Monte Cristo Spoonbread Casserole

This fun Sunday night casserole combines your grandmother’s spoonbread — made with our stone-ground white cornmeal — and those classic Monte Cristo flavors we all love.

Ham and cheese make this a hearty meal. Add onions and our pickled corn relish too.

In true Monte Cristo fashion, dust the spoonbread with confectioners’ sugar before piling onto plates!

Yield: 8 Servings

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MONTE CRISTO SPOONBREAD CASSEROLE

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 35 MinTotal time: 50 Min

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter, olive oil or bacon drippings
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced onions
• 2 cups chopped cooked ham
• 4 cups (1 quart) whole milk
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/4 cups The Old Mill White Unbolted Cornmeal
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mild cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup The Old Mill Corn Relish
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne
• 4 large eggs, separated
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar for dusting on top

Instructions

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the butter, olive oil, or bacon drippings in the skillet and place over medium heat. Add the onions and stir and cook over low medium heat until the onions soften and get a little brown and crispy around the edges, about 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the ham. Set the pan aside.
2. Place the milk and salt in a large, heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and when boiling, slowly stir in the cornmeal, stirring to keep the mixture smooth. Reduce the heat to low, and keep simmering and stirring the cornmeal until the mixture is very thick, about 5 minutes.
3. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the butter until the butter melts. Fold in the cheese, corn relish and the cayenne pepper. Separate the eggs, placing the yolks in a small dish and the whites in a large stainless steel or glass bowl. Add the pinch of salt to the whites and set aside. Blend a spoonful of the cornmeal mixture into the egg yolks and stir to temper (bring up their temperature) them. Add the egg yolks back to the pan of cornmeal, and stir until smooth. Set aside.
4. Beat the egg whites on high speed with an electric mixer until stiff but not dry, about 2 to 3 minutes. Fold the beaten whites into the cornmeal mixture until nearly smooth. Turn this into the prepared skillet with onions and ham, and smooth the top. Place the skillet in the oven.
5. Bake until the spoonbread has puffed up and is golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. With a sieve, dust the top with confectioners’ sugar. Serve at once.

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