From El Torito Grill, Sweet Corn Cakes to Accompany Poultry, Meat

DEAR SOS: The El Torito Grill in Newport Beach, Calif., serves a sweet corn bread pudding side dish with meals. Can you discover their secret?

--NAOMI

DEAR NAOMI: The El Torito divulged all. By the way, if a Twelfth Night party is in the works, the corn cakes will be a great accompaniment with poultry, roast meats or Mexican food.

EL TORITO’S SWEET CORN CAKES

2 tablespoons lard

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup masa

3 tablespoons cold water

10 ounces frozen corn kernels or 2 large cobs, kernels removed

3 tablespoons cornmeal

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons whipping cream

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Place lard and butter in mixer and whip until butter softens. Continue whipping until mixture becomes fluffy and creamy. Add masa gradually and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Add water gradually, mixing thoroughly.

Place corn kernels in blender and blend until coarsely chopped. Stir into masa mixture.

Place cornmeal, sugar, whipping cream, baking powder and salt in large mixing bowl. Mix quickly. Add butter-masa mixture. Mix just until blended.

Pour into 8-inch buttered baking pan. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees 40 to 50 minutes or until corn cake has firm texture. Allow to stand at room temperature 15 minutes before cutting. Cut into squares or use small ice cream scoop. Makes 10 (2-ounce) servings.

Note: Serve with grilled poultry, meats or Mexican food.

DEAR SOS: Please find a recipe for good deep fried chicken. I’ve tried many ways but they were terrible. Can you help?

--ALICE

DEAR ALICE: Here is a typical Southern fried chicken recipe from Shakertown, the restored Shaker village outside of Louisville, Ky., which also has a great restaurant that has preserved much of the old-time Shaker favorites.

Midwesterners, like Times Food Editor Betsy Balsley, double dip the chicken in flour to seal it thoroughly after a fast zap over high heat. The heat is reduced and pan covered, thus helping to create a steaming effect that makes the chicken moist. The initial fast frying of the flour coating also prevents excess fat from penetrating the chicken during the slow steam-cooking process. A last minute uncovering of the pan crisps the crust.

KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN

2 pounds chicken, cut up

Seasoned flour

1 pound lard or shortening

Thoroughly coat each piece of chicken with seasoned flour. Heat lard until very hot. Place chicken in hot fat and turn until golden on all sides.

Reduce heat, cover and cook slowly until chicken is browned and tender, turning several times during cooking. Uncover pan and cook few seconds to crisp crust, turning often. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

DEAR SOS: Some years ago you published a recipe for zwieback and the many bakings have provided a loaf for me and a gift for a friend. The gift has really been appreciated. The recipe used a cake yeast, which has become impossible to find. I’d be grateful for a recipe using dry yeast, resulting in the same wonderful zwieback.

--LOIS

DEAR LOIS: You’re right about cake yeast, which is not often seen these days. Compressed yeast, a fresh yeast, was the norm before World War II and required refrigeration (or storing in the ice box), according to “The New Doubleday Cookbook” authors, Jan Anderson and Elaine Hanna. Dry yeast was developed during the war and has been, by far, the most widely available form of yeast sold in 1/4-ounce packets or 4-ounce jars.

You don’t have to worry about substituting dry yeast for cake yeast, since they are interchangeable. If you use 1/4-ounce packet of fast rising active dry yeast, it will equal the leavening power of one cake of compressed yeast.

If you do find and use cake yeast, it can be used within one to two weeks from the refrigerator or six months after being frozen. Thaw at room temperature and use at once. If the cake yeast crumbles easily, it’s still good. If not, throw it out. Here’s a recipe from an antique copy of the Boston Cooking School magazine, whose yeast content we altered for you.

ZWIEBACK TOAST

1 package dry yeast

1/2 cup lukewarm water

2 cups scalded milk, cooled

9 cups unbleached flour

3/4 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 eggs, beaten

Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water. Add cooled milk. Stir in about 3 cups flour and beat until thoroughly mixed. Cover with clean cloth and let rise until light, about 60 minutes.

Add butter, sugar mixed with cinnamon, eggs and enough flour to make dough. Knead until soft, elastic and smooth. Cover and let rise until doubled.

Shape into long narrow loaves, about 3 inches in diameter. Place on greased baking sheets and bake at 350 degrees 50 minutes or until golden. Cool on wire racks. Cut into slices about 1/2-inch thick and brown in oven or dry in slow oven without browning. Makes 60 (1/2-inch) thick slices.

Note: For thicker toast, cut into 1-inch slices.

Only recipes of general interest will be printed. We are unable to answer all requests. Please include restaurant address when requesting recipes from restaurants. Send your letter with self-addressed, stamped envelope to Culinary SOS, Food Section, The Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053.