Happy Holidays!

Yes, it's that time of year again, when halls are decked, stockings are hung and, most importantly, treats are frying. An early poll in the field informed us that this year the people wanted something completely new: Deep Fried Egg Nog.

A Google search confirmed that we were once again in uncharted culinary waters, but Kurt's ever-steady hand steered us towards a funnel cake recipe that would easily incorporate egg nog and we were like a couple of wise men discovering the baby Jesus. Due to the high concentration of eggs in nog -- hence the name! -- we were able to simply substitute about a cup of nog for the eggs in Alton Brown's funnel cake recipe. To really maintain the integrity of our beloved liquid nog, we added some nutmeg to the powdered sugar sprinkled atop the funnel cake. The results were sweet, crispy, delicious. Just ask our studio audience.

And just to amp up the holiday spirit, that night found Brooklyn encased in snow thanks to the Great Blizzard of 2009.

Finally, some of you may be commenting on Kurt's shabby outward appearance, mindless repetition of the recipe, and general inability to form cogent points. The official press release from Kurt & Amy Studios states that he is suffering from "exhaustion" due to K&ADFS's busy shooting schedule, and not (repeat: not) because of over-consumption of holiday nog during the filming of this webisode.

Happy Holidays!

K+ADFS: Now with 200% More Corgi!

Just in case the "Fry Event of the Year" isn't enough to get excited about, this year welcomed the company of two furry guests: corgis Duke and Gus (courtesy of their indulgent parents Amy and Wing -- thanks again, guys!). It wouldn't be a stretch to proclaim these waddling cuties the hit of the party, but coming in a close second (by a snout, if you will) was Kurt's extensive menu, which featured the debut of deep fried pb&j, hailed by party-goers as an "instant classic." The pb&j was prepared on Wonderbread and dipped in a French toast-style batter enhanced with evaporated milk.

Of the foods that I didn't alert Amy that I was making (sorry Amy!), the frites in particular came out really nice (and one of these days, we're going to get those pumpkin pie bites right). We cut them about 6" long by 1/2" wide/deep, soaked them in cold water for 10-15 minutes, then dried them and fried them in 300 degree oil for 6 minutes. Once they cooled to room temperature, we put them in for another 2 minutes at 350. Another one of those foods that can't really be replicated without a deep fryer. Since one of my friends questioned the practicality of of owning one, I'll reiterate that if you want to eat fried foods every once in awhile (anything from eggplant parm to falafel to any of the treats you've read about on this blog) there is no easier, cheaper, or healthier way to do it than with a deep fryer. Plus under what other pretense could you get a pair of welsh corgies to your apartment?


No corgis were hurt, mocked, or excessively fed in the making of the video. So lay off, PETA.

Fry Party - 11/13/09

Come one, come all!* It is decreed that on the 13th day of November, in the year two-thousand and nine, a Fry Party will occur on the premises of the K&A DFS set. So get your vitamin B supplements, your milks of magnesia, and your bibs, and come on down. The delectables shall include:

Frickles

Belgian frites

Fried Mac & Cheese

Fried Risotto balls

Squash Croquettes

Pumpkin Pie Bites

Fried S'mores

Fried Peanut Butter & Jelly

Apple cider doughnuts

*Invite only.

Campfire to Kitchen

OK, folks. This is it. Time to go pro. Kurt + Amy have achieved the culinary equivalent of splitting the atom and it goes by the name of Deep Fried S'mores. No, no need to drop to your knees and kiss our feet; these treats are as simple as they are delicious and if it weren't for the fact that no one reads this blog we'd almost hesistate to publish such a fact. But you will need nothing more than marshmallows, chocolate pieces to stuff inside the aforementioned marshmallows, egg, crumbled graham crackers, and a little conviction to repeat what you're about to see in all its gooey glory. (And a little aural assistance from the Super Furry Animals never hurt anybody.) So sit back as we break in the new Kitchen Studio with your favorite campfire confection.

We'll save any fact-checkers out there 15 seconds of work: contrary to Eric's estimate, a Google search for "deep fried s'mores" yields a whopping 55,000 results.

A Fond Farewell to 36 Clark

That's right, Kurt has moved into a new apartment, taking our production studio with him. What follows is a very special, final webisode of K+ADFS at 36 Clark Street, and a tearful one it is. So grab your Kleenex and join us as we bid goodbye to the apartment that made us an overnight internet sensation (it'll happen any day now...).

Kurt adapted Giada's Zeppole Recipe, adding ricotta and walnuts, but we'll definitely throw in some lemon zest the next time we whip up a batch of these. Of course, trying our hand at traditional festa fare, we really let the ethnic stereotyping fly here, but all in good fun: we're so very proud of our people's remarkable advances in the field of fried desserts!

Spoiler alert: Kurt's new apartment ultimately had ample space for the kitchen island and it, too, made the big move to Boerum Hill last month. So our melodramatic Goodbye in Two Parts was arguably a bit reactionary, but we make no apologies for uproarious programming! Stay tuned for our inaugural webisode live from the new kitchen... coming soon!

The Amys' Summertime Dessert Truck Tour

Dessert truck fever has swept New York so Amy and Amy decided to take a tour to discover what treats lurk beyond Coco Helado and the Good Humor Man. The tour began at Street Sweets (55th and Park), a great choice since the truck offers confectionery breakfast fare, the main draw being croissants filled at your whim with any combination of jams, nut butters, honey, marshmallow, Nutella... The Amys took the truck proprietor's advice and enjoyed a sinfully buttery croissant generously slathered with apricot jam and almond butter.

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Next, it was down to Bryant Park to sample what the Treats Truck (38th and Madison) had to offer. A tantalizing display of brownies and cookies was narrowed down to a caramel and a chocolate sandwich cookie for the Amys. The oatmeal jammies and peanut butter sandwich cookies would just have to wait for another day.

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The Dessert Tour's final stop would be Dessert Truck (55th and Lex), but due to a medical emergency* Amy S. had to make like a banana. Fortunately perennial sweet lover Marina was able to tag in and join Amy C. for a cup of peach sorbet served with an almond meringue, a dollop of creme fraiche, and a sprinkling of blueberries.















*Medical emergency neither diabetic coma nor in any way related to rapid, massive consumption of sugars and fats.

Like two kids in a candy store

After a dinner at Caracas Arepa Bar and some beers at the most ironic bar west of the Williamsburg Bridge (whose jukebox, we concede, made up for the hipster overload -- those metallic loafers were ironic, no?) we found ourselves stricken with a fever that only two things could cure. And one of those things was deep-fried candy. So we grabbed some childhood favorites - Reese's cups, Snickers, Twix - and put our leftover breakfast to use. As Kurt mentions, the key to successful battering is to make sure your batter is at room temperature when it hits the oil and, as we learned here, keep the oil between 325 and 350 for optimal frying.

In the preceding video you heard us claim that Kurt + Amy's cuisine is no more unhealthy than what Paula Deen whips up every week. And while there's no pressing need to back up such a statement with just one single piece of hard evidence, I encourage you to take a peek at Paula's Candy Snack Cake which consists of a chocolate cake slathered in frosting made from confectioners' sugar, three Snickers bars, and a stick of butter. Paula then outdoes herself by jamming a final chocolatey nail into each triple-bypass-provoked coffin: an additional Snickers bar in each slice of cake. I gained two pounds just watching that episode. (I suspect that its absence from youtube is by FDA decree.)