From Amasea's Kitchen in Sun Valley: An early experiment with a deep fryer

So last week we bought a deep fryer.

I'd been wanting one for quite a while -- it was even on our wedding registry, but we didn't receive one -- and so I decided to use a gift certificate to buy (it helped that it was on sale). I felt very modern looking up its Amazon reviews on my iPhone right there in the store (don't judge me, I've only had the smartphone since March, and am only just starting to appreciate its useful functions aside from tracking me at all times, which I've actually found to be quite useful in monitoring my new workout regimen).

So we bought a 1.1 liter Cuisinart deep fryer, which seemed like a good size for two of us. Last Saturday night I deep fried everything in the house that seemed appropriate, and a few things that didn't (Triscuits = NOT good deep fried). It's hard to stop once you start.

Some things turned out excellent, including the spicy pickles I canned last year that I am seriously looking forward to tempura battering and cooking in the awesomeness that is hot oil. I might even get some of those delicious refrigerated grocery dills, just so I can eat them deep fried. With whole-grain mustard. I would be tempted to say OMG if it weren't so teenage girl.

But tonight, I used Nasoya wonton and spring roll wrappers I bought this week with great aspirations. Tonight, I got pineapple, mushrooms, cabbage, carrots, ginger and bean sprouts, and added some ground pork, garlic and about half a dozen different underused Asian sauces, in various combinations. The pork, mushrooms, ginger and garlic (with soy sauce and Mongolian Fire oil) I sauteed in one pan, and the julienned carrots and cabbage with sesame seeds and sesame oil in another, so I could play with proportions.
I tried both wontons and spring rolls and only after about two batches realized I hadn't turned up the deep fryer to the right temperature. *sigh*
But the ones at the right temperature turned out AWESOME. Seriously, they were equally as good as anything I've had at a restaurant, and I'm not one to equal my skills to any professional chef's. Y'all need to try this.
Oh, I nearly forgot to mention -- the wrappers hold up best if you very lightly moisten them before adding filling; just a finger dipped in water and rubbed across the interior surface of the wrapper significantly increases their ability to hold up during wrapping and frying. And if you don't end up with holes in the wrapper, a lot less oil gets into your filling, which makes them easier to drain and not taste "oily."

The various fried bits, dipped in Thai Kitchen Sweet Red Chili Sauce (thank you, Costco!), totally filled us up, but I wasn't quite done yet. So I julienned a fresh strawberry and added a little bit of goat cheese and balsamic reduction, wrapped all that up in a wonton and did one final fry. I think it would have been significantly better with cream cheese, as the goat cheese was too grainy, but still, a perfect end to my first truly successful deep frying experience.

Anyone have any excellent deep frying experiences/recipes they want to share? I'm eager to do some fish & chips, panko-breaded stuff, etc!

From Amasea's Kitchen in Sun Valley: An early experiment with a deep fryer

Sasha's Kitchen: New Orleans Style Beignets and Creole Bloody Mary

So, for the second time on this blog, I am sharing a recipe for beignets. But, as I discovered in the New Orleans Brunch class I took at The Brooklyn Kitchen in Williamsburg, this recipe is much, much better. First off, the beignets were much lighter - perfect and airy, just the way they should be using this recipe for the dough. I think this one is much closer to the classic Cafe Du Monde recipe. Furthermore, traditional beignets are closer to square shaped and much smaller that the giant donut-hole like beignets that I made last time. If you want them to be small, like I did, this recipe makes quite a few, still. So last week when I made these beignets for dessert of a nice brunch, I still cut the recipe in half. But I am posting the entire recipe here. In addition, I am including a recipe for creole bloody mary's that is a perfect brunch pairing that I learned in the class, but I recommend serving beignets with Cafe Du Monde's chicory coffee (a treat we had in the class).

