Pan Fried Chicken and Onion Rings

I love onion rings. Check that. I love good onion rings. I loathe bad onion rings. Unfortunately, good onion rings are hard to come by. They are not that difficult to make, but do require careful attention to the temperature of the oil.

In my last culinary class, we covered pan frying. The chicken came out OK, but the onion rings were not good. Most of the coating fell off, and they were limp and greasy. I was not happy. I thought I would try at home, and get everything right.

I used boneless, skinless chicken leg quarters. I cut each leg quarter in half. You could just use boneless skinless thighs, which are more common. Boneless reduces cooking time, and makes it easier to get everything cooked evenly. I placed the pieces between two sheets of plastic wrap, and pounded them to about one half inch thick.

In class, we used slightly different coatings for the chicken and onions. That was more complicated than I wanted to deal with for just the two of us. I used the same three stage method for both. Seasoned flour, beaten egg, seasoned bread crumbs. I used the same seasoning for both the flour and the bread crumbs. They were seasoned with cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, fresh ground black pepper, and salt. If you are going to use the same coatings for vegetables and chicken, make sure to coat the vegetables first. That way you avoid potentially contaminating your coating with the raw chicken. Once coated, place the vegetables and and chicken in the freezer for ten minutes. This helps set the coating, and stiffens the food up a bit, making it easier to handle.

My original plan was two separate pans for the chicken and onion rings, but I only had enough oil for one pan. To compensate for that, I put a couple of plates lined with paper towels in a 250 F oven, so that I could keep everything warm will I cooked.

My pan would only comfortably hold three of the four pieces of chicken all at once. It's important to not over crowd the pan. Too much food will drag down the temperature of the oil, and everything will end up limp and greasy.

I'm happy with the results. The chicken turned out moist, with a nice crispy coating. The onion rings were tender on the inside, and crunchy on the outside. I made a spicy honey mustard dipping sauce to go with both. The honey mustard dip is spicy brown mustard, honey, cayenne, and garlic Tabasco sauce.

Recipes

Pan Fried Chicken and Onion rings

2 boneless skinless chicken leg quarters, cut in to two pieces each
1 small yellow onion, cut into 1/2 inch wide rings

flour coat:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. ground cumin

egg wash:
3 eggs, beaten

crumb coat:
1 1/2 cups dried fine bread crumbs
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. ground cumin

Dredge onion rings in flour mixture. Thoroughly coat with egg wash, shaking off excess. Cover and press with crumb mixture, to ensure complete and even coverage.

Repeat procedure with chicken. Place chicken and onion rings in freezer for ten minutes.

Place two oven safe plates lined with paper towels in a 250 F oven.  In a large fry pan over medium to medium high heat, place about one half inch of vegetable oil. When oil is hot, carefully lower chicken into oil. Be careful not to crowd food into pan. When chicken is golden brown on the bottom, flip over.When fully cooked, transfer to a plate in the oven.

Repeat same procedure with the onion rings.

Honey mustard dipping sauce

1/3 cup spicy brown prepared mustard
3 Tbsp. honey
1/2 tsp. Cayenne powder
3 splashes garlic Tabasco sauce

Whisk together all ingredients until smooth.

Happy Eating!

Culinary Class: Sauteed Chicken Breast and Vegetables

In my culinary class, we are starting to work our way through the dry cooking methods. Last week was grilling, this week was sauteing. Saute comes from the French for 'jump', referring to the tossing of the food often done with this technique. Sauteing involves frying items over direct heat in just a little fat. With small items, the cook will often jerk the pan in rhythmic pattern to cause the pieces to jump out of, and back into the pan.

We started the class by doing the prep work for some other class, dicing a lot of carrots, parsnips, rutabagas, tomatoes, onions, and parsley. This was to practice our knife skills. As a computer geek, I immediately thought of it as distributed processing.

We then cut up the vegetables for our side dish. Onion, carrot, celery, two kinds of squash

After that, we broke down the chickens that we are using this week, and next. We saved the leg quarters for next week, and used the boneless, skinless breasts, and tenderloins this week. We sliced the breasts into pieces the same size as the tenderloins, and pounded them all flat between two pieces of plastic wrap.

We then breaded the chicken in the classic method. That involves dredging the chicken pieces in seasoned flour, then in egg, then again in seasoned flour.

