Pork with Pepper Vinegar Gravy, Corn Pudding

I made a weird accident that turned out really good, so I'm documenting it here for future reference. (I was going to cook this in the crockpot, like the italian pepperoncini beef recipes I keep seeing, but someone turned the crockpot on "warm" instead of "high" with dinner only a couple hours away. So I dumped it out of the crockpot and roasted it in the oven, on a bed of sliced onions, a la Mark Bitttman's standard recipe, using the pepperoncini juice to baste with. THEN I had a huge pan of pepperoncini juice, yummy onions, and delicious pork drippings that I didn't want to waste. So I browned some flour, dry, (there was already plenty of fat in the witches' brew in the roasting pan, so I didn't want to make a traditional roux with MORE fat) and whisked the liquid and onions in with it, and simmered for a couple of minutes. Then I immersion blendered that mug, and it was good. Spicy, vinegary, and unexpected.

Made a new-to-me corn pudding recipe from Cook's Country along with, and green beans. The corn pudding was rich, but really good. Here's the recipe if you want it.

Savory Corn Pudding (Adapted from Cook's Country)


6 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels (I used frozen, of course fresh would be better)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream (next time I would use half and half, and a bit less of it)
6 large eggs , lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
4 chopped fresh scallions, white and green

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2-quart casserole dish. Bring 2 quarts water to boil in large saucepan for corn.

Add 1 tablespoon salt and corn to boiling water and cook for 1 minute. Drain in colander and dry with paper towels. Pulse 4 cups corn in food processor until rough puree forms, about ten 1-second pulses. Transfer to large bowl and stir in remaining whole corn, 1 teaspoon salt, cream, eggs, cheese, sugar, cayenne, and basil until combined.

Pour corn mixture into casserole and transfer dish to roasting pan. Pour boiling water from kettle (I just used hot tap water, and it was fine) into some sort of bain-marie holder, until water is halfway up sides of casserole dish. Bake until pudding is set and browning slightly on top, 40 to 45 minutes. Remove casserole from water bath, transfer to wire rack, and let set for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.