Looking ahead to Thanksgiving, I’m plopping some dressing in the deep fryer to make a one-bite appetizer.

Deep-Fried Thanksgiving Dressing
Makes about 2 dozen

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped cellery
• 1 cup chopped smoked sausage
• 3/4 cup self-rising cornmeal
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp. chopped fresh chives
• 1 tsp. chopped fresh sage
• Vegetable oil

Preparation:

1. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and next 2 ingredients and saute 4 to 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Let cool 15 minutes.

2. Stir together cormeal and next 4 ingredients together in a large bowl. Stir in buttermilk, next 3 ingredients and cooled onion mixture until blended.

3. Pour oil to a depth of 2 inches into a Dutch oven; heat to 350°. Drop batter by tablespoonfuls, in batches, into oil; fry 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Watch how easy the holiday favorite becomes a tasty nibble:

As always, let us know what you’d like to see us deep-fry next! And to recap all the things our Test Kitchen threw in the deep fryer so far, go to SouthernLiving.com/fry.