First Blog of 2024!
Hey friends, sorry for the break. After 78 straight weeks of a weekly blog, I took a slight break over the holidays - not because of laziness, but instead to focus on another project of mine, my new play and its corresponding graphic novel, Witchland. Check out more info at www.witchlandplay.com.
That doesn't mean I haven't been cooking like crazy! This week I tried to recreate an awesome salad from the amazing New Orleans hotspot, Turkey and the Wolf. They serve up an amazing Buffalo Waldorf Salad, with fried apples. It's really delish, and I knew my buffalo-sauce-adoring family would love it - I was right. I added my own SIMPLE recipe for Buffalo Sauce, and it's a winner...
Buffalo Waldorf Salad
Pickle Some Celery: Slice up 3 or 4 celery stalks into thin pieces. In a small saucepan, bring to a boil 1/3 cup rice vinegar, 1/3 cup sugar, and about a teaspoon of salt. Once boiling, pour over the celery slices, and let sit for while.
Fry Up some Apples: In a medium size mixing bowl, mix together 1 cup cold seltzer (unflavored!) and 3/4 cup flour. Whisk until smooth. That's it - you can use this to tempura/fry up anything! Slice up about 3 Pink Lady apples, dip the slices into the batter, and fry in a few inches of hot vegetable oil. Flip after a few minutes, cook until golden brown (about 6 minutes a batch). Remove from oil with a slotted spoon, place on paper towels, and sprinkle a little salt on them while hot.
Make Your Buffalo Sauce: In small saucepan, melt two sticks of butter. Remove from heat, and whisk in 2 teaspoons of garlic powder, and 1 1/3 cups hot sauce (I like Louisiana style hot sauce, but you can use Frank's, or really whatever you have in your cupboard). That's it.
Put it Together: In a large service bowl/platter, layer your fried apples. Spoon about 1/4 cup of your Buffalo sauce over the top. Sprinkle over the top about of candied walnuts (I use store-bought), 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles, and the pickled celery slices (drained). Drizzle a bit more of the Buffalo sauce over the top, then sprinkle a few chopped scallions.
It's a keeper...