Posted on 03/30/2016 5:24:44 PM PDT by Jamestown1630
My husband grew up in Pennsylvania, and a generations-old tradition for his family is attending the Bloomsburg Fair, which has been going on since 1855 and was only interrupted for one year, due to Tropical Storm Lee in 2011.
My first visit to the Fair was basically my honeymoon - it was the first time that we were able to get away for an extended period in the year that we ran off to the Courthouse and got hitched.
I loved the fair, especially the giant prize-winning pumpkin, the trotting horses, the beautiful turkeys and other poultry, and all the 4H kids showing off their animals - but also the FOOD.
I tried a few things there that I had never had before, including funnel cakes; but my absolute favorite was: Beer-Battered Deep Fried Vegetables. And as soon as we came home, we searched for a way to make them ourselves.
This is the recipe we always use; and I've found that this can be done ahead, refrigerated, and then reheated in the oven almost without losing any quality whatsoever. We usually do mushrooms, onions, zucchini; but you can also use asparagus, eggplant, cauliflower:
Deep Fried Veggies
2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1-1/2 C. Beer
1 tsp. Salt or to taste
1-1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1/4 tsp. Paprika
Vegetables: Mushrooms, Zucchini, Onions, Cauliflower, etc., cut into bite-sized chunks.
Oil for deep frying (we use Peanut Oil).
Combine flour, salt, garlic, baking powder and paprika in a bowl. Add beer and whisk until smooth.
Cover and chill the batter for at least 30 minutes.
Heat oil to 375 degrees. Dip the veggies in batter, and fry in batches until golden brown.
Place on a rack to drain and sprinkle with salt as soon as taken from the oil. Allow the oil to return to 375 before frying the next batch.
The ones we got at the fair were accompanied by a dipping sauce; I don't remember it very much, but here is another recipe that includes a Mustard-Ranch sauce:
-JT
I’ve never eaten it or tried to cook it; but I was thinking that you’d have to get the oil a lot hotter than household fryers would go - but apparently not:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/deep-fried-ice-cream-recipe0.html
-JT
That sounds great!
Yup, I suppose there is!
I didn’t look for info on FB ovens, so didn’t notice any forum links. I have their DVD with videos of how to use the ovens and it looks clear enough.
I’ve put the Blackstone in my wish list at amazon, just in case. Sounds like a great backup plan!
Food52 is a great site, and they’ve published cookbooks:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005LC0S68/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?ie=UTF8&btkr=1
Please post your recipes! I want to learn how to make the lacto-fermented ones; but I haven’t even done refrigerator pickles yet, so have a lot to learn.
-JT
TEMPURA FRIED ICE CREAM
PREP ICE CREAM Wrap scoop of solid ice cream in two slices
1/2" thick pound cake. Form into ball; Saran tightly; freeze cold.
WHEN NEEDED Dip cake-wrapped ice cream in flour
then dip in tempura batter. Deep-fry briefly.
SERVE drizzled w/ chocolate sauce....garnish as desired.
Beignets de Courgette / Zucchini Fritters
METHOD Stir lb shredded zucchini, 2 eggs, 2 crushed gar/cl, 1/2 c flour,
s/p (is runny, but holds once it hits hot oil). Drop tbl batter into 1/2" heated
oil; brown 3-4 min per side. Liftout w/ slotted spoon; drain.
SERVE warm w/ Tomato Sauce.
If you want to jump start a vegetable pickling process you can add one or two capsules of probiotic powder. I have done this. NOW FOODS brand vitamins used to have a great deal on 3oz of probiotic powder but now you have to buy it in the more expensive capsule form.
Before we had bottled beer and beer in cans...... all beer was non-pasturized and was teaming with great probiotic bacteria. Any real micro-brewery will have its own non-pasturized beer on tap.
As a generalization...... You get a quart of plain Greek style yogurt and all the bacterial cultures are intact. To make a fruity yogurt out of this...just stir in some jam or jelly. But just a spoonful of honey or real old timey black molasses is also good and what I like
I make yogurt from raw milk I get from a friend of mine that has a minifarm.
You can also use the whey from the yogurt to add to your pickle brine for a jump start.
You have access to the ultimate!!!
That looks like a quite recipe for fried chicken which is addictive enough by itself. Finishing it with a sriracha/honey glaze or dipping sauce really ramps it up. Don’t invite me over. I would eat it all.
Also I just like fried chicken that I shake a lot of salt onto then dip pieces in A1 steak sauce. The tamarind in the A1 is the exotic secret
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/j-and-g-steak-sauce recipe for your own better than A1 steak sauce.
Oh, it is SOOOO good! Every now and then I get just the cream and make butter or sour cream or ice cream. And when she needs it she lets me trade her my homemade liquid soap for it. And, since we got rid of our chickens we get eggs from her too. Cannot compare to anything store bought.
Neighbor dropped off some fresh caught and smoked Kingfish. Anyone have an awesome recipe for smoked fish dip?
smoked Kingfish....why dilute it in a dip? Why not put it on a platter with condiments and buttered toast? Some hard boiled egg and thin sliced raw onion. Capers, hot sauce, olives. Some modified mayonnaise.
I am always in the anti-dip camp when it comes to hack politicians and smoked fish.
Well, yea, for someone that likes fish that might work, but especially smoked fish we’re not huge fans. So anything to mellow out the flavor is nice. Grew up in a beach town, out on the water every weekend, and the smell of bait baking in the sun all day has ruined pretty much any kind of seafood for me. But, neighbor is a nice guy and brings a little of what he catches every now and then.
Thanks! Will take a look.
Besides, sounds like the platter you described has just about everything you’d put in a smoked fish dip!
I will get them out this weekend and post them for you. Pickling is relatively easy and a fun project. I also do spicy asparagus & green beans in addition to cucumber pickles.
I’ll post my sweet relish recipe too (that one has won at the State Fair several times).
One warning: once you start, you may become obsessed and end up with dozens of jars of various types of pickles...lol.
Please add me to your list.
Thank you!
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