Pan-fried chicken on the 4th of July

The Fourth of July is probably my family's favorite holiday. Growing up we really threw ourselves into the fireworks, the parades, and the food--and to this day I have to make sure we celebrate the holiday properly. This year we spent the day at the pool and then had friends over to eat fried chicken and biscuits, watermelon and corn on the cob...totally classic. It absolutely poured rain though, so the fireworks were kind of a bust. But we had this delicious pan-fried chicken to make up for it--the recipe comes from The Gift of Southern Cooking, by Scott Peacock and Edna Lewis. Scott Peacock used to be the chef at Watershed Restaurant here in town which is justifiably legendary for their fabulous fried chicken served every Tuesday evening. Making it at home takes a little effort and planning ahead but it's totally worth it, especially for the best holiday of the year.Start with a 3 pound chicken (these days I only buy from Springer Mountain Farms) cut up into 8 serving pieces. Make enough brine to cover the pieces--for this amount, 2 quarts of water mixed with 1/2 cup kosher salt will be enough.That's why this recipe takes so long--it's all the time needed for brining. Let it sit 8-12 hours in the fridge (basically put it together before you go to bed the night before and you'll be fine). The salty brine really needs the time to get in there to make the chicken unbelievably juicy and tender. Bright and early the next morning (or 8-12 hours before dinnertime, whichever comes first), drain the chicken from the brine...Fail to plan ahead adequately and make a run to Kroger for buttermilk (but it's OK because that means you can get some doughnuts for breakfast!).Pour one quart of buttermilk over the drained chicken pieces.And let it all soak in the fridge for another 8-12 hours. Again, as with the salty brine you made earlier, the buttermilk just needs some time to get in there to tenderize and add its unmistakable flavor. You should go to the pool in the meanwhile. After enough time has elapsed, you can go ahead and drain the buttermilk off 'cause you are ready to fry!Well, almost ready. There's a lot of preparation involved in making proper fried chicken, in case you hadn't noticed. You need to get your fat right. At Watershed they use a combo of 1 stick butter and 1 pound lard but I don't really have any lard, generally speaking. So I used 1 stick of butter together with all of my saved up bacon fat.Melt the fat and the butter together and cook over low heat for 30 minutes, skimming off any milk fat solids from the butter that rise to the surface. When you are ready to start frying, heat it up over medium-high until it is sizzling. The original recipe calls for the frying fat to be at 350 degrees, in case you have a thermometer handy.Mix together 1 cup flour, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 1 teaspoon salt and freshly ground black pepper. Dredge your chicken pieces one by one in this mixture, tapping off any excess. And set aside on a plate. OK, you have your chicken all ready to go and your fat is all prepared--now it is time to fry. For real this time!Fry the chicken on each side until it is a gorgeous golden-brown, 8-10 minutes per side. You do not want to crowd the pieces in--give them lots of room and be sure to cook in batches if needed! I needed to do mine in 2 batches and I do have a very large pan, so adjust as needed for your size of kitchen equipment. I also ended up turning on two burners to keep an even heat--this will only work if you have a large pan and a stovetop that permits a pan to fit over at least 2 burners at once.When both sides are lovely and browned, remove and drain the pieces on a wire rack over some newspaper to catch all the drips.I thought I'd need to, but in the end didn't end up keeping it warm in the oven or anything like that between batches. It stayed crispier that way and was perfectly flavorful simply warm or at room temperature. Serve with honey and fresh biscuits. Phil makes great biscuits--he cuts in the butter by hand and uses yogurt to mix them together. I should get him to do a guest post sometime :)Enjoy your chicken--every last piece! It makes a perfect new Fourth of July tradition.

St. Patrick's Day 2011

One major difference for this year's St. Patrick's Day: Rick moved out of town so I had to make the Irish soda bread myself. But besides that, all the regulars showed up...4 heads of cabbage.Many potatoes...And assorted roots. Not the stars of the show but they build good flavor.Here's where those 12 pounds of beef went! Borrowed the world's largest pot from the Blivmore family so I could cook it all together at once. Covered the corned beef in water and let simmer for about 3 1/2 hours, until tender. Then added in the vegetables to cook for the last hour or so.
The soda bread wasn't too hard to make, thanks to Rick's careful instruction. I'll add the recipe here later as an update if he says I can share it.And the stand mixer helps too...just mix it and knead it all in one place, which helps when you're making 4 separate batches. I had no idea how often I would be using this! An excellent gift from my parents who know better about these things. It basically looks like a brain.You just plop it right on the baking sheet in its free-form brain shape.And it is beautiful. I made two loaves with raisins and two without.

The corning of the beef

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Twelve pounds of brisket have a date with my fridge for the next 3 weeks or so.First, I take a moment to weigh the spaniel against the meat...I think we'll keep her on for another year. Here's the curing rub. Two cups of coarse kosher salt, 4 tablespoons each ground allspice, paprika and dried thyme... Plus 4 tablespoons cracked black peppercorns and about 8 or so bay leaves, crumbled. Mix it all up together very well.Now you channel your rage! Get a fork and stab stab stab each side of the brisket many times. Visualize that yahoo who cut you off in traffic or the office creepster or whatever helps.Make sure you do both sides.Then you cover each side with a healthy handful of the spice/salt mixture and rub it in really well.Et voila. Gross hands = good corned beef.Pack it all up into heavy ziploc bags (I needed 3 2-gallon bags for my 12 pounds of brisket), stack them on a baking sheet in your fridge, and turn them every day so they each get a chance to be weighed down over the next few weeks. We'll check back in and see how this year's batch turned out after St. Patrick's Day!

(Thanks to Rick for taking a bunch of pictures! You are the wind beneath my wings.)

Devils on horseback

These are fantastic. We had them in Key West last spring and I've been thinking they'd make a great holiday party appetizer ever since. They're simple as can be--dates stuffed with a bit of roasted garlic, then wrapped in salty/sweet brown sugar-rubbed speck. It's a good idea to roast your garlic ahead of time so you're not faced with the task right before assembling these little guys. I just roasted two heads, wrapped in tinfoil with a little bit of olive oil at 400 for an hour and 15 minutes. They should be very soft when done and easy to pop out of their peels. Then I stuck them in the fridge until I was ready to make them for a party.You'll need some salty pig as well. You could use bacon or prosciutto, but I used speck and was very pleased with the results. I guess proscuitto would be second-best if you don't have any speck in your markets.And some dates!When I was a kid my mom used to make me stuff dates with almonds for appetizers at parties. The process was pretty much exactly like this is going to be for you: slice each date open, stuff with goodness. Repeat. Pop out a soft roasted garlic clove...And tuck it in the date that you've sliced open.Now for the true decadence, where I part ways from my more abstemious mother. Pour some brown sugar into a little dish...And get a thin strip of your speck (or prosciutto or bacon). Rub it well with the brown sugar...Then wrap around your garlic-stuffed date. Adorable! Secure the cute lil bundle with a toothpick and arrange on a rack over a baking sheet. Pop them in a preheated oven at 425 for maybe about 15 minutes. Take a peek at them after about 10 minutes though--you don't want these little darlings to burn up.I served them with some manchego cheese on the side. They're heavenly little devils and should for sure be invited to your New Year's Eve party. Enjoy!