To Eat Healthy or Not

There comes a time in every Foodies' life when healthy foods just will not cut it.

Nope, no siree.

Got to listen to the soul train.

Ah, healthy foods, don't you love it?

But enough of that.

Let's move on to the dark side of life now, shall we?

I have to admit that of all the chicken-y things I miss, the thing I miss the most is fried chicken.

I really miss the fried crispy bits and the fried crispy skin.

When my dear Midnight was alive, he and I had a system worked out:

I would eat the skin and fried crispy bits and he would eat the meat and we were both very happy.

And that my friends is symbiosis at its finest.

Now it is time to cut the turkey wings.

Three rather large parts emerge from each wing.
Granted that there is not much meat to be had on the last bit on the right, but perhaps the fried crispies will be enough.

The pieces were dipped in egg and then in flour.

The egg was seasoned with hot sauce, salt and pepper.

The turkey pieces went into the refrigerator so that the flour coating could dry out a bit before cooking.

In the meantime, I decided to make some mozzarella sticks.

Here I have:

Old Bay seasoning

Bread crumbs

Panko bread crumbs

flour

egg

mozzarella

First I cut the mozzarella into 1/2" by 1/2" sticks.

I floured them, coated them in an egg wash and then in the bread crumb/panko bread crumb mixture.

I then placed these in the freezer for a couple of hours so that the cheese wouldn't melt immediately when it hit the hot oil.

See how that worked out?

Nice, huh?

The various turkey parts went in next.

And sadly, turkey is not chicken.

Whereas chicken becomes moist and succulent when fried, turkey meat seizes up.

Though part of the problem could be attributed to the fact that I am attempting to fry on an electric stove. For no matter how diligently one watches the thermometer or works the dials, the temperature just fluctuates too wildly, leading to disappointing results.

Even though I only fry once or twice a year, I really do need to look into getting a dedicated fryer.

For the record, my husband asked that I never attempt to make fried turkey again.

I would tend to agree.

Fried turkey is not a proper substitute for fried chicken no matter how you slice it.

Sometimes it really sucks to be allergic to chicken.

He did, however, admit that the mozzarella sticks were worth repeating.

So, after a 'bad' meal, I felt the need to redeem myself with a salad for lunch the next day.

Romaine lettuce, carrots, red onion, ham slices and shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese with a homemade celery seed dressing.

Yeah, this just might make up for my once yearly indulgence in fried, fatty foods.