Faldage, c'mere a minute...I have something for you.

I have something for you.

You couldn't top your first gift to me.

The lovely AnnaS

Hugs to both you guys! Er, to you and to Ted, that is, she said being probably the only person in the entire world who refuses to acknowledge that "guys" can include anyone of the female persuasion.
And aw heck--here's one for Anna too! [HUG]

Edit--Father Steve, this is all your fault!

>>>>she said being probably the only person in the entire world who refuses to acknowledge that "guys" can include anyone of the female persuasion.

Really Jackie?? I didn't know that. "Guys" is so generic when used to address a group of friends.

Not for me, it's not. And not much where I live, either, though I've begun hearing it here and there. I am not so rabid as to try and force (or even ask) others to quit using it, but I don't think the day'll ever come when I use it that way. [out of step again icon]

Father Steve, this is all your fault!

Dear Chums ~

I am in Texas, rather than home, and have only occasional access to the net. I am willing, however, to accept long-distance blame for whatever it is that was all my fault. I'm used to this. I'm married.

There you go, stirring up the pot again F.S.

Didja mean "chums" as in buddy: a close friend who accompanies his buddies in their activities

or

"chums" as in bait consisting of chopped fish and fish oils that are dumped overboard to attract fish ?

Now I'm not sure if I should be pleased or insulted at your greeting.

Now, bel, take pity on the old padre--he is in Texas, after all...

I cannot be held responsible. Tonight we had catfish deep-fried in a cornmeal breading and hushpuppies, also deep-fried. As a result, there is so much fat circulating in my blood stream that it has cut off the circulation and oxygen transfer to my brain. Yahoo.

Beloved Max ~

Your basic Texas hushpuppy is a wad of dough made of corn meal, eggs, milk, salt, sugar and baking powder which is hurled into a vat of hot oil and cooked until it is done on the inside and crispy golden on the outside. These are served with a variety of condiments, hot red sauce being one and maple syrup being another. Yahoo!

Deep-fried bread. How can you go wrong. I've had hushpuppies, the southern foodstuff, once and enjoyed them. Came with some pricy sauce to tart them puppies up a bit. When I was a wee'un I assumed that hushpuppies were breaded fried salamanders for some reason.

Thanks for the recipe Father Steve - or is it Thomas Danforth these days? I suppose you heat them up in your crucible ?

Actually it sounds a lot like what I would call a dumpling - sweet rather than savoury (I prefer the savoury variety). Recipe link below:

http://thefoody.com/pudding/clootiedumpling.html

Your link didn't work for me, dixbie. Um, hushpuppies (I like mine with bits of onion in) are and are not like dumplings. They are both balls (wads, whatever) of dough cooked by immersion in hot liquid. However, dumplings are cooked in water and/or broth, and come out very soft--they may end up "al dente", but still more like pasta than hushpuppies are. These are cooked in hot oil, and the corn meal gives them a good crunchy outside crust. Also--I have never come across anything comparable to the texture that breads made from corn meal have; all I can say for the moment is that they are not like flour breads at all.

> Your link didn't work for me, dixbie.

there is something very strange about that link, but if you just cut-and-paste it, it will work.

sounds yummy, though!

We had some of those when we went down to New Orleans last year. Seems that they fried just about everything in vats of oil.

They were selling them at a little booth in the airport and we finally broke down and had one. They gave it with a glass of powdered sugar so you could dip it in.

They were selling them at a little booth in the airport and we finally broke down and had one. They gave it with a glass of powdered sugar so you could dip it in.

This is only a long-distance guess but I'm thinkin' that what Bel had at the airport was a beignet (pronounced ben-YAY) rather than a hushpuppy. Beignets are normally served with lots of powdered sugar; hushpuppies are not. The dough for beignets is made of white flour; the dough for hushpuppies of a mixture of corn meal and white flour. The beignet is a bit more like a doughnut. N'est-ce pas?

Oh, I think you're right. I think they did call it a beignet, but it certainly didn't look anything like what we call a beignet here. A beignet here is just a small donut.

Couple of notes from the deep frying south....Back when I was a young'un and we were just learning about hushpuppies in this neck of the swamps, they told my mama to make them like scalded cornbread, with hot water, that is, not milk. She would mix in an egg and a bunch of chopped onion, and they were always cooked along with fried fish. I liked them better than the fish, most times.
A year or so ago, at a nearby art fest, tried a fried sweet cornbread with sugar, I think it was, to dip in. It was sort of a new treat to me but pretty good. I don't remember what they called them, but not hushpuppies.

The shape tends to be different, too. Hushpuppies are made to look something like a golf ball or a tennis ball. Beignets are made to look like a rectangular pillow. Generally speaking, of course.