It Begins! (Fritters)

I like to cook.  Even when I’m at home alone, I’ll whip up something that my wife thinks is extreme, overly complicated and dirties up too many pots and pans.  That said, whatever I’m making up tastes good and reflects my individual flair.  I once read that any of her acolytes could pick out the egg that the great chef and educator Alice Waters had fried, just by looking at the way that the whites had scorched around the outside.  I hope that I have a similar, distinctive style.  Fritters may be an example of that.

For most cooks, the coming Thanksgiving holiday is a hassle.  You’ll be cooking for more people than usual, the kitchen will be cramped with inefficient “helpers” and the food is expected to be perfect, just like Grandma used to make.  The problem is that everyone’s memory of Grandma’s meal is really just a misremembered bit of Norman Rockwell.  At her house, the turkey was dry, the TV was too loud and Uncle John said something inappropriate every year and got slapped by Aunt Sarah.  Psychological balance is a tricky thing.  I repress a lot!

A great cook at Thanksgiving works hardest at making their life easy.  Over the next few days, I’m going to help you survive and thrive during what can be an extremely stressful day.  One of the best ways to do that is to plan ahead what you’ll be serving and make most of your offerings dishes that can be reheated at the last minute and put on the table.  You’ll want to keep the final work to a minimum, just in case the unexpected, which will happen, happens.  This way, you’ll be able to deal with the craziness that comes with family dinners with panache.   So, our focus over the next few days will be on dishes that can be prepped ahead of time.  You’ll look good and be able to enjoy that Beaujolais Nouveau, rather than needing that water glass of Scotch RIGHT NOW, DAMNIT!

Fritters are a good hors d'oeuvre.  They can be prepped two days ahead and are easily varied.  Without too much of a problem, you can make a few types, say maybe ham, shrimp or cheese.  Just split the batter in half and stir in the savory ingredients.  Toss a plate of fritters out into the family room and the kids will leave you alone for a while so you can get down to business.  What follows is just a basic recipe.  There are plenty of substitutions that you can make.  For example, switch buttermilk for the milk or if you care about taste not longevity, bacon fat for butter.  I sort of feel that if you are making fritters, you probably aren’t counting calories.  Don’t eat them every day, but when you do, do it right. 

Fritters

2 cups flour

½ cup milk

1 egg

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon melted butter

a pinch each of sugar and salt

In a large mixing bowl, combine the milk, egg, butter, salt and sugar.  Mix with a wooden spoon to combine.  Add the baking powder and flour.  Mix the fritter batter until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl.  You’ve done nothing wrong.  It should be a sticky mess.  Add any extra flavorings at the end.

Heat a three inch deep pot of oil to 375°.  Use a thermometer.  The oil must not be too hot or the center of the fritters will not cook.  With a small spoon, drop one teaspoon of batter into the oil.  Turn the fritter when one side is cooked.  Fry for about three minutes until brown and crispy on the outside.  Remove from the oil with a strainer and drain on some newspaper.  Fry the fritters in small batches.  You can also fry them on an electric griddle like lumpy pancakes.  Hold the cooked fritter in a 165° oven.  Season with salt.  Serve hot.

For savory fitters, I usually add 1 sliced scallion and 2 slices of bacon that have been cooked and crumbled.  You can mix it up by adding whatever you have in the fridge.  Avoid any dried herbs.  They tend to burn.  Here are some variations:

1 cup chopped ham

1 cup cooked, chopped shrimp or scallops

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, chevre or crumbled bleu cheese

1 15 ounce can of corn, drained well

½ cup cooked oyster mushrooms

1 cup stewed onions (cook slowly in butter until like jam, cool)

1 cup cooked, chopped swiss chard

1 cup peeled, blanched and chopped asparagus, broccoli or salsify

Some folks want to serve fritters with a sweet dipping sauce.  I wonder why you would want to coat a well-made fritter with sugary goo.  Stick with a mayo or cream based sauce with fresh herbs.

Put this away for later.  On Thanksgiving, you’ll want to stick with pumpkin pie and the like for dessert, but you should keep in the back of your mind that sweet fritters make a good dessert or side for brunch.  My favorites are with diced lemon, peels and all, which have been stewed in syrup.  Cook a chopped lemon in 1/3 cup sugar and 1/3 cup water until it crystallizes, then finely chop.  Whatever you put in the fritter batter should be cooked and cooled.  Try peaches, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, pears, brandied cherries, apples, cranberries... 

