Fried

Yes, I am fried. I just got back from the World Food Championships in Las Vegas where Lori and I competed in the dessert category. We didn't make the top ten, but made what I'd call a pretty good score (details to come later). I will be posting my WFC desserts in another post, but here I am tonight still on Pacific time and just had to share last nights' culinary experiment- Fried Green Tomatoes. I've been wanting to make these for years, but up north you can't find green maters in the market. So you have to befriend a gardener, which I did. Thanks Deb for sharing some of your crop with me. This is a super simple recipe adapted from one of the best southern cooks I know- Diane Smith. Thank you Diane, it seems that every recipe of yours is a winner.

Fried Green Tomatoes

4 medium green tomatoes sliced 1/4 inch
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1-1/2 cups low fat buttermilk
1 cup AP flour
1/2 cup fine yellow corn meal
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp (or more) Old Bay Seasoning
1/4 tsp black pepper
Canola oil for frying

Slice tomatoes and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Place them in a colander for about 30 minutes to let the juices run out. While this is happening, prepare your flour/breading mixture. Combine flour, Old Bay, baking powder, corn meal, salt and black pepper. Whisk until incorporated.

When tomatoes are relieved of most of their liquid, pat them dry with paper towels and give them a bath in the buttermilk. Now dredge them a few times in the flour mixture. Coat those babies well. Heat oil in a large skillet on medium high and get ready to fry. As Diane says, "do not crowd the pan". Cook in small batches- which I did.

Cook a few minutes on each side. Remove to paper towels to drain some of the oil. Serve as a side dish with anything you are making for dinner. Then wrap up the leftovers and take them to work with you the next day as a snack. And if you're a dipper like me, whip up a concoction of sour cream, mayo and horseradish. You won't be disappointed.  Just hoping I don't have to wait until next year's harvest to enjoy fried green tomatoes again. They were sooo good!

Frittering Away a Saturday Afternoon

A few days ago Tamara M, an internet friend of mine posted her tweaked recipe of onion pancakes that she saw on Just a Pinch posted by Toni T. I gazed lovingly at her pictures and read the recipe and knew it was going to be the way I was going to spend my Saturday afternoon. I had to have these crispy, crunchy morsels of chopped onions and seasoned batter. These gals call them pancakes, but to me they are fritters. Crispy in certain places and chewy in others and knobby and free formed all the way. So as you can see, I frittered away the afternoon and am O! so happy I did. Here's Tamara's recipe with a bit of tweaking from me:

Onion Fritters
Makes 12 to 15 small to medium size fritters

2-1/2 cups chopped onions, about 1/4 inch
3/4 cup AP flour
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1 T Splenda no calorie sweetener (sugar will work too of course)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup low fat buttermilk
1/2 cup fat free half and half
canola oil for frying


Clone Recipe for Outback's Bloomin' Onion Dip
From the internet, Tamara's suggestion as well and boy is it good!

1/2 cup mayo (you know I use the light)
2 tsp ketchup
2 T horseradish
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
pinch of dried oregano
1/8 tsp black pepper
dash of cayenne pepper

To make the dip, combine all ingredients with a small whisk and set aside in fridge while you're assembling the onion fritters.

To make the fritters, chop 2 medium onions which should give you the 2-1/2 cups necessary. In medium size bowl combine your dry ingredients (AP flour to kosher salt). Mix with a whisk or fork to combine and add your buttermilk and half and half, and then onions. (Although neither Tamara or Toni used buttermilk, I had some in my fridge and decided I'd give it a try. Love the tang, and next time I will use buttermilk only and see how that turns out.) By the way, your batter will be rather thick.

In large saucepan on medium/high heat add enough canola oil to cover bottom of pan, and then some. Maybe about 1/4 inch coverage all around. Place Tablespoons of the batter in the oil and saute for about 2 minutes on the first side. You'll know when to turn them over when you see the edges getting slightly brown, like this:

Flip them over and cook another 2 minutes or so on side two. Looking and smelling good already.

Drain on paper towels and serve. I made mine in 2 batches and kept the first batch warm in a low oven.

Give these a try with the Outback sauce. Or serve them with any type of sauce you like with your fried onion rings. I promise, you won't be disappointed!

And I'm now realizing it's going to be football season in a bit. This is great game food, and you'll want to make extra. Thanks Tamara and Toni, great recipe!

Won Ton Wrapped Cheese Logs

About a week ago one of my internet cooking friends posted a link to an ooey, gooey, cheesy recipe from The Chew and I decided I'd give it a try, with a few little personal touches of course. The recipe was simply string cheese rolled in egg roll or won ton wrappers. Sounded very simple and turned out pretty darn good. I was just testing this recipe/method and only made three, figuring that's all I would need to decide if they were worth making again. The result- Yes! they are worth making again, but very filling. I could only eat one which surprised me. Here's what you'll need for assembly:

Won Ton Wrapped Fried Cheese Logs
makes 3 servings

3 won ton/egg roll wrappers about 5 inches square
3 sticks light mozzarala string cheese cut to 4" length
3 slices Genoa salami
Cooking spray
Panko bread crumbs for dusting
Canola oil for frying

Position egg roll wrapper on cutting board so it's diamond shaped with one of the points facing you. Place a slice of salami and pared down cheese log on top.

Roll wrapper around cheese and salami from the bottom, then fold in the sides (kind of like you're making a burrito), wet top edges with a bit of water and seal.

Set aside and continue making your cheese logs. I know that the wrappers dry out pretty quickly so I covered mine with a damp paper towel. Spritz each wrapped log with a bit of cooking spray and roll in Panko crumbs. The Panko didn't stick as well as I would have liked but I didn't want to go through the trouble of making an egg wash- especially since I wasn't even sure this recipe was going to be a keeper.  In large non stick saucepan heat canola oil on medium. I used enough oil for about 1/8" depth in the pan (I think that's what the guy from The Chew said to do).

Fry a few minutes on all 4 sides and serve hot or warm with a dip of your choice. I didn't do that but will next time. Of course a marinara would be a natural, but  I'm also thinking something with mustard, vinegar, mayo and a bit of sour cream would be the perfect little saucy accompaniment. Really, the sauces and the filling possibilities are endless. Manga!