Saturday, April 4, 2009

Smoky Cheddar Jalapeno Poppers with Enemy Cheese



A friend of ours had some extra Washington State University Smoky Cheddar so we put it to good use. Being an alma mater of an arch enemy rival school, I might be attacked by Idaho Vandals for my disloyal ways. In spite of this risk I must tell you, if you’ve never had their cheese before you should! WSU’s Cougar Gold is a favorite of mine, and they have several other award winning cheeses. You can order off their site until the warm summer months when cheese can’t be shipped. http://www.wsu.edu/creamery/

1 LB jalapenos (About 16 medium sized ones)
1 cup smoky cheddar, shredded
1 cup sharp white cheddar
1 (8oz) package Cream Cheese
1/4th teaspoon onion powder
1/4th teaspoon salt
Cracked black pepper to taste
1 egg
1 Tablespoon milk
1 cup flour salt & pepper to season
2 cups finely ground dry breadcrumbs
Oil for frying

Directions:
1. Cut the tops off the jalapenos and discard the tops. Cut in half and scrape out seeds and membranes. If you want hotter poppers leave some membrane intact. Pair jalapenos together so you don’t lose track of them.

2. In a medium sized bowl mix the cream cheese, smoky cheddar, onion powder, salt & pepper together with a fork.

3. With a butter knife fill each jalapeno half with cheese mixture. Press the halves back together and scrape off excess cheese.

4. Freeze for 15 minutes. In the meantime heat oil to 360 degrees. Prep the breading station with three bowls. One for the flour, one for the egg and milk and whisk with a fork, and one for the bread crumbs.

5. Dip stuffed jalapenos into the milk, then into the flour especially where the cheese is exposed. Then dip into the milk again and roll well in bread crumbs.

6. Gently drop each jalapeño into the hot oil by holding on end and touching the surface of the oil with the other end. Gently let go and let slide into the oil. Fry about 4 at a time and remove when deep golden brown and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt while still hot.

7. Wait a few minutes before inhaling so you don’t burn your mouth with molten cheese. Dip in ranch dressing if desired.

Recipe by Laura Flowers


13 comments:

DocChuck said...

An interesting post, to say the least, because as a native Texan and a university type of the first magnitude, my wife, Dr. E. and I dearly love jalapeno poppers --- or just about anything else jalapeno.

We enjoyed reading your post and viewing that wonderful photo.

DocChuck, Ph.D. (Psychology, University of Texas)
Dr. E., Ph.D. (Nursing, Johns Hopkins University)

The Cooking Photographer said...

Thank-you!

thisoldbroad said...

I love that cheese too!

Your poppers look so tasty. Excellent picture!

I bake mine at 350* for 20-30 min - depending on pepper sizes. (Dredge them in crushed cornflakes instead of breadcrumbs for the fried appearance.) Last batch I added crumbled bacon bits to the cream cheese mix - wow! Now I'm wondering why I never thought of using smoked cheddar!

Baking gives the illusion of healthy eating, but the sad truth is - I'm not very talented at deep frying. It might be genetic!

Enjoy your site. Thank you for sharing your recipes & photos. ;o}

The Cooking Photographer said...

Baked poppers? That sounds almost healthy! :-)

Deseree said...

These look so yummy! I am a sucker for poppers and a Coug so this is right up my alley. Thanks for sharing! :)

Mary Bergfeld said...

For some ridiculous reason we only have poppers when visiting our daughter in Texas. I'm going to have to remedy that

EMC said...

I'll cancel your "indiscretion" out. As a current grad student at WSU, I happen to not like any of the WSU cheeses--even the coveted Cougar Gold (I blame my Chicago upbringing and close proximity to Wisconsin cheese curds). I'll make this recipe using an anti-enemy cheese, and then you'll be golden!!!

The Cooking Photographer said...

LOL! Thanks EMC. Hmm I wonder how they would be with cheese curds stuffed inside!

test it comm said...

Those poppers look really good!

The Cooking Photographer said...

Thank-you.

MrsDocChuck said...

Sorry to report that they looked better than they tasted.

The Cooking Photographer said...

I am sorry to hear that. The ones we had were very good. I wonder if it was the difference in cheese? Maybe cut the smoky cheddar down?

Anonymous said...

The Poppers look great.

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