Buttermilk Fried Chicken and Buttermilk Waffles: The Ultimate Comfort Meal!

I remember being a snooty little rugrat when I first heard of chicken and waffles...it was actually when I was watching an episode of "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air". I remember thinking, "Why the hell would you eat fried chicken and waffles together?" I thought that because my mom was old school, I wouldn't be here making this blog post if I had said the "H" word out loud. Back to the story, I was just weirded out by this strange combination. Waffles- ONLY eggo waffles for me- were breakfast with pork sausage, bacon and or scrapple. And fried chicken was only for lunch or dinner. NO way can you combine the 2!

Fast forward to my adult years as the microwave queen, I still couldn't stomach it. Then when I got into cooking and being the from scratch gal that I am, I could dig the combo. In fact, I wanted to try this last month before my husband left, but was distracted. Then last week, I asked my eldest child after his 2 week stay with his father, what he wanted for dinner and he asked for chicken, waffles, rice and something else in a soup. I liked the idea of chicken and waffles together so I went to work.

I marinate my chicken up to 12 hours prior. First I season, then pour buttermilk over for the juicest most flavorful fried chicken you will evah eat. Adding cornmeal makes a nice crunch, but a little goes a LONG way. No need for more than a scant 1/4 cup or you'll break yo' teeth. The waffle recipe I found on www.cooksillustrated.com. I wanted a great recipe and you can not go wrong at all with America's Test Kitchen! These were some AMAZING waffles, too. It uses powdered buttermilk which is different, but it made the lightest dry mix! I also like it because you don't get the  sour buttermilk taste. 

Also oil instead of butter was used for a crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middle waffle. It's damn good! Definitely a hit with my children and my German friends! All you chicken and waffle virgins must try this and pour some good grade b maple syrup on both waffles and chicken! Don't look at me like that, I know you like BBQ chicken and one of the main ingredients is some kind of sweetener! Give this a shot!


 
Buttermilk Fried Chicken and Buttermilk Waffles
Printable Recipe here!
Buttermilk Fried Chicken
Ingredients

• 1 Whole Chicken about 4 pounds, cut-up (alternatively you can purchase your favorite chicken pieces totaling 4 pounds)
• 2 cups buttermilk, shaken
• Pre-floured seasoning:
• 1- 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp Seasoned Salt (I love McCormick's Season All)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning or dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 onion powder
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper or white pepper
• 1/8 tsp cumin
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons cornmeal

Flour seasoning:

• 1- 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp Seasoned Salt 
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning or dried thyme
• 1/2 onion powder
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper or white pepper
• 1/8 cayenne pepper

• 24- 36 ounces peanut oil

Directions

If you're using a whole chicken, cut up into 8 pieces- remove backbone two breasts, two wings, two legs, and two thighs.

Place chicken in a large resealable bag or large bowl. Season chicken all over. Pour buttermilk over chicken and allow to sit in the fridge 12 hours to overnight or as little as 30 minutes.

While marinating or next day, add flour, additional seasonings and cornmeal to a large bowl.

Once marinated, remove chicken from bag or bowl allowing excess buttermilk to drip from piece. Dip chicken into flour and place on paper towels or a cooling rack with paper towel under.

Heat oil in a heavy skillet (I prefer a cast iron skillet!) 350 degrees using a good thermometer or candy thermometer.Once heated, place as many pieces in the skillet as possible. The reason is so each piece cooks evenly and crisp. Cook about 20-25 minutes. Wash or use another cooling rack lined with paper towels to place cooked chicken- to avoid any sogginess. Remove each piece except breast. I usually let the breast cook another 5 minutes since they're the biggest pieces.

Allow to rest about 5 minutes.

Buttermilk Waffles

Adapted from Cook's Illustrated

Ingredients 2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon sugar 1 tsp cinnamon 3/4 teaspoon table salt 1/2 cup dried buttermilk powder (can be found in the baking aisle) 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 cup greek yogurt* (see note) 2 large eggs 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 cup peanut oil or vegetable oil 1 1/4 cups unflavored seltzer water *I used Greek yogurt instead of sour cream in the original recipe. I allowed it to thicken by placing a paper towel on a slotted spoon on a bowl to catch the whey. Directions Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 250 degrees. Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet and place baking sheet in oven. Whisk flour, sugar, salt, buttermilk powder, and baking soda in large bowl to combine. Whisk Greek yogurt, eggs, vanilla, and oil in medium bowl to combine. Gently stir seltzer into wet ingredients.  Make well in center of dry ingredients and pour in wet ingredients. Using a rubber spatula, gently stir until just combined. Batter should remain slightly lumpy with streaks of flour. Heat waffle iron and bake waffles according to manufacturer’s instructions (use about 1/3 cup for 7-inch round iron). Transfer waffles to rack in warm oven and hold for up to 10 minutes before serving with butter and maple syrup. Place waffles and chicken on plate and add some good grade B maple syrup to both! You'll be sent to comfort heaven for sure! Eat Sparingly or every Saturday morning I don't care it's really good! Enjoy!!!!!

