Oven “Fried” Cornflake Chicken

14 Sunday Apr 2013

Posted by in Cooking, Entertaining, Southern

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Trying to eat healthy but still craving your favorite comfort food? Or are you like me and getting to the point where you can’t eat much fried food anymore?  I’d been craving fried chicken but didn’t want the stomach ache and calories.  I did my research and came up with this one.  I’m pretty happy with the results:

Oven “Fried” Cornflake Chicken

Ingredients: (all organic and/or natural if you can)

  • 4 chicken breasts, trimmed
  • 2 cups light buttermilk (or fat free if you can get it)
  • 6 garlic cloves, smashed and roughly chopped
  • 2 tablespoons kosher salt
  • 1.5 teaspoons of smoked paprika
  • 1.5 teaspoons of freshly cracked pepper
  • 4 cups of finely crushed corn flakes
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • Extra paprika, salt, and pepper to mix in with the corn flake mixture

The day before you plan to cook, place the buttermilk, garlic, salt, pepper, and paprika in a zip lock bag or sealable container.  Add in the chicken breasts and massage the buttermilk mixture onto the chicken.  Make sure the chicken is fully submerged in the buttermilk brine.  Don’t leave the chicken in the brine more than 48 hours.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Prep a baking sheet by placing tin foil in it and then placing a baking rack in it, sprayed with Pam.

When you’re ready to cook, set up your dredging stations.  You’ll need 3 shallow plates / bowls (pie plates work great).  Take each piece of chicken directly from the brine and dredge in the flour mixture.  Then dredge the floured chicken in egg.  Then dredge in the cornflake mix and pat as much onto the chicken as you can.  Place each piece of chicken on the rack.  Bake for 45 minutes.

I served this with parmesan grits, baked zucchini, and sautéed kale.

The power of two little words…

17 Sunday Feb 2013

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Growing up the daughter of a proper Momma, I was taught from a young age the power of a well written Thank You note.  I capitalize Thank You because it deserves the emphasis. Saying the words means one thing. Its polite. Taking the time to write a note, pen (or crayon, as we did in our early years) in hand?  That says you took the time to truly appreciate the gift.  The hand written note is quickly losing its popularity and I, for one, vociferously object to the loss of the truly thoughtful note of thanks.  I just spent a long weekend as the guest of friends for Mardi Gras.  Not only did I send a Thank You note, I also brought a host gift when I arrived AND sent a Thank You gift after I returned home.  Their hospitality had been gracious and kind and deserved the acknowledgement.

People often do not consider the lack of a proper Thank You implies that you are, in fact, not thankful.  You possibly didn’t receive the gift that someone spent the time, effort, or money to give you?  My mother sent a family friend a gift for her daughter and worried it had been lost in the mail or stolen because she never heard from the person.  I once gave a friend personalized stationery for her birthday…and I didn’t get a Thank You note. Did I have to give her stamps too?  A self address envelope? I remember as a child hearing my Mother say that my Grandmother had stopped sending gifts to a certain person because she never received an acknowledgement at all of the gift.  I remember thinking at the time, “Wow, thats pretty harsh…” but as an adult I get it. Someone took the time to do something nice for you, you can take 5 minutes to say thanks on a piece of paper.  Email, in my opinion, works for the casual thank you.  A work related favor from a peer.  A note to say thanks for lunch to a vendor.  But a proper thank you note is a MUST when a service or a gift has been provided. Otherwise the person may feel taken for granted.  Worse, they may begin to resent having gone through the effort to perform the kind act you might be grateful for.  It may not have been a gift.  It may have been as simple a thing as having you over for dinner, interviewing you for a job, or watching your dog while you were out of town overnight.  SAY THANK YOU.  Be gracious. Be kind. Remember, one of these days you might need someone to be good to you…and will they want to be, based on how you have treated them in return?  And remember, although YOU may not be a person who expects a Thank You note, the person who performed the kind act may very well be.  Its good manners. Its proper etiquette. Its good KARMA.

Thank You for reading.

Letting go

04 Friday Jan 2013

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In your 20′s, when your Momma tells you that all of your friends won’t be there in the years to come…you think she’s crazy.  Momma G. was not crazy.  She was right, as usual.  In 2012, the hardest part of my life was admitting to myself that it was time to let some friendships go.  They had been long gone and I’d been holding them on life support, trying desperately to pump some sort of life in them.  In my heart, I knew it was time.  This wasn’t a dramatic parting, rather a long overdrawn conclusion of years of painful steps.  Growing apart. 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th chances.  People not evolving in the same way as you…  And it was time for us to part ways.  I will always treasure the memories.  I will always love them.  But now?  Now I am finally reconciled that we are no longer the same as we were.  I treasure the memories.  The laughter.  The jokes.  But going forward?  Its a new world.  If I hold onto the “what was” and don’t accept the “what is” I will become bitter and angry.  I do not want to view these happy faces, these treasured moments as bitter, angry moments. We were happy.  We were joyous.  Then.  Are we the same as we were? No.  But that does’t make the memories any less beautiful.

