Fried Cheese Fritters

In Eastern Wisconsin, just over the Illinois border, is a town called Bristol, which has held a large Renaissance Faire since 1972.  Living outside of Chicago, we went to the faire many summers growing up.  And then later, my aunt owned a permanent booth at the faire for years where she sold her very cool handmade dolls.  It's like a small village.  And in their food court, they have always sold these cheese fritters which are A-MAZ-ING!  During a visit back to the Chicagoland area a few years ago, I took Justin to visit the faire for his first time and he agreed - we needed the recipe for those fritters.  We were never successful in getting it. 

The other night, Justin was mentioning these evil, addictive fritters again and I started Googling, on a mission to find a similar recipe.  I ended up taking some ideas from a few different recipes and then added a few twists of my own to it.  They came out awesome!  We were so stoked!  They were also super quick and very easy.  Score!

I think I have the Nekromantix in my head because Halloween was just here... and I dig a little gothabilly/psychobilly sometimes.   I'm a sucker for big pompadours and stand-up bass.  Nekromantix's "Horny In A Hearse".  -jen

FRIED CHEESE FRITTERS
Time:  20-30 minutes
Difficulty:  Easy
Makes:  about 12 fritters, depending on size

• 1 and 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 egg
• 2/3 cup whole milk
• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 cup Gruyère cheese, shredded
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions (I used just the green tops)

Preheat peanut or vegetable oil in deep fryer (or use 3 cups of oil in a large pan) to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, chili powder, garlic powder, black pepper and cayenne pepper.  Set aside.

In a smaller mixing bowl, add egg and milk.  Whisk.  Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix, just until dry ingredients are combined.  Don't over-mix.  Fold in shredded cheese and green onion.


Carefully drop a heaping tablespoon of the mixture into the oil.  Most fryers or pots will hold about 4-5 fritters at a time.  Do not overcrowd.  Cook for 3-4 minutes, turning fritters half-way through the cooking time.  They should be a deep golden colour.

I made a quick spicy dipping sauce with 3 parts plain Greek yogurt, 1 part mayo, enough Sriracha to give it a spicy kick, and then a dash of Worcestershire, some seasoning salt, chili powder, cumin and tarragon.  You could use ranch, mustard or barbecue sauce.  Whatever you want.  Or no dipping sauce.

Hushpuppies

I'm stoked about this recipe, not so much because they were good (and they were!), but because I feel like this has gotten me one step closer to a different recipe!  We grew up outside of Chicago and there's a renaissance fair that's just over the Wisconsin border called the Bristol Renaissance Faire.  They serve the regular ren-fair food, but there's always been a stand there that serves beer and cheese fritters.  These cheese fritters have got to be on my Top 5 Best Things I Ever Ate list.  My aunt has had a booth up there for years and I even tried to get my cousin to get the recipe from the guys there, but no such luck.  These hushpuppies were way good... and now I have a little bit more of an idea on how to go about making those ultimate cheese fritters.

I heard the Riverdales the other day and hadn't thought of them in a LONG time.  I had a friend in college who loved these guys... hometown boys from Chicago!  What does "Prince of Space" have to do with hushpuppies?  Absolutely nothing.  But it does make me think that's exactly what Lumpy Space Princess needs.  It makes Justin think of MST3K.  As you can see, we lead very uninteresting lives.  -jen

HUSHPUPPIES
Prep Time: 15 minutes, Fridge Time: 1 hour, Cook Time: 2.5 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Makes: 20 hushpuppies

• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup corn flour (or grind cornmeal in food processor)
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon KFC copycat seasoning (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 green onions, finely diced
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon jalapeños, diced fine
• 1/2 cup fresh sweet corn 
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Add green onions, garlic, jalapeños, and corn.  Mix in beaten eggs until combined.

In a small sauce pan, bring milk and butter just to a boil, remove from heat.  Mix the milk into the dry ingredients, half at a time.  Add shredded cheese and refrigerate for one hour.

Preheat deep fryer or 4" of vegetable oil in a skillet to 350 degrees.  In heaping tablespoons increments, drop refrigerated dough carefully into heated oil.  Cook for 2.5 minutes, turning once to cook evenly.  Serve hot.  We dipped ours in tzatziki, which was a nice refreshing dip that went well with the slightly spicy hushpuppies!

Note:  I thought I might like a little sweetness to the batter, so with the leftover batter that I didn't use (maybe about 1/2 the batter), I put a heaping tablespoon of honey in.  It lent just a touch of sweetness and I think I'd probably use it in my next batch... or maybe a tablespoon of sugar.