fairly firm, about 40 minutes. Sprinkle
corn pudding with remaining 1/2 table-
spoon scallions. Serve hot or warm.
VIRGINIA
OLD-FASHIONED
OYSTERS
Bernie Herman, renowned folklorist and
esteemed professor of Southern studies
at The University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill, knows more than most
people do about oysters. That’s because
he grew up in a community on Virginia’s
Eastern Shore, accessible to the waters of
the Chesapeake Bay. In 2002, he bought
land in the area, where he now tends his
own small oyster-restoration project and
supports efforts to rebuild and nourish
the farming and seafood-harvesting
communities, which have suffered great
economic declines in recent decades.
For Herman, Thanksgiving means
fresh oysters, roasted outdoors in the
morning sunlight while the turkey
(stuffed with the family’s traditional
dressing made with sausage, oysters,
and hominy) cooks in the oven. He notes
that today’s scalloped oysters are likely
descendants of oyster pie, a traditional
Virginia dish that dates back to the 1700s.
It’s double crusted and features fresh
oysters in an herbed cream sauce.
The modern culinary term “scalloped”
denotes an ingredient—which could be
anything from tomatoes to potatoes
to oysters—layered in a casserole dish
with breadcrumbs or cracker crumbs;
enriched with cream and butter; and
baked into a rich, satisfying side. Herman
thinks the commercial production of
saltines in the late 1800s may have
led to the rise of scalloped oysters, the
simpler—though no less delicious—dish
we share here.
Scalloped Oysters
ACTIVE 20 MIN. - TOTAL 1 HOUR
SERVES 10|
8 Tbsp. cold butter, divided, plus
more for greasing dish
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. black pepper
2 pt. fresh shucked oysters,
undrained
