Beginning in the Southern US of A- Hush Puppies, Cornbread, Funeral Grits.

Dipping further down- Mexican Corn, Salsa, Guacamole, Corn & Flour Tortillas.

And a little deeper even- Arepas with Carnitas.

Gotta love Southern food, whether it be native to Louisiana or Venezuela…it dont matter- its all just fucking delicious. 

We re all familiar with Hush Puppies (little deep fried cornmeal dumplings of goodness), Cornbread (dense golden bread, slightly sweet in flavor), Salsa (a wonderful fresh…condiment? Um, well, not the way I eat it- I pile it on), Guacamole (creamy, fatty, luscious “condiment”- again thats questionable since I can eat it by the bowlful) and of course the ever so common tortilla (corn/flour- trust me, you’ve never had a tortilla until you’ve had one freshly made). But there were a few things on todays prep list that didnt register with me- Funeral Grits (rather ominous sounding eh?), Mexican Corn and Arepas. 

Funeral Grits. I tried researching this one. Really, I did. I figured that such a foreboding name has to hold some sense of story to it right? Well, all I uncovered is that this is a food that is meant to be comforting. Makes sense that when faced with the death of a loved one, the last thing folks want is surprises- instead, funerals revolve around comfort in the form of family and in the form of food. This dish is mild, soothing- grits combined with cheddar cheese, eggs, milk and a tad of chile & onion to make it just interesting enough.

Mexican Corn. This is some crazy shit. Cook the corn in the oven (in its husk) for 25 minutes then let it cool and pull the husk layers down leaving them attached (for use as a handle). At this point you may blacken the corn if you wish under a broiler or over a burner (just try not to catch the husk on fire genius). This is when things get a bit wonky (that ones for you Vanessa- god DAMN that word)- while the cob is still all toasty warm rub some butter and a smattering of mayo on it, followed with some crumbled cheese and a squirt of lime. Did you catch the MAYO part? Fucking weird. Who puts mayo on corn? First off, mayo is kind of disgusting. It is. Sorry. Its almost palatable when hidden in a sandwich but thats only because its not noticeable. In any case, Im sure this is all fine and tasty and delicious and the Mexicans love the hell out of it but me…um, I think Ill skip the mayo and stick with butter.

Arepas. These are essentially small Venezuelan corn cakes that are treated like sandwich bread. Made by combining cornmeal, salt and boiling water, these babies are shaped into 3 inch patties and fried in oil. Once the patties have browned, they are pulled from the heat and stuffed with all manner of goodies- chopped chicken, shredded beef, black beans, scrambled eggs, cheese etc. etc. I like them enough. More than a tortilla or other fillable breads? Nope. I like the Arepa but I dont love the Arepa.