Ellen's Whiskers

This is a great recipe for the summer and fall.

These little lovelies are great at a BBQ or with your chili on a cold winter's night or at your Super Bowl party. In fact I cannot think of a time they would not be good, except at a formal occasion maybe.

Actually I added Ellen's name not because of her whiskers (far from it she is lovely in every way) but because she is the lady that gave me the recipe! She brought these to Jim's Retirement party way back when and they were to die for, so I wanted to share this great recipe with you!

Whiskers

12 corn or flour tortillas
(7 to 10 inches in diameter)

Salad oil
Garlic paprika salt or chili salt
(recipe to follow)

Stack three to six tortillas and with a long, sharp knife
cut the tortillas into long strips about 1/4 inch wide.

Repeat until all the tortillas are cut into strips.

In a 4 to 5 quart pan add an inch of salad oil and
heat to 350 degrees using a thermometer.
(I'll be guessing on this part!)

Drop in 1/3 of the tortilla strips
Cook and stir until lightly brown and crisp
(about 1 to 2 minutes)

Transfer with a slotted spoon
to a paper towel to drain.

While the whiskers are still warm sprinkle
with the salt mixture of your choice.

Repeat to cook the remaining whiskers.

Serve warm or cool.
If making ahead package in an airtight
Ziplock plastic bag until the next day.

To reheat spread out on a paper towel
on a cookie sheet and bake for
about 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Paprika Garlic Salt
1 Tablespoon garlic salt to 1/4 tsp paprika

Chili Salt
1 Tablespoon salt to 1/2 chili powder

Ellen's Mixture
She does the chili mixture and adds a pinch
of Cayenne Pepper to give it a little more kick!
She has the magic touch so I'm doing it her way!

My Idea:
Flour tortillas Whiskers with cinnamon
and sugar would be awesome too.

P.S. My photo shows the whiskers looking a little short. They were put back into a bag after the party and I think they got broken in the transfer. They are so cute when they are long and crispy. They are a hundred times better than tortilla chips. And a real crowd pleaser, everyone wanted the recipe which is one reason why I am posting it. You can be the first to embrace it in your neighborhood, ladies!

Also shown are my latest and greatest new kitchen toys. I love these little 4 inch square plates from Cost Plus World Market. They are $1.99 and just the perfect size for appetizers and small snacks. I had only them a week and had to go buy more, they are always in the dishwasher. A piece of toast fits perfectly on them.
I have a feeling they are a great little portion controller too. The little black circle is a sticker that comes off, these are brand new. since then I have given them to lots of people as Christmas gifts.

Don't you just love it when you find a
useful and fun thing for the kitchen?