Hush Puppy – Dreaming Reality

I’m late, I’m late….

I promised I would post the result of my hush puppy trial yesterday but never got around to it. I must apologize but it was with good reason. I was having fun!

We were fortunate to be able to get out during a reprieve from our recent rains to make a return trip to the Botanical Garden and found a new spot that we totally missed on our first trip. We found a couple of new friends there!

More on that later….on to the hush puppies.

I actually like this recipe more than most others I have tried because it gives more of a light, cornbread texture-and they are good cold as well! The inside is light and fluffy while the outside maintains a nice crispy texture. They were perfect with the breaded shrimp we had alongside. Time was short so we opted for a prepared shrimp that only needed cooking. Next time, the real deal. Honestly, I avoid frying anything very often so this was a special occasion. When I do fry it is normally only pan frying in a small amount of oil. This requires the full monty, however, and so we did.

These breaded shrimp came from the grocery freezer..not like homemade but sufficient

Crispy outside, light inside. Perfect with butter!

We made a significant dent in this platter. My plate was clean!

Who would think there was room for dessert? Well, how could we resist fresh, juicy mango with whipped cream?

Yeah….we had to wait a few minutes before tackling the mess in the kitchen. 😂

Would I change the recipe in any way? For me, the white cornmeal is a bit too fine so I would try to find a self rising yellow or make my own. I might even substitute some yellow corn flour in place of the whole purpose flour in the recipe. I added cayenne or perhaps you might like fresh jalapeño. The green onions were great and I added some well drained diced red pimiento, or you could use finely chopped fresh sweet pepper. It’s your cornbread, after all! The buttermilk definitely made the texture perfect for me. I hope you guys let me know how yours turn out. In case you missed my last post, with the recipe, you can find it here.

Meanwhile….back in the garden….

fullsizeoutput_2967 — Doesn’t he look just tickled? Exactly how I feel when I am there! Sans frogs in hand….

Maybe he’s thinking frog legs with hush puppies….🙊

“We have to stop meeting like this,” I whispered. He said he would be there waiting until next time.

I promise to share more of our #Free48 later on. I hope yours is unfolding splendidly!

This post is dedicated to my good and dedicated blogging buddy Dan over at No Facilities who recently suffered a travesty of the culinary kind when a restaurant he tried offerd up their own (abomination) version a true Southern favorite-the beloved fried cornbread delight know as a hush puppy.

The first recorded use of the word “hush-puppy” dates to 1899.[3] The name is often attributed to hunters, fishermen, or other cooks who would fry some basic cornmeal mixture (possibly that they had been bread-coating or battering their own food with) and feed it to their dogs to “hush the puppies” during cook-outs or fish-fries.[4] Other legends date the term to the Civil War, in which Confederate soldiers are said to have tossed fried cornbread to quell the barks of their dogs.[5][6]

~Wikipedia

This, for the record, is a photo of a real, authentic, Louisiana style hush puppy.

Notice the crispy, golden outer layer? Many hush puppies taste pretty good but few have this crust. The key to that is deep frying quickly and at the right temperature. Also note the glaring absence of corn kernels. Now, although there are some Louisiana communities that will use corn in their puppies, most don’t. Most are either a bit spicy or only mildly sweet and not the overly sweet, dessert style pups one often finds on the road.

These delicate treats are a favorite of mine and I am pretty picky about the ones I really love. Certainly not with a mushy center. Or served with any kind of vinagrette. I have been known to dip them in remoulade sauce and some may use catsup. But, just like it’s mother, great crusty cornbread, I just love them hot and slathered with real butter. 😱

Oh….yeah….and preferably with some shrimp on the side. Fried shrimp, grilled shrimp, broiled shrimp, boiled shrimp, shrimp gumbo, shrimp creole…..ok, Bubba Gump. 🙄

yeah….

Shrimp and fried fish! Oh and cold Yuengling on the side. Making hush puppies isn’t difficult. Finding the right recipe is the trick. I have made quite a few versions, some better than others. I did some research before putting one here for you guys. This one has a lot of promise. I plan to make them before the weekend. I thought maybe we could all give it a shot then meet back here to see how we did.