Also check out Salty Seattle's GENIUS take on this classic American dish: http://www.saltyseattle.com/2011/01/chicken-and-waffles-meet-modern-gastronomy/

Spiced Tomato and Coconut Soup

Growing up you couldn't get me near tomato soup. My parents would warm up a can and serve it to us. Nothing else, no cream, chives, crusty bread, just tomato liquid as I called it. My disdain for tomato 'liquid' carried on until I met my husband. He loves tomato soup and would buy the canned version regularly early on in our courtship, because I was for damn sure was not going to make it for him! But the more I learned about food, I knew I had to face past food dislikes of certain foods. One of the first I tackled was tomato soup. I made my first tomato soup from scratch about 2.5 years ago and it was amazing. This soup had body, flavor, and not just a wet red glop o' liquid. My husband was very pleased and impressed as was I! So since then, I've made all kinds of different versions of tomato soups, including another favorite I made this past summer I blogged about. No more canned soups went inside my kitchen cupboards.

This soup is by Gordon Ramsay from his  book and series on Channel 4 Great Escape. Where he journeyed throughout Indian exploring one of England's favo(u)rite cuisines, Indian food aka curry. I caught a few episodes of this and it was a great learning experience and man it made me hungry. This book was also a Christmas present from the husband. I just cracked it open last Friday night, and when I saw this recipe,  I knew I had to make this tomato soup ASAP. I also found a few dishes for my upcoming and first Indian-themed dinner party with my pal Becca!

This soup is delicious, bursting with flavor and it can be made very quickly. To cut prep time, substitute canned whole tomatoes (drained) and use hot madras curry powder instead of the ground cumin, fenugreek, chillies, turmeric. I made this recipe almost exactly as he did, only I added less chili peppers as my daughter loves soup but can't stand heat!

This would make a great starter or a main course. Easily doubled and tastes even better leftover.

Spiced Tomato and Coconut Soup

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 lb Tomatoes

2 T vegetable oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 inch ginger, peeled and chopped

2 large garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

Kosher/Sea Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped (add more peppers or don't deseed for more spice)

1/2 dried fenugreek, crushed with a pinch of salt

1 bay leaf

1 t ground tumeric

1 t ground cumin

1/3 cup tomato puree

1 can of coconut milk (i used light coconut milk)

1T cumin seeds

pinch of asafoetida (optional)

handful of coriander/cilantro leaves for garnish

toasted coconut for garnish

Directions

Bring pan of water to the boil. Lightly score a cross at the top and base of each tomato then lower them into the boiling water for 15 to 20 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and refresh in a bowl of iced water. Once cooled, peel off the skins of tomatoes and then roughly chop.

Heat the oil in a medium sauce pan and add the onion, ginger and garlic. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and sweat for 4 to 5 minutes until onions begins to soften. Add the chillies, fenugreek, bay leaf, turmeric, and ground cumin and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes. Tip in chopped tomatoes and tomato puree and stir well.

Pour in coconut milk and use the can to measure out an equal amount of water. Add this to the pan and bring to a simmer. Cook gently for about 15-20 minutes until tomatoes are very soft and have broken down.

Puree the soup using a stick blender, or pour soup into a blender. If you really want a smooth result push puree through a sieve. I didn't do that, I like a little body to my soup :) Season with salt and pepper and set aside. 

When ready to serve, reheat the soup. In a small saucepan, heat oil (coconut or vegetable) and add cumin seeds and asafoetida if using. As they begin to pop, take pan off the heat and pour spiced oil in soup. Stir well!

Ladle into warm bowl and garnish if you want. This photo shoot was quite short as this soup was too hard to resist!!! Hope you try this!! It's perfect for this weather. The best thing is you don't need perfect tomatoes which you will not find this time of year in Germany. The sourness of the tomatoes adds good flavor to the soup :)

Enjoy!!