Beignets (recipe from the Encyclopedia of Cajun and Creole Cuisine by John Folse)
1 package dry active yeast
4 T warm water
3 1/2 cups plus 2 T flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
 1 1/4 cups milk
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup melted butter
canola oil for deep frying
powdered sugar for dusting

Combine the yeast and warm water and set aside for about 10-15 minutes until it gets foamy and frothy. Stir in the yeast mixture, milk, eggs and butter. Combine the flour, salt and sugar in a separate bowl. Combine the dry and wet ingredients until it forms a dough. I did this using my mixer, but you could also do this by hand. Allow to rise in a warm place, covered with a damp dish towel, for one hour. Knead the dough once or twice on a floured surface, and then roll out to 3/8 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into 3'' squares (2'' is really fine as well, remember ing that they get much larger when fried). Cover and let rest for ten minutes. Deep fry the beignets in canola oil (which is much healthier than vegetable oil - my substitution) in oil heated to 350 for about two minutes on each side until golden brown and puffed. Remove from oil and let drain on a paper towel. Dust with powdered sugar and serve right away. This full recipe makes about 30-40.

And for the perfect brunch, serve with the pickapeppa recipe for creole bloody marys:
3 oz vodka
1 1/2 cups tomato juice
2 1/2 oz bullion or beef stock
1 T lime juice
2 tsps pickapeppa sauce
2 tsps worcestershire sauce
2 drops hot sauce
1/4 tsp salt
celery stick (I actually recommend using spiced, pickled green beans instead if you can either make or buy some)

Combine all ingredients except the celery or green beans, shake and serve!

Sasha's Kitchen: New Orleans Style Beignets and Creole Bloody Mary

Sasha's Kitchen: Spiced Pumpkin Doughnut Holes

Sorry for the lack of recent posts - I had set up a few things to post while we were vacationing with the family in Cancun, and haven't had a chance to cook since I got back, although I plane to resume that this weekend. In the meantime, here's wishing everyone a happy new years. I know we all have our new years wishes and dreams that have eluded us in 2010, so here's hoping that all of our wishes come true in 2011. In the meantime, I will share a recipe for pumpkin spice doughnuts for some new years indulgence. I made these about a month ago, after trying another recipe that didn't work out very well. These were delicious, although I recommend cutting the recipe in half, unless you are making them for a party (it definitely made more than 12!). It's not fall anymore, but pumpkin is still good in the winter and these are a great variation on traditional doughnut holes or beignets. I got the recipe from Daily Candy, and it is a winner.

Spiced Pumpkin Doughnut Holes
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup granulated sugar
3 tsp butter, room temperature
2 large egg yolks
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup pumpkin puree (unsweetened and unspiced)
Canola oil for frying

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices in a bowl. With your stand mixer, beat the sugar and butter until smooth, at medium speed. Stream in the buttermilk and beat in the pumpkin puree. Fold in the dry ingredients, blending gently. Chill the dough for three hours. Lightly flour your countertop and cut dough into 1 inch discs - you can knead into doughnut hole shapes, which is what i did. Line two baking sheets with paper towels. Pour the oil into your deep fryer, or tall pot to a depth of about 1 1/2 to 2 inches, or high enough to cover the doughnut holes. Attach a thermometer and heat oil to 365 to 370. Fry the doughnuts until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to the paper towels to drain, using a slotted spoon. Roll in a mixture of confectioner's sugar and cinnamon, and serve warm. Happy New Years!

Sasha's Kitchen: Spiced Pumpkin Doughnut Holes

Sasha's Kitchen: Ad Hoc's Buttermilk Fried Chicken & A Fresh Direct Promotion

As you may know by now, I am a big fan of Thomas Keller.  Even I don't have the time to explore the recipes in his French Laundry Cookbook, though. They are just too involved and complex for normal home cooking, although I am sure the result is phenomenal. But his cookbook, Ad Hoc at Home, I simply love and have really enjoyed cooking his recipes which are intended to be suited to a skilled home cook.  My husband Brad and I recently tried out his buttermilk fried chicken recipe which was simply delicious.  Ok, so fried chicken is not healthy enough to eat regularly (and it is something I rarely eat), but I did fry it in Canola Oil, and the result was an enjoyable treat.

Keller uses whole chickens in his recipe, which calls for two 2 1/2 to 3 pound chickens.  I made this recipe, but I only used one three pound chicken.  In addition, Keller gives detailed instructions for cutting the chicken into either an eight piece or ten piece cut.  While this is useful to know how to do, I used Fresh Direct and ordered one three pound chicken cut into eight pieces, which was perfect. This is what I recommend. I am writing up the full recipe below, as per Keller, but keep in mind that I cut all of the proportions in half.

