Fallen Souffle

So Evan decided he has a hankering for fried chicken. I don’t know who he thinks he is, or who he married, but I do not claim to be a southern cook. I cook healthy balanced meals that almost always include some kind of green veggie. (not that Evan eats the green veggie, but still, it is there). But because I am such a loving wife, I went out and bought a cast iron skillet and a tub of Crisco and decided we were going to fry some chicken.

What is hard about this dish is that I don’t normally eat fried chicken so it’s hard for me to know how to fix it. Luckily we happened to DVR an episode of Good Eats in which Alton shows an easy step by step method to fry up our favorite bird (Leave it to the southerners to turn an otherwise healthy protein into a grease pit). We re-watched the show and set up our stations just as Alton suggested. We armed ourselves with three sets of tongs and our handy digital thermometer. All and all the process went smoothly. The chicken burned just a bit because we have a flat topped stove and I think the direct heat kinda threw the cooking process off. But nonetheless the chicken is all gone between Evan’s two helpings at dinner and his breakfast the next morning. Thank goodness for his morning basketball games!

Alton’s Fried Chicken
1 broiler/fryer chicken, cut into 8 pieces
2 cups low fat buttermilk
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
(I used Emeril’s Bam seasoning instead of this mixture)
Flour, for dredging
Vegetable shortening, for frying

Place chicken pieces into a plastic container and cover with buttermilk. Cover and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.

Melt enough shortening (over low heat) to come just 1/8-inch up the side of a 12-inch cast iron skillet or heavy fry pan. Once shortening liquefies raise heat to 325 degrees F. Do not allow oil to go over 325 degrees F.

Drain chicken in a colander. Combine salt, paprika, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. Liberally season chicken with this mixture. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

Place chicken skin side down into the pan. Put thighs in the center, and breast and legs around the edge of the pan. The oil should come half way up the pan. Cook chicken until golden brown on each side, approximately 10 to 12 minutes per side. More importantly, the internal temperature should be right around 180 degrees. (Be careful to monitor shortening temperature every few minutes.)

Drain chicken on a rack over a sheet pan. Don’t drain by setting chicken directly on paper towels or brown paper bags. If you need to hold the chicken before serving, cover loosely with foil but avoid holding in a warm oven, especially if it’s a gas oven.

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So I thought I would post my final Wilton cake. I wasn’t as pleased with the final outcome as my previous cakes. For one thing, I used twice as much butter as was called for in the cake recipe, but Evan didn’t seem to mind that. In addition, it was about 110 degrees outside that day so the fondant was not cooperating. I now have so much more respect for cake decorators that churn out 15 cakes each weekend during the height of the summer wedding season. I am quite happy with the flowers on top though. They took about 2 hours in total to make about 8 but I think they are worth the work.

So in all, I am quite happy with my progress in the 3 month cake class. I am kinda glad it is over just because I am sick of making icing each week, but I do miss the people I met during the class. Though I have a feeling we will meet again

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