Corn Fritters

I love corn fritters!  Oddly, I never made them before my celiac diagnose 2 1/2 years ago. Having celiac disease certainly has been bittersweet. On one hand there are a lot of foods I can no longer eat, but as I said in a post last year, "I no longer eat, I taste!" What could be better than that? OK, back to the recipe. I originally found this little gem on All Recipes. It was offered by Joan Zaffery. She adds, "Nothing warms up a cool night like a plateful of old-time corn fritters!" Although I agree with Joan, I will add they are fantastic anytime of year.

Recipe tip:  To make these fritters gluten free I use Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix in place of the sifted all-purpose flour. I also use thawed frozen corn I saved from the previous summer. YUM!

Corn Fritters 
3 cups oil for frying
1 cup Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup milk
 1 Tbs shortening, melted
 1 (12oz.) can whole kernel corn, drained

1. Heat oil in a heavy pot to 365 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, combine Pamela's Baking Mix, baking powder, salt and sugar. Beat together egg, milk,  melted shortening and stir into baking mixture. Stir in the corn kernels.
 3. Drop fritter batter by the spoonfuls into the hot oil and fry until golden brown, flipping once if necessary. Drain on paper towels. Enjoy!

Yields approx 12 fritters.

I almost forgot, my husband loves these fritters served with jelly or jam. At first, I wasn't so sure, but trying the fritters dipped in a little homemade peach freezer jelly made me a believer. Thanks honey!

Jack Mackerel Cakes

I dedicate this post to my oldest son. If it were not for him I would have never discovered how much I love this dish. He is an avid fisherman and is quite knowledgeable about fish, their habitats, fishing and now recipes. This recipe originally began as Salmon Cakes, but thanks to him is now made even more reasonably priced with the use of Jack Mackerel. I will post a similar salmon recipe at a later time.

Recipe tip: I love McCormick's Salmon Spice, but I will often change what I use either because I cannot get the Salmon Spice or simply because I like to experiment with flavors and spices. I have also used McCormick Garlic and Onion. Today I am using Old Bay Garlic and Herb Seasoning.

Jack Mackerel Cakes
1 15oz. can jack mackerel, drained and spinal column removed
1 egg
1tsp. McCormick Salmon Spice (see recipe tip for substitution)
1 cup stone ground cornmeal
1/4 cup Hellman's mayonnaise (gluten free is written on the label, yay!)
canola oil for frying

1. Place mackerel in a bowl, break large pieces apart so that it combines well with the other ingredients.
2. Place egg, spice, cornmeal and mayonnaise in the bowl with the mackerel, stir thoroughly to combine.
3. Take a heaping tablespoon of mixture and shape into cakes. Place on a plate and cover with plastic wrap.
4. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours; even overnight. This step is very important so the cakes do not fall apart.
5. Heat enough oil in a pan to fry the cakes. Gently place a few cakes in the pan at a time. Fry until golden brown, turn and fry the opposite side in the same way.  Place on a plate with paper toweling. Serve and ENJOY!

Makes 12-15 cakes