Buffalo Chicken Fried Pies

In being the keeper of a pie blog, I've come to be a recipient of a lot of harebrained pie ideas. Last year around this time, Brent came to me with one. Buffalo. Chicken. Fried. Pies. His vision was for a self-contained Super Bowl snack that captured the flavor of chicken wings, complete with hot sauce, carrots,  celery, and blue cheese dressing, but was encapsulated in a pie crust and able to be held in the hand while watching the game (or Beyonce as the case may be).

I was skeptical but willing to give it a try. We were invited to a Super Bowl party by our friend Lars, who also happens to be an organic chicken farmer, and when we arrived on Sunday evening with a grocery bag full of ingredients and cooking oil, Lars had the chicken ready to go--already cooked and marinated in hot wing sauce. The result was obnoxiously good. The frying warmed all of the ingredients, melting the blue cheese while keeping the carrots and celery still crispy, as in a buffalo wing chaser.





I've apparently haven't really stopped thinking about them since, because this summer, I mentioned it to my friend, pocket food afficianado and video maven Mackenzie Smith, who I met at the LongHouse Scholars Program. She brought them up again a few weeks ago, and last week I traveled to Brooklyn to whip up a batch while Mack filmed me (and my sous chef Justin). She put together this very fun little video on the new favorite snack! Kick it off.

Buffalo Chicken FRIED Pies from Mackenzie Smith on Vimeo.

Buffalo Chicken Fried Pies

Ingredients
Nothing in the House pie crust 
5 bone-in chicken thighs
All-purpose flour
Salt & pepper to taste
Oil for browning
1/2 bottle of Frank's RedHot sauce, plus more for dipping if desired
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
4 oz. blue cheese, crumbled
Blue cheese dressing, for dipping if desired

Directions
1. Prepare Nothing in the House pie crust as per the directions. Refrigerate while you prepare the chicken and other filling ingredients. 

2. Prepare the chicken. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a small baking dish, spread a thin layer of flour and season with salt and pepper. Coat chicken on all sides with the flour mixture. In a skillet, brown chicken with oil over medium heat. Transfer to a heavy baking dish and cover with hot sauce. Bake for 35-40 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Let cool completely before removing skin and shredding chicken with a fork. Set aside.

2. Once your filling is ready and pie dough has chilled for at least 1 hour, remove  from fridge and roll out onto a lightly dusted surface about 1/8 inch thick. Using a large biscuit cutter or top of a large mug or jar, cut circles out of the dough (you can make them as large or small as you like, just remember that the smaller the pie the less filling can fit inside). 

3. Mound chicken, vegetables, and blue cheese in the center of each circle--you'll want to aim for about 2 Tablespoons of filling total, but depending on how big your dough circles are you can use more or less. Remember it is better to under-stuff than over-stuff.

4. Moisten the edge of the pastry circle with your finger, then fold over the dough to form a half-moon shape. Press the edges together and flute with a fork to seal completely. Place the formed pies on a parchment paper covered baking dish and place in the freezer, at least 20 minutes and up to an hour.

5. Meanwhile, heat the oil (If you prefer to bake your pies, you can do so in an oven set at 375 degrees F for about 15-25 minutes). Pour at least 2 cups of canola oil (or 4 inches deep) into a deep and heavy saucepan. Insert a candy thermometer into the oil. Slowly heat on medium-low until the temperature reads 350 degrees F.

6. When the oil temperature reaches 350 degrees, gently lower one pie at a time into the heated oil and cook until golden brown (about 2 minutes per side).  Using a slotted spatula, transfer to a paper-towel lined plate. Repeat with the remaining pies.

7. Let pies cool slightly before serving, but they are best eaten when fresh and warm! Dip them in your favorite buffalo chicken wing sauce or blue cheese dressing and go team!

Big thanks to Mackenzie Smith for lending her many talents and vision to produce this video and photos. Mack is a Brooklyn-based multi-media producer and heritage cookbook editor and you can find more of her work here. Look out for a new food video project from her coming soon.