Thomas Keller's Buttermilk Fried Chicken
two 2 1/2 to 3 lb chickens, cut into 8 pieces
chicken brine (cold)
6 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup garlic powder
1/4 cup onion powder
1 T plus 1 tsp paprika
1 T plus 1 tsp cayenne
1 T plus 1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 quart of buttermilk


Chicken Brine
5 lemons, halved
12 bay leaves
1 bunch parley
1 bunch thyme
1/2 cup clover honey
1 head garlic
1/4 cup black peppercorns
2 cups salt
2 gallons water

Brine the chicken as Keller recommends for 12 hours in the herb-lemon chicken brine, which seasons the meat and helps the chicken remain juicy throughout the frying process.

Prepare the flour seasoning mixture and use it to coat the pieces of chicken. Then dip in the buttermilk and re-dip in a second bowl with the other half of the flour seasoning.

To fry, I used a technique slightly different than Keller's technique but it worked beautifully. I used my hot pot/deep fryer and filled 1/3 full with canola oil.  I set the temperature to 320 degrees and fried each piece of chicken for between 10 and 15 minutes, depending on the size of the piece of chicken. When done. the chicken should be deep golden.

On the Fresh Direct promotion, use the code SUPPORTLOCAL to save 20% on Fresh Direct's local produce from local markets in the new york area, which you can read about and order on Fresh Direct. These local offerings are a great way to support local farmers and use farm-to-table produce in your kitchen. This is a limited time offer. Expires August 31, 2010. May not be combined with any other offer. All standard terms and conditions apply. Limit one use per customer/account. Residential orders only. Void where prohibited. Offer is non-transferable.

Sasha's Kitchen: Ad Hoc's Buttermilk Fried Chicken & A Fresh Direct Promotion

Sasha's Kitchen: Romaine Salad With Goat Cheese Fritters, Dried Cranberries, Pecans & Passion Fruit Dressing

Last week, I had a wonderful salad with goat cheese fritters, pumpkin seeds, boston bibb lettuce and dried cranberries at the Farm On Adderley (click here to read my review), I was inspired to create a similar salad using goat cheese fritters.  I had tried to deep fry goat cheese years ago in making a salad and it was a disaster - the goat cheese melted during the frying process. This time, I did a bit of research and learned that the process would work effectively if you freeze the goat cheese for about 45 minutes (not longer) prior to the battering and frying.  It worked, and the salad was a huge success at my Saturday brunch with our guests.

For the salad dressing, I did a unusual take on a fruit reduction vinaigrette and created my own passion fruit reduction using some Welch's passion fruit juice that I purchased at the grocery store.  The dressing was sweet but complemented the goat cheese and the tangy dried cranberries in a lovely way, and had the distinct flavor of passion fruit that I love so much.  Another note, I absolutely would have loved to use Boston (Bibb) lettuce with this salad, but it wasn't available fresh right now at my grocery stores and organic market so I had to settle for romaine, which was pretty good, as well.

Sasha's Romaine Salad With Goat Cheese Fritters, Dried Cranberries, Pecans & Passion Fruit Vinaigrette (4 salads)
Large head of romaine lettuce or Boston (Bibb) lettuce (2 heads if you use Boston lettuce)
dried cranberries
chopped pecans
8 oz goat cheese
2 eggs
dried bread crumbs (I recommend using plain bread crumbs, not Panko for this recipe)
2 cups passion fruit juice
1/2 cup canola oil

To prepare the goat cheese fritters, form the goat cheese into 12 balls.  Put in the freezer for about 45 minutes.  Remove frozen balls of goat cheese from the freezer, batter in beaten eggs, and coat with breadcrumbs.  Deep fry following the instructions for your deep fryer, or in a large pot with a couple inches of oil.  If you are using a hot pot, about three inches of canola oil and a heat setting of about 350 degrees is what my husband used (yes, it's true, Brad did the deep frying, not me because I hate deep frying!)

