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I am constantly amazed at how animated and talkative people get when you mention food. The mere aroma of certain foods can evoke memories that transport us back to a special place and time. Food can bridge the gap between all ages, races and ethnicities.
Let's face it, the only thing that should ever come between people is a table and some serving bowls.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Pike and Puppies


The fish were always biting when we were up at our cabin on the lake in Canada. It was nothing for us to catch a dozen or more a day. The bulk of our catch was Northern Pike, wicked little teeth on those suckers let me tell you. My father would clean them by scaling them removing the head and insides and leaving the body and tail in tact. My mother would take all the fish and place them in a big tupperware container pouring an entire bottle of Italian salad dressing on them. My mother would then place the lid on the tupperware and stick the fish in the refrigerator to marinate for a few hours. When dinner time started to roll around my father would fire up the grill to get it nice and hot to cook and char the fish. The Italian dressing not only flavors the fish beautifully but all the little bits of seasoning in the dressing create a wonderful little crust on the skin. While my father was tending to the fish my mother would be in the kitchen preparing one of the many side dishes that would accompany our meal including our absolute must have favorite; Jalapeno hush puppies. They were always crisp on the outside and tender in the middle and that little kick from the jalapeno peppers always added a nice contrast and balance to the sweetness of the fish.

Jalapeno Hush Puppies

1 c. flour
1 c. cornmeal
1 lg. onion, chopped
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 (17 oz.) can cream corn
2 or 3 chopped jalapenos

Mix as you would for cornbread; if too thick add a little water. Drop into hot deep fat. Dip spoon into hot fat and batter will slide right off. This batter keeps well in refrigerator for several days.

If you would like a more uniform ball shape use melon baller or small ice cream scoop to form the batter.

Photo/brooksba/flickr

4 comments:

Rochelle R. said...

I have marinated chicken in Italian dressing but never thought of using fish. I bet it is good. Quite a few of my childhood vacation memories revolve around getting up way too early and spending way too long in a little boat in the middle of some lake. :) I think my Mom just fried up the fish. The hush puppies look really good.

Julie said...

Thanks Rochelle, I too have spent much of my youth as well as part of my adult life in a little boat fishing.

Jo said...

This sounds really delicious and I think they'll be great finger food for casual parties. I like the addition of the chopped jalapeno - gives it some zing!

Julie said...

Thank you Jo, enjoy.