Photos and video by Mackenzie Smith

Related recipes:

Apple Fried Pies

Frito Pie

Spinach & Feta Fried Pies

Tomato, Bacon & Jalapeno Pie

Fried Apple Pies with Salted Caramel Glaze on Design Sponge!

Last month Elizabeth and I were *thrilled* to have an illustrated recipe featured on Design Sponge! The recipe, for Fried Apple Pies with Salted Caramel Glaze is the also the October recipe in our PIE. A Hand Drawn Almanac (Still available on Etsy and in various DC shops!). Elizabeth did these awesome additional illustrations specifically for the piece. They detail the recipe, and can be embiggened by clicking on them. You can also follow the written recipe below for these treats, which is a decadent amalgamation of the Nothing-in-the-House Apple Pie with Salted Caramel Glaze and Apple Fried Pies.

 

 

Fried Apple Pies with Salted Caramel Glaze

Ingredients
For crust:
2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 Tblsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
3/4 c. cold vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
1 egg, beaten
6-8 Tblsp. cold water

For filling:
5 c. tart baking apples, peeled, cored and cut into small chunks
2 Tblsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 c. white sugar
1/4 c. light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. cornstarch

For salty caramel glaze:
1/2 c. sugar
1/8 c. water
1/8 c. light corn syrup
1/2 c. heavy cream
2 Tblsp. unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

About 2 c. canola oil for frying 

Directions
For crust:
1. Add flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to mix. Add the shortening and cut into the flour mixture by pulsing the food processor until  mixture becomes the consistency of cornmeal and peas. 

2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together egg and 6 Tblsp. of cold water. Slowly drizzle half of the liquid mixture into the food processor, pulsing to combine with flour. Slowly drizzle in the rest of the liquid, stopping when the dough starts to form large clumps. 

3. Once the dough is able to come together, form into a ball and remove from the food processor. Wrap in plastic wrap and let it chill in the fridge for at least one hour.

For filling:
1. In a large bowl, mix the apples and lemon juice and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients and add to the apples. Mix together with a wooden spoon until the apples are well-coated.

To assemble and fry:
1. Here you make make the glaze (directions below), or chose to make it after the pies are fried. Remove pie dough from the fridge and roll out onto a lightly flour-dusted surface about 1/4 inch thick. Using a 5-5 1/2 in circle cutter (I used the top of a large jar), cut circles out of the dough. 

2. Before completely assembling all the pies, pour at least 2 cups of canola oil (or 4 inches deep) into a deep and heavy saucepan. Insert a candy thermometer into the oil. Slowly heat on medium-low until the temperature reads 350 degrees F.

3. Place about 2 Tblsp. of the apple filling in the center of each circle (It is better to under-stuff than over-stuff). Moisten the edge of the pastry circle with your finger, then fold over the dough to form a half moon shape. Press the edges together and flute with a fork to seal completely.

4. At this point your oil should be hot enough to fry. When the oil temperature reaches 350 degrees, gently lower one pie at a time into the heated oil and cook until golden brown (about 2 minutes per side).  Using a slotted spatula, transfer to a paper-towel lined plate. Repeat with the remaining pies.

5. When all pies are fried, let them cool slightly while you make the glaze (You could also chose to do this before you start frying the pies). 

For salty caramel glaze:
1. In a small pot, bring cream, butter, and sea salt to a simmer over low heat, making sure to not let it boil. Once it begins to simmer, remove from heat and set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan, mix water, corn syrup and sugar. Place over medium heat and stir until sugar has dissolved. Then without stirring, bring the mixture to a boil until it is golden brown in color. Make sure to keep an eye on it as this transition can happen quickly.

3. When the mixture is done, remove from heat and carefully add the cream mixture (it will bubble up so pour it slowly). Stir in the vanilla.

4. Return the saucepan to the stove and cook over medium heat until it reaches a temperature of 248 degrees (you’ll need a candy thermometer for this), approximately 10 minutes. Once it reaches 248, remove from heat and let cool just slightly.

