Homemade Fritos {50 Women in Food: #29 Betty Fussell}
Mary of One Perfect Bite and some other women food bloggers (including myself) are blogging our way through the 50 Women Game Changers In Food published by Gourmet in May ’11. Some of the women on the list you will know, others you may not, but either way, this will be a great 50 week journey to learn more about these women that inspire the way we think about food today.
Please visit Mary at One Perfect Bite, Val at More Than Burnt Toast, Joanne at Eats Well With Others, Taryn at Have Kitchen Will Feed, Susan at The Spice Garden, Claudia at A Seasonal Cook In Turkey, Heather at Girlichef, Jeanette at Jeanette’s Healthy Living, Katie at Making Michael Poland Proud, Sue at The View From Great Island, Barbara at Moveable Feasts, Nancy at Picadillo, Mireya at My Healthy Eating Habits, Veronica at My Catholic Kitchen, Annie at Lovely Things, and Claudia at Journey of an Italian Cook for their tributes to these 50 women.
A PH.D. in English Literature, a writer, a historian – there was not much about this home cook that led anyone to believe that she would become a foodie or a game changing chef for that matter. Being a historian and a lover of culture crafts the way she writes about food and recipes. Her many cookbooks reflect her interests, from her first Masters of American Cookery (1984) to Home Bistro (1997). She is best known for I Hear America Cooking (1986 and 1997) and for the epic history of the New World’s native grain, The Story of Corn (1992), for which she won International Association of Culinary Professional’s Jane Grigson Award. When asked about what inspired her to take up the subject of corn, Fussell says:
Betty Fussell: ”The subject, which I took up earlier, was the question: is there anything that could be called American cuisine? Out of that came the book I Hear America Cooking. I ran around the country looking for regional differences, in the course of which I discovered that the one major food that united all the regions was corn. Since I had left out the Midwest, the heart of corn country, in the first book, because I was looking for immigrant cooking, I decided I had better center next on what was native. That’s why it ended up being a book about Native America.”
Mis en Place:
That’s it. Four ingredients, a little time and some oil will get you to what we know as Fritos. Of course this goes without saying – but I am going to say it anyways – it would be difficult to come close to the store-bought version we know and love that is somehow magically transformed into that thin crispy chip. But this is a tasty little snack that did the job. If I were to compare the two versions, I would opt for the bagged kind, but it was fun to say I indeed made my own Fritos.
Kitchen Notes:
- My corn batter was more loose than I expected, so instead of inverting and buttering the pan, I used a sheet of parchment and did not invert the pan.
- The recipe did not specify the type of salt, so thinking back to our favorite bagged chips, I opted for fine table salt.
- Type of butter was also not specified, but usually that means unsalted and with the use of table salt, I opted for the unsalted butter.
From Betty Fussell, I Hear America Cooking.
Ingredients
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 cup boiling water
- 4 T butter, melted
- 1/2 tsp salt
- vegetable oil for frying
Directions
- Stir meal gradually into the water, and when perfectly smooth add butter and salt. Spread dough evenly on an inverted buttered 9 x 14 baking pan, no more than 1/8 inch think and bake at 350 degrees about 30 minutes.
- immediately cut into strips about 1/2 inch by 3 inches and remove them carefully to a rack with a spatula.
- Heat vegetable oil two inches deep in a wok or skillet until hot but not smoking. Add strips a few at a time and cook until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Salt to taste.
In the Spotlight: Betty Fussell
For the past fifty years, Betty Fussell has been writing articles and books on the subject of what it is to be an American, first looking at movies and theater and then at food. Over the decades, her essays on food, travel, movies, theater and the arts have appeared in scholarly journals, popular national magazines and major newspapers. Critical and scholarly essays have appeared in such literary publications as Sewanee Review, Hudson Review, Ontario Review, New York Literary Forum, Culture Front. Food and travel articles have appeared in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Holiday, Travel and Leisure, Connoisseur, Journal of Gastronomy, Gastronomica, Country Journal, Wine and Food, Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Saveur, Cooking Light, Redbook, Ladies Home Journal, More, Kitchen Gardener, Metropolitan Home, Edible Manhattan. She’s also written on a variety of subjects more or less related to women for Lear’s, Cosmopolitan, Vogue. Read more on her website bio: Betty Fussell.
This is a very adventurous move into the cooking of Betty Fussell. It seems that the group has embraced her in a big way.
She gave us so many different choices – it was hard to decide. But I love that there is such a variety of foods to see today!
I love this recipe. It really was a terrific choice and you’ve tempted me to try it myself. The group came up with fabulous dishes today. She is a fascinating woman. I hope you have a great day. Blessings…Mary
I’ve had so much fun today seeing the different recipes from Betty – quite a roundup!
What fun, Miranda! I made something similar out of a Maida Heatter book years ago. I’d love to try these!
Oooh, I love Maida Heatter. I’ll have to try her version as well if it is much different.
Whata brave soul you are to tackle Fritos!
The actual making them was easy, just not sure I got the technique right
Miranda,
I’m glad you pushed ahead and braved the fritos. I’ll play follow the leader and give them a try now. Great post!
Thanks Mireya!
I love that you did this recipe and now I want to try it – just to taste it – just to have a frito and know first-hand all the ingredients. The more I read about this extraordinary woman – the more I want to know! This actually looks like an artisan corn chip.
I know – mine looks very rustic!
Homemade Fritos??? I think I have died and gone to heaven
I love Fritos – like I said, nothing beats the perfectly crispy bagged version, but these are a tasty snack.
Great writeup on Betty Fussell, and so interesting that these are the real “fritos”!
I never knew there was such a thing as real Fritos either, I totally thought they were a trademark.
Love your frito chips… I would love to eat some of those. They look great! Very nice post!
Thanks Kathy!
Yum! I haven’t had fritos in years.