Uploaded March 2022 | Updated September 2026, 13 hours ago
This is a bar-food classic, and a general crowd-pleaser appetizer for which I have nostaligic feelings from my youth. We use some lovely organic snacking-cheese sticks that we like, and bread them and deep fry them, and then enjoy them dipped in homemade ranch dressing.
The frying part is pretty straightforward. We add some dried herbs to the breadcrumbs. I like to use powdered dry mustard with the flour.
Ranch dressing is also easy to make. The recipe presented below is intentionally small, so that it will be consumed in a day or two. It scales well, so make more when the occasion calls for it. In order to avoid buying a container of sour cream in order to use a couple of tablespoons, I made creme fraiche, but sour cream will also work just fine.
Makes enough for 2-4 people.
Equipment:
• deep frying setup
• cooling rack
• medium mixing bowl
Ingredients:
Ranch Dressing:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp sour cream or creme fraiche
1 tsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic
1 tsp dill
1/2 tsp parsley
1/4 tsp mixed dried herbs thyme, oregano/marjoram, basil
1/4 tsp onion powder and/or dry mustard, cayenne
1/4 tsp celery salt or poblano, or serrano, as you like
Breading: For about 6, 2.5” long cheese batons
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp dried herbs thyme, oregano, basil
1/4 cup AP flour
1-2 tsp powdered mustard
1 egg
1 Tbsp buttermilk or 2 tsp milk + 1 tsp vinegar/lemon juice
Procedure:
1. Clean, dry and chop parsley, dill and garlic.
2. Combine in medium bowl with all other ranch dressing ingredients.
3. Mix well and set aside covered and refrigerated.
4. When the time has come for frying, turn on the oil to let it get warm, and prepare for breading of cheese sticks (or other similar items).
5. In three shallow pans, set up each of the stages of breading: the flour with mustard powder, the egg scrambled with buttermilk, and the breadcrumbs mixed with herbs.
6. Once the oil is hot, take the cold cheese sticks through each stage, dusting first with flour, dipping in egg and then enrobing in crumbs, before going into the oil.
7. They fry quicky, and are quite delicate once the cheese starts to melt. There may be some utility in breading them and then freezing them before cooking, but we enjoyed them despite their meltiness.
8. Once they cool, serve them immediately with some ranch dressing or some other good dip, such as a thick marinara sauce.
Music: bensound.com/royalty-free-music
This is a bar-food classic, and a general crowd-pleaser appetizer for which I have nostaligic feelings from my youth. We use some lovely organic snacking-cheese sticks that we like, and bread them and deep fry them, and then enjoy them dipped in homemade ranch dressing.
The frying part is pretty straightforward. We add some dried herbs to the breadcrumbs. I like to use powdered dry mustard with the flour.
Ranch dressing is also easy to make. The recipe presented below is intentionally small, so that it will be consumed in a day or two. It scales well, so make more when the occasion calls for it. In order to avoid buying a container of sour cream in order to use a couple of tablespoons, I made creme fraiche, but sour cream will also work just fine.
Makes enough for 2-4 people.
Equipment:
• deep frying setup
• cooling rack
• medium mixing bowl
Ingredients:
Ranch Dressing:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp sour cream or creme fraiche
1 tsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic
1 tsp dill
1/2 tsp parsley
1/4 tsp mixed dried herbs thyme, oregano/marjoram, basil
1/4 tsp onion powder and/or dry mustard, cayenne
1/4 tsp celery salt or poblano, or serrano, as you like
Breading: For about 6, 2.5” long cheese batons
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp dried herbs thyme, oregano, basil
1/4 cup AP flour
1-2 tsp powdered mustard
1 egg
1 Tbsp buttermilk or 2 tsp milk + 1 tsp vinegar/lemon juice
Procedure:
1. Clean, dry and chop parsley, dill and garlic.
2. Combine in medium bowl with all other ranch dressing ingredients.
3. Mix well and set aside covered and refrigerated.
4. When the time has come for frying, turn on the oil to let it get warm, and prepare for breading of cheese sticks (or other similar items).
5. In three shallow pans, set up each of the stages of breading: the flour with mustard powder, the egg scrambled with buttermilk, and the breadcrumbs mixed with herbs.
6. Once the oil is hot, take the cold cheese sticks through each stage, dusting first with flour, dipping in egg and then enrobing in crumbs, before going into the oil.
7. They fry quicky, and are quite delicate once the cheese starts to melt. There may be some utility in breading them and then freezing them before cooking, but we enjoyed them despite their meltiness.
8. Once they cool, serve them immediately with some ranch dressing or some other good dip, such as a thick marinara sauce.
Music: bensound.com/royalty-free-music
