Hushpuppies

I'm stoked about this recipe, not so much because they were good (and they were!), but because I feel like this has gotten me one step closer to a different recipe!  We grew up outside of Chicago and there's a renaissance fair that's just over the Wisconsin border called the Bristol Renaissance Faire.  They serve the regular ren-fair food, but there's always been a stand there that serves beer and cheese fritters.  These cheese fritters have got to be on my Top 5 Best Things I Ever Ate list.  My aunt has had a booth up there for years and I even tried to get my cousin to get the recipe from the guys there, but no such luck.  These hushpuppies were way good... and now I have a little bit more of an idea on how to go about making those ultimate cheese fritters.

I heard the Riverdales the other day and hadn't thought of them in a LONG time.  I had a friend in college who loved these guys... hometown boys from Chicago!  What does "Prince of Space" have to do with hushpuppies?  Absolutely nothing.  But it does make me think that's exactly what Lumpy Space Princess needs.  It makes Justin think of MST3K.  As you can see, we lead very uninteresting lives.  -jen

HUSHPUPPIES
Prep Time: 15 minutes, Fridge Time: 1 hour, Cook Time: 2.5 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Makes: 20 hushpuppies

• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup corn flour (or grind cornmeal in food processor)
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon KFC copycat seasoning (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 green onions, finely diced
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon jalapeños, diced fine
• 1/2 cup fresh sweet corn 
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Add green onions, garlic, jalapeños, and corn.  Mix in beaten eggs until combined.

In a small sauce pan, bring milk and butter just to a boil, remove from heat.  Mix the milk into the dry ingredients, half at a time.  Add shredded cheese and refrigerate for one hour.

Preheat deep fryer or 4" of vegetable oil in a skillet to 350 degrees.  In heaping tablespoons increments, drop refrigerated dough carefully into heated oil.  Cook for 2.5 minutes, turning once to cook evenly.  Serve hot.  We dipped ours in tzatziki, which was a nice refreshing dip that went well with the slightly spicy hushpuppies!

Note:  I thought I might like a little sweetness to the batter, so with the leftover batter that I didn't use (maybe about 1/2 the batter), I put a heaping tablespoon of honey in.  It lent just a touch of sweetness and I think I'd probably use it in my next batch... or maybe a tablespoon of sugar.