DIsh 2: Fried Mac & Cheese Balls

So today was a day of leftovers and budget meals. I know it's only day 2 of this blog and I'm already doing leftovers. But seeing as if has been the holidays there is food to spare. I did get to spend a bit of time in the kitchen today. The advantage of being on vacation.

Steak & sweet potato hash

Put an egg on it!

 For lunch I took two New Year's Eve leftovers and turned it into hash. A nice piece of New York Steak, grilled to perfection by my brothers, and a sweet potato gratin, my contribution to the new year's eve meal. I cubed up the steak, cut up the sweet potato and fried it up and put an egg on it. It was very yummy. Hash is a wonderful converter of leftovers. Nothing is better than fried meat, carbs and eggs. It's a great comfort food. My hubby adamantly agreed. I mean who can reject a good hash!

For dinner I took another leftover, mac n cheese and made fried mac n cheese balls. Full disclosure, it's leftover mac n cheese from a box. I've attempted to make mac n cheese from scratch a couple of times and both times flops. Hopefully the next time will be more successful. Now back to the fried cheese balls. The first time I had this dish was at California Pizza Kitchen. It was so crunchy, crispy and cheesy! I've being wanting to replicate them for months. The day has finally arrived.

I don't have a fryer so I filled a dutch pan with oil. I don't have a thermometer to test the heat so I used a trick I heard on food network about throwing a piece of bread and if it toasts up quickly the oil is ready. When it comes to frying; timing is everything. This is the area where I'm a little off. Seeing as a plate of fried cheese isn't a complete meal, though I wish it were, I made grilled chicken (seasoned with Montreal chicken seasoning) panini on garlic bread. A bit of naughty & nice on a plate. Timing the chicken and the fried balls was a bit tricky. I ended up placing the chicken in the oven at 200F to keep warm. I dredged the mac n cheese in flour with salt & pepper, egg wash and panko crumbs seasoned with parmesan cheese and parsley.

Frying process

The sizzle of the oil and the sight of these delicious offerings turning a golden brown was enough to make me squeal with delight. Served along with some marina these make a perfect side dish or appetizer. 

Reflection: A joint YUMMY!! This one is a keeper. Not one negative comment. Hubby devoured the meal happily.

Buen Provecho!

Below is a link to the recipe that I loosely based the fried mac n cheese balls, I concentrated more on the technique than the ingredients. I did add a step to the technique. I put the breaded pieces on a pan and put it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes so that they would set so that they wouldn't separate in the oil. As a bonus, the recipe for the sweet potato gratin, courtesy of Michael Symon, I omit the chiles but feel free to add them!

Paula Deen -Deep Fried Mac n Cheese
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/deep-fried-mac-and-cheese-recipe/index.html

Michael Symon- Sweet Potato Gratin
http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/Thanksgiving-Michael-Symon-Sweet-Potato-Gratin