Domestic Diva: Healthy Black Eyed Pea Salad

14 Sunday Oct 2012

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I’ve been remiss in my blogging and I know there’s no excuse. I’ve been busy and it is football season.  I’m also getting back on the healthy foods band wagon after taking a break for our trip to New Mexico last month. That being said, I went to an Irish BBQ yesterday for a friend whose parents were over from the Emerald Isle.  (Lets not debate that what they call BBQ, we call grilling or a cook out – seriously, its cultural.)  I wanted to bring something healthy, yet southern.  All of the ingredients can easily be substituted for others within the same genre, to your taste.

Healthy Black Eyed Pea Salad:

  • 2 cans plain black eyed peas OR 1 container (pint) of fresh black eyed peas from the grocery veggie section if you can find it.
  • 1 can of whole kernel corn or 1 cup of frozen roasted corn (Trader Joes has a great version) defrosted.  Fresh corn is ALWAYS best, but I didn’t feel like cooking, roasting, shucking, etc.
  • 1 bunch of green onions, diced fine
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced finely
  • 1 purple onion, diced finely
  • Grapeseed oil (or Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
  • Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1/2 of a bunch of fresh cilantro (you can also use parsley) finely diced
  • Smoked paprika
  • Sea Salt or Kosher Salt
  • Fresh ground black pepper

If you are using canned vegetables, pour them into a colander and rinse them with cold water.  Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and carefully fold with a wooden spoon (you don’t want to mash the beans).  Slowly add small amounts of the oil and vinegar till you get a light coating (you don’t want more than 2 inches of liquid at the bottom of the bowl) and then add in your seasonings to your taste.  I love smoked paprika (I even add a little shake of cayenne pepper b/c I like it spicy) but if that isn’t your thing, you can use Adobo Seasoning (and leave OUT the salt as this seasoning already has salt in it) or use your own personal choice of seasonings.  Onion powder and garlic powder would be good.  Stir it all up till its seasoned to your taste.  This recipe is also MUCH better the next day so its a perfectly healthy make ahead side dish (or a very healthy dip if you serve it with baked Tostitos Scoops).

You can use any kind of bean for this.  I love black eyed peas, but I also make a more of a “latin flair” version with black beans (I use adobo, chipotle, etc. to flavor it).  Using canned ingredients in the colder months gives you the opportunity to serve a fresh, light side dish even in the coldest months.  I made a big batch of this yesterday and took a big bowl to the BBQ, then reserved 4 servings for myself to take to lunch as a side dish.

The Ultimate Southern Foodie Wedding Gift

11 Wednesday Jul 2012

Posted by in Cooking, Friends, Southern

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So some of you know that I have some awesome friends in Denver, Colorado.  I truly enjoy working from my company’s offices up there because Denver itself is an amazing city. However, one of the reasons I enjoy my trips even more because I get to spend time with the gal who should have been my sorority Big Sister? More importantly, she has been a wonderful friend, mentor, and inspiration to me over the years. So when she got married, I was stumped.  What in the world should I get them for a wedding gift? They were both highly successful people. They pretty much got everything on their registry and I wanted to give them a unique gift.  So finally, on my last visit, tragically breaking etiquette by being over a year late with my gift AND breaking the rules even more by asking what she’d want…we had a break through. Denver Doll (her blog name, folks) told me that she always loved it when I brought them Southern food like grits when I came to visit.  Could I send them a few things?  Her husband loves to cook. I think he might be the biggest foodie I know. Our last visit, he showed me his new curing cabinet – to cure his own meats.  How amazing is that?  So suddenly, I had my gift.  I would give them the Ultimate Southern Foodie Wedding Gift!

I took to the web (Twitter, ahoy!) and started asking.  I needed to find things that were portable and could be shipped.  But what to send?  VOILA:

