Name your National Celebration

It’s here, folks. November 13th is National Indian Pudding Day and we have a bonus:  World Kindness Day.  So, when you’re at that truck stop in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico and the Indian Pudding you choose over Rosie’s special home-made strawberry cream pie is a decidedly bad choice, then you can either be kind when you call the waitperson over to your booth, or,  tell the truth or face the consequences….That’s too many “or’s” for me.

There really is a city in New Mexico named Truth or Consequences, called T or C for short. It’s a spa city and the county seat for Sierra County. In 1950 there was a game show on the radio “Truth or Consequences”.  The host of the show, Ralph Edwards,  announced that he would air the show from the first town that renamed itself Truth of Consequences. Hot Springs, New Mexico was that town.

Interested in the Indian  Pudding?  Actually, the author of the following recipe claims it’s a New England Thanksgiving tradition. It’s probably called “Indian” pudding because it’s made with corn meal and the first settlers called corn meal, “Indian meal”.  I was born and raised in Connecticut, UCONN is my Alma mater, and I always bring my own cranberry sauce to Thanksgiving dinner.  Although I lived as many years in New Mexico as I did in Connecticut, I never saw Indian Pudding before today.

Indian Pudding

About This Recipe

ACTIVE TIME:	30 minutes
TOTAL TIME:	2 1/2 hours
THIS RECIPE APPEARS IN:	Indian Pudding, a New England Thanksgiving Tradition

Ingredients

• • 4 cups milk
• • 1/2 cup cornmeal
• • 2 tablespoons butter
• • 1/2 cup molasses
• • 1/2 cup maple syrup (preferably Grade B)
• • 1 teaspoon salt
• • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• • 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• • Pinch nutmeg
• • 2 eggs, well beaten

Procedures

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.  Butter a 2-quart casserole dish.

2. In a medium pot, bring milk to a gentle simmer.  Very slowly whisk in cornmeal briskly to prevent clumping.  Cook for 20 minutes, adjusting heat to maintain a gentle simmer, until mixture has thickened and coats the back of a spoon well.  Remove from heat.  Stir in the butter, molasses, maple syrup, salt, and spices until well blended.  In a small bowl, whisk the eggs.  Slowly whisk about ¼ cup of the hot pudding mixture into the eggs, then whisk the tempered mixture back into the pot.  This prevents the eggs from scrambling.

3. Pour mixture into a buttered casserole dish and bake about 1½ hours, until center is set (the center will still be soft, but you don’t want it to look liquidy).  You can set this dish into a pan of hot water while baking if you prefer.  Remove from oven and let sit at least 20 minutes.  Serve warm with vanilla bean ice cream.