Follow my chain of thought to see why I picked Cornucopia as the fractal for today’s post: a Cornucopia is a horn-shaped basket containing an abundance of good food. Today’s post is about deep-fried food--which, as we all know, is one of the BEST ways to prepare food. (Even the shape and color reminds me of fried dough like funnel cakes or Churros) Therefore it seemed like a reasonable choice! SO--on with today’s rant!-
I love fried food. Grease runs though my soul as surely as Mama’s Marinara sings to an Italian American. (We‘re not going to discuss the negatives of deep-fat frying--everyone with even half a brain knows this so don‘t even BOTHER complaining about this post!) Fried chicken, fried potatoes (different from French Fries--which are also yummy but not exactly “comfort” food” for me) Chicken Fried Steak, fried Spam and Eggs, Gringo Tacos--all of these culinary delights take me right back to childhood and memories of my Mother’s kitchen.
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In my adult life I’ve encountered other examples of deep fried goodness: Hush Puppies (and considering my Southern roots it amazes me that I never tasted these things until after I was 40), Tempura Veggies, Sweet Potato Fries, Fuego Con Helado (Fried Ice Cream for those of you who might not be in the know) Sizzler Corn Fritters and Deep Fried Macaroni and Cheese (so horribly, wrong yet so deliciously right!) I even remember a Garfield comic where Jim asks the cat how he wants his cabbage. Garfield replies: “deep fat fry that sucker!” That would totally work, I remember thinking when I read the strip. I thought there was nothing I wouldn’t enjoy if you fried it up and put it on my plate.
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Boy was I wrong!
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It seems that anything worth doing is worth doing to excess: now adventurous cooks are deep fat frying just about anything. The trend seems mostly confined to Fairs and Amusement Parks but some items have made it onto the Menus of posh restaurants. If the fried food fanatic looks far enough s/he will find such questionable delicacies as Deep Fried Snickers ™, Mars Bars ™ or even Strawberry Pop Tarts ™ (served with Strawberry Jelly) and Deep Fried Twinkies ™. The Chocolate Hot Dog is a Tootsie Roll ™ covered in funnel cake batter and then deep fried. Someone even got the idea to split a Krispy Kreme Jelly Doughnut then fill it with a chicken breast, batter it then deep fry to concoction then top with Jam. (I'm guessing this is some sort of bizarre take on a Monte Cristo Sandwich--a weird enough food in and of itself.) This item is no longer marketed so I guess it really WAS as bad as it sounded.
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This is by now means the end of the crimes against food: this year’s Orange County Fair features Deep Fried Avocados (an artery-hardening horror if ever there was one), Sweet Potatoes (why add the batter?) are being offered up for the barve and none-too-discerning gurgitatior. Even atrichokes get the batter and deep fat fry treatment (although I can't see this making then any more edible). Deep Fried Apples (Granny Smith apple slices coated in funnel cake batter and fried then served with cinnamon and whipped cream) actually sounds good. Attempts to deep-fry Klondike Bars ™ and M & Ms ™ have proven less than successful. Still, deranged fry cooks are trying to find the next thing to foist on brave or unsuspecting eaters looking for something gross (but not as gross as live bugs) to stuff in their pie holes.
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Preparing foods like this isn’t easy at home for the average at-home Chef: Deep Fat Fryers aren’t all that common in home kitchens--and they can be difficult and somewhat dangerous to use. Me, I’m just glad that the trend hasn’t gotten too big… Just because a thing can be done, doesn't mean it should! I love my fried food and I love my chocolate treats (look at my pic and you can see for yourself) but, unlike Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, two great tastes don't always taste better together! Stop the madness people!
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Hmm--maybe I HAVE learned a few good eating habits…
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