My Children Cleaned Their Plates Thanks to YOU.

I read blogs because I love being inspired. I only discovered the blogosphere after creating my own blog, and boy am I happy I started this! I read many different blogs almost everyday, but of course my favorites are food blogs as cooking is my passion and stuff. The following bloggers has helped my little ones join the clean plates club two nights this week.

Monday night, I cooked Ramen, Steak with Mushrooms. I was inspired to make this from reading one of my favorite people in the blogosphere, Lazaro Cooks. His Ramen with Two Bean Ragout & NY Strip Steak had me drooling! He has a plethora of recipes that are utterly beautiful and amazing. He's very knowledgeable about everything he posts about. He's also brought to my attention many other fabulous blogs with his regular guest posts. Check him out fo sho.


My children prefers mushrooms over beans so I cooked some cremini mushrooms I sliced, sauteed  until softened, added some minced garlic, after about a minute, added a little wine then let the wine cooked down a little, The mushrooms were softened, but had a bite.
For the steak, after I seasoned it with soy sauce, then  I cooked it the exact way Lazaro said he did. I cooked the steak in a low oven (100 Celsius) in my cast iron skillet for 40 minutes, then dried the skillet with a paper towel, and seared the steaks on both sides over high heat; I then let them rest for about 10 minutes then sliced them. They came out PERFECTLY. The meat was so juicy and had flavorful. My baby loooooved the steaks as did my other children My baby never ate steak before, by the way. First I plated the ramen that I seasoned with salt, pepper and a little garlic powder, placed the sliced steak and mushrooms over and together and it delicious and easy. Thanks man!


 
Yesterday I cooked a recipe from Gourmet's Kitchenette called Lemon Chicken. She put a curry spin on a classic and man was it delicious! All 3 of my children loved them and asked for seconds! We are currently eating more for lunch!!! I doubled the recipe as  knew this recipe would be good just from reading it. The only thing that confused me was that it's called Lemon Chicken, but Lime juice was used. Doesn't matter, this chicken was so flavorful and the meat fell from the bone. It was AWESOME. Give her blog a look 'round. Her exotic flavors will have your stomach rumbling and tastebuds very intrigued!  Yes, taste buds have a mind of their own. Don't wiki that.
To make this healthier, remove the skin and use skim milk.

Being Broke Brings Out the Best!

I am not really creative but when times get rough, I can get the creative juices flowing. This past week, the kids and I were holed up in the house with colds and $20 in the bank. Sick AND broke??? How fuuuuun is that??!!! All that matters is the bills were paid and there was some food in the fridge and pantry.  So I had to be creative in the kitchen and for Halloween. Recently we were hit HARD by our gas and electric company. Too much to explain, so long story short we're paying an equivalent of 1200 bucks a month until February! So that forces me to tap my creative side with our food budget and Halloween costumes. My daughter really wanted to be a cat, so I made her costume up myself..though I had to purchase some things. My eldest son was a 'cheap ass' ghost. Basically a sheet with holes. Luckily they are cuties so my creation didn't look too horrific!  And again, like my daughter's birthday cake, all that matters is if they're happy. So on that note,  next year, in March even, I will be purchasing their costumes online ehehe! My daughter loooved hers, my son likes the idea of being a ghost rather than being a ghost. My baby didn't care, he's 19  months old hehe.

My friend Becca made the cat ears for her!!

Now on to the cheap ass food.

Monday I made a simple but soooo delicious Pork Belly from Jamie Oliver. This is actually one of my husband's favorite meals, but it's a guarantee hit with the kids and pork belly is so cheap. I paid only 1 dollar for 1 lb which is enough for us!  My daughter LOVES everything pork and potatoes. She is a meat and potatoes kind of girl, who loves vegetables. On Tuesday she ate 5 large carrots.......in one sitting. How can I say no to carrots?? But yeah, any night I make beef or pork, she will be more than likely to eat almost everything!  Also my Ninja Baby, who didn't eat meat for 6 months until he rediscovered Bacon, enjoyed the pork belly. So now Bacon, pork belly, and chicken are the only meats he will eat! 

Add the delicious sauce or 'jus' made from veg roasted in the fats and juices of the belly, along with water or more flavorful chicken stock and you have a winner! It's simple and delicious. I paired it with super simple mashed potatoes, the veg in the roaster and those microwavable steamed veg (they're awesome!!!) and I had a cheapo winner. Must try fo sho!

