Appetizers

[kit]

Here's a little trick I use when making appetizers like breaded and fried mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, onion rings or fruit. I fry them in a small pan with just enough oil to be about as deep as a little more than half the size of the item I'm frying. I use instant pancake mix for the breading and just add a little salt to it and use water to make it just thick enough to coat the item but not be 'drippy.' The oil should be about 350 degrees.

Into the hot oil it goes and when the bottom is done, I flip them to fry the other side, then put them on a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Quick and simple. They usually cool off after making a good size batch, so when serving I just pop them into the microwave to reheat.

Depending on what you're frying you can add any herbs or spices you like to the batter before dipping. I like to use dried tarragon with mushrooms and I've even added grated Parmesan when frying broccoli. Instead of salt I add sugar when frying fresh fruits. Your imagination is your only limitation.

[clarencebunsen]

In a low carb forum I frequent the suggestion was posted to used crushed fried pork rinds as breading. I havent't tried that yet but it is intriguing.

[Deleted]

I have to try the instant pancake mix idea for when I fry zucchini. I also never knew that fruit can be breaded and fried. Interesting.

[kit]

Alan, make sure to dry the zucchini with a paper towel before breading, otherwise the breading won't stick to it very well. Same with anything you bread and fry.

Fruits should be fairly firm, like chunks of fresh apple, pear, banana, pineapple, etc. Softer fruits like orange, grapes, peaches, or overly ripe fruits don't seem to work as well. You can also experiment by adding a few drops of the various extracts that are available when mixing the batter. Just use your imagination.

Let me know how your zucchini turns out.

[Clipper]

I love the pancake batter mix idea Kit. I fry a lot of veggies and I have been dredging them in seasoned flour, dipping in egg wash and in another dish of seasoned flour. Batter will be much easier I am sure. I like spices, so I often use either Old Bay, Tony Chachuri's or a combo of Lawry's Seasoned Salt, garlic powder, and a dash of cayenne. Surprisingly, Old Bay is quite good on most vegetables as well as seafood. For chicken I use celery salt, black pepper, and cayenne, and I marinate the chicken parts for a few hours in a mixture of cider vinegar, orange juice, and canola oil, with a finely diced onion or shallot. a splash of Siracha and a generous dab of minced garlic. I pour the marinade in a ziploc and massage the chicken in the bag every half hour or so while it marinates.

Everything but chicken gets fried in a light colored oil, either canola or a blended vegetable oil. Chicken tastes best when fried in good old fashioned lard.

In summer I eat a lot of vegetables marinated in Italian Dressing or a home made marinade and grilled over a charcoal fire. A favorite is stuffed onions. I core and onion from the top, leaving the bottom intact, hollow out a significant amount of the inside and use what I take out to go into the stuffing. I use simple Stove Top, add finely diced onion and celery along with finely diced cooked bacon and a dab of butter. Wrap them in oiled foil and put them on the grill for about 20 minutes or so.

Does the batter stick quite well to the veggies as long as your dry them well? I have always had trouble doing zucchini and summer squash even when I have dried the with a towel. By dredging them, the breading mixture simply flakes off and they end up only half breaded by the time they cook..

I have never considered doing fruits in such a manner. I will have to try some apples with a little vanilla extract and maybe a little cinnamon sugar mixture added to the batter mix.

[Deleted]

Clipper what you are describing also sounds good. I can't grill anything because of restrictions on BBQ grills I could use the park but that is a hassle.

I love baked onions. I usually just do them in the microwave with the skin left on the onion then when I remove skin after cooked I cut and add a little Balsamic vinegar.

[Clipper]

Kit's recipes always catch my interest Alan. We have a love for experimentation in common. I think Kit and I have as much interest in playing in the kitchen as we do in eating the good food that we create there. I could be wrong. I love taking a recipe and tweaking it to make it my own. No recipe is safe from my tweaking. Kathy and I make a great team. She is an excellent cook and baker, but she also allows me to do my thing whenever the mood strikes. She makes awesome home made breads, cakes, pies and cookies, and I love to coax the very best of flavors from a quality cut of meat, some good poultry, or fresh seafood although fresh seafood is hard to come by in this area.

I think that it's possible that all three of us, you, Kit, and myself have simply hit that point in our lives where retirement has elevated our appreciation for good food. When I worked, food was simply sustenance. It was a chore to cook after a day's work, and I tended to want something simple and quick, or to go out to eat. Now I get as much pleasure from the careful and unhurried preparation as I do from the actual eating of the food.

[kit]

Perhaps instant pancake batter isn't the best possible coating for frying appetizers but it's quick, easy, inexpensive, versatile and it's been working well for me so far. Also, it doesn't contain a chemistry set full of artificial ingredients that give me belly aches, pimples, dandruff, hives, gout, hangnails or bad breath (well...sometimes when I use garlic powder... you know the story).

Small pieces of meats like chicken, pork, beef or fish can also be coated and fried using appropriate herbs and spices. I cook the meats covered in the microwave first with a little water, but no oil or grease. Then dry with a paper towel. Here are 3 suggestions...

1) when using salt or sugar, dissolve it completely in a little water used for mixing the batter. This keeps the batter smooth and it sticks to the food better than just adding the raw salt or sugar to the powder before mixing.

2) if first marinating the meat chunks, herbs and spices are fine as well as any water-based liquid (dry before coating) but avoid any oil-based liquids or the batter will tend to slide off.

3) at 350 degrees, the items will fry quickly so be prepared to flip them when they are lightly browned on one side and when the 2nd side is done, remove them promptly to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

Clipper... when frying zucchini, try mixing the batter a little thicker than usual. To be honest, I haven't done zucchini and this is only a guess, so let me know if it works better.

I got this idea by adding various pieces of fruits to the batter, like chopped pear, apple, banana, etc. along with a complementary spice or flavoring, just to vary my breakfast pancakes. This lead to using the batter to coat chunks of sweet or savory items and frying in just enough hot oil so the items float. I use a small pan so as not to require a huge amount of oil, and after it cools I strain and refrigerate it and use it again. As I've said before, the varieties are only limited by one's imagination.

[Deleted]

I rarely follow a recipe. basically I have my own method. I usually fry zucchini using Italian breadcrumbs and first dipping the sliced zucchini in egg wash. But am gonna try Kits method next week. I was wondering it the batter like a tempura batter which is very thin and light. Maybe the grocery sells tempura batter? I never looked for it. Just like I never make pancakes. Don't like them.

[kit]

Alan... "Instant pancake batter" is only a name but it's also useful for coating certain 'noogies' of fruit, vegetables and meats. I particularly like to coat rings of large, sweet onion as a substitute for the extra starch of French fries when making cheeseburgs. I also use it when making "Sweet-N-Sour Pineapple Chicken Puffs" in a wok or skillet.

I've never bought Tempura batter mix, but if you try it please post the results here. Thanks