5. When your pies are fried„ use a spoon to drizzle caramel glaze over one side. Let cool until the caramel begins to harden and serve while pies are warm.

Related recipes:
Apple Pie with Salted Caramel Glaze
Floriole's Milk Chocolate & Salted Caramel Hazelnut Tart
Salted Butter Apple Galette

Dale's Spinach and Feta Fried Pies!

 

My friend Dale is a wonder. Though we've only hung out on two separate weekend adventures (the first being this West Virginia birthday party), I knew we'd hit it off before we ever met, as I had heard a lot about her and her various creative talents from my friend Lora. Dale's an artist and baker, cook and maker who anthologizes it all in inspiring ways on her blog here.  She's also hilarious and super fun (I could talk about our leopard print onesie girl gang dance party, but I'll leave that for another time).

Back in January, I went down to Knoxville, Tennessee where Dale lives were her beau Shawn. On Saturday morning, Dale treated us to some of her incredible, and I mean INCREDIBLE fried pies--this breakfast version included bacon, cheddar, apples, and walnuts. Wow. Good thing I started eating meat again. 

When I got back home, I asked Dale if she would be interested in doing a post for the pie blog. She happily obliged....

I've been making a lot of fried pies recently.  I won't tell you officially why, but I'll give you a hint. It's been fun coming up with sweet and savory variations on the traditional fried pie.  A few I've made recently: sweet potato marshmallow, mushroom rosemary, caramelized banana, cheesy walnut apple bacon, brie & dried cherry and most recently, spinach and feta.  I've been keeping my pie making close to the vest, at least on this blog, but when my friend Emily asked me to do a post for this blog, I knew it was time to come out of the pie-frying closet. 

I've always loved spanakopita, the Greek pastry made with spinach, feta, egg and phyllo dough, and thought a similar filling would be lovely in a buttery pie crust.  SURPRISE!  I was right.  Below is the recipe for these tasty pastries.

Spinach and Feta Fried Pies
 
For Crust:

• 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 8 Tbs. (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 3 Tbs. very cold water

To make the dough by hand, in a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar and salt. Using a pastry cutter or 2 knives, cut the butter into the flour mixture until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal, with butter pieces no larger than small peas. Add the water and mix with a fork just until the dough pulls together.

To make the dough in a stand mixer, fit the mixer with the flat beater, and stir together the flour, sugar and salt in the mixer bowl. Add the butter and toss with a fork to coat with the flour mixture. Mix on medium-low speed until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal, with the butter pieces no larger than small peas. Add the water and mix on low speed just until the dough pulls together.

Transfer the dough to a work surface, pat into a ball and flatten into a disk. Lightly flour the work surface, then in sections, roll out until it's 1/8 inch thick or less and use a 3 or 4 inch circle biscuit cutter to create dough circles.

For Spinach Feta Filling:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• about 4 cups fresh spinach, rinsed and chopped
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic until soft and lightly browned. Stir in spinach and continue to saute until spinach is limp, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, mix together eggs and feta. Stir in spinach mixture. 

To Assemble and Fry Pies:
Spoon about 1 tablespoon of filling into center of dough circles. Fold and crimp closed with a fork.  
Heat a deep fryer or a deep pot halfway filled with oil to 350 degrees F. Carefully add the pies to the oil, 1 at a time, and fry until golden brown, turning the pies as necessary for even browning, about 5 to 8 minutes.

Big thanks to Dale for sharing her recipe for spinach and feta fried pies with us--I will definitely be whipping these up sometime very soon. For more of Dale's recipes, check out the Domesticity page on her blog, and keep up with all of her creative projects here.

Apple Fried Pies

It's been a few years since my first fried pie making experience. I've eaten fried pies since then--most recently I had a DELICIOUS one filled with bacon, apple, gruyere and walnut, made by my friend Dale in Knoxville. But despite their relative ease in assembly paired with a whole lotta tastiness in a little portable pocket, I haven't dipped any fruit-filled pastry into hot oil since that 2009 Baltimore winter cook-out. 

