Southern me up!

Not to toot my own horn (okay maybe I lie), but I can make some damn good fried chicken. It is one of the main perks from being of southern decent, though as many know fried chicken is widely known and a global delicacy. In fact, I'm constantly hearing vegetarians say that the only meat that sounds good to them is bacon, and meat eaters insist that is a main reason why they could not be vegetarian. Myself? I might give up bacon before fried chicken, though bacon is something I can eat more on a regular basis. I think I don't make fried chicken constantly not just for obvious dietary reasons, but becase I do not want to grow tired of it. I want each fried chicken meal to be more special then the last, and this new and improved recipe I have flourished has done just that.


So lets begin. Any southern woman probably has her own secrets for making fried chicken, and I'm going to tell you exactly what I think about all of  that: there are hundreds of ways to make it. There is so much room for creativity with such basic ingredients so use your imagination. However, I insist on a few basic guidelines, such as a cast iron skillet and a dry rub that sits on the chicken overnight.

Ingredients: (for 3-4 people)




 Cast Iron Skillet
1 Whole Chicken (4 lb. or so)

1 C Buttermilk
1 large egg
1 T cornstarch
1 T Salt
1 T black pepper
3 C flour (all purpose)
Peanut oil or vegetable oil for frying
1/2 cup of honey
3 T butter

Spice rub:
1 T salt
2 t black pepper
3/4 t lemon pepper
1/2 t garlic salk
1/2 t onion powder
3/4 t cayenne
1 t paprika

It is much more economical and environmental to use a whole chicken. Please please please, it is not as hard as you think to cut down a chicken. For me it not morally right to buy a package of chicken that just has one cut, such as the legs, and I admire the variety each piece gives to a meal. You can easily find you tube videos that show you how to cut down a chicken.

The night before you fry the chicken, place all of the pieces of chicken in a bowl. Combine the spice rub separately then generously portion all over the chicken, rubbing the spicy into it. Seal the bowl with plastic tightly and let sit over night. The reason you need to use a smaller chicken is so the pieces are not so huge and will be able to cook evenly with the batter so the outside does not burn.

The next day let the chicken sit out to almost room temp while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. The only way I will cook fried chicken is in a cast iron skillet. You will probably need to do 2-3 batches because you do not want to overcrowd the skillet. Mix 1 egg and the buttermilk in one bowl, in a second bowl combine flour, cornstarch, salt, and pepper.

In a small saucepan, heat honey and butter on med-low stirring constantly (I used a local produced wildflower honey, but I think any will be delicious). Once it simmers, remove from heat and let cool. Fill the skillet about half way with oil. Peanut oil is more expensive and very rich, and this time I used half peanut oil and half veggie oil which worked out great. Heat at medium. Be careful, cast iron channels heat very well and you might have to turn down the heat just a notch once warmed up. You want the temp of the oil at 350 degrees.

Dredge each piece first in the egg batter (with right hand), then straight into the flour batter (left hand). Set each piece aside, it needs to sit for five minutes. If it goes straight into the oil you risk the chance of the batter not sticking as well. Carefully drop the chicken in the skillet. It should take about fifteen minutes to fry, turning each piece over once. Do not touch the chicken until the batter gets crispy or the flour can fall off. You can use a thermometer to see if the chicken is at 160 before pulling it out. Once you pull it out (setting on a paper towel or wire rack,) lather the hot chicken in the honey/butter with a brush. If you need to do more then once batch of chicken, keep the cooked pieces in a slightly warm oven to keep warm.

I am excited to experiment with the honey-butter lather further, such as fusing it with some fresh herbs. I also usually take some of the oil out of the pain after frying, add some flour and whisk it with milk to make gravy-but it is refreshing to mix things up a bit.

Seaside, OR

This morning we packed up and checked out, getting ready to seaside where….the sea is….but first we had two make two last stops before leaving Portland.

