I’ve known Carmen as one of our store’s best customers for about 12 years.

With her mandatory crested-blazer, jingling charm bracelet overflowing with Cartier charms, and blond hair piled high like a heaping dollop of gravity-defying whipped cream….she’s hard to miss. She commands a room with all the gentle enthusiasm of a longhorn stampede.

A few years ago, I had the good fortune to sit next to her at a dinner party. Her quick, syrupy southern wit had my side aching from laughing hard all night. Somewhere in the course of that evening, she shared this recipe with me….and I’ve been making it ever since.

You can tell it’s a great southern recipe because it contains a stick of butter, a can of something, and as many jalapenos as you can handle.

When a Texan woman shares a recipe like that with you….you better believe that it will be good.

And now I’m sharing it with y’all.

Here’s all it takes:

• 1 Stick of Butter
• 8 Ounce Brick of Cream Cheese
• 2 Cans of White Shoe-peg Corn (Drained)
• 8 Ounce Jar of Pickled Jalapenos

Melt the butter and cream cheese together in a small pan over medium heat, stirring constantly.

Once they’ve both melted and blended together.

Mix in the corn and heat it through….

Finely dice as many jalapenos as you can handle and add them too.

Make sure they’re crisp and not soft. The soft ones just fall apart.

Now, how many is enough?

Pickled jalapenos aren’t quite a hot as you may think they are……and the cream cheese/butter cuts a lot of the heat. Carmen uses the whole 8 ounce jar.

Trust her, the more – the better. (I use the whole jar too)

Of course, you could just serve it like it is…..but this seems like such a “Steak House” side dish that I treat it like one. I pop a big heaping scoop into individual cast iron dishes and slide them under the broiler for about 4 minutes……

……’till they’re lightly browned and bubbling.

Perfect side next to a grilled steak….and everybody gets their own dish.

I don’t make this often, it’s much too rich.

So I limit it only to the holidays.

…or days that end in “Y”.

Love ya Carmen!

(Thanks for the clogged arteries…….)