Quiet My Barking Dogs

Recently at work I’ve been working with two new products at work that went through the naming process. To those of us on the outside it can often be mysterious on how product names are selected. A bunch of hipsters sitting in a circle throwing out ideas? A bevy of focus groups weighing in with a statistician holding a clipboard nearby? It’s a mystery.

One product, Hush Puppy shoes has an interesting naming story. The line of semi-casual shoes made by Wolverine Worldwide was first developed in the late 1950s. While they were trying to develop the name, sales manager James Muir was on a trip in the south and had a meal that included the balls of fried dough called hushpuppies. When he asked how they got the name, he was told that they were thrown to barking dogs to quiet them. At the time there was a popular expression when someone’s feet were hurting they would say their “dogs were barking”. Muir put both ideas together and knew his shoe was so comfortable that it would make feet feel better, so decided to call them hushpuppies.

I had never made hushpuppies before now. I think I rarely had then in meals except at the rare dinner at the fast food seafood house Long John Silvers. These were pretty good.

Jalapeño makes almost anything better!

Mix the corn meal into dough.

And into the fryer. Simple as that!

Let the oil dry.

Delectable little bites. I don’t know if it would quiet my dog, but I was pretty quiet eating them.

Jalapeno Hushpuppies

Prep Time: 0 hours 10 minutes | Cook Time: 0 hours 15 minutes | Makes: 18 hushpuppies (Scaled) | Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 3/4 quarts peanut oil, for frying
• 3/4 cups self-rising cornmeal
• 1/2 cup self-rising flour
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 (7-ounce) can diced jalapeno peppers, drained or 3/4 cup fresh jalapenos, seeded and finely diced
• 1/2 (15-ounce) can creamed corn
• 1 large eggs, lightly beaten
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Paula Deen’s Sweet and Spicy Chili Sauce, for dipping, optional

Directions:

Heat the oil to 350 degrees F. in a deep-fryer or Dutch oven.

In a 1-quart mixing bowl, stir the cornmeal, flour, onion, jalapeno, corn, and eggs, until blended. Allow to stand 5 minutes.

Drop the batter by teaspoonfuls into the hot oil. Don’t overcrowd; leave room for the hushpuppies to be turned. Cook the hushpuppies until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Keep the cooked hushpuppies warm in an oven while cooking the remaining batter. Lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste, and transfer them to a serving dish. Serve with Paula Deen’s Sweet and Spicy Chili Sauce, if desired.

Source: http://m.foodnetwork.com/recipes/recipe/476824