Corn with Cream Cheese

My family hails from hearty mid-western stock...where the best corn in the world is grown, nurtured with love and lots of sunshine. Nobody does corn like those farmers. Whenever I buy corn here in the PNW I am always disappointed. These people have no idea what true "sweet" corn is. My granddad, "Bampa",  was a true connoisseur of corn.  My nineteenth summer I went back to work in Bampa's firm, and towards the end of summer corn became king. Every evening on our way home from work, Bampa would search out a stand and stop to pick up several ears of corn for my Gaga to cook for dinner. There is nothing in this world sweeter than corn picked fresh from the field. I think by the end of that summer I was a cornaholic.

Possibly my fondest memory of Bampa took place on one of his birthdays which fell right in the middle of corn harvest. The family was there for a birthday dinner, and my aunt presented him with her gift....a huge bag of fresh corn. Gaga immediately prepped and cooked it so that by the end of dinner it was ready to eat. And eat Bampa did! After a full dinner, he sat there and consumed 13 ears! And I am not kidding!!! This is family legend. And I was witness to it. The man loved his corn.

And that, my friends, is what corn is all about.

The following recipe, sadly, is made with canned corn, but come this summer I am going to make this from fresh....even if it was grown in the PNW. After all, beggars can't be choosers. (from Farm Journal Best-Ever Recipes, published 1977)

Ingredients

1/3 cup cream (you could use half-&-half or milk)

2 oz. cream cheese

1 TBS. butter

salt and pepper to taste

1  15 oz. can whole kernel corn, drained

paprika to make it pretty

Combine cream, cream cheese, butter, salt, and pepper in saucepan.  Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until cheese melts and is blended. Add corn and heat. Sprinkle paprika on top before serving. 

Notes:This a very simple, very rich dish that would  accompany a simple meat or fish entree nicely, and can easily be doubled or tripled. I will absolutely be making this with fresh corn this summer. Hubby swooned over this one! Enjoy!