I knew it was time, though, when Tarts by Tarts was preparing a Southern-inspired menu for our table at the DC Square Dance. Fried pies are iconically Southern, with Texas and Georgia being cited as epicenters in several of the recipes I consulted. They are also a self-contained individual serving (you could share, but I'd want my own), portable (slip it in your pocket and snack when you're not swingin'!), and impressively scrumptious. I mean you take already one of the best desserts in the world and then FRY it?! Wowee.

This time I combined recipes from Ken Haedrich's Pie: 300 Tried and True Recipes for Delicious Homemade Pie and Nancie McDermott's Southern Pies. Both called for a vegetable shortening-based crust, as did many of the other recipes I saw on the interwebs. Homesick Texan calls for lard, which I'm sure is just perfect, but I didn't have any on hand and was baking for customers, so wanted to keep the pies vegetarian. I cringe a little at the use of vegetable shortening in crust, but I was worried about a butter crust holding up and being able to withstand frying temperatures. I have since seen some fried pie recipes that use a butter crust, so I'd like to try that next time.

I also used dried fruit, which many fried pie recipes call for, because it packs a lot of flavor into a small area. This worked well with the apples, and I didn't miss using fresh ones, though I will definitely be making these Homesick Texan fried pies with fresh blueberries come summer.

Apple Fried Pies

Ingredients

For crust:

2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 Tblsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

3/4 c. cold vegetable shortening, cut into pieces

1 egg, beaten

6-8 Tblsp. cold water

For filling:

10 ounces (about 3 cups) dried apple rings

1/2 c. orange juice

3/4 c. granulated sugar

1 Tblsp. fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

About 2 c. canola oil for frying 

Directions

For crust:

1. Add flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to mix. Add the shortening and cut into the flour mixture by pulsing the food processor until  mixture becomes the consistency of cornmeal and peas. 

2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together egg and 6 Tblsp. of cold water. Slowly drizzle half of the liquid mixture into the food processor, pulsing to combine with flour. Slowly drizzle in the rest of the liquid, stopping when the dough starts to form large clumps. 

3. Once the dough is able to come together, form into a ball and remove from the food processor. Wrap in plastic wrap and let it chill in the fridge for at least one hour.

For filling:

1. Place dried apples in a large bowl. Add 6 cups of cold water. Cover and set aside at room temperature for 4 hours or overnight to allow apples to rehydrate. (I let them sit overnight).

2. Put the soaked apples and water into a large stock pot. Add orange juice, sugar, lemon, cinnamon and nutmeg and stir until combined. Over high heat, bring mixture to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low to maintain a simmer. Stir occasionally so the mixture does not burn on the bottom. Cook until the mixture becomes a thick syrup and the apples have slightly broken down (this takes about 45 minutes). Remove from heat and mash with a potato masher for a soft and syrupy but still chunky filling. Let cool.

To assemble and fry:

1. Remove pie dough from the fridge and roll out onto a lightly flour-dusted surface about 1/4 inch thick. Using a 5-5 1/2 in circle cutter (I used the top of a large jar), cut circles out of the dough. 

2. Before completely assembling the pies, pour at least 2 cups of canola oil (or 4 inches deep) into a deep and heavy saucepan. Insert a candy thermometer into the oil. Slowly heat on medium-low until the temperature reads 350 degrees F.

3. Place about 2 Tblsp. of the apple filling in the center of each circle (It is better to under-stuff than over-stuff). Moisten the edge of the pastry circle with your finger, then fold over the dough to form a half moon shape. Press the edges together and flute with a fork to seal completely.

4. At this point your oil should be hot enough to fry. When the oil temperature reaches 350 degrees, gently lower one pie at a time into the heated oil and cook until golden brown (about 2 minutes per side).  Using a slotted spatula, transfer to a paper-towel lined plate. Repeat with the remaining pies.

5. When all pies are fried, dust them with powdered sugar. Serving them hot and fresh is preferable, but they also taste great at room temperature and will keep for a day or two. 

