As fun as holiday entertaining is, there is a certain level of “holy crap that’s a lot of work” that goes along with it. Aside from being easy to make ahead and freeze (
[[A quick note (ahem*fine print*ahem) the Amazon links below are affiliate links. What that means to you is this | I’ll receive a small commission should you choose to purchase through them. There is no additional cost to you, in any way. Questions? Hit me up. I’m happy to answer them, or, click HERE for our terms and conditions]]
Thanksgiving Fritters | Appetizers in Advance
Turkey and mashed potatoes are about as quintessentially Thanksgiving as fall tablescapes, the turkey’s that elementary school kids make out of the tracing of their hands, and the Oregon Pinot that flows through the weekend. (What, doesn’t everyone’s family gatherings have a bottle stashed somewhere, or at which alcohol (beer and wine included) doesn’t flow rather freely?) Thanksgiving Fritters are my take on the holiday standard.
Besides, having a few appetizers in the freezer isn’t a bad thing, especially during the holidays.
October was cookbook month, which had me deep into my cookbooks again in a way that was
I teamed up with Keystone Meats & Southern Recipe Small Batch Pork Rinds to come up with something fun, and was given relatively few parameters in which to work, and was turned loose to do my kitchen thing. These fritters combine a few of my pantry staples, all of which are listed separately below, and all of which can be made ahead of time.
Scratch Made Pantry Staples
We make the majority of our own pantry items. For one thing, there is absolutely something to be said for the Like Water for Chocolate premise, for another, you know exactly what is in your food.
Chicharrones Ciabatta Bread Crumbs
Ciabatta Bread. Olive Oil. Sea Salt. Smashed Southern Small Batch Chicharrones
Chicharones Ciabatta Breadcrumbs
Ingredients
- 1 Loaf Ciabatta bread from yo’ favorite bakery
- 1 Bag Southern Small Batch Pork Rinds
- Big Drizzle Olive Oil
- BIG Pinch Sea Salt
Instructions
- Slice (or tear) the ciabatta into roughly bite-sized pieces, tossing them into a big mixing bowl as you go.
- Once the loaf is done, toss with both your EVOO and the salt until everything is evenly coated. Dump the bowl onto a foil-lined baking sheet and toast until done.
- While the ciabatta is toasting, thoroughly smash the whole bag of Southern Small Batch, dumping the contents of the bag into a clean mixing bowl, and set aside.
- Once the ciabatta is toasted, the pieces go into the food processor, are whirled down into breadcrumbs, and dumped into the chicharrones bowl. Working in batches of course.
- Mix breadcrumbs and smashed chicharrones together using a fork until evenly combined, and transfer to a glass jar for storage.
Roasted Garlic Gorgonzola Crema
Roasted Garlic. Butter. Cream. Cheese.
Roasted Garlic Gorgonzola Crema
Ingredients
- 8 oz. Kerry Gold Butter, Salted (sorry, mom)
- 8-10 oz. Gorgonzola
- 2 C Whole Cream
- Head Whole Roasted Garlic (or buy the roasted cloves from the antipasto bar at the grocery store)
- 1/2 Yellow Onion, chopped
Instructions
- Melt butter in a high walled Dutch oven, (I’m a Le Cruset gal myself), and sauteé onions and roasted garlic cloves into the butter.
- Crumble your Gorgonzola if you didn’t buy it that way, and set aside
- Once onions are translucent and fragrant, add cream, stirring to combine.
- As the flavors have simmered down, use an immersion blender to smooth everything together.
- Reduce the mixture by a third, adding crumbled Gorgonzola in batches, stirring as the cheese is incorporated.
Roasted Garlic Gorgonzola Mashed Potatoes
Potatoes. Roasted Gorgonzola Crema.
Roasted Garlic Gorgonzola Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 5 Yellow Potatoes
- 2 C Gorgonzola Crema
- 6 oz Crumbled Gorgonzola
Instructions
- Quarter and boil potatoes, draining water once they START to become tender.
- When potatoes are about halfway ready to mash, drain, and cover with Gorgonzola Crema.
- Simmer potatoes in crema until they’re fork tender.
- Use said fork to roughly mash potatoes and the crema together.
- Boom. Done.
Thanksgiving Fritters
Mashed potatoes. Gorgonzola Crema. Chicharrone Ciabatta Bread Crumbs. Roasted Garlic. Keystone Turkey.
Thanksgiving Fritters
Ingredients
- 1 batch Roasted Garlic Gorgonzola Mashed Potatoes
- 1 can Keystone Meats Turkey
- 4 C Chicharrone Ciabatta Breadcrumbs
- 1/2 C Roasted Garlic Cloves in Oil (Hat tip to the antipasto bar)
- 6 oz Crumbled Gorgonzola
- Vegetable Oil for Frying
- big sprinkle Penzey’s Granulated Roasted Garlic
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combined the whole can of Keystone Turkey (pro tip, drain the water off first) and the mashed potatoes, stirring well so that the meat to potato ratio is even throughout.
- Working with your hands, create your fritters, folding a couple of cloves of roasted garlic and a pinch of gorgonzola into the center of each ball.
- Toss fritters into a shallow bowl with your chicharrones breadcrumbs till well and evenly coated, and set aside.
- Once you’re here, you can freeze your fritters, pulling them out again as needed. That could be any time from an impromptu wine and girls night to your significant other called to tell you that they and their boss are on their way to the house for dinner now, and you’re not anywhere near ready to entertain.
- Heat oil in Dutch Over (watch your temperature, and yes, steam is very normal)
- Fry ’em up, drain ’em and toss them in with Penzey’s granulated roasted garlic, and serve with your dipping sauce of choice. (pro tip, use the Gorgonzola crema.)
Want to work with me? hello@cookeatexplore.com
