Deep Fried Goodness

Check it out, I deep fried! No I didn’t, I’m lying. I made Dad do the deep frying. But I could have. Olives are small so you can make this in a smallish pan without heating up an entire vat of sizzling oil. Like I said, I still made Dad do the frying, but I’m confident that despite my fear of hot oil exploding all over me, I could have deep fried these olives without too much stress. A little bit of stress would be worth it anyways, these are great little pre-dinner poppers, just make sure to let them cool off a little before shoving one in your mouth. It’s hard to wait, I know, I’m Captain Impatient, but you’ll be sorry if you don’t. After you’ve let them cool, make sure you bring them to your dinner guests immediately though or else they won’t get a chance to taste the deep friend olive goodness. That’s not because they don’t keep, but because once you start eating them you won’t stop until there are none left. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Fried Green Olives Stuffed with Blue Cheese (From Bon Appetit, August 2007)

1 ounce (about) mild blue cheese (such as Maytag)
24 pitted Spanish olives, patted dry
Peanut oil (for frying)
All purpose flour
1 large egg, beaten to blend
1/2 cup fine dry breadcrumbs

Roll small amount of cheese into log shape narrow enough to stuff into 1 pitted olive; stuff olive with cheese. Repeat with remaining olives and cheese. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

Pour enough oil into heavy large skillet to measure depth of 1 inch. Heat oil to 350°F. Roll stuffed olives in flour, then in egg, then in breadcrumbs to coat. Fry olives until golden brown, about 30 seconds. Using slotted spoon, transfer olives to paper towels to drain. Serve hot.

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Olives + Appetizer