Crab Hush Puppies

You can't beat Paula Deen for the best southern recipes. 

Hush puppies are one of my favorite things to go with seafood . . . I love them plain, but have never tried anything like this before . . . and I can't wait to try them with the addition of crab meat.  These would make great appetizers. 

She made these awesome crab hush puppies on a recent episode of Paula's Home Cooking on the Food Network . . . I had to look it up and share it.

My variation . . . add some kind of hot pepper!

Ingredients

• Oil, for frying
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon minced thyme
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup chopped green onions
• 1/2 cup very fine bacon crumbles
• 1 pound fresh picked blue crabmeat

Directions

In a Dutch oven, heat oil to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, thyme, baking powder, salt, garlic pepper, baking soda and cayenne pepper.

In a small bowl, combine eggs, buttermilk, and sour cream. Add to cornmeal mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in onions, bacon, and crabmeat.

Dip spoon into water and then a spoonful of the hushpuppy mixture. This will allow mixture to easily fall off the spoon. Drop by tablespoonfuls into hot oil, and fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Ina's Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Ina Garten of Food Network's Barefoot Contessa is one of my favorite chefs.  I was watching her show where she prepared a 30th wedding anniversary meal for Jeffrey.  She made the most awesome little chocolate wedding cake, it was so cute!  The buttercream frosting she made included many ingredients that I have not used in a chocolate frosting, so I wanted to make sure that I didn't lose the recipe.

For the complete meal from this episode, click here.  It is all good!

Ingredients

• 1 pound bittersweet chocolate
• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate
• 3/4 cup egg whites (4 to 5 extra-large eggs), at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 pounds unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3 teaspoons instant espresso powder, dissolved in 1 1/2 teaspoons water
• 3 tablespoons dark rum, optional

Directions

Chop the chocolates and place them in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan simmering water. Stir until melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.

Mix the egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Place the bowl of egg whites over the pan of simmering water and heat the egg whites until they are warm to the touch, about 5 minutes. Return the bowl to the electric mixer and whisk on high speed for 5 minutes, or until the meringue is cool and holds a stiff peak.

Add the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, while beating on medium speed. Scrape down the bowl, add the melted chocolate, vanilla, espresso, and rum, if using, and mix for 1 minute or until the chocolate is completely blended in. If the buttercream seems very soft, allow it to cool, and beat it again.

Crab Spread

This spread/dip would be a welcome addition to any gathering.  Seafood spreads are among my favorite appetizer choices.  

My imagination is going wild with the possibilities for this recipe.  After the recipe, you will find some serving suggestions from Mr. Food, however, I have a few of my own.  How about finger sandwiches made with this crab spread?  The thought of using this spread in a fried grouper sandwich instead of tartar sauce is making my mouth water.  I must try that!

Ingredients

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 pound imitation crabmeat, flaked

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon fresh chopped dill

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. 

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients; mix well.

Spoon mixture into a 9-inch pie plate and bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. 

Serve immediately.

Serving Suggestion

Serve this up with crackers, or with homemade pita chips that you can make simply by cutting medium pitas into 8 wedges each; separate the halves, and bake on a baking sheet in a preheated 350°F oven until golden and crisp.

Recipe and photo source:  Mr. Food

Jiffy Corn Fritters

• 1 pkg. "JIFFY" Corn Muffin Mix
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup whole kernel corn, drained
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 egg
• frying oil

Preheat oil in deep fryer oil or on griddle to 400°.

Combine all ingredients (except oil).  Blend well.

Drop by tablespoon into hot oil or on prepared griddle.  

Cook until lightly browned on both sides.  

Drain on paper towel and serve.

Makes 10-12 pieces

I love anything associated with corn.  In my opinion, corn is one of the perfect foods and my pantry almost always stocked with cans of corn or my freezer has more than one bag of frozen corn.  Of course I prefer fresh corn, but it is not always available.

Many years ago my husband and I would go to the local fields and buy a truckload of just picked corn.  Not only was it a tremendous bargain, but there is no other form of corn that compares to just picked corn.  The fresh corn you buy at the grocery store has already been picked for days and there is a difference.  If you are near farms that grow corn, do yourself a favor and check out just picked corn.

Usually we would have a corn shucking party in those times and prepare the corn for freezing.  Of course we made every type of corn dish and appetizer you could think of.  When I ran across this recipe for corn fritters in my personal recipe collection, I immediately went back to those corn shucking party days, where corn fritters were one of the most popular items we made.

The compost pile was very happy to have all those corn cobs!  One of the first things we did was start a pot of salted water to enjoy some corn on the cob.  That is what would get the party started!  We would laugh at the thought of looking like the gluttons back in medieval times eating like savages.  Have you ever observed a table full of people eating corn on the cob?  The sight and sounds are hilarious!

Everyone went home with loads of corn and we had a fridge full of corn, ready to eat.  Those were fun times!  Cooking in bulk doesn't have to be a dreaded job . . . just make it a party!  I must introduce The Captain to a corn shucking party :)

Isn't it wonderful how a simple recipe can bring back so many good memories?