Beer Battered Deep Fried Mushrooms

On the Menu Today~
Beer Battered Deep Fried Mushrooms

Welcome Back to Football Friday
and the
Game Day Recipe~
Beer-Batter Deep Fried
Mushrooms

Today we're going to
indulge in one of my family's
all-time favorite "side dish"
Deep-fried Battered Sh'rooms,
as we call them, are delicious!
We like to dip sh'rooms in ketchup.

Our favorite fast food restaurant,
that we frequent when we're in the Fox Valley Area,
had the best deep-fried breaded sh'rooms.
I say "had" because they no longer make them....boo.

I have taken it upon myself to "try" to make deep-fried breaded sh'rooms,
that are just as good as Tom's Drive In

So here goes....

Beer Battered Deep Fried Mushrooms

Ingredients

• 1 cup beer
• 1 cup sifted flour
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 3 to 6 cups vegetable oil
• 8 ounces whole, fresh mushrooms, rinsed and patted dry

Cooking Directions

1. Pour 3-inches of oil (or more, depending on size of pan) into a large cast-iron dutch oven or large pot. Heat until oil reaches about 375º
2. Meanwhile, mix beer, flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Mix until smooth, well blended and free of lumps.
3. Dip mushrooms into batter and coat well.
4. Fry mushrooms in batches, in hot oil until crispy and brown. About 8 minutes.
5. Remove mushrooms from oil. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels to drain off excess oil. Sprinkle with salt and serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

*Use extreme caution when deep-frying mushrooms, 

they like to spit and sputter due to the water content in mushrooms.

*Use extreme caution when biting into a hot deep fried mushroom,
the water content found in mushrooms is extremely hot...

*Note: Recipe can easily be doubled.

*Even though this recipe for beer battered deep fried mushrooms is excellent,
they didn't taste like Tom's....so...
Back to the kitchen I go.....

On a more personal note:
Every time I make or eat mushrooms,
I think about something that happened to me one evening close to 30 years ago.

It was in the late 1980's....
For dinner that evening, my then husband and I had steaks on the grill.
I had sauteed fresh mushrooms in butter to top our steaks with.
The steaks along with the mushrooms were delicious.

A few hours later, when my then husband and kids had gone to bed,
I bolted out of a dead sleep.
I had fallen asleep on the couch and
sat straight up.
I got up but I didn't feel right, something was "off".
I went into the bathroom because I thought I might throw up.
The room was spinning, I felt light headed and I thought I might pass out.
I sat on the bathroom floor and put my head between my legs.
I was sweating but at the same time I had the chills.
I got up and went into the kitchen to get a drink of water.
Now my heart was pounding, my pulse was racing and I was shaking.
It was getting harder to breathe.
I thought I was having an out of body experience.
Whatever was happening to me, had never happen to me before.
I didn't want to wake my husband and kids up,
So I called my sister-in-law Lynn, who lived a few blocks away.
I knew she had had to work that day at the hospital and
was just getting home. Even though it was 11:15 pm, I called her.
Lynn immediately came over, took my pulse and said,
"Let's go, I'm taking you to the hospital."
Once there and after being checked in and checked over,
It was determined that I had had an allergic reaction to mushrooms.
Finding this odd, I was relieved.
I was feeling better and just wanted to go home....

As I stated above, this was around 1986.
Years before PTSD, Anxiety Attacks, Stress, Depression and
Panic Attacks were even mentioned or talked about.
It wasn't until years later,
when I was in my mid 40's that I found out
that I had had a serve Panic Attack so many years before.

I had known long before I was diagnosed that I had something...
I knew I wasn't allergic to mushrooms....
I had several more "attacks" after that night and
they had nothing to do with mushrooms.
I learned how to talk myself "off the ledge"
I learned how to calm myself down,
I learned how to deep breathe,
take a deep breath in and slowly exhale,
until my heart stopped pounding.

Why didn't I get help?
I was too embarrassed to tell anyone and
For some reason my family thought my "mushroom incident"
was hilarious and extremely funny.
To this very day, they still bring it up and
they still think it's funny....
I have never found the humor in anyone being allergic to anything.
You wouldn't make fun of a person allergic to peanuts, would you?
I have been at the brunt end of many "mushroom" jokes over the years...
All of which have been very hurtful.

Panic attacks are very real.
They aren't funny nor are they a joke.
Panic attacks should be taken seriously.
They are scary and frightening.
They are cries for help.
They were my silent cry for help.

If you suffer from panic attacks or want to learn more visit..
Understanding Anxiety

Mushrooms, Deep-fried