Deep Fried Mozzarella Sticks

• 16 oz block whole milk mozzarella cheese
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup italian style breadcrumbs
• salt, pepper

1. Cut the block of cheese into 1/2 inch sticks.
2. Place the eggs in a bowl with a little salt and pepper, and whisk to combine. Then place the bread crumbs in a second bowl, and season with a little salt and pepper.
3. Take each cheese stick and dip it into the egg, letting the excess drip off.
4. Then coat in the breadcrumbs, shake off the excess, and place on a plate. Repeat with the remaining cheese sticks.
5. Once each cheese stick has been breaded, take each one through the egg and breadcrumbs again for a second coating. Place the mozzarella sticks in an airtight container and freeze for two hours.
6. Heat up a fryer to 365 degrees F, and fry for about 30-60 seconds until golden brown. Serve with marinara or your favorite dunking sauce. Enjoy!

https://www.fifteenspatulas.com/game-day-nibbles-homemade-mozzarella-sticks/

Deep fried sushi

 

1 cup sifted flour

1 egg loosely beaten

1 cup very cold water

*don't overmix! should be lumpy

Heat deep fryer to around 350

Make sushi roll

Coat in batter

Roll in panko breadcrumbs

Deep fry for a minute or two

Deep fried twinkies and oreos

*If possible, freeze twinkies for an hour or so before deep frying

BATTER
1 cup milk 
2 tablespoons vinegar 
1 tablespoon oil
1 cup flour (mix to consistency)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon salt

Coat in batter

Deep fry at around 350 degrees for a minute or two

Sprinkle with powdered sugar

Buche de Noel (yule log)

https://smittenkitchen.com/2011/04/heavenly-chocolate-cake-roll/

Also useful as a Passover flour-free cake!

Cake:
1 cup semi- or bittersweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons water 
6 large eggs, at room temperature, separated
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon table salt

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, divided (to sift on at the end)

Filling:
1 cup heavy or whipping cream
2 to 3 tablespoons powdered sugar (use more if you prefer a sweeter filling)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 to 2 tablespoons liqueur of your choice, such as Grand Marnier

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter or oil a 10-by-15-inch shallow baking or jellyroll pan. Line the bottom lengthwise with a piece of waxed or parchment paper that extends up the short sides one inch.

2. Melt chocolate with the 3 tbsp water in microwave on low heat, taking out to stir until just smooth

3. In a clean bowl beat egg whites until stiff, set aside

4. Beat egg yolks with an electric mixer until pale and creamy. Add sugar gradually, and continue to beat until yolks are pale and ribbony. Gently stir the semi-cooled chocolate into the yolk mixture.

5. Stir 1/4 of egg white mixture into the chocolate-yolk mixture to lighten it. 

6. Fold the remaining whites into the cake batter in three additions. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until cake layer feels dry (but very soft) to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. It will still seem a little underbaked.

7. Transfer to a cooling rack and cover the top with a light damp towel or two layers of damp paper towels for 10 minutes. Gently remove towels; don’t fuss if they have a bit of cake stuck to them. Run a knife around the edges of the cake. 

8. Sift one tablespoon cocoa over the top of the cake and cover the cake with a thin tea or flour sack towel [Updated, see Note above] that is a little longer than the pan. Place the back of a baking sheet or a large flat tray over the towel and invert the cake and paper onto it. Gently peel back the parchment or waxed paper that lined the pan. Sift the remaining tablespoon of cocoa powder over the top of the cake (that was, one minute ago, the underside). Using the towel underneath to help lift and roll the cake, roll the cake from short end to short end with the towel inside. Let cool completely, encased in its towel.

9. Once cool, beat heavy cream with powdered sugar and vanilla until it holds stiff peaks. Get your serving plate ready and place it near your cake roll. Gently unroll chocolate cake and remove tea towel. [Try to get the tea towel to the hamper without touching anything, as it is saturated with smudgy cocoa and trust me, can mess up a white kitchen fast.] Spread whipped cream filling evenly over cake. Gently use waxed or parchment paper once again to reroll cake. Place on serving platter, seam side down.

