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Deep-fried Nirvana


katzenjammy

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Panko-crusted, deep-fried Foie Gras.

If you could get it to fry without totally melting, now, that probably wouldn't suck. Swizzle of sweet chili sauce sounds like the right condiment to me. Ohmy.

You can - trust me. You have to fry it really, really fast and if you freeze the foie gras, it works just fine.

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How about Quail?

"If the divine creator has taken pains to give us delicious and exquisite things to eat, the least we can do is prepare them well and serve them with ceremony."

~ Fernand Point

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A favorite in St. Louis is breaded, deep-fried ravioli. Meat filled served with mariana and seafood filled served with butter.

They are called Toasted Ravioli - but toasting is for whimps.

Bill Russell

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One of the favorites at the annual artichoke festival is deep fried artichokes, and they're fantastic.

And yeah, this thread is a little like a mental virus--"you are now infected. You. Must. Deep. Fry." Gonna stop for a big can of oil on the way home.

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What a brilliant idea!

Deep Fried Calzone sounds like a good idea to me.

In NJ we used to call these things Panzarottis or Nicarottis...

They were small, hand-held personal Calzone like dealios...

It MIGHT have been a very local thing, I dunno...

They were the best!

THE BEST!

Lil' Banya ref...

Edited by Mild Bill (log)
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The battered pickles are wonderful.

as are deep fried nuggets of beer-battered macaroni and cheese.

I've also had good luck with dropping in some blue cheese stuffed, nut crusted olives.

my experience with deep fry parties always ends up with someone frying their shoes, which I can't say I recommend. (Fried shoe leather is not as appetizing as is widely believed).

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I had Fried Softshell Crabs yesterday for lunch at Middendorf's in the Lakeside Hamlet of Manchac. Trust me. Nirvana has a home in very near the fry station at this old roadhouse and family dining room. The catfish was perfect, thin and crispy. THe softshells were, well, perfect. Straight outta the lake and into the grease. :wub:

If you are ever driving into New Orleans from the north along -55 make sure that you time your lunch in or out of town at Middendorf's. It is a superb way to begin or end a trip down here. There are often lines (especially on weekends and inspite of the relatively large number of seats) but they move quickly and the service is uber efficient.

Get some softshells, some eggs, some corn flour, some yellow corn meal, and some friends. You won't waste your time on any twinkies or pickles (although fried pickles might make a tasty side, I had okra and tomatoes yesterday) after biting into a juicy softshell crab.

Brooks Hamaker, aka "Mayhaw Man"

There's a train everyday, leaving either way...

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  • 3 weeks later...
...firm refrigerated polenta that I made two days earlier....I cut it into 2" cubes, tossed it into the egg mix, then the seasoned bread crumbs....They held, got dark fast in the peanut oil, and cooled crispy on the outside with creamy insides....Wonderful!

In a similar vein, an Italian restaurant here makes risotto balls: cooked saffron-flavored risotto wrapped around marble-sized chuncks of gorgonzola and deep-fried. Omigod-good.

"Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside." Mark Twain
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Panko-crusted, deep-fried Foie Gras.

Mmmm, I had something similar at Hawthorne Lane in SF a few years ago: big chunk of foie gras cleverly wrapped within layers of filo and fried.

"Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside." Mark Twain
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I have a "hardware" question. Exactly what kind of equipment are you using? Can you rent the fryer set-ups? I mean, we do fried turkeys with a big pot on a big propane burner. But, I am thinking that a party like this would need two fry pots, one for sweet and one for savory.

We rented a fryer the first year, but it was a big pain the the butt -- had to drive to the other end of the metro area to pick it up and then again to drop it off, so it cost a lot of time and aggravation on top of the not-so-cheap rental fee. Second year, we ordered a two-basket semi-pro fryer off the web. We found that the auto-temperature control was way off, but once my (electrical engineer) spouse fixed that, it worked like a charm.

Two separate baskets/basins are essential -- you want one for savory things and one for sweets.

"Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside." Mark Twain
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Here is the Consolidated, if not Canonical, List of Things to Fry -- my thanks to all contributors!

