Hushpuppies

Okay, so growing up in a coastal southern town with seafood a'plenty one of the common breads served with meals at any seafood restaurant is this delicious fried cornbread-type fritter called a hushpuppy. Where the name came from? I don't know. However...it's so delicious you just can't eat one. When I first moved up north I remember trying to find a mix for making hushpuppies and I went from store to store. I even asked the employees if they had any and usually the response? "What are hushpuppies?" Really? It was pretty strange since it was such a common thing in NC. Well anyway, I finally discovered Paula Deen's recipe which is about identical to a million others. I guess it's the basic recipe. Typically it is fried in the oil of whatever seafood you are already frying or you can fry them on their own. I like to serve them with some homemade honey butter to dip them in. The sweetness makes them even harder to resist.

Ingredients

6 cups vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups self-rising cornmeal

1/2 cup self-rising flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 small onion, grated

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions

Using a deep pot, preheat oil for frying to 350 degrees F.

Using a mixing bowl, stir together the cornmeal, flour, baking soda, and salt. Use a box grater to grate the onion. I like it grated better because it's finer and the you don't have any crunch. I have tried to make them without onions as well as with onion powder because DH is not a fan of onion. But let me tell ya, there is a big difference. It's just not worth it. Stir in the onion.

In a small bowl, stir together the buttermilk and egg. I usually crack the egg into something else before pouring in any batter. It makes fishing out any unwanted eggshell a whole lot easier.

Pour the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until blended. Using two spoons drop the batter, 1 teaspoon at a time, into the oil.

I usually will scoop some batter with one teaspoon, then with the other teaspoon gently press on one side to make the hushpuppy a little smooth and scrape off into the hot oil. Just be careful not to splash yourself.

Fry until golden brown, turning the hushpuppies during the cooking process.

In a microwave safe bowl mix some honey and butter. Melt for 30 seconds and stir. Serve the hushpuppies with your meal accompanied with the honey  butter. Enjoy!