We cooked the chicken in a little oil in a very hot pan. They cooked rapidly, about one minute per side. We then made a wine sauce to go with. After the chicken was removed, we drained the excess oil, then added garlic and onion to the pan. We cooked that for just a minute, then de-glaze the pan with a little white wine. We added some chicken stock, then let it come to a boil. We let it reduce a little, We then added some minced parsley, and returned the chicken to the pan. We let that cook a minute to re-warm the chicken.

I liked this. The chicken  was very tender. The wine sauce complimented the chicken very well.

We also sauteed the vegetables. The mirepoix (carrots, celery, and onions) was cooked first, then the squash. They were finished with a little parsley. They came out very nice, tender but not mushy.

Still working on real basic stuff, but at least the pace is picking up. We were kept moving until almost ten.

Wine sauce recipe courtesy of Chef Joe Orate.

Chef Joe's White Wine Sauce

1/4 onion, minced
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
3 oz by vol. white wine
1 pint chicken stock
4 oz by wt. butter, softened
1/2 cup minced parsley.

When finished sauteing meat, drain excess oil. Add onion and garlic to pan. Cook about one minute. Add wine to de-glaze the pan. Add stock. Bring back to a boil. Let reduce for a couple of minutes. Add butter, allow to melt. Add parsley. Cook briefly, then remove from heat and serve.

Happy eating!

Valentine's Day Dinner: Cocoa Rubbed Sirloin, Spicy Couscous, Asparagus with Hollandaise, and ChocoVine Sabayon

As a rule, the spouse and I do not go out of our way to celebrate Valentine's Day. We try to do little romantic gestures each and every day, so having a day set aside for romance seems silly. Still, I was in the mood to go all out at dinner, so I thought I'd make it special. Besides, I knew the spouse was going to have a trying day at work, so thought I would help with stress relief.

As a starter, I made a simple salad, with bronze leaf lettuce, ripe bosk pear, and chopped pecans. I made a simple vinaigrette of date vinegar, sesame oil, and a little sugar and salt.

While simple, the vinaigrette really highlighted the sweetness of the pear, and the pecans added a really nice textural contrast to the pear and the lettuce.

This was a nice opener, really whetting the palette.

For the main course, I grilled sirloin steak that I rubbed with a mixture of cocoa powder, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, and kosher salt. I love bitter chocolate with beef. I think it helps create a super nice crust, and really compliments the heartiness of the beef.

For starch, I made couscous flavored with onion, parsley, and berbere, an Ethiopian spice mix. Berbere is wonderfully complex, and fairly hot.

The spouse had picked up some wonderful asparagus. This is just about our favorite vegetable. I just lightly grilled it, to get a little char, but keep it al dente. I do not like my asparagus limp. I went with a classic, and made hollandaise to go on the asparagus. It was the first time I have tried it, but I followed this recipe by Tyler Florence, and it was really easy.

I had been gifted with a bottle of ChocoVine, a kind of cream liqueur flavored with red wine and chocolate, made in Holland. I used it to make a sabayon, adapting the recipe from the Moscato Zabaglione I made for my wine class last November. I garnished it with some ripe strawberries macerated with a little sugar, and piped a heart of dark chocolate.

The acid in the strawberries helped cut the heaviness of the sabayon a bit. The dark chocolate brought out more of the chocolate flavor of the ChocoVine.

All in all, I was very satisfied with this meal. I got the steak cooked to a perfect medium rare, the hollandaise had a nice tang, and really complemented the asparagus well. The sabayon was thick and creamy, and not too sweet.

Recipes

Date Vinaigrette

4 Tbsp. date vinegar
2 Tbsp. sesame oil
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Whisk all ingredients vigorously until an emulsion forms.

Cocoa Rub

4 Tbsp. cocoa powder
2 Tbsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. chili powder

Mix all ingredients together thoroughly. Liberally sprinkle on steaks at least five minutes before grilling.

Simple Hollandaise

4 egg yolks
2 Tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice
pinch salt
1/2 cup melted butter

In  a double boiler over barely simmering water, whisk together egg yolks, lemon juice, and salt until thick and doubled in volume. Slowly drizzle in melted butter while whisking, until butter is incorporated and sauce is thick and smooth.

ChocoVine Sabayon

6 egg yolks
3/4 cup ChocoVine liqueur
1 cup heavy cream
3 large ripe strawberries, sliced thin
2 tsp. sugar

In a small bowl, mix together strawberries and sugar. Set aside.

Whip cream to medium stiff peaks. Set aside.

