Book'em Dan-O Pu-Pu Platter

Ah, the pu-pu platter. It is a culinary salute to all 50 states, but mostly Hawaii. This is commonplace here, to have an all hors d'oeuvers dinner with a few Mai Tais to wash it down. Now the good thing is that it is never the same meal twice as I mix it up every time. Basically we are talking about pigs in a blanket, chicken wings with various sauces, pot stickers (funny story about the first time I made these from scratch, it was also the night I went into labor, but I thought it was the food, not the baby - that's a mistake you don't make twice), fried mozzarella balls, spring rolls, etc. Pretty much anything. A lot of the aforementioned I buy already made, but the mozzarella balls I make myself. My daughter first had them at at the Italian restaurant at EPCOT a few years ago and fell in love at first bite. She of course expected me to be able to recreate the recipe when we got home, but it was more challenging that I anticipated. Fresh mozzarella balls (bocconcini), egg, bread crumbs, oil - seemed easy enough, but I just couldn't get it right. Then, my savior Gourmet Magazine (god, how I miss it) had a recipe in the "Last Touch" page and voila (I'm sure there is an Italian word for that but oh well) perfection! Turns out I was making two big mistakes. First, my oil wasn't hot enough (easily remedied by a candy thermometer) and second, I needed to dip and coat the balls twice in the egg and crumbs instead of just once. Finally getting it right was enormously satisfying, just like a good platter of pu-pu.

Now, when I think of Hawaii, I think of one thing: Hawaii Five-0. As a kid I loved watching this show, seeing the exotic locales and the seedy underworld of our 50th state. It was like a travelogue and a scared straight intervention neatly wrapped in a one hour package. The main characters were Steve McGarret and his trusty side kick Danny Williams, whom he affectionately referred to as Dan-O. As Hawaii State Police,  they were charged with cleaning up the crime in Honolulu. Their nemesis was a mastermind criminal named Wo-Fat, but they occasionally came up against minor no-goodniks, like Chicken, played brilliantly by a pre-MTM and Love Boat Gavin MacLeod. Amidst the backdrop of the beautiful beaches and tropical sunsets were drugs, murder and prostitution. The funniest part, if you watch an episode today (which I highly recommend), is that the filming apparently required any car scene with McGarret and Dan-O  riding together that they be seated directly next to one another - McGarret driving and Dan-O essentially in the middle of a giant '70s Mercury bench seat. They look like they are on date while chasing down the bad guys (I guess the island spirit will do that to you). No matter what obstacles they faced, in the end McGarret always got his man, and delivered his line: "Book 'em Dan-O". Be there, Aloha.


The Recipe:

Special Equipment: Deep- fat or Candy Thermometer

About 5 cups vegetable oil
1 lb. drained marinated small mozzarella balls, patted dry
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup plain bread crumbs
Marinara sauce for dipping

Double coat the mozzarella by dipping in eggs, then crumbs and repeating. Transfer to a sheet of wax paper. Heat 1 1/2 to 2 inches of oil in a  3 1/2 to 4 quart heavy sauce pan to 360 degrees. Working in small batches, lower balls into oil with a slotted spoon and fry until golden brown, about 30 seconds per batch. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Return oil to 360 degrees between batches - that's the tricky part. Makes about 3 dozen.