Holy Hoecakes

     Every year I try and do something fun and themed, for my birthday.  Like last year my friend, Kristi and her family, celebrated my birthday with us Great Gatsby  style.  And it just so happened that my friend, Tori, and her family were stopping by for a night around then.  So it only fitting to throw a True Blood inspired birthday dinner.  Tori and I used to hang out on Sundays, munch on Chipolte or Wing Stop, enjoy a bottle of wine, and marathon binge on True Blood.  Oh, how I miss those days.      But before they arrived, which was later that afternoon, I thumbed through my True Blood: Eats, Drinks, and Bites from Bon Temps cook book for a tasty breakfast to make.  I settled for these yummy Holy Hoecakes by Lettie Mae Daniels.  If you are a Trubie, you know exactly who Lettie Mae is, for those of you who don't...then I guess you need to go watch some True Blood.  Anyways...I'm a big fan of Mush, which is fried up polenta.  These were sort of the same thing.  However, you use white cornmeal and it's fried in bacon grease. They are oh so yummy with some maple syrup drizzled on top!

What you need:

1 cup white cornmeal (I only had yellow, so I used that)

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup boiling water

2 TBsp bacon fat (rendered from about 4-5 slices of bacon)

maple syrup for serving

How to make them:

Combine the cornmeal and salt in a medium bowl.  

While stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, pour in the boiling water in a steady stream.

Beat until smooth.

Let stand a few minutes.

Heat the bacon fat in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat.

When very hot (but not smoking), reduce the heat to medium-low.

For each hoecake, drop about 2 tablespoons of the cornmeal mixture into the skillet and pat gently into a flat circle, about 4 inches in diameter.

Cook several hoecakes at a time until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side, turning with a wide spatula.

Transfer to a plate.

If needed, add more bacon fat to the skillet to make the remaining hoecakes.

Drizzle with maple syrup and serve with some eggs, fruit, and the bacon you fried up, then ENOY!