Recipe time.
This time, we're making HUSH PUPPIES! And they taste a heck of a lot better than shoe leather!
In a nice bowl, mix 1/2 cup flour, 1 and a half cups yellow cornmeal, a tablespoon brown sugar, a pinch of salt, 2 tablespoons baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda. To this, stir in an egg and a cup of buttermilk (or regular milk) until blended. Fold in a finely chopped onion.
Heat some oil (peanut oil is recommended because of it's high smoke point, but keep things well ventilated) to the depth of 2 or 3 inches in a deep skillet, until very hot, about 375 degrees. Drop the "hush puppies" into the oil by spoonfulls and let fry, turning once, until golden on all sides. Drain on a rack or paper towels, and serve warm with butter.
Well, with butter and pancake syrup, or molasses is good, too.
One problem with this recipe is that it doesn't divide well, because of that "one egg" thing. On the other hand, the reason they're called "hush puppies" is because cooks in early American days would toss the fried batter bits to the dogs, to keep them from begging too much in the kitchen.
Howzat! American cultural trivia and a recipe at the same time!