Thirty years ago, the statement would have been the same, but the means would have been quite different.  My, how things change!

Last night, Victor gave me a brand new deep fryer.  All because I had made an offhand comment that if I could have but one commercial piece of kitchen equipment at home, it would bee a deep fryer.

Now…  we have a standing rule that we don’t buy each other birthday presents and we don’t buy single-use kitchen gadgets.  He broke two rules.  I am quite pleased!  I was also quite oblivious.  Victor wrapped the present while I was in the office and placed it right in the middle of the living room.  I walked right through the living room into the kitchen and didn’t even see it.

Clueless.

My first thought after opening it was to fry some chicken.  But I quickly changed my mind.  Onion rings, zucchini, jalapeños stuffed with cheese, and shrimp ended up being the menu.

We made a really classic batter of cake flour, beer, salt, pepper, and chopped parsley – the same recipe Victor used when he owned his restaurant on South Street.  I floured the items before battering them, and used corn flour on the onion rings.

Yum.

Everything was crispy-crunchy.  I had actually forgotten just how good – and not greasy – fried foods can be.  Hot oil is the trick, and it’s hard to manage on a stove.

Everything came out perfect except the jalapeño poppers.  I put them in too fast and they stuck together a bit.   Patience has never been one of my strong points.  Oh well.  They tasted fantabulous and that’s what matters.  Just hollowed out peppers with monterey jack cheese.  As basic as one can get.

This has been one of the most fun presents!  I’m thinking there’s just a bazillion things we can make.  I love fritters – corn, apple, peach…  Fried calamari… Definitely more jalapeño poppers .  I’ll probably come up with a different batter for those.  There’s a lot of fun experimenting in store.

But tonight the final piece is something I am making once and will probably never make again.

A Deep-Fried Snickers Bar.

Because it’s my birthday.