Hush Puppies

-hushin' dem puppies-

every culture seems to have their own catchy name for this deep fried treat / side dish. i've heard name that range from "corn doggers" to "corn fritters" to "mandoca" in venezuela to "yanikeke" in the dominical republic to my favorite "festivals" in jamaica. yep, believe it people places outside of the american bible belt enjoy these miraculously simply and tasty bites. everyone loves deep fried balls of cornmeal dough - everyone. you can vary the sweet to savory ratios and easily move from side dish to dessert - or carnival fare.

now for a bit of american southern history (supposed history - which can describe about 60% of all my "historical" knowledge). evidently history has it that these little guys were usually tossed to the dogs by hunters, soldiers even runaway slaves to "hush the puppies". pretty clever eh? funny because when i do make these - which is rare, but holds as a semi-yearly summer farm tradition - they never make it to anyplace other than the grubby hands of the beer macerated men folk. a puppy would never have a chance of tasting one of these.

HUSH PUPPIES

-or whatever you call em'-

1c cornmeal

1/2c flour

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

16 oz cream corn

1/2c finely minced onion

milk if needed

oil for frying

*heat 2"-3" of oil to 350F

*in a large bowl combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt and baking powder

*in a separate bowl combine the cream corn and onions

*add the corn mixture to the flour mixture and stir to combine - add a bit of milk if the batter seems too thick. it should be about the constancy of a thick muffin or quick bread batter.

*drop by the tablespoonful into the preheated oil and fry, turning once, until golden. this should take only 2-3 minutes.

*place on a paper towel lined plate and serve with ketchup or my favorite, tartar sauce.