Ahhh the Oscars. My favourite awards show of the year. You know how I like to celebrate this wonderful night in style?
Fry.
Fry, fry, fry.
Season it, batter it, fry it, and love it.
One of my friends recently said that she was afraid she’d burn her house down if she fried food. Even though yes, my smoke alarm has gone off a few times, and yes I do have a scar from that one time the angry grease pit in my Creuset spewed hot grease at me, it is SOOO worth it!
Here is my rather labour-intensive, but totally worth it delicious menu for the night of Hollywood:
Coconut shrimp with sweet chilli sauce
Crispy maple mashed doodads
Sliders with beef and pulled pork
Lettuce wraps with homemade buttermilk ranch
Coconut Fried Shrimp
Ingredients:
Canola oil for frying (watch out, Canola heats up fast)
1/2 cornmeal bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of Old Bay Seasoning
1 cup shredded coconut
2 egg whites
1 pound shrimp, deveined and peeled
Directions:
Place oil in dutch oven (such as a Le Crueset) and fill to about 2 inches from the bottom.
Toss bread crumbs with salt, Old Bay Seasoning and coconut. Lightly beat egg whites and then dip the shrimp before coating it with the bread crumb mixture. Fry shrimp 3-5 minutes until golden and crispy. Serve with store bought Sweet Chilli sauce. One has to cut corners somewhere and who best to cut ’em with than Frank himself. Frank’s Sweet Chilli sauce is amazing.
Crispy Maple Mashed Doodads
Figuring out what worked best in this little crispy goodness was a labour of love. I tried using more of a batter around the mashed potatoes but that seemed too doughy (my tasters confirmed) so I moved on to cornmeal bread crumbs and what a revelation.
Ingredients:
For the mashed:
4 tablespoons butter
2 table spoons of maple syrup
1/2 cream
1 teaspoon of onion Salt
1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper
4 Yukon Gold potatoes
*remember to always save a little potatoe water
Directions:
Cut up potatoes into 1 inch cubes and place in pot with water to cover. Boil in salted water. Meanwhile, place all other ingredients in a small saucepan and heat, melting butter but making sure not to burn. Drain and reserve a bit of potato water. Combine ingredients and mash.
On to frying….
Beat two eggs in a shallow dish and place 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 cornmeal on other dish (add more of each if needed). Roll cooled down potatoes into a ball or stick and cover with flour, then egg mixture, then the bread crumbs. Then…you guessed it, fry them! They won’t need much time, just watch that they don’t burn. Serve with secret sauce (recipe down below).
Burgers with pulled pork and secret sauce
To make the pulled pork:
1) 1.5 lbs of pork shoulder or Boston Butt feeds about 8-10 people. If you just want it for the burgers, you can buy less than that.
2) Season the pork with salt, pepper, garlic powder and cayenne (or your favourite B.B.Q seasoning).
4) Place pork into a slow cooker and pour over your favourite bottle of store bought bbq sauce.
5) Cook on low for 8 hours.
6) When the pork is done, shred it with a fork.
7) Mix in more B.B.Q sauce if you like.
More pulled pork recipes
To make burgers:
Mix 1.5 pounds of ground chuck (80 percent lean) with two cups of pulled pork. Form into small patties and brush canola oil over both sides. Then, season with salt and pepper on both sides. Fry in a grill pan,
To make the pulled pork:
1) 1.5 lbs of pork shoulder or Boston Butt feeds about 8-10 people. If you just want it for the burgers, you can buy less than that.
2) Season the pork with salt, pepper, garlic powder and cayenne (or your favourite B.B.Q seasoning).
4) Place pork into a slow cooker and pour over your favourite bottle of store bought bbq sauce.
5) Cook on low for 8 hours.
6) When the pork is done, shred it with a fork.
7) Mix in more B.B.Q sauce if you like.
More pulled pork recipes
To make burgers:
Mix 1.5 pounds of ground chuck (80 percent lean) with two cups of pulled pork. Form into small patties and brush canola oil over both sides. Then, season with salt and pepper on both sides. Fry in a grill pan, a few minutes per side. Add cheese, turn off heat and cover to let it melt. Butter both sides of slider buns and grill them.
Add your favourite condiments! I used pickled shallots, pickles, lettuce, a little bit of extra shredded pulled pork, and the secret sauce.
All the secret sauce is the homemade buttermilk ranch mixed with ketchup with a bit of salt and pepper 🙂
a few minutes per side. Add cheese, turn off heat and cover to let it melt. Butter
Add your favourite condiments! I used pickled shallots, pickles, lettuce, a little bit of extra shredded pulled pork, and the secret sauce.
All the secret sauce is the homemade buttermilk ranch mixed with ketchup with a bit of salt and pepper 🙂
Lettuce wraps with buttermilk ranch
Homemade buttermilk ranch:
1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
3 tablespoons of plain greek yogurt
2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
1 clove of garlic, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon of dijon mustard
few dashes of hot sauce
Shake it all up in a mason jar and season with salt and pepper.
Use Boston lettuce and add pickled red onion , tomatoes, mozzarella pearls (or aged cheddar), some pulled pork if you like. It’s just a nice little bit of freshness after all the frying 🙂
A few side notes:
Serve this delicious icy lemon ginger vodka martini. My stepmom gave me one of these recently and let me tell you, it went down a little too quickly 🙂
Ingredients:
One3 inch piece of fresh ginger peeled and sliced2cups water1½cups sugar zest of 1 lemon1cup fresh lemon juice3cups vodka2cups crushed ice
Directions:
Simmer ginger and sugar in water for about 5 minutes. Cool slightly and then puree in blender. Strain syrup into glass dish or metal bowl and add lemon juice, zest, vodka and crushed ice and stir until ice is nearly melted. Freeze: Put in a flat pyrex dish to freeze faster but best overnight. Scrape with a fork like a slushy and serve in a martini glass. Potent so be careful. Keep in freezer for months. Delicious!
When we were Skyping with my mother-in-law this past weekend, she happened to be making churros. I think this would be a fabulous way to end an Oscar party. Try this churros recipe.
Enjoy your night at the Oscars!