Ahhh, Superbowl Sunday. It's practically a holiday in conservative, flag-waving Ballard, where residents of the dupe did what any true patriots would due when faced with gridiron mayhem: we invited a bunch of people over, flipped on the big screen, and adjourned to the kitchen where we tried desperately to stay warm in front of the deep-fryer.
In between our asides in deep-fryer experimentation (Chika insists that America is just not ready for the bacon-wrapped marshmallow), we made some downright tasty fried goodies. There were fried plantains, fried pickles, fried lotus root, fried burdock root, fried bacon (that's right), and these bad boys:
Lavender-Infused Honey and Thyme Goat Cheese Jalapeno Poppers:24 medium-sized jalapenos
8oz goat cheese
16oz cream Cheese
1/3c honey
2T lavender petals
1T thyme, minced
1t + 1T kosher salt
1/2t black pepper
4 eggs
1/3c milk
1c flour
2c panko breadcrumbs
2c oil for frying
Prepare the honey by placing 4t lavender petals and honey together in a glass bowl or jar. Set the jar in simmering water and melt the honey. Let the honey infuse overnight.
1. Set a pot of water to boil. Slice the peppers in half lengthwise, and remove the seeds and stems. Blanch the peppers in the boiling water for 90 seconds, and chill them in an ice bath to stop them from cooking further.
2. Set up a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Blend the goat cheese, cream cheese, 2t lavender petals, the thyme, and salt and pepper to taste until creamy. With the mixer running at it's slowest speed, drizzle the honey into the cheese 1T at a time, tasting as you go.
3. Heat up oil until it reads 325 on a deep fry thermometer. Prepare a dredging station with three bowls: in one mix the flour with 1T of salt, in another beat the eggs with the milk, and in the last put the panko.
4. Fill each jalapeno half with the goat cheese mixture. Dip each pepper in the flour, dust off the excess, dip in the egg, and then roll in the panko, pressing to adhere. Fry each pepper until the panko darkens, and the filling just starts to leak through the batter. Remove the peppers to paper towels to drain.
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2 comments:
That's right - the deep fried bacon wrapped marshmallow - I want credit when that becomes the new State Fair staple! I need to work on the assembly so the marshmallow holds together while the bacon get's time to cook - maybe it's best in the broiler... or a slight precooking of the bacon, or a crust to hold the marshmallow together... any ideas? Maybe I need to stale up the marshmallows before? This is totally worth pursuing.
Some crazy assembly ideas:
After wrapping it, freeze it before you deep fry it so marshmallow core stays colder longer?
Use a hair curler to cook the bacon in perfect rings, let cool, stuff w/marshmallows, and flash fry to add crust to marshmallows?
Turning the idea inside out, try bacon-stuffed marshmallows? i.e. dice pre-cooked bacon, stuff marshmallow, fry... or cut pre-cooked (flattened) bacon into long hard strips, pierce marshmallow with strips, deep fry...
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