Whoops

Here's something I wrote mid-November and forgot to actually post.


So the whole blogging-every-day-in-November didn't pan out for me. Between the pregnancy sleepies and the daily care of a not-yet toddlering toddler, I was too tired at night to write. I did have a lot to say though, so I'll try to get caught up.


Frying

I couldn't find it on his website, but Alton Brown did a show on deep frying where he said basically the same thing that Wikipedia did:

If performed properly, deep frying does not make food excessively greasy because the moisture in the food repels the oil. The hot oil heats the water within the food, and steams it from the inside out. As long as the oil is hot enough and the food is not immersed in the oil too long, oil penetration will be confined to the outer surface layer and none will actually reach the center of the food.

He also demonstrated that, properly done, that there was only a teeny amount of oil that did not remain in the pan. It was insane like a tablespoon or something for a batch of fried chicken. I wish I could have found the exact quote, but whatever. So, take that, know-it-all people who think I'm a horrible mother for feeding my son some wok-fried chicken (it was NOT deep fried or battered!!!) on a special occasion when we went out to a restaurant.


Horace and Doris Beans

I can't remember why, but I wanted to blog about this recipe that's been in my family since my grandparents' time. When they were a young couple they had some friends that were called Horace and Doris after characters on a radio show. I think the wife may have been my grandma's cousin, but I'm not sure anymore. At any rate, I thought that my grandpa considered it a big secret so was afraid he wouldn't want to share the recipe. It turned out he was thrilled that someone else in the family wanted to make it. I started taking them to company bbq's and then making them for family occasions so Grandpa could have a break (there's a lot of mincing/dicing involved). It is the special food that will always make me think of him and what he and Grandma must have been like as a young couple.