Aunt Catherine Collins' Indian Pudding

If you recall, in episode #214 Roger had just returned form visiting Aunt Catherine in Boston where he had enjoyed her Indian Pudding so much that he copied down the recipe for Mrs. Johnson, whose cooking he thought could stand some improvement.  Mysteriously, through inside sources this document has recently come to light.  It's written in Roger's lively hand on a sheet Aunt Catherine Collins' stationery as you can see in the photograph.  As Indian Pudding is a favorite dessert of mine, I was anxious to try this  recipe.  It turned out to be not only very good, as Roger's enthusiastic note on the page says, but  is perhaps the best version of this great old New England favorite that I have had.  There are many versions and discussions of Indian Pudding (as there are of baked beans and other traditional New England foods)  but this is an old original Yankee recipe, made simply with corn meal simmered in milk, sweetened with molasses and sugar, and spiced with ginger, cinnamon, and freshly grated nutmeg.  I baked it for about two hours at 300° even though the recipe calls for three.  You will want to cook yours just until golden brown, slightly firm, and cooked around the edges.  It needs to rest for about 30 minutes before serving and should always be enjoyed with plain heavy cream.  No ice-cream or whipped cream please!  You can bet that Mrs. Johnson was asked to prepare this fairly often at Collinwood where no doubt everyone loved it.  Too bad we never got to meet Aunt Catherine, but now we know where she lived and can credit her for a great recipe.