BSI: Corn (Banana Corn Fritters)

Please keep those votes coming for my brother! He had a phone interview with Murphy-Goode on Friday and it went pretty well. They told him the next time he'd hear from them was if he made it into the finals. Also, they extended the deadline date by almost a month so that means a lot more competition! Thanks so much for all your guys' support already, we both really appreciate your help in this amazing opportunity!

I looked and looked for corn recipes in preparation for this week's BSI. I looked in bookmarks, on websites, in e-mails, and through my magazines and cookbooks.

I found two that I liked, one on a website and one in a cookbook, so I combined them to make this savory side dish.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 mushed up banana
1/2 cup frozen corn
1 egg
2 Tbsp milk
oil for frying

Directions:

Put frozen corn in a dry high-sided skillet and saute over medium high heat until the corn starts to get a hint of brown color. Mix all ingredients (except oil for frying) in a medium mixing bowl. Add corn after it begins to brown.

In the same pan used to cook the corn, add about 1/4" oil for frying and bring up to temperature. Drop batter in 2 Tbsp sized fritters into the oil. Cook for about 2 minutes each side, they will brown and crisp up on the outside, and fluff up a bit from the baking powder. Move to a paper towel lined plate to soak up any excess oil.


This made 10 fritters and they are so yummy! They're kind of a cross between hush puppies, corn bread, and maybe banana bread? The cinnamon and bananas add a really great dimension your taste buds just aren't expecting. There were a couple bites that had a chunk of warmed banana and they were just great, as were the bites with the slightly browned corn kernels.

These could be dressed up with exotic dipping sauces for an appetizer or side dish. I could see making a tomato based sauce, almost like a salsa or a creamy one using sour cream. They're good just on their own, too!