To make the dressing, reduce the passion fruit juice to about 1/2 a cup by heating on high for about 20 minutes or so.  Then, mix with the canola oil to form a dressing.  Assemble the salads with the lettuce, pecans, goat cheese balls and dried cranberries.  I was very happy with the reception I got from this salad from our brunch guests!

Sasha's Kitchen: Romaine Salad With Goat Cheese Fritters, Dried Cranberries, Pecans & Passion Fruit Dressing

Sasha's Kitchen: New Orleans French Quarter Beignets ('Doughnuts')

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My husband's coworkers are very lucky today, because they are going to get to try some excellent beignets.  As it turns out, I have forty doughnuts, which is certainly more than my husband and I can eat while they are still fresh.  When I prepared this recipe, I forgot that I was cooking for personal reasons, and not to keep a small bakery in business.  Thus, I have quite a few extras.

New Orleans is known for its distinctive cuisine.  This great American city has seen its share of tragedy and heartbreak in the aftermath of Hurricaine Katrina, but has nonetheless maintained its reputation for its ethnic and multicultural cuisine - from Cajan to Creole to to shrimp gumbo to beignets to to King Cakes to chicory coffee.  Everyone I have known who has professed to love New Orleans (which is pretty much everyone I know who has ever lived there) has had numerous memories of the food.  With all this history on mind, I decided to make New Orleans' signature doughnut, the beignet, tonight.  So here's a recipe for you to enjoy, a month and a half in advance of Mardi Gras - New Orleans' biggest party.

Beignets, or New Orleans doughnuts, derive from the French word for "fritter."  According to my reading, beignets have been associated with Mardi Gras, since at least the 16th Century, and are distinctive of New Orleans' famous French Quarter.  It is thought that they may have been introduced to certain provincial / Mediterranean areas of France during the middle ages, while those parts of France were under the rule of the Islamic Moors (from Spain).  Regardless of these origins, the French brought beignets with them in the 18th Century when they settled Louisiana, and the rest is history. 

Beignets are square-shaped fried pieces of yeast dough, usually about two inches in diameter, which are then coated in powdered sugar.  (The doughnuts also instantly reminded me of the funnel cakes I ate as a kid).  If you enjoy coffee, I've been advised that a true New Orleans local would have their beignets with Chicory Coffee, at places such as Cafe Du Monde. 

Here is the recipe that I used to prepare the beignets, courtesy of the Food Network.  It is important to note that I cut the recipe in half and still made forty beignets.  The recipe I listed here is the half recipe that I prepared.

3/4 cups warm water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 envelopes dry active yeast  (I used a bit more than the recipe called for, and it worked out fine - just wanted to avoid problems with the dough rising)
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup evaporated milk
3 1/2 cups bread flour  (I used King Arthur Bread Flour, which is the best bread flour on the market)
1/8 cup shortening (I used Crisco)
Canola Oil, for deep frying
Several cups of confectioner's sugar

First, put the water, yeast and sugar in a bowl.  Allow to sit in a warm place for 15 minutes until the yeast becomes frothy and is fully activated.  In a separate bowl, beat the egg, evaporated milk and salt.  Mix the egg mixture with the yeast.  Then mix this entire mixture with the flour and shortneing in the basin of your artisan mixer, until it forms a dough.  Then allow the dough to rise, covered, in a well-oiled bowl for about two hours.  The dough will rise, but it will not double in size, like if you were making Challah or Brioche.

Roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness and form into 1/4 inch squares.  I actually made some of mine a little bigger than this - not a big deal, as they still taste delicious.  However, keep in mind that they do increase in size during the deep frying process. 

Deep fry, flipping often, until they become a golden color.  You can either deep fry using a deep fryer, in which case I recommend carefully following the operating and safety instructions.  However, you can safely execute this recipe without a deep fryer, by using several inches of oil in a stick pot.  I followed these stepwise deep frying instructions to prepare the beignets with my husband; it was quite safe and easy, too.

Once the doughuts are done frying, put on paper towels for a minute or two to absorb some of the excess oil.  Then, while they are still hot, pick them up with your tongs and toss them in a bag filled with a couple of cups of confectioner's sugar.  Time for some delicious indulgence.

Sasha's Kitchen: New Orleans French Quarter Beignets ('Doughnuts')