It was the first day of our vacation that it was chilly and rainy. It actually felt great and I loved those kinds of days where you can really enjoy your hot cup of coffee. We went to screen door, a very popular southern restaurant somewhat similar to country cat. The food is cheap, wonderful, and they give you way more than you can handle. I ordered chicken and waffles and Zach got the biscuits and gravy so we could both share our plates. It was so hard just to choose one thing off the menu.

 The chicken and waffles were ridiculous. You need three very hungry people to be able to eat the whole plate. There were three large fried chicken breasts stacked on top of a giant sweet potato waffle, served with a side of syrup and a dash of powdered sugar. The biscuits and gravy were also delicious; I don’t know how else to describe it. The gravy was similar to the one I make from scratch (like any normal person should do), where you fry up the sausage then add the flour and milk to the remaining oil. 

 

We also stopped at the PSU farmers market which was mandatory. I was so incredibly stuffed from breakfast but everything looked good. I bought some fresh cheese, chilies, strawberries, and two different kinds of potatoes. I was able to sample cardamom cheesecake and pick up a gift or two.A cook's dream, especially one from rural Utah.

Where to start with seaside? Well it was packed, which I wasn’t so surprised but I was almost wondering if I had ended up in California if it hadn’t been for any sun. Our hotel was right on Broadway where the shopping strip was located. The beach was just a two minute walk down the street. It was also packed with people but we walked a little further and avoided a majority of the crowd. I can’t say anything horrible about the Ocean itself. I could spend days staring out at the Ocean and building sand castles so Ziggy can destroy them (which is what we did for two days).

The first night we ate at this restaurant called Maggie’s on the prom (named after a cat). It was okay. The view from the restaurant was beautiful but like just about everything I ate in Zeaside I was disappointed. It was fine dining, and I ordered the hazelnut crusted halibut. It was just all right, not really a thirty dollar plate of food. I had the clam chowder which was also okay.

The second day we visited Cannon Beach fifteen minutes from Seaside. It also had a big main strip of tourist shops. The access to the beach was a little crazy trying to park. The beach was crowded but not too bad. There was definitely more sand castle building going on. Cannon beach hold an annual sandcastle competition that hopefully one day I will have the pleasure of visiting. It is also known for haystack rock, a giant rock formation right off shore. 

We ate at long established restaurant called Driftwood in Cannon Beach. There clam chowder was really good, some of the best I've had. The fish and chips were okay: I'm not sure why I ordered it because it was too much. I should have just ordered a giant bowl of clam chowder and would have been happy. 

Cannon Beach: Haystack Rock

 Overall I am very disappointed in the culinary experience Seaside and Cannon had to offer. Everything is mediocre family dining for the price of a five star restaurant. It actually makes me appreciate Moab a lot more and how much I spend there. Every one complains how expensive it is (including myself), but there are a lot more crazier places! However, it was so difficult to turn my back to the ocean and leave.

Texan BBQ

I went all out this Christmas, baking several different treats including calzones as well as spending quite a bit of time on presents. I bought a pack of mason jars and decided to do some of those corny "brownie mix in a jar" recipes. I also wanted to make something to go along with my present to my Father, an electric smoker. As my family is from Texas i went along with a  mop sauce with traditional tex-mex flavors.
It makes a very thin sauce. It soaks through the meat instead of sitting on top. Traditional pit masters in the south use these mop sauces to regulate the temperature of the meat during the cooking process. Home cooks usually do not use this process but can be used as sauce after the meat is cooked by dipping the meat, coating it with the mop.

1 T paprika
2 t black pepper
2 t chili powder
1 1/2 t cumin powder
1 T bacon fat
1 medium onion-chopped
4 cloves garlic-minced
1 cup stout beer (i would have used a traditional texan beer called a shiner, but had none)
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
4 T Worcestershire
4 T brown sugar
2 cups beef stock

  Melt bacon fat and cook onions at medium low until translucent. Add the first four ingredients as well the garlic, stir and cook for a few minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes. Cool and transfer to a jar. 

  I also make a spice rub by using the first four ingredients and doubling them, then mixing it before i put it in a small jar. Some people prefer to use a dry rub on their BBQ.