Photo by Paul Costello

My daughters and I have been planning a feast for Father's Day. We'll cook Tuscan steaks on the grill - thick cut ribeyes rubbed with olive oil, salt, rosemary and lemon - slice fresh tomatoes and top them with basil and balsamic, slow cook fresh lady peas, and, most important of all, we'll serve my husband's favorite summer staple: Nora Jane's Corn Pudding.

As with many Southern recipes from my childhood, this one is made from what you might call "low brow" ingredients - Jiffy Corn Pudding & canned corn - but I promise you the result is divine, and no one would ever know that the main ingredient came from a box.

Whenever I cook this corn pudding, I'm reminded of the first time I had it at my best friend, Anne's 19th century dogtrot house in Rockport, Mississippi, set back from and old backroad that ran along the Pearl River. So many of the happiest days of my childhood were spent at Rockport, riding in a flatbead boat fishing for catfish, throwing rocks off the beautiful old suspension bridge that's sadly no longer there, and driving the backroads well before we had our drivers licenses.

Anne grew up with a cook, but her mother, Nora Jane, was no slouch in the kitchen, and whenever she served up this summer corn pudding, there was a rousing cheer of approval around the table. 

I hope you'll enjoy this recipe as much as my family does.

Nora Jane's Corn Pudding

• 1 egg
• 14 oz. creamed corn
• 14 oz. whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 box of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350-degrees and grease an 8" x 8" baking dish.
2. Add the egg to a medium-sized bowl and beat.
3. Add the creamed corn to the bowl.
4. Drain the liquid from the can of whole kernel corn and add the corn only to the bowl.
5. Add the sour cream and mix well.
6. Add the Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix to the bowl and mix well.
7. Pour the melted butter into the baking dish and add the Jiffy mixture to the bowl.
8. Bake for one hour then serve.