A few weeks ago Jon and I loaded Seven up in the truck and went on a spur of the moment field trip.  We didn’t really know where we were going, or why, but away we went.  I love trips like that, and wish we had a chance to do them more often…but work and life get in the way. It happens.  But, an hour or so after heading out, we were on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

One of our stops along the route was at the Historic Mabry Mill.  We strolled around the grounds, where artisans were re-enacting life from the olden days (spinning wool, blacksmithing, milling)…it was really nice.  Seven ran and ran.  His biggest fascination was not with the artisans, or the mill itself – but with the ducks. Boys. Anyways, while there, I bought a bag of Mabry Mill Corn Meal, knowing I could do a post of some sort involving the Mill…and the Meal.  Do you other bloggers think like that?  (Admit it, you DO.)

In my case – a Hushpuppy recipe is that post.

 

I should preface this dialogue by telling you I am NOT a good fryer. I have a little deep fryer, but that thing makes me angry.  I don’t buy it when it says it is a particular temperature.  I know it lies.  it plots against me.  And as for frying on the stovetop, well, we have electric heat and that, of course, means inconsistent temperature.  But, what’s a gal to do when she just wants some freaking hushpuppies?

I went the stovetop route.  It worked fine!  I just made sure to let the oil come back up to temp before frying more batter. No biggie.  Maybe I can fry things after all.

Now, this recipe originally came from Paula Deen.  But I changed it a bit, and her instructions left a bit to be desired if you ask me…so, you can always make her recipe if you want, but, had I followed hers, mine would have been a giant flop, and that would have ticked me off.  Choice is yours!   I need to give a big shout out to a couple of Twitterfolk who pointed me in the right direction fr this recipe, so – Thank you @iamtickledred & @BloomBainbridge!

These hushpuppies turned out perfectly, with a great flavor, great color, and, believe it or not – were just as good the next day when rewarmed!  I paired them with peach butter, which is super simple to make.  It isn’t like apple butter – this was just a stick of melty butter that I threw into the food processor with half of a skinned peach and a teaspoon of sugar.  Whipped it up and it was ready to go in seconds!  It really adds a fantastic kick to the huspuppies – and Jon thinks they are the best he’s ever eaten!  I hope you’ll think so, too!

 

Southern Style Hushpuppies

makes roughly 25

• 1 1/2 cups Self Rising Corn Meal (if you have regular corn meal, you can easily make it Self-Rising)
• 1/2 cup Self Rising Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 Sweet Onion, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cups buttermilk
• Oil for deep frying

Get oil temperature up to 350F.  Watch it closely.

Combine all but the egg & buttermilk in a mixing bowl.  Beat the egg before adding it to the dry ingredients.  Add the egg to the dry, along with about half of the buttermilk.  Stir.  The batter should be thick at this point.  Little by little add more buttermilk until you have the consistency of a wet bread dough.  You may not need the entire amount of buttermilk.  Allow the batter to sit for 10 minutes before using – you will see it rising in the bowl. This is normal!  Spoon the batter into the hot oil a teaspoon at a time.  I find it easiest to use 2 teaspoons – one for the batter and one for scraping the batter into the oil.  Let the hushpuppies turn golden, making sure to stir them around so that they can get cooked on both sides.  Remove when finished and place on paper towel lined plate.  Keep in warm oven until all hushpuppies are cooked, if desired.  Enjoy!!

Hope everyone is having a great summer…I am!