Home Grown, Homemade: Deep Fried X on a Stick

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Deep Fried X on a Stick

This is what all the food looked like
before biting into it.

There is a stereotype of Midwesterners as being fat and not very culinarily advanced. You can see this, for example, in the SHOCK of Michael Symon opening his Lola in Cleveland. Cleveland! No, the culinary meccas are on the coasts. Even Chicago is a red-headed step child. Midwesterner's do not want fancy food. They want a well done burger, cheese curds, and an Olive Garden.

Obviously, that stereotype is not 100% accurate. No stereotypes are 100% accurate. I would go so far as to say it's not even 50% accurate. I know people like that, but I know more people who are willing an excited to spend money on fancy food and try new things. Maybe it's the circles I run in. Who knows.

My point is, I'm not here to address that stereotype. That is not the point of this blog. I don't want to fight that battle.

But, if you've been happy thus far to read a blog that actively combats this stereotype, and if you want to see a tradition of culinary excellence upheld, you might want to stop reading.

Now.

Seriously, you've been warned.

So, the Wisconsin State Fair just ended. It ran from August 4th to 14th. There were farm animals, and 4-H kids getting ribbons, and deep fried food on a stick. And, while all the food wasn't necessarily locally grown, there is nothing more local than the State Fair.

So I ate it all - for you. Or, at least, I ate as much of it as I could without actually getting physically ill. I felt ill. I didn't eat dinner for the next two days. I think I put on five pounds. I did not eat the deep fried butter (you read that right), because, frankly, I have my standards.


Deep Fried Cream Cheese with Bacon. This was awful. Maybe if it was smaller, or you got a few bite sized bits, but as it was, it was a giant ball of hot cream cheese that made my stomach hurt. And I love cream cheese...

Deep Fried Mashed Potatoes. I thought that
they were wrapped in a wanton, but it turns out
they actually spread the potatoes super thin and
fry them that way - so the wanton is potatoes
too!!

Inside of the mashed potatoes. I think there
may have been veggies in there too. At least
some onions. It's a nice touch. Keep us all
healthy! Also, I would like to present my
mom's hand as proof that I did not eat all
this by myself.

Deep Fried PB&J. This was quite possibly
the best thing I ate at the fair. I checked
afterward, and they used local raspberry
jam. Not too sweet. Not to heavy. The
peanut butter was warm and gooey, and the
jam was not to runny. So good!

Deep Fried Bacon Wrapped Shrimp Tempura.
Need I say more?

Deep fried bacon wrapped hot dog. Both my
mom and I expected it to be breaded like a
corn dog, and were happy to see it was not!

"Deep Fried Elvis." A chocolate peanut butter
cup, deep fried in banana batter. I couldn't
taste the banana, but to be fair, I don't think
I cared...


Crullers on a stick. All doughnuts are naturally deep fried, right? I didn't feel the need to try these, since I've had (and love!) a cruller, and could take a picture through the display case.

This is why I am not a locavore of wine. Every single one was tried. One was drinkable as a wine, and one was drinkable as a juice. None were what I would call "good..."

This is a pig.

This is a goat. For the record, going to the
fair does not make me hungry in the same
way that going to the Aquarium does...


These cows were fuzzier than I would have expected. I don't know a lot about cows, but I have never seen one that was this fuzzy. I couldn't find a 4-H kid to ask about it in the 5 seconds I spent looking for one...

The Piece de Resistance of the Wisconsin
State Fair... Behold the mighty Cream Puff.
Deep fried whatever you want is always
good, but the cream puff is what people
line up for.