Nephew Night gets hot and spicy

I am the cool aunt. Yep. The aunt that takes nephews to concerts, Zombie Burger, goes to the World Food Festival with, and cooks. And why not? It's fun and rewarding to be an aunt and play a part in someone's life, especially if I can be a positive role model. I have one nephew that shares my love for heavy metal, and another that shares my passion for cooking.

Many highway miles have been traveled by my nephew Jordan and I- to Minnesota for Black Label Society and Mudvayne, to Council Bluffs for Halestorm, Stone Sour and Avenged Sevenfold. All good times and great memories. My nephew Jeremy and I share a passion for food and cooking. We share recipes, ideas, cooking videos- you name it. We go to the World Food Festival together and try weird foods we've never heard of before. And we cook.

Today we spent the day together, talking about different things, life stuff, tv chefs and of course, food. Jeremy brought over the stuff to make his awesome Steak Rolls, which we have shared here before. We had a great time talking over pounding out steak, cutting up vegetables, weaving bacon. Some time in the course of our conversation Jeremy had a stroke of brilliance- fried pickles made out of the ghost pepper dill pickles I made.

After rounding up some ingredients from the pantry for the fried pickles, he wanted to make a dipping sauce. So we browsed through the cabinets a little more and thought- why not use some of the pepper jellies I have on hand? Of course! While the meat roasted nicely in the oven, Jeremy set to work on the best fried pickles I have ever had! So brace yourselves for this zesty, spicy treat- Honey Sesame Fried Pickles with Cranberry Ghost Chili Dipping Sauce.

You will need-

1 quart whole dill pickles-Jeremy used spicy hot pepper dills

1-2 eggs

2 tb honey

dash of soy sauce

sesame oil, if desired

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup panko

2 tb sesame seed, toasted

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp garlic powder

dash ground ginger

cooking oil for frying

Drain pickles and cut into quarters or halves lengthwise. Spread out on paper towels and allow to dry for an hour or so. Meanwhile, in small bowl beat together eggs, honey, soy sauce and a few drops of sesame oil, if using. In another bowl combine the dry ingredients. 

Heat oil for frying. Dip pickles in egg, then coat liberally with coating mixture, pressing to adhere well. Fry until golden brown, drain on paper towels and serve with dipping sauce.

Cranberry Pepper Jelly Dipping Sauce

1 cup cranberry ghost pepper jelly

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

Melt jelly in small saucepan with garlic added. Simmer until slightly reduced and garlic is tender. Pour into small bowl and serve with pickles.

*Note- We used cranberry ghost chili jelly that I had made, but you can use any pepper jelly you have, or you can click HERE for the cranberry ghost chili recipe.

Try these recipes the next time you are inviting guests for dinner. The steak roll is awesome served with some grilled or roasted asparagus or sliced and served like fajitas, with all the toppings and tortillas. The pickles are spicy and crispy and the dipping sauce has a VERY Asian flavor. Enjoy!