There's something so good and so classic about these pies that it makes them hard to write about as the pertinent adjectives feel trite or overwrought. I'd also say that unlike other fried foods, these pies still taste great after a day or two, at room temperature or re-heated in the oven. I also ended up using the leftover filling with some leftover pie crust and baking a few extra hand pies a few days later. I still have some filling a-chilling in the fridge and was thinking of stuffing them into doughnuts...?

And don't be intimidated by the frying process (I definitely was at first!)--these pies are quite forgiving, and as long as you use a thermometer to keep your oil around 350 degrees F, you should be just fine. 

Swing Your Tartner!

I love square dancing. I actually grew up doing more contra dancing (which I also enjoy) --my parents would take my brother and I to them when we were little, and once we even had one in my dad's studio behind our house. I remember sneaking up to my bedroom to put on a dress so I could "twirl" like the big girls. I have since contra danced in Michigan and Maine, Maryland and Vermont, but when I moved to North Carolina a couple of years ago, I veered more toward square dancing than contra, and when I moved back to DC in June, I was super excited to find a burgeoning square dance here, organized by the DC Square Dance Collective. One year after the first event, the dance has now has turned into quite a phenomenon, as the largest square dance in the country, and a huge all-ages party on a Saturday night.

I can't remember who approached who, but somehow with the organizers we arranged for Tarts by Tarts to sell at the March dance, which happened this past Saturday at St. Stephen's church. And what a dance to pick! It was a completely packed hall, with the Horse Flies playing, Nils Fredland calling, the first anniversary of the DC dance, and 435 people who came out to swing and do-si-do and do (as my friend Jamie calls it) that grand ol' right and left! 

For the occasion, Kari and I decided to dish up some Southern-inspired treats for all the ladies and gents. Here's our March square dance menu:

buttermilk cake doughnuts with cinnamon & sugar
sweet potato doughnuts with molasses glaze
assorted doughnut holes
chocolate chip cookies
salted oat cookies with white chocolate
caramel corn
popcorn with sea-salt, dill, and nutritional yeast (vegan)
apple fried pies
pecan-bourbon pie by the slice with whipped cream
almond flour coconut layer cake by the slice (gluten-free)

I'll be tellin' y'all more about the fried apple pies in a separate post, but I'd like to share the recipe for the pecan-bourbon pies, as it is corn-syrup free but still tastes "traditional"! Once again this comes from Nancie McDermott's Southern Pies. I'm going to have to take a break from her recipes soon or she might think I am stalking her! In any case, here it is...

Pecan-Bourbon Pie

Adapted from Nancie McDermott's Southern Pies

Makes one 9-inch pie

Ingredients:

Nothing-in-the-House pie crust recipe

1 lb. (2 c.) dark brown sugar

3 Tblsp. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 c. milk

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. bourbon, optional (I used Bulleit)

1 1/2 c. pecan halves

Directions:

1. Prepare Nothing-in-the-house pie crust recipe as per the instructions. After chilling in the fridge, roll out crust and fit in a 9-inch greased and floured pie pan. Flute edges. 

2. In a medium saucepan, mix sugar and flour well. Cut butter into 4 chunks and add to the saucepan. Place over medium heat and stir constantly to combine butter with the sugar and flour mixture. Once butter is melted and all is well combined, remove from hear and set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, mix milk, eggs, vanilla and bourbon, if using. Stir well with a whisk until evenly combined. While stirring, slowly pour the warm sugar mixture into the milk-liquid mixture. Stir until well combined. Pour the filling into the pie crust and sprinkle the pecans evenly over the top.

4. Place the pie on the bottom rack of the oven and bake 40-50 minutes until the filling puffs (mine puffed quite a bit!) and center is firm and only slightly wiggles when nudged. It should be nicely browned and may develop "cracks". Once done, remove from oven and let cool on a cooling rack for at least 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with a healthy dollop of whipped cream.

We had such fun meeting all the happy dancers...the only drawback was that it was so hard to just watch and not join in on the swingin'! I did manage to sneak out for a dance or two, while Kari graciously woman-ed the table. Thanks to all who came out and snagged some of our cookies & doughnuts, pies & cake, entertained us with stories of wild parties and the salty days in the Coast Guard (you know who you are, dance ranger!), helped us move the table to the front of the hall at the end of the night, and to organizer Bradley Kennedy for helping us set-up the whole occasion! Belles of the ball, all of y'all.

