Annaliese'S New England Indian Pudding

• For the Optional "Dishes"
• 2 small sugar pumpkins, cut into serving sized shapes
• 4 acorn squash, cut in half, or just 2 more small sugar pumpkins, if you have them
• 6-8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 6-8 tablespoons maple syrup
• 6-8 tablespoons brown sugar
• sprinkle of cinnamon
• The pudding
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 3-5 tablespoons brown sugar, to taste
• 1/2 cup fresh cranberries, chopped roughly in half or so
• 1/2 teaspoon or 1/4 tsp. nutmeg, to taste
• pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup corn meal, yellow or white
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
• 1 cup buttermilk, or whole milk
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter for pan and topping
• 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of ground sumac, optional
• 1 tablespoon demerara sugar
• warm maple syrup
• splash of bourbon or brandy, optional
• great vanilla ice cream, or possibly ginger ice cream
• fresh grating of nutmeg, optional finish
• 2-3 ounces toasted pecans or walnuts, optional garnish

1. Cut the squash and pumpkin into halves. Clean out all the seeds and gunk. Then craft and trim down the squash and pumpkin bottom halves into deep saucer shaped dishes. Make sure they sit squarely. If not, trim the bottoms, as well. A whole half pumpkin is too big for one portion, so trim the pumpkin into good portion sizes. Do use the bottom "saucer" as shown in the photo, but you can also create serving shapes out of the sides. Create as many serving shapes as you need for your company.
2. Dab each portion with butter. Pour a bit of syrup and a sprinkle of sugar on each. Sprinkle with cinnamon if you like.
3. In a 375 degree oven bake until done, about an hour. Then set aside. You can re- warm them for 20-30 more minutes in the oven while the pudding cools, after it is done.
4. Mix the syrup, salt, and sugar with spices together. Combine with the chopped cranberries. Let sit.
5. Scald 2 cups of milk in a sauce pan. Quickly whisk in the corn meal, stirring continuously. You can use a double boiler, but I live dangerously.
6. Whisk in the beaten egg and molasses. Cook for about 5 minutes. It should thicken up nicely. Add the cranberry mix and cook for another 5 minutes.
7. Whisk in the buttermilk (or regular milk) thoroughly. Add the lemon zest.
8. Pour into a generously buttered 2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle the top with sumac and demerara sugar, maybe a dash of cinnamon. Add a few curls of unsalted butter, too. Place the dish in a bath of hot water for best results, but you can avoid this step if it seems like one step too many at this point. Bake in a 300 degree oven for about 2 hours (it beats 7!) until the pudding has the thickness of a moist bread pudding. Check midway to stir the pudding. Stir the pudding again in the final hour, too. Take out and let cool for 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile return the squash and pumpkin "dishes," if you are using them, to the oven to reheat in the warm oven (which can be turned off at this point).
9. To plate scoop out the warm Indian pudding onto the warm "vegetable" plates. Top with warm maple syrup and a splash of optional spirit, a grating of nutmeg, and hopefully a hefty scoop of vanilla or ginger ice cream. You can also include some toasted nuts on top for a final garnish.

sugar, acorn, unsalted butter, maple syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon, pudding, maple syrup, brown sugar, fresh cranberries, nutmeg, salt, cinnamon, ginger, milk, corn meal, egg, blackstrap molasses, buttermilk, lemon zest, butter, ground sumac, demerara sugar, maple syrup, bourbon, vanilla ice cream, fresh grating of nutmeg, pecans

Taken from food52.com/recipes/7568-annaliese-s-new-england-indian-pudding (may not work)