I didn't know much about Arrested Development before a friend let me borrow a season, though I'd heard from other friends that it was wonderful. I soon became hooked. I plowed through the entire series in about a week.
All the little twists and turns were genius. The guest stars were perfectly placed. Michael Cera was Michael Cera before it was cool to be Michael Cera.
And now, just about the funniest, most well-written awkward comedy in existence has returned.
I love The Office, but Arrested Development has the kind of awkward that The Office only wishes it had. As I write this, I have no idea what my beloved show will be like in its 10-years-older form, but I trust the writers and cast to at least give us a few good laughs regardless of how “good” it turns out.
If I were home when the season was released on Netflix recently, you best believe I'd have thrown an Arrested Development party. I still might. So with that in mind, I knew I had to try to recreate one of the foods featured in this show.
But which? Hot ham water? Ew. No. Frozen bananas? Delicious, but I lacked Popsicle sticks. Epic servings of juice boxes? Possibly vodka and toast?
But obviously, the best choice? Cornballs.
* * *
Thankfully, I was sans Cornballer and avoided getting horribly burned, but the process is pretty simple: make balls of corn, drop in oil, and devour (preferably with some sriracha mayo). They taste like the best corn dog you've ever had, sans dog.
Cornballs, sans Cornballer
Adapted slightly from Bakin' Bit.
Whisk:
¶1 cup cornmeal
¶1 cup corn flour/masa
¶{1/2} teaspoon baking soda
¶{1/2} teaspoon salt
¶2 tablespoons honey
In a separate bowl, whisk until well combined:
¶1 cup buttermilk
¶{1/4} cup olive oil
¶2 eggs
¶{1/4} cup sugar
I had no buttermilk, so I used 1 tablespoon vinegar in 1 cup milk.
Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet and stir until just combined.
Fold in:
¶2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and diced
¶2 stalks green onion, sliced thin
¶1 cup corn kernels (frozen works, but fresh is better).
Let sit for a minute or two to thicken.
Fry in a deep fryer, or pan fry in a few inches of hot oil at 365 degrees F. With wet hands, form into golfball-sized balls and scoop batter into hot oil, being careful not to crowd.
Fry until golden brown on all sides. Cornballs will float when just about cooked through.
It takes some trial and error to figure out exactly how long these cornballs take to cook. Fry one or two to desired done-ness and then cut in half to make sure cooked through. If not, add an additional minute or two.
Remove and let them sit on a paper-towel-lined plate. Blot off excess grease.
Serve immediately with sriracha mayo (1 tablespoon sriracha sauce for every {1/4} cup mayonaisse.
In truth (Bluth?), I actually ate most of these sans sauce.
They're very good.