Pork Belly Roast

From Jamie Oliver (I halved everything but the garlic!)

Ingredients

1lb pork belly

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1 onion thickly sliced

1 carrot, peeled and halved lengthwise and then halved crosswise

1 celery stalk,  halved crosswise

1 bulb of garlic

small bunch of thyme, leaves picked

1 1/4 cup water or stock

Preheat oven to full blast. It needs to be at least 220C or 425F.

Place pork on a clean work surface, skin-side up. With a small knife, score about 1/2 inch apart though the skin into the fat, but not too deep that you cut into the meat. Rub salt into the scores, pulling apart a little. Brush any excess salt off the surface and turn over, then  season rest of meat lightly. Place in a pan big enough for both pork belly and vegetables.

Roast for 15 to 30 minutes until the skin of the pork starts to puff and you see LOVELY crackling beginning to form. Turn the  heat down to 180C/350F and roast for another 30 minutes. 

Take out of the oven and baste with the fat at the bottom of the pan. Carefully lift the pork up to transfer to a clean chopping board. Add all of the veg, garlic, and thyme to the pan and stir in them into the fat. Place the pork on top of everything and put it all back into the oven. Roast another 30 minutes. Carefully move meat to a serving dish, cover with foil, and leave to rest while you prepare the gravy..

Spoon fat from tray, then add water or stock and place it on the burner. Bring to a boil and simmer for a few minutes stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to scrape up tasty brown bits.  When you have a dark gravy,  pour it along with the veg and garlic through a sieve. PUSH down all the veg to get all the flavor from it as you can! Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with whatever you want. The crackling is AWESOME! My baby loved this the best hehe. I hope you all enjoy!!!!Save as Draft

How I Got My Husband To Eat Spinach!

My husband isn't a big spinach fan. Well, he loves raw spinach, but not cooked spinach. I remember one of the first things I cooked for my husband was a vegetarian lasagna and the main ingredient was spinach. The lovely smell of lasagna filled the house and while my mouth was watering, my husband just gave me a nervous smile. Time to eat, he took a few bites and confessed. I wasn't offended, but I did feel bad. He DID help me and didn't say anything!! Men. ;)

So since then, I only cooked spinach for myself and whenever I prepared a spinach dish for the family, it's always raw. But last night, I HAD to try yet another recipe from my Pampered Chef Cookbook, "Cooking For Two and More." This recipe features salmon, cream cheese, and spinach wrapped in phyllo dough. How yummy is that? And guess what? The husband enthusiastically agreed! Even my spinach phobic 4 year-old gobbled this down. Pair this with easy Skillet Lemon-Rosemary Potatoes and you have an easy, yet elegant looking meal on your hands!

This is a perfect mid week meal and the variations are endless!

Salmon & Spinach in Phyllo
Adapted from Pampered Chef's "Cooking  for Two and More"


Ingredients
1 t olive oil
4 cups of spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
8  (9 x 14 inches) thawed, frozen phyllo
Nonstick cooking spray
2 skinless salmon fillets (4-6 oz each), about 1 1/2 inch thick)
2 T chive and onion or any flavored cream cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 425F, Heat oil in a skillet until hot. Add spinach; season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir until spinach is wilted, about 1 minute. Remoce spinach to paper towel-lined plate. Squeeze out access moisture; set aside.

Lay out phyllo on large work surface and spray with cooking spray. Place second sheet of phyllo over first, pressing sheets together to seal. Continue laying down  and spraying phyllo sheet to create a stack of four sheets of phyllo. Repeat with remaining phyllo and additional cooking spray to create another phyllo stack.

Season salmon with salt and pepper. Spread each salmon fillet with half of the cream cheese spread and top with half of the spinach. For each phyllo bundle, place salmon, spinach side down, on phyllo stack 2 inches from bottom edge of the short side. Fold long side of phyllo in toward center, Gently roll up phyllo from bottom to top. Place in a small rimmed roastin pan seam side down. Make three diagonal slits across top of each bundle. Spray each bundle with cooking spray and bake for 11-13 minutes or until center of salmon registers 130F and phyllo is golden brown. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes before serving.


Lemon-Rosemary Skillet Potatoes
About 4 medium Yukon Gold Potatoes cut into 1 inch pieces
1/4 cup olive oil
2 T butter
2 T fresh rosemary, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 T lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions
Put potatoes in a large pan and cover with cold water. Parboil for about 10-15 minutes on medium high. You want firm, not mushy potatoes! You want to do this so they cook quickly and evenly in the skillet.

