How I learned it's always a bad idea to deep-fry for a crowd

[And how I hid my mistake so no one ever knew. View this email in your browser]( Cook This Now Fried Squid with Aioli Today’s the last day in my series of kitchen mistake stories for the week. Got one you want to share? Email me at anna@epicurious.com. You know how people say you should never try a new recipe when entertaining? I’ve never abided by that rule. Company is a good excuse to pull out all the stops and try new things! Except not when that new thing is deep-frying. One time I was hosting a dinner party for a group of 10 people, many of whom had never been to my apartment before, and I really wanted to impress. I found the most beautiful squash blossoms at the farmers’ market and wanted to batter and deep-fry them: something I had never done before. And it had to be gluten-free. About 15 minutes before everyone was scheduled to arrive, I heated my pot of oil up and started dredging blossoms in batter. The first one didn’t crisp. I heated the oil higher, and tried again. The second one didn’t crisp either: the batter was too thin or something else wasn’t right with it. I entered panic mode. I started trying to fix it. There was 5 minutes left before my doorbell would ring, and my kitchen was getting messier. At that moment I realized I was fighting a losing battle, and it was more important for me to be calm and collected than to have fried squash blossoms to serve. So I put the lid on the oil and hid it in the oven (which was off, don’t worry). I dumped the batter down the drain, swept the failures into the trash, and wrapped the remaining blossoms in bags and hid them in the fridge. I opened the windows and opened a bottle of cold white wine just in time for the first guest to arrive. Another night that summer I had three friends coming over for dinner and the urge to try deep-frying hit me again. This time I went with squid, and a recipe that was already naturally gluten-free. And with only three people hanging out with me in my kitchen, drinking cocktails as I worked, deep-frying for company became a festive collaborative activity. And man oh man biting into those freshly fried squid pieces (and fried lemons!) is something those friends still talk about. xoxo, [Anna Stockwell Signature] [View Recipe]( What We're Talking About --------------------------------------------------------------- Grocery Shopping Every Day: An Endorsement Call it a form of meditation. Or just call it a different way to decide what's for dinner. Read More[null] The Pro-Guide to Deep Frying Keep these 5 tips in mind, and you'll be confidently frying chicken (or squid! or doughnuts!) in no time. Read More[null] 41 Crowd-Pleasing, Three-Ingredient Appetizers You Can't Mess Up Pre-dinner snacking doesn't need to be an elaborate affair. Read More[null] Trending Recipes --------------------------------------------------------------- Grain Bowls with Chicken, Chickpeas, and Avocado View Recipe Baked Salmon with Asparagus and Tarragon View Recipe Israeli-Style Hummus View Recipe Vanilla-Buttermilk Wedding Cake with Orange–Cream Cheese Frosting View Recipe Candy Pork View Recipe [] Did someone forward this to you? [Get Cook This Now in your inbox](. Follow Us [Instagram]( [Facebook]( [epicurious]( This e-mail was sent to you by epicurious. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, [epicurious@newsletters.epicurious.com]( to your address book. View our [Privacy Policy]( [Unsubscribe]( Copyright © Condé Nast 2018. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.