By Eight years. Three hundred and sixty-four weeks. I have been writing this blog for eight years, and in that time: I lost a husband and gained a book. I lost a sister and gained a heritage award. I cooked a wedding and a pandemic and two hundred and sixty Lowcountry boils and enough fried chicken to build a bridge across the Savannah River. I taught cooking classes and wrote stories and planted gardens and held great-grandchildren and stood at this stove on knees that are about to be replaced because I wore them out doing the thing I love.
The knee consultation happened this week. Dr. Kwan is young, thorough, and does not sugarcoat. She looked at the X-rays and she said, "Mrs. Henderson, this knee has been bone-on-bone for at least two years. You've been walking on determination and ibuprofen." I said, "I've been walking on sixty-eight years of stubbornness." She said, "I can fix the knee. I can't fix the stubbornness." I liked her immediately.
The surgery is scheduled for late summer — after the boil, because I will not miss the boil. Dr. Kwan agreed to the timeline with the caveat that I "reduce impact activity" between now and then, which means no kneeling in the garden, no standing at the stove for six hours, no carrying pots. I said, "Doctor, what CAN I do?" She said, "Sit and supervise." I said, "That is not cooking." She said, "That is surviving long enough to cook after the surgery." Fair point.
I made shrimp and grits tonight. The eight-year dish. The dish that started everything. I stood at the stove — carefully, with a stool nearby, a concession to the knee and the doctor and the sixty-eight years of standing that brought me here — and I cooked the grits low and slow and the shrimp thirty seconds per side and the butter went in at the right time and the cheese at the end and the bowl was perfect.
Eight years. Same dish. Same kitchen. Same woman, older, wider, wiser, soon to have a new knee and a new book and a new great-grandchild and the same unshakable belief that feeding people is the holiest act she knows.
Now go on and feed somebody.
Shrimp and grits gets the headlines tonight — it always does — but every bowl of grits I’ve ever served at this table has had Company Corn somewhere nearby, because that dish is what I make when I need something reliable, something that feeds a crowd without asking too much of me, something that can sit in a warm oven while I tend to everything else. With my stool pulled up to the stove and the doctor’s voice in my ear, I needed exactly that: a dish that does its job with dignity, no fuss, no six-hour vigil required. This corn has been on my table at boils and funerals and Sunday suppers and impromptu celebrations, and it belongs here tonight, in year eight, as much as anything else I’ve ever cooked.
Company Corn
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 2 cans (15 oz each) whole kernel corn, drained
- 1 can (14.75 oz) cream-style corn
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 box (8.5 oz) corn muffin mix (such as Jiffy)
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven. Heat your oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish and set it aside.
- Mix the base. In a large bowl, combine the drained whole kernel corn, cream-style corn, sour cream, and melted butter. Stir until everything is well incorporated.
- Add the mix-ins. Stir in the corn muffin mix, garlic powder, black pepper, and salt. Fold until no dry streaks remain — do not overmix.
- Pour and top. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared baking dish. Scatter the shredded cheddar cheese over the top in an even layer.
- Bake. Bake uncovered for 40 to 45 minutes, until the center is set, the edges are golden, and the cheese on top is bubbling and lightly browned.
- Rest and serve. Let the dish rest for 5 to 10 minutes before scooping. Serve warm straight from the pan — it holds beautifully in a low oven if your people aren’t all seated yet.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 390 | Protein: 8g | Fat: 22g | Carbs: 42g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 620mg