Fry Not?

I never deep fry food at home. It is so bad for you, extremely messy and it stinks the house up. I always subscribe to the school of thought that I eat enough fried food outside of the home to allow myself to eat deep fried food from my own kitchen. So I never, ever deep fry anything. But when I came across this recipe for deep fried andouille stuffed peppers I knew I would be making an exception. And man was it good! I am glad I allowed myself to create this dish despite its evil method of cooking. But now - the guilt is too strong, off to the gym...............

Andouille Stuffed Jalapenos
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 ounces bulk andouille, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped onions
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• 1/2 cup fat free cream cheese(feeble attempt)
  
• Salt and pepper
• 16 large fresh jalapenos
• Essence, recipe in link above
• 3 cups flour
• 2 egg yolks
• 3/4 to 1 cup beer
• Pinch of baking powder
• Salt and pepper
• Oil for frying

Directions

Preheat the fryer. In a saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat and render the andouille for 2 minutes. Add the onions and saute for 1 minute.

Remove from the heat and cool. In a mixing bowl, mix the garlic, parsley, and cream cheese together. Mix well. Stir in the cooled andouille mixture.

Mix thoroughly and season with salt and pepper. Using a sharp knife, split the jalapenos, starting at the tip, in half, leaving the stem intact. Remove the seeds from the pepper. Stuff 1 heaping tablespoon of the filling in the center of each pepper.

Press the pepper together, sealing the cheese mixture completely inside. Season 1 cup of flour with Essence. In a mixing bowl, whisk the yolks and 3/4 cup of the beer.

Season the mixture with salt and pepper. Whisk in enough flour to form a batter. If the batter is too thick add the remaining beer to thin the batter. Dredge the stuffed peppers in the seasoned flour (oops, I skipped this step). Dip the jalapenos in the batter,

letting the excess drip off and coating the peppers completely. Gently lay the jalapenos in the hot oil and fry until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes.

Remove the jalapenos from the oil and drain on a paper-lined plate. Season the peppers with Essence.

Next time (if I allow myself to have a next time) I would cut the peppers completely in half and stuff each half and then batter them. I think that would give a better stuffing to pepper ratio and aid in the heat absorption on my taste buds. The stuffing was very delicious and very flavorful and I would have enjoyed more in each pepper.