Fry ‘em up and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Applesauce and the Wonder That is a Parsnip (Applesauce, Roasted Parsnips)

We cooked lunch for our church yesterday.  You can’t go wrong with salad, ham, applesauce and especially a cheesy, cream-soaked potato gratin.  The members at St. John’s can eat!  Interestingly, the big hit was Cathy’s applesauce.  She has been making it for years, but this time we got me advice from Gary at Ray’s Greenhouse in Telford, PA and adjusted the cooking technique a bit.  It made all the difference.

Buy food from Ray’s!  Here’s the contact info.  http://www.yelp.com/biz/rays-greenhouse-telford  They don’t seem to have a website.  No big surprise there, plus don’t we want them with their hands in the dirt, not head down on a keyboard?  I can’t say enough good about these folks.  I stop there all year to buy what is seasonal.  The fall is when they really shine.  I get about 60 gallons of cider from them every year, local apples, pressed in Zieglersville with no added preservatives.  They have a big selection on pumpkins and odd looking, tasty squash.  Broccoli, cabbage, potatoes and the most beautiful, ivory colored cauliflower, along with the newer alien green cauliflower, were available the last time I was in.  There are often four or more types of sweet potatoes and yams, all grown in their fields around Earlington.  Ask Gary for the tutorial if you can spare a bunch of time.  I particularly like the Beauregard, small, red, twisted little things with incredibly sweet flesh.  They now have hydroponic lettuce all year.  

This is also your apple hookup.  Unlike many other shops, the people at Ray’s know what they are selling and can help you pick out the right apple for your use.  For example, Winesap is the best eating apple, along with Jonathon and some of the golds.  Empire is for pies.  Gary told me that I should go with Cortland if we are making applesauce, because it comes out a striking pink color.  He was right.  Always trust your local farmer.  Here’s what we did, followed by a simple recipe for roasted parsnips, an often neglected root vegetable.

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It confused me when a number of people at church told me that they had never made their own applesauce and thought that it would be difficult to make.  This recipe and the next exemplify the kind of things that I want everyone to try, easy, packed with flavor and sure to delight the people around you.  The keys are that you must use top quality ingredients and understand the cooking techniques that work best for that particular food.

To make great applesauce, you don’t have to knock yourself out peeling and coring dozens of apples.  Additionally, this is something best made in bulk.  Apples are inexpensive and this stuff gets eaten up quickly.  The thing that is important about this recipe is that you will let the cooked apples sit on their skins for 30 minutes, letting the skin contribute a nice pink color and some tannin to the finished product, creating a more complex set of flavors than if you had simply milled the apples when they had finished cooking.  You may need some sugar to balance the acidity.  Use a light hand and your best judgment.

Applesauce

24 Cortland apples

½ cup sugar (if you think the finished product is too tart)

Quarter the apples and put them in a large, heavy-bottomed stock pot with a tight-fitting lid.  Turn the stove on high until the water begins cooking out of the apples and you hear boiling in the pot.  Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, as the apples cook and turn to mush.  When all the apples are cooked, cover the pot, turn off the heat and let it sit for 30 minutes. 

After the resting period, pass the apples through a food mill, removing the stems, cores and peels.  Refrigerate overnight and add any sugar before serving.

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I am on a righteous mission to popularize parsnips.  You’ve seen them in markets and on farm stands, but passed up on them, probably because you didn’t know what to do with parsnips.  Try this recipe.  You will be converted and will become a fanatical member of my cult.  We try to serve parsnips at all our dinner parties and have successfully converted a number of heathens who had spent their lives wandering the wilderness of Giant’s produce section. 

Roasted Parsnips

4 parsnips

1 tbs. unsalted butter, softened (or substitute peanut oil)

salt and pepper

Preheat your oven to 375°. 

Slice the parsnips into sticks about 1/3 of an inch square and 5 inches long.  The length does not matter as much as the thickness, since you want them to roast evenly.  Put the parsnips in a mixing bowl.  Coat them with the butter and season lightly with salt and pepper.

Spread the buttered parsnips on a baking sheet.  Be sure that they are in one layer, not touching, since that will prevent them from browning evenly. 

Put the baking sheet in the oven.  After 15 minutes, using tongs or a spatula, turn the parsnips.  In another 15 minutes the parsnips should be evenly browned, buttery and caramelized.  Remove from the pan and serve hot.