In a double boiler over barely simmering water, whisk together egg yolks and ChocoVine together until thick and smooth. Place bowl with egg mixture  in an ice bath, continue to whisk until room temperature. Fold cream into egg mixture. Pour or spoon into serving containers. Garnish with strawberry slices.

Happy Eating!

Chicken Party Recipes Part 1

The first post on the Chicken Tasting Party has the pictures of the dishes and the descriptions. Here are the recipes for the first four dishes.

Chicken, Hazelnut, and Dried Cranberry Salad

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp.kosher salt
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
1 tbsp honey.
1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts
1/4 cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped
micro basil to garnish

Cut chicken into 1/2 inch cubes. Simmer chicken, oregano, thyme, and salt in a water in a small sauce pan. When chicken is done, strain and cool. In a bowl, mix mayonnaise, yogurt, rosemary, and honey. Stir in chicken, nuts, and cranberries. Plate, garnish with micro basil.

Asian Cold Noodle Salad

1 lb. chicken tenders
1/2 cup unsalted peanuts
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/3 cup lime juice
3 tbsp. fish sauce
3 tbsp. soy sauce
3 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
2 small hot chilies, minced
8 oz. rice noodles
1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
3 small white cucumbers, cut into matchsticks
1/2 lb. pea pods, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 cup salted peanuts, chopped
1/4 cup white parts of scallions, cut in thin slices
2 tbsp. basil, cut in thin strips

Dice chicken. Place unsalted peanuts in a food processor. Process peanuts, dribbling in olive oil until peanuts have the consistency of peanut butter. Whisk together fresh peanut butter, lime, juice, fish sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and chilies. Place chicken and 1/2 sauce in a sealable plastic bag, and refrigerate for at least two hours. Bring a stock pot of water to a boil. Turn off heat, add rice noodles, let stand ten minutes. Drain noodles, place in an ice water bath to stop cooking. Remove from bath and refrigerate noodles. Remove chicken from marinade, stir fry in a hot wok with a little canola oil. Cool chicken. Toss noodles with chicken, vegetables, and remaining sauce. Garnish with scallions, basil, and peanuts.

Eggplant Parmigiana with Chicken Alfredo Sauce

For eggplant parmigiana:

2 medium white eggplant
1 cup fine bread crumbs
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp. Italian herb seasoning
1 tbsp. kosher salt
2 eggs, beaten
canola oil for frying

Slice eggplant into 1/2 inch thick rounds. In a bowl, mix breadcrumbs, cheese, herbs, and salt. In a large frying pan, put 3/4 inch of canola oil, heat to 370 degrees. Run eggplant slices through egg, then dredge with breadcrumb mixture. Fry eggplant in oil, a few at a time, turning over once. Cook until golden brown on both sides.

For chicken alfredo sauce:

2 boneless skinnless chicken breasts
1 cup butter
2 cups heavy cream
2 8 oz packages cream cheese
1 cup parmesan cheese
2 tbsp. minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste.

Season breasts with salt and pepper. Grill on a hot grill until cooked through. Let cool, then shred meat. In a large saucepan on medium-low heat, melt butter. Add cream and cream cheese, stir until cream cheese is melted and incorporated with the butter. Add parmesan and garlic, stir until melted. Add shredded chicken. Season with salt and pepper.

Pulled Chicken Sandwiches with Hoisin Barbeque Sauce

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts and thighs
3 small white cucumbers, cut into matchsticks
1/2 large red onion, cut into thin strips
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
juice of 1/2 lemon
3/4 plus 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. whole allspice berries
1 tsp. whole cloves
1/2 tsp. black peppercorns
1/2 tsp. chilli powder
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. minced garlic
3/4 cup hoisin sauce
1/3 cup soy sauce
24 Hawaiian sweet rolls

Place chicken in crockpot on high. When cooked, shred. For the pickle, place cucumber and onion in a bowl, mix with salt and lemon juice. In a small saucepan, place 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar, allspice, cloves, peppercorns, chili powder, and sugar. Bring to a boil, cook until sugar is disolved. Remove from heat, allow to cool to room temperature. Pour over cucumbers and onions, place in refridgerator to chill. For barbeque sauce, in a saute pan over medium heat, saute garlic in olive oil. Add hoisin, soy, and 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar. Cook until thickened. Add barbeque sauce to shredded chicken in the crockpot. Cut rolls in half, place on a cookie sheet cut side up. Place under a low broiler for about a minute, until rolls are lightly toasted. Put a layer of chicken on each bun, top with pickled vegetables.