"No Man is Useless While He has a Friend..."

The Station Agent is a sweet and gentle film about people who have been hurt so much that they have to close themselves off from the world to survive. The world, however, sometimes refuses to stay away. When Fin (Peter Dinklage) inherits an old train depot, he moves in, welcoming the chance to get away from prying eyes and open mocking, which, since he is only 4 foot 5 inches tall, is fairly constant. He doesn't find solitude, though. And the people who he at first pushes away as irritants who are intruding on his hermit-like existence, soon become much more. If I were cooking a simple and tasty lunch for Fin and Olivia (Patricia Clarkson) and Joe (Bobby Cannavale), I might serve these fritters.

CORN FRITTERS WITH SPICY YOGOURT SAUCE

This is my father's fritter recipe. The yogourt sauce is one I came up with to use up some ingredients I had. I love the combination of the sweet corn and tangy, spicy, cheesy sauce.

Fritters (makes about 10-15 fritters)

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 eggs

2 cups milk

1 cup frozen corn, thawed

Preheat a griddle to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another. Pour the wet into the dry and stir until combined. Fold in the corn. Pour batter onto the griddle in about 1/4 cup measures. When bubbles start to appear on the fritter surface, flip them and allow to cook 3-4 minutes more, or until browned. Remove from griddle and serve with maple syrup, salsa or yogourt sauce (recipe found below).

Yogurt Sauce

2 cups plain yogourt

1 cup grated Parmagiano Reggiano (or Asiago, but only if you must)

1 small jalapeno pepper, deseeded and minced

1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice, preferably fresh squeezed

Combine all ingredients and serve with hot corn fritters. Keeps in the fridge for 1 week or so.