Hush Puppies

Is there anything better to accompany fried food than hush puppies? I think not. The origin of the hush puppy is debatable. Stories range from fisherman throwing balls of corn meal to their dogs during fish fries, to southern civil war soldiers tossing the balls of fried corn meal to quiet their dogs upon the approach of union soldiers with the command "hush puppy".

Although I do not know the true origin or the hush puppy, I do have a pretty good recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1- 16oz can cream style corn
• 1 egg - beaten
• 3/4 cup corn meal
• 1-1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 white onion -finely diced
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder

Combine all the ingredients well in a bowl and let set for 5 minutes. Drop by the rounded tablespoon into preheated 350 degree vegetable oil. A good batch will consist of 8-10 hush puppies. After about 4 minutes you can flip them similar to frying donuts. This will encourage even browning. They should be done after about 8-10 minutes. You may want to take out a "tester" to see that they have cooked through. Place the cooked hush puppies on paper towel to drain and lightly salt to taste. Please be careful, as I know these have been known to overshadow the main dish on several occasions.

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers

At my house we always say,"If you already have the grill going, you might as well be cooking something." My favorite appetizers to cook on the grill while waiting for dinner to finish cooking are bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers.

Ingredients

• 16 Jalapeno peppers, washed and dried
• 1 Block of cream cheese
• 1/2 Cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 3 Green onions, chopped
• Dash each salt, pepper, and garlic powder

• 16 Strips of thick cut bacon
• 16 Toothpicks, soaked in water for 10 minutes

Start by combining the cheeses, green onions, and seasonings in a bowl and set aside.

Slice about 1/3 of the peppers off lengthwise. I like to leave the stems intact so that you have a handle to pick them up with. Scrape out the seeds and white membrane inside the peppers using a small spoon. Wash the peppers with water to get out any extra seeds and set aside. I suggest wearing some latex gloves for this step. The oils from the peppers do not wash off your hands very easily. You will find this out the hard way if you are a contact lens wearer like myself.

Spoon and pack the cheese mixture into the peppers. Wrap each pepper with one slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Make sure to wrap the bacon around the pepper so that most of the cheese filling is covered.

I like to cook my peppers on a charcoal grill but these can just as easily be prepared on a gas grill. These are usually something I like to make while I am slow cooking a pork shoulder or a beef brisket. 

Start by putting the peppers on the grill over indirect heat meaning that the heat source is off to one side of the peppers. Cook the peppers over the indirect heat for 20-30 minutes or until most of the bacon has begun to render down. This also gives the peppers a chance to cook through.
After the bacon has cooked down and the peppers are starting to feel softened, move the peppers over to the direct heat for just a few minutes to give them a quick char. Be very careful to watch these when they are over direct heat because the bacon can burn very quickly. Remove the peppers to a platter to cool. It is best to let the peppers rest for a minute or two before serving because the filling will be extremely hot.I promise that you will always find yourself saying that next time you need to make more!