Family Recipe Friday - Fass Brothers Hush Puppies

when I was a kid, growing up in Norfolk, Virginia, we often went to a seafood house called “Fass Brothers Fish House”.

This was a real treat for us! You were served family style, and it was “all you can eat” for one low price! My favorite was the shrimp and above else… the hush puppies!

Once when we were there, I asked if they ever shared the hush puppies recipe. [Back then, we girls actually saved things like that for our “hope chest”. If you don’t know what a Hope Chest was… we’ll have to delve into that in another post!]

Believe it or not…. They actually came back to the table with a hand written recipe for me! I was thrilled.

Somewhere along the way I misplaced the recipe. And then, just last week, out of the blue, in a book I had totally forgotten I had, it simply fell out of the pages!

Fass Brothers is long gone, but the memories linger on. And whenever I can, I try to make foods that evoke a memory. This is one of those items that takes me back to long days at the beach, playing in the sand and water, home to wash up and change into a nice dress, and then off to Fass Brothers.

Enjoy!

Fass Brothers Hush Puppy Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• Oil for deep-fat frying

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk the egg, milk and onion; add to dry ingredients just until combined.
• In a deep-fat fryer or electric skillet, heat oil to 365°. Drop batter by teaspoonfuls into oil. Fry 2 to 2-1/2 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve warm. Yield: 4-6 servings.