When in Rome...

I've been on a roll with trying new recipes lately, and while I was checking out BlueStar's All Star Chefs, I came across Michael Symon's Butter Fried Chicken. Literally, everything about this recipe sounded amazing: Butter. Fried. Chicken. There's just not much more to say.

Growing up I had been to Florida so many times (always Disney or Miami). But despite the fact that Florida is south, I never actually considered it to be "the south". However, Florida seems to be the only state where the farther north you are, the deeper you are in the south. We are currently about an hour or so away from Georgia, so yeah. We are in the south.

Anyway, one of the foods I see everywhere down here, aside from barbecue, is fried chicken. As a new southerner, I feel that it is my duty to learn how to make fried chicken. I'm also buttering up my husband with delicious meals. He needs to see how much we need a jewel tone BlueStar range. Although today I'm really feeling this sapphire stove. I may have to leave the final decision up to my designer because it's going to be a tough decision. Both the topaz and the sapphire will look AMAZING!

Bluestar Jewel Tone Range in Sapphire

Bluestar Jewel Tone Range in Topaz

Seriously - I'm feeling like this may be the most difficult decision that I will have to make in our new house. My husband is team sapphire. It looks like our designer will have to have the final say.

And without further ado, onto the fried chicken!

Tools:

• 12 inch skillet
• Skillet splatter screen
• Large serving platter layered with paper towels 
• Tongs
• Measuring cups
• Batter bowls 
• Cooling rack

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound unsalted butter at room temperature (I used salted because that's what I had)
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 chicken cut into 8 pieces (I bought packages of thighs and legs, both on the bone with skin)
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1/2 cup of your favorite hot sauce (I used Frank's Red Hot Wings sauce)
• 3 garlic cloves peeled and mashed (I grabbed a heaping Tbsp of minced garlic from a jar)
• 1 small bundle of fresh thyme (I used dried thyme instead of fresh)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup ground cracker crumbs (I used Ritz - the buttery cracker adds better flavor than a saltine)
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• Canola oil (for frying)

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, whip together (I used a rubber spatula for this) butter and maple syrup. Season with some salt (to taste). Place in a piping bag and set aside. **I don't have a piping bag. I put this in a large ziplock bag and cut off one corner when I was ready**

   

   Butter and syrup in a ziplock bag. Just cut off the tip when you're ready to pipe it under the skin

2. In another mixing bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, hot sauce, garlic and thyme. Season with salt and pepper.
   
3. Lay out the chicken pieces and loosen (but do not remove) the skin. Pipe the compound butter under the skin of the chicken. Then press the skin back down slightly. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper and add to the buttermilk marinade. Let marinate in the fridge for at least two hours. **I am such a bonehead and totally forgot about this step. Mine only marinated for about an hour and I left it out on the counter so that I could skip step 4**
   
4. Remove chicken from the fridge and let sit for about 30 minutes to take the chill off. In the meantime, heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat (I don't have a cast iron skillet. I used a regular non-stick skillet instead and it worked just fine).
5. Mix together the flour, cracker crumbs and paprika. Remove the chicken from the buttermilk and dredge in the flour. Be sure to shake off excess flour mixture. Then dip again into the buttermilk and again into the flour mixture to coat. ***After coating four thighs, I had to add more flour and crackers***
   
6. Add a good inch or two of oil to the skillet and heat to 360 degrees (I kept it on low-med heat) for a shallow pan fry. When all of the chicken has been coated, lay it in a single layer, skin side down and cook until golden brown on all sides. Remove to a cooking rack to drain and then serve!
   

   

   I made the mistake of cooking the first batch on med-high heat which cooked the outside really fast but not the inside. I cooked the second batch on low-med heat and it came out perfect.

   
   

I'm not sure if this recipe constitutes as authentic southern fried chicken, but it was delicious nevertheless! The hot sauce was not overpowering and it added a really nice flavor! I served with mashed potatoes and broccoli slaw.

Enjoy!

Imagining my dream kitchen.

When I got married, one of the "warnings" I received from my mother-in-law was that my new husband was a notoriously picky eater. He didn't really stray from chicken cutlets or meatloaf. When I thought about it, I realized, Wow! He really did always order the same things when we went out to eat - chicken parmesan and caesar salad. How had I never noticed this? I responded by saying that  he'll either eat what I make or fend for himself. That first year of marriage, my husband ate a lot of Wendy's for dinner.

It wasn't because I was a bad cook. Actually, I'm pretty good at it. I happen to love cooking. I enjoy trying new recipes or altering others to make them my own. And when I get a new kitchen gadget or baking sheet, forget about it. I'm cooking up a storm. My husband just had an aversion to trying new things (one that he has since overcome).

As someone who loves cooking, one of the things I am most looking forward to in the next 1-2 years is building our new home. I cannot WAIT to build my dream kitchen. I already know that I don't want to go the traditional granite/stainless steel route, which is being phased out anyway. One of my friends just started her own interior design business and I have already given her the task of helping me design my new kitchen around this gorgeous jewel toned appliance from BlueStar. I mean, seriously, just LOOK at this stove! You can build yours here.

 From the BlueStar Jewel Tones Collection in Topaz

While searching for elements for my dream kitchen, I came across BlueStar's All Star Chefs and some of their favorite recipes. I decided to teach Baby J how to bake her daddy's favorite snack: Ryan Scott's chocolate chip cookies (actually, they're his mom's chocolate chip cookies). Yes, she's only 6 months old but why not? 

I want my daughter to be both adventurous and healthy in her eating habits, which is why I want to involve her in cooking at an early age. I believe that allowing her to be involved in the preparation of meals will encourage her to try new things and appreciate the work that goes into putting her meals on the table.

One of the last things I want her to be is a picky eater like her dad used to be. I have known so many picky eaters and I just can't imagine what a nightmare they must be to live with.

Ideally, I'd love to avoid the stereotypical kid food: pasta with butter, mac & cheese, chicken nuggets, pizza, PB&J, hot dogs, etc. Most of it is just gross (seriously, cheese should not come in powder form OR be neon orange. And what, exactly, goes into hot dogs?). And, as I said in an earlier post, I'd rather her eat home cooked meals and snacks as opposed to store bought which are LOADED with artificial ingredients. So we're starting early.

Even at 6 months, she was really into baking these cookies!

Baby J with some of her baking essentials

Chef J mixing her cookie dough

Here is the recipe:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup room temperature butter
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (I upped this to a full teaspoon just because I love the extra flavor)
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips (I use milk chocolate as opposed to semi-sweet)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 (I'm already pretending that I have my BlueStar Jewel Tone Stove)
2. Blend butter, sugars, egg and vanilla until creamy (this is why the butter must be at room temperature).
3. Add baking soda, salt, and flour, and blend (I add the flour mixture about 1/2 cup at a time and blend after each addition. I prefer to mix by hand so adding a little at a time makes it much easier to blend).
4. Add chocolate chips and blend by hand.
5. Scoop cookie dough onto baking sheet (I always bake on stoneware since it cooks so evenly).
6. Bake for 15 minutes and cool completely on a cooling rack.

And there you have it. An amazing batch of cookies from Ryan Scott; an All Star Chef with BlueStar. As J gets older, of course I'll have her do some more of the hands on work.

But for now, she was great company, helped mash some dough and nommed on the finished product.