The Classic Family Recipe Mister Rogers Adored

"It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood." Hand-knitted sweaters. A calm voice. Simple weekend morning joy. Kindness. And...corn pudding? When you think of Mister Rogers, all but the last usually come to mind. But, as it turns out, corn pudding was one of the TV icon's favorite dishes. As he shared in 1987 in a speech at the Scientists Institute, "And then there was my grandmother Rogers' corn pudding — and even though she died when I was 6 years old, I still love to eat corn pudding and any other food that's even remotely like it" (via Parade).

Mister Rogers, who was a vegetarian for most of his life beginning in the 1970s, would sometimes say, "I don't want to eat anything that has a mother." True to his dietary ethics, corn pudding can also be a delicious vegetarian side dish or dessert. Born in Pennsylvania, Mister Rogers was not from the state that produces the most corn (that would be Iowa), and the precise origin of his grandmother's recipe remains unknown. (Even though you will find some recipes online that claim to be his grandmother's, they're not confirmed to be the real deal.) All that aside, corn pudding, like Mister Rogers, is warm and comforting. No wonder he favored it.

Corn pudding dates back to at least the 17th century, when Native Americans introduced New England settlers to a very similar cornmeal-based dish sweetened with molasses. Today, it's often made with cream-style canned corn, eggs, flour, milk, and butter, though some recipes call for cornmeal, frozen corn, and/or sugar. But we'd guess that Mister Rogers would want us to make it our own, perhaps with family and friends and introducing room for variation. If that means adding pumpkin pie spice and transforming it into a dessert, so be it. Or you might throw in some scallions for extra bite or jalapeño for a little heat. When you're making corn pudding (or any corn dish, for that matter) and are using fresh corn instead of frozen or canned, you can easily remove corn from the cob using a Bundt pan.

If you don't have the time to make corn pudding, you can transform canned corn into something like it by adding cream cheese. You'll never eat bland corn again when you add that one creamy ingredient, though we urge you to give making Rogers' favorite home-cooked dish a try. After 400 years, corn pudding isn't going anywhere — and neither is Mister Rogers' spirit.