Sunday, February 25, 2007

Back by Popular Demand

So, it has been pointed out to me by some that I haven't been blogging much lately. I guess I've been too busy thinking about things that I can't blog about yet. Hopefully, I will be able to discuss those things soon. Until then, I've decided to go back to that post where I pretended to blog about a bunch of things without going into detail about any of them, and turn a couple of those things into proper posts. Starting with emo poetry, requested specifically by TwilightTreader, in haiku form, and who can say no to a haikued request?

Also requested specifically by TwilightTreader, I've decided to elaborate on how I got a deep fryer from bras. Actually, it's not that exciting of a story. A friend of mine was selected to participate in a marketing research study about bras and panties and was allowed to include a couple of her girlfriends in the discussion. So, we talked about bras for an hour or so, surprised ourselves at how much we ended up having to say on the subject, and then were each handed an envelope of money for our time. I decided that I didn't want my bra money to disappear into the abyss of my bank account, so rather than depositing it, I decided to spend it on specific items. That way, those items would always have that special significance for me: I bought this with my bra money.

A couple of weeks ago, I had lunch with Jon in the city, and the place where we ate had these amazing sweet potato fries with pesto mayonnaise dipping sauce. I liked them so much I decided to replicate them. I actually had great success with the dipping sauce, but I couldn't get the fries to crisp up. That's when I made bra money purchase number one: a deep fryer. And I have since mastered the art of sweet potato fries with pesto dipping sauce, which, when it comes right down to it, could actually save me money, when you consider the train ticket into the city and the price of lunch at 30th Street Station...

Other things I have deep fried with great success: Chicken wings, battered Oreo cookies.
Things I have deep fried with some success: Battered Snickers bars, just plain batter.
Things I have been completely unsuccessful at deep frying: Cheesecake.
Things I hope to deep fry in the near future: Corn fritters, funnel cakes, french fries, tempura, sushi, doughnuts, fruit. Other suggestions always welcome.

For those who are curious, the rest of my bra money went to the purchase of Season 2 of Lost on DVD, to accompany Season 1, which I was given for my birthday, and which my newly-converted Lost-fan friends were almost finished with. At the rate Dan is going, he might actually be caught up in time to watch this week's episode with us. I'm rooting for you, Dan! Who needs sleep, when there is Lost to watch?


Recipes

Pesto Dipping Sauce
- 1 packet Knorr Pesto Sauce Mix
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup mayonnaise (I think, I didn't really measure)
Mix oil and pesto mix in a bowl. Add mayonnaise.

Sweet Potato Fries
- About 2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and julienned
- Salt and pepper
Frying times will depend on your individual fryer and the exact amount of fries, but basically, fry them for about 8-10 minutes to cook them, then lift frying basket out of the oil, allow it to heat back up to temperature, then put them back in the oil for about 5 minutes to crisp. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, serve with pesto sauce.

Deep Fried Oreos
- A box of double-stuffed Oreo cookies
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup milk
Mix all ingredients except for the cookies in a bowl while oil heats. Ignore the instructions all over the deep fryer that say not to operate with the lid open, and operate with the lid open and the basket submerged. (Just don't sue me if you burn yourself. I am not giving advice here, I swear. I'm just explaining how I did it.) Dip cookies one at a time into the batter to coat them, then lower them slowly into the hot oil with a fork, making sure they don't get stuck to the brew basket at the bottom. They should float to the top in a few seconds, as long as they aren't stuck. Allow the cookies to float and cook for, uh, I have no idea how much time, not very long, turning them every 30 seconds or so, until they are a pretty golden brown color. Let them cool for a minute or two before eating them, but don't let them cool too much, because the whole point of the exercise is the gooeyness of the melty white stuff in the middle, which congeals again fairly quickly.

2 comments:

timollie said...

As a thank you for the deep fryer, I am requesting deep-fried oreos the next time we're hanging out ;)

Susie said...

Deep fried oreo's?! My brain says yuck my stomach says interesting......I foolishy gave up chocolate for Lent so the deep fried oreo's will have to wait ;)