Double Corn Pudding

This is basically a cheese strata (remember the 70's?), but it uses cubed polenta instead of bread. It can be made ahead, and it's familiar enough, at least to those of a certain age, that it won't frighten carnivores. The key is to use good sharp white cheddar -- you don't want some neon orange monstrosity. I use Trader Joe's Cabot Extra Sharp, $5.99 a pound. It can be served hot, warm or at room temperature, and it travels well, cut in slices or still in the pan, making it perfect for picnics or potlucks.

I always have cooked polenta in the freezer, but if you're making it from scratch, a pound of dried polenta makes a bit over 3 pounds of cooked. I suppose you could use the store bought polenta that comes in rolls, but I haven't had to try that, and you could probably substitute frozen or canned corn, but I haven't had to try that either.

1 pound cooked polenta, cut in 1/2" cubes
3 ears of corn, kernels cut off the cobs
4 eggs
1 cup of buttermilk
1/2 t curry powder
1 t vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
2 t Dijon mustard
4 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
grated parmesan cheese
olive oil for pan

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the polenta, corn, eggs, buttermilk, curry powder, Worcestershire sauce and mustard, and stir well until thoroughly mixed.

Lightly oil a glass pie plate with the olive oil. Sprinkle a little parmesan over the bottom to promote a brown crust. Add one third of the corn mixture, top with one third of the grated cheese. Repeat twice. Sprinkle additional Parmesan on top.

Bake until nicely browned and puffy, an hour or so.

This recipe serves four to six, depending upon what else is going on.