Bread-ish:

doughnuts, beignets, funnel-cakes, Twinkies, hushpuppies, polenta, risotto, mac & cheese, PBJ sandwich

Candy-ish:

Cheesecake cubes (wrapped in phyllo, eggwashed, rolled in Rice Krispies, served with chocolate or caramel sauce), Snickers/other candy bars, ice cream, marshmallows, Cadbury Creme eggs, Oreos, Ho-Hos and Ring Dings

Meat-ish:

Foie gras, squid, fish (both fresh and smoked), shrimp & clam strips, filet mignon, corn dogs, hot dogs, whole lobster, chicken, cheese (Battered chunks of parmesan, mozzarella, Roquefort, Camembert, Gorgonzola, balls of Mascarpone or cream cheese, Gruyere, Roubochon), pepperoni, eggs, soft-shell crabs, oysters, battered short ribs or pork or chicken strips, turkey, crappie, quail, split Cornish Hens

Fruits & veg:

Mushroom (portobello, morels), potatoes & yams, okra, jalapeños, onion rings, long-stem strawberries, bananas and apples (dipped immediately in caramelized sugar and sprinkled with sesame seeds), dill pickle slices (wash, spiced flour, wash spiced flour), kale (deep fried till crisp then lightly salted and vinegared), thin lemon slices, asparagus, turnip slices, onion rings (battered in crushed up pork rinds instead of bread crumbs), canned pineapple with caramel and sesame seeds, baby spinach, artichokes.

Ethnic

Wontons, gyoza, dumplings, egg rolls, papadums, shrimp crackers, shrimp toast, falafels, samosas, bhajis, pakoras, ravioli, calzones

"Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside." Mark Twain
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What a brilliant idea!

Deep Fried Calzone sounds like a good idea to me.

In NJ we used to call these things Panzarottis or Nicarottis...

They were small, hand-held personal Calzone like dealios...

It MIGHT have been a very local thing, I dunno...

They were the best!

THE BEST!

Lil' Banya ref...

Coming way late to this thread...

Panzarottis are a specifically NJ thing, as far as I know. Or at least calling them that. I saw the local news here in Philadelphia do a special report on them once--I guess it was a slow news day.

In scenic lower Bucks County, PA (specifically Levittown and Fairless Hills) we used to call these Ginocottis, because there was a place over by Pennsbury High School called Gino's that made them. But these weren't little handheld things. They were the size of one of those burger-and-fry baskets--which is what they came in. A big ol' puffed fried thing the size of a small football, with a puddle of searing melted cheese and sauce and whatnot inside. You'd break off pieces of the dough and use them to scoop the filling out. Damn they were good.

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You guys are driving me to perdition. I am now envisioning an outside kitchen at the new house with dual (used to be one for boiling shrimp) burners for doing fry fests.

Get thee behind me, satan.

Linda LaRose aka "fifi"

"Having spent most of my life searching for truth in the excitement of science, I am now in search of the perfectly seared foie gras without any sweet glop." Linda LaRose

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how was the filet mignon?

Really, really good...and I don't even like beef that much.

"Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside." Mark Twain
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I can't believe nobody has mentioned zucchini/squash blossoms! Dip in a batter made of seltzer water and flour, deep fry and salt liberally. Crispy and delicate with an amazing zucchini flavor. I planted zucchini seeds this year just to get my hands on the blossoms!

Also Mounds or Almond joy served with pineapple (maybe battered and fried as well?)

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  • 4 weeks later...

Chile Rellenos. I'm going to be in Chicago next week and will eat these at Frontera Grill (where they are fantastic). When I get home I'm going to try them on my new outdoor burner/wok.

Mama was good to me this Father's Day.

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This brings up an interesting question:

Has anyone ever had a softshell lobster and also is there any farming of these seemingly potentially delicious crustaceans?

They are a seasonal thing, not really softshell, but what I would call pliable shell. They are to be avoided. The meat is mushy, and the shell contains a lot of water.

Jim

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at a creole place once, I had the most incredible and bizarre dish.

An avocado split in two, the seed removed, the cavity scooped out a little, and the pulp mixed with big shrimp and bound with a little mayo, then put back into the cavity, the avocado sealed shut, egged, breaded, and the whole thing deep fried.

Served I think with a remoulade - it was insanely good.

"Gimme a pig's foot, and a bottle of beer..." Bessie Smith

Flickr Food

"111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321" Bruce Frigard 'Winesonoma' - RIP

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