Tarts by Tarts at the DC Square Dance!

How 'bout a little pie to go with that swing? Tarts by Tarts joins in with the biggest party in town--the DC Square Dance--this Saturday evening at St. Stephen's Church (1525 Newton St. NW) in Mt. Pleasant, D.C. The dance kicks off at 8:30pm with the legendary Ithaca, NY band The Horseflies, and New Hampshire caller Nils Fredland. We'll be in the back, dishin' up Southern-inspired treats (fried pies, pecan-bourbon pie, and doughnuts are certainly on the menu) until the dance ends at 11:30pm.

Hope to see y'all there...save room for somethin' sweet for you, and save a dance for us! See the Tarts by Tarts and DC Square Dance collective Facebook invites for more information. Yeehaw!

FRIED PIE (FRAH PAH)

I had been talking and thinking about fried pies for a while. On road trips my dad would sometimes buy those gas-station varieties for my brother and me, but I quickly developed an aversion, convinced that they gave me a headache (with the amount of preservatives and artificial whatever in there, they probably did). But when my Texas friends started raving about homemade pocket-size pies dipped in grease, I was ready to give the fried pie another shot.

A few Saturdays past, we were graced with 65 degree weather here in the Washington-metro area, so I ventured to Baltimore to visit friends and have an impromptu winter barbecue. After homemade black bean burgers (thanks Ben and Angela), cabbage soup, and beers, it was time to frah some pahs.

We used the recipe for "Fried Apple Pies" in Pie: 300 Tried-and-True Recipes for Delicious Homemade Pie by Ken Haedrich, which calls for dried apples. Surprisingly, the local grocery store had none (though the dried fruit mix "Tropical Temptations" sounded appealing), so we went with fresh apples, cooked down. It was just as well, maybe better.

First, Bob prepared the pastry,

combining:
3 c. all purpose flour+ 1 Tblsp. sugar+ 1 tsp. salt in the food processor. after a few turns on pulse, he added 1 stick of cold, unsalted butter, pulsing 5-6 times. Then he added 1/2 c. shortening, pulsing 5-6 times. After that, he sprinkled 1/4 c. water, pulsing and fluffing the mixture, and then another 1/4 c. of water until it looked like coarse crumbs. he used his hands to form the dough into a ball, flattened it, wrapped it in wax paper, and put it in the fridge for about an hour.

Meanwhile I cut up about 5 baking apples and put them in a frying pan with some splashes of orange juice, 1/2 c. sugar, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp. nutmeg. Matt sauteed them until they became tender.We heated about 4in. of vegetable oil in a saucepan on medium high-heat, until it was hot enough to fry a test-corner of the pie dough. As the oil was heating up, Jamie made the petit pocket pies, rolling out about a 5-in. circle of dough,
  dropping on 2 dollops of filling, folding it over, and fluting it around the edges.

When it was hot enough, I dropped the pies, one-at-a-time, in the hot oil, frying them for about 4 minutes. It took some finesse to get it right (we overfried the first one, though it still was pretty tasty), but for the most part, frying pies is a breeze! This recipe made about 8 pies. For the first batch, we merely sprinkled the pies with confectioner's sugar,

but for the second, Bob took it up a level and made a glaze to coat the pies. WOAH! Beware, these pocket pies pack a punch--the frying accentuates the flakiness of the crust, their shape makes for a perfect, bite, every bite.

All in all, their small size, layers of crust, tender fruit, and soak in oil makes for an intense experience that goes straight to your head...just look what it did to these guys!

It also might make you play the banjo.

 

And as if we hadn't already had enough fry, Matt had the zany idea to use the oil for fried hash browns (he prefers to call them "latkes," when latkes are actually only shallow-fried) the next morning. I thought he was out of his gourd, but whaddayaknow...delicious.