Now drain the potatoes and dry the potatoes with a paper towel as much as possible. In a skillet, preferable a cast-iron, heat oil and butter over medium-high heat. Add potatoes in one layer, turn every so often to ensure potatoes brown well; about 10 minutes.

Once potatoes are golden brown, lower heat to medium add garlic rosemary, salt and pepper turning frequently. After about 2 minutes, add lemon juice. Stir for one minute, then serve.

 Easy peasy. Crispy on the outside, nice and fluffy on the inside. This was the biggest hit with the baby! Great for folks with small ovens like me!



Sorry no progress photos, was alone with three hungry children and had to work quickly with the phyllo!! It is so simple as you will see!

Butterflied Sweet and Spicy Chicken!

Fellow food bloggers or people photograph food for whatever reason: have you ever gotten seriously hungry editing or going through your food flicks? I do and did this afternoon! I literally ate 15 minutes before editing, and whilst editing, I got a sudden craving for the very food I just prepared last night! Lucky for me I had just enough leftover and now I am very happy.

Hopefully when you look at my photos and read my blog you become hungry, too. More than just appetite-wise, but hungry to get in the kitchen and whip up your own amazing creation. It doesn't have to be some crazy feast, we all know or at least learn the hard way (me!), simple is better most of the time.

So yesterday, I whipped up some chicken and broccoli. Really simple and quite delicious. You can prep the chicken and sauce the night before and grill when you get home. This dinner is done within an hour, and
as my Aunt Ina Garten (ok imaginary aunt) says, "How easy is that?" Even better, you can stick the chicken in the oven!

So what makes this chicken special? It's butterflied.  A butterflied chicken is flattened and grills faster and more evenly. It's great when you're not in the mood to joint a chicken, too.

To butterfly a chicken you must remove the backbone using super sharp kitchen shears or a super sharp knife.

Ok, now remove any excess skin hanging around, and flatten the chicken out a bit. In the center you see a biggol bone. That there is the breast bone. 

With your boning knife, just lightly score around it. Bend the sides backwards to pop it free. You may need to cut it out, but be sure not to cut any flesh! Just around the bone!

Tuck the tips of the wing behind the breast if it already isn't. And there you have a pretty flattened birdy.

 Hey birdy!

Laying back ready for it's tan.

Now what to do with this bird? Grill it.

Honey Barbecue Chicken

Adapted from FineCooking September 2008 Issue

For the Rub

2T olive oil

2.5t kosher salt

1 t chili powder

1 t paprika

1 t brown sugar

1 t thyme

3/4 t freshly ground black pepper

1/4 t chipotle powder

1 t garlic powder

4-lb butterflied chicken (above technique), patted dry

Honey Glaze

1/2 cup honey

1 T soy sauce

1 T ketchup

2 t Dijon mustard

2 t Worcestershire sauce

1 t apple cider vinegar

Asian chili paste to taste (i used 1t!)

Directions

In a small bowl, mix all ingredients for rub (except chicken- just in case you're wondering!).

Now rub the season all over that bird including under the skin!

Using a spoon is the best way for me. But you can use a rubber spatula or your hands! Be careful not to tear the skin!

Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours or if you don't have the time, allow to sit at room temp for 30 minutes.

Prepare the honey glaze by combining all ingredients. Set aside, reserving 1/4 cup for for drizzling over cooked chicken.

Tinkerbell works her magic

Heat all burners on a gas grill on medium low or prepare a charcoal fire with a hot zone and a cooler zone with the lid down. Or heat your oven or 400F! Lightly oil grates. You should be able to  hold your hand a couple inches above the grill for 2 to 4 seconds. If it's too hot turn it down. It's too cool, wait a lil while. Set meat on grill and sear 5 to 10 minutes. Be sure to sear and not burn. Keep a close eye on  chicken in case of flare-ups.

Flip chicken and move to the cooler side of the fire (charcoal) or adjust burners on gas grills. For 3 burner gas grills, turn the middle burner off, and set the front and back burners to medium low.

Put grill's lid down and brush bird with honey glaze every 5 minutes, until instant read thermometer inserted in the thickes part of the thighs register 165F. Took be about 40 minutes. Depends on the grill, I guess.

Once done, allow to rest for five minutes and drizzle with reserved sauce.

This was so tender, juicy and full of flavor. This a must try at home!

I served this along with some caramelized broccoli with garlic. The children loved everything! Definitely a winner 'round here!