Frost with Magnolia buttercream frosting: https://keekitchen.blogspot.com/2012/09/magnolias-chocolate-buttercream-frosting.html

Latkes

Makes generous portion for 8 people:

INGREDIENTS:

6-7 large Russet potatoes, peeled

3 yellow onions, cut into quarters

6 eggs, beaten

1c-1.5 cups flour

3 teaspoons kosher salt

2-3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground pepper

Oil for frying

Toppings:

- sour cream

- applesauce

DIRECTIONS:

• Using a food processor with a coarse grating disc, grate the potatoes and onion. Transfer the mixture to a cheese cloth and squeeze and wring out as much of the liquid as possible.
• Working quickly, transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Add the eggs, flour, salt, baking powder and pepper, and mix until the flour is absorbed.
• In a medium heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat, pour in about 1/4 inch of the oil. Once the oil is hot (a drop of batter placed in the pan should sizzle), use a heaping tablespoon to drop the batter into the hot pan, cooking in batches. 
• Use a spatula to flatten and shape the drops into discs. When the edges of the latkes are brown and crispy, about 5 minutes, flip. 
• Cook until the second side is deeply browned, about another 5 minutes. 
• Transfer the latkes to a paper towel-lined plate to drain and sprinkle with salt while still warm. Repeat with the remaining batter.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015533-classic-potato-latkes

Kenrick's Brownies

- 1.5c butter, melted
- 3c sugar
- 1.5c flour
- 1.5c dark chocolate cocoa powder
- 6 eggs
- 1 cups semi sweet morsels

Preheat oven to 350.
Combine the first 5 ingredients in a mixer and mix until well combined.
Fold in the semi sweet morsels. Pour into a 9 x 13 inch baking pan lined with parchment.
Bake for 35 minutes then check with a toothpick. It should almost come out clean but not quite. You may need to give it 5-10 more minutes, check every couple minutes and re-test.
You may want to wrap the edges of the pan in foil to prevent the edges from overcooking.
Let cool and slice.
Top with powdered sugar and vanilla ice cream.

Passion Fruit Bars

https://thebakingwizard.com/california-passion-fruit-bars/

California Passion Fruit Bars

These are best served cold. Store the pan of baked bars in the refrigerator and cut and dust them with powdered sugar just before serving. 

Brown Sugar Shortbread Crust

• 1 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (spoon flour into dry measuring cups to overflowing and level off; 5 ounces by weight))
• 1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) cold unsalted butter, sliced into 6 pieces

Passion Fruit Filling

• 2 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup fresh passion fruit juice (from about 8 passion fruit; pulse seedy fruit a few times to juicify the pulp into juice; strain to remove seeds) or bottled passion fruit juice (see Final Note at end of recipe)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• Powdered sugar for dusting or sour cream

Adjust an oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with two 16-inch lengths of aluminum foil, criss-crossing them into the pan with the excess projecting about 2 inches above the pan edges. Coat lightly with cooking spray.

For the shortbread crust, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, and salt and add the butter. Work the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingertips or a pastry blender until the butter is broken up into medium-size pieces, about ¼-inch. If your kitchen is warm, and you find the butter getting too soft while you work it, put the bowl into the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes. Pour the crumbs into the prepared baking pan. Press firmly and evenly on the bottom to make a compact layer. You’ll see pieces of butter here and there.

Bake for 20 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.

While the crust bakes, whisk the eggs and egg yolk in a medium bowl to combine well. Add the granulated sugar and whisk in well. Add the passion fruit juice and flour and whisk until smooth. Try not to create large bubbles. Pour over the hot crust and return the pan to the oven.

Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees and continue baking until the filling is set, about 30 minutes. If you jiggle the pan the filling should not budge.

Cool completely on a wire rack, then refrigerate for an hour or two until cold. If you want to serve the next day, cover the pan tightly with foil and refrigerate.

Lift the dessert out of the pan by the foil ends and carefully peel foil away from the sides of the crust. With a wide metal spatula, carefully transfer the uncut sweet to a cutting board. Put a few tablespoons of powdered sugar into a small strainer, and dust onto the dessert. Or spread with a thin layer of sour cream. Cut into bars without a sharp knife.

Makes 8 to 12 bars.