family – Lauren Warnecke

Creamed Corn is Actually Delicious!

This post comes from my Mom, Cheryl, who I’ve finally coerced into giving up her recipe for creamed corn. I know what you’re thinking… Creamed corn? But there’s nothing quite like this. It’s a staple at my family’s holiday table, and perhaps you’ll add it to yours this year too…

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A little history on this recipe:

When I was growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area my Dad had a favorite restaurant called Gullivers. He would love to gather the whole family there as often as budget and time allowed. It was a meat and potatoes place and designed along the lines of King Arthur’s court. It was a huge beamed room with wooden tables and benches and everything was served on pewter dishes. They served the best prime rib around. All the servers were dressed in period costumes and the food was awesome, the atmosphere loud and bawdy and it was a great fun place to go. As we got older and our family grew, we went to Gullivers less and less simply because it was too hard to get everyone there at the same time and no one had the money. We were all starting our families, buying houses etc. So my dad got the idea to create Gullivers at home!

He could do the prime rib and the Yorkshire pudding and the garlic mashed potatoes, and serve the wine, but he simply could not recreate the best side dish ever. Gullivers made a creamed corn that was to die for. My dad tried and tried and it just wasn’t the same. So he went back to Gullivers and simply asked for the recipe. The manager claimed that they could not give it out. My dad did not give up easily once he got something in his head. So, my dad being my dad, simply charmed one of the female servers and she gave him the recipe!

It became a Clements family tradition that every Christmas my dad served prime rib, garlic mashed potatoes, and Gullivers corn. When I moved to Colorado and wasn’t near my family for the holidays, I asked my dad for the recipe so that I could continue the tradition for my own family. All these years later, it is still a staple at our Christmas table and is so popular that it even shows up at Thanksgiving alongside the turkey. I have now passed the recipe along to my children so that they can continue to carry on the tradition. Literally, every time I make it, I think very tenderly of my dad! I hope you will enjoy it as well!

Gullivers’ Corn

Ingredients:

20 oz frozen corn
8 oz whipping cream
8 oz milk
1 tsp salt
6 tsp sugar
pinch of white pepper

ROUX:

2 tbsp melted butter
2 tbsp flour

Mix corn, cream, milk, salt, sugar, pepper in a sauce pan. Cook on LOW heat until bubbly.
Watch carefully so it does not boil. Cook about six minutes. Longer is ok as long as you keep the heat on LOW.
Make the roux and add in small batches.
Continue to stir to mix in roux and keep the heat low until the mixture becomes thick and creamy.

Makes about six good size servings. I don’t know if it freezes well because I have never had any leftovers!

Obligatory Blog Post About Being Thankful on Thanksgiving

If you decide to take a little time today between the food and the family and the football to check the interwebs, I’m sure I will be one of perhaps millions of blog posts appropriately themed on being Thankful. We bloggers are smart like that in that we’ve figured out that readers generally like posts that are timed well to a particular holiday or event. So what is going to make my blog post about what I’m thankful for stick out more than any other that pops up in your newsfeed?

Not much. Probably….

But in spite of my self-loathing lack of confidence that I stand out among other thankful-themed posts, and the honest belief that very few people read my blog on a regular basis (thanks Mom and Julie)… I’m going to do it anyway.

2012 has been a year of drastic changes in my life. I moved. My relationships with friends and family have changed. My job(s) have changed. I have withstood heartache, hardship, and more change in one year than a person should be able to handle. While I’ve alluded ambiguously to some of these over the last several months, a rant on gratitude won’t be the thing that causes me to spill on my personal life, but I will say that the year has brought with it a total shift in my mentality, my self-worth, and ultimately my happiness.

I think I had been craving a life that’s less complicated. A life where the “stuff” around you doesn’t matter. A simple life that I can actually afford. Working an average of 60 hours a week for four months hasn’t exactly brought me to the simple life I envision, but my frame of mind has completely shifted. I am better able to recognize what I need, and what I don’t. I’m better able to take care of relationships with the friends who matter, and let go of the “friends” who don’t. I’m living closer to Earth; eating more vegetables than burritos. All in all, I’m grateful for who I am, and I feel more comfortable in my own skin than I ever have.

When I started this blog, I’m pretty sure THAT was my ultimate goal… exploring a simple life in a big city and finding myself in the process.

And, let’s be honest, I’m pretty awesome.

Oh, that, and, I’m pretty sure I’m going to be thankful for the meal that is about to make its way to my face in a couple hours. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, pickled beets, the family’s famous Gulliver’s Corn (don’t worry, I’ve been begging Mom to write a guest post so you can get your hands on the recipe), and a homemade(ish) pie from yours truly.

Apple. With homemade whipped cream.

Delicious.

Starbucks Around the World: Healdsburg, CA

Disclaimer: Since Travelpod does not allow you to export blogs, I shall be bringing old entries to you slowly, but surely, through good, old-fashioned (and painstakingly arduous) Cut-and-paste.

July 27, 2009

After a seriously intense day of 95-plus degree wine tastings through beautiful Sonoma County with my family, I can think of nothing more refreshing than the shaded awning of a Starbucks store and an iced coffee in my personal mug. Admittedly tipsy and overheated, this is a day that’s slightly blurry, but certainly not forgotten.