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  • Basic to Brilliant, Y’all:  By Virginia Willis – Its signed.  She’s a fabulous Southern chef who I’ve had the privilege to meet.  Not only is she gracious and kind, but she’s one hell of a cook.  I attended a dinner at Restaurant Eugene  (a recent James Beard winner!) to celebrate the launch of this cookbook and knew this needed to be in the care package.
  • Garden & Gun Magazine:  Absolutely my favorite magazine.  I love it so much, I wrote a blog about it and joined a Secret Society.
  • Charleston Blood Mary Mix:  It won the Best of the South award in Garden & Gun Magazine and my a good friend from Mobile, AL swears by it in his Hangover Bloody Mary’s.
  • Emily G’s Jams and Pepper Vinegars:  She’s a local Atlantan who has a great, quality product.  I always have a supply of her jams in my pantry for special occasions.  The pepper jelly makes a great “cooling” appetizer just simply served over cream cheese with sturdy crackers.  The pepper jellies can make any green or even steamed brussels sprouts taste divine!
  • Cafe Du Monde Beignet Mix and Chicory Coffee – I think these speak for themselves.  Courtesy of the Great State of Louisiana.
  • Bourbon Barrel Foods:  Bourbon Smoked Salt, Bourbon Smoked Paprika, and Bourbon Smoked Sugar – simply some of the best spices I’ve ever used.  The paprika really makes any recipe stand out.  Try it in homemade pimiento cheese!  YUM!  I’ve also included 3 of their custom Bourbon sugars.  I’m a HUGE fan of them in baking, drink mixing, or using them paired with the spices as rubs for pork chops.
  • Fried Green Tomatoes from the Whistle Stop Cafe – Alabama.  I loved the book!  I can’t send the fried green tomatoes from South City Kithchen that have a thin layer of goat cheese on the tomato before they are fried…but I can send a decent mix!
  • Bruce’s Sweet Potato Mix:  The Sweet Potato Pancakes at the Highland Bakery here in Atlanta are always on our list.  They are so rich, we normally order a serving to share at the table as dessert.
  • Carroll Shelby’s Chili Mix:  A personal fave.  I know they are in “Chili Country” in Colorado, so I’ll just say this is a good standby for a rainy day!
  • Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix: No good Southern Woman would go without this in her pantry.
  • Phickles Pickles from Athens, GA:  Perfectly paired with your Bloody Marys!  I love the picked okra, beans, asparagus, and carrots.  Healthy and delicious!
  • Wickles:  Wickedly sweet and hot pickles from Alabama, these are favorites of anyone who likes spicy and sweet.
  • Priester’s Pecans!  A bucket of roasted and salted pecans, pecan meal, pecan maple syrup, pecan divinity, and pecan pralines.  When I told these folks about the gift, they called me back and made suggestions.  The cheese straws were their suggested addition for y’all.  Such sweet people!  Of course I called the one near Auburn!
  • Duke’s Mayonaise:  A truly Southern staple.  When Auburn Sis lived in Baltimore, she had to find this in the “foreign foods” section at the grocery store!
  • GRITS:  Auburn Sis found out about your gift and insisted on including the Speckled Heart Grits from Callaway Gardens, our little botanical sanctuary down near Columbus.  Truly wonderful.  I also included a bag of the traditional stone ground that you’ll need to soak before you cook.
  • Louisiana fish fry and Hush Puppy mix!
  • Sorghum!
  • Natur Almond Butter – the BEST Almond Butter I’ve ever had.  It sells out all over Atlanta.  I had to go to 3 different specialty food stores before I found some.  I met the owners last year when they were first starting out. Its her Grandmother’s recipe and its fabulous.
  • Fox Brother’s BBQ sauce – Award winning and a local favorite.
  • Carolina Treet Mustard style sauce – My other favorite style of barbeque, South Carolina style!
  • Merililly Pepper Jelly – Just because!
  • Savannah Bee Company Orange Blossom Honey – My uncle was a bee keeper in central Florida when I was a little girl and the smell of orange blossoms still trigger scent memories for me.  I personally believe Orange Blossom Honey is the best of all honeys.  Its incredibly sweet and fragrant.  Far more than clover honey or other honey types.
  • Truffle Salt – Because they asked.

I had so much fun creating this gift and I truly hope my friends enjoy it. It arrives tomorrow, SHHH!!

Domestic Diva: Penne a la Vodka

24 Sunday Jun 2012

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I’ve been making this recipe for years now, refining, tweaking, and I’m pretty happy with the results.  Its a special occasion dish, because the sauce itself is a labor of love.  But its worth it.  I normally serve it with chicken (preferably brined – see previous brining post – w/ basil and garlic for 2 hours before baking in the oven) and a caprese salad with homemade balsamic vinaigrette.

Penne A La Vodka

Ingredients:

  • 2 TBS extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 TBS butter
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 cup of vodka
  • 2 shallots, minced
  • 1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes (optional – if you like it spicy!)
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 1 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
  • Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste (you’ll want to add the salt slowly over time to see how the flavor develops).
  • 1 or 2 tsp of sugar (depending on your taste)
  • 1/2 cup of heavy cream
  • 12 ounces of penne pasta, cooked al dente
  • 1-2 large bunches of fresh basil (about 20-30 leaves), sliced into a chiffonade (little ribbons)
  • 1 loaf of crusty bread (italian or french) lightly toasted

Heat a large, deep skillet over medium heat.  Add the oil, butter, garlic, shallots, and red pepper flakes and sauté until the shallots are transparent.  Add the vodka and reduce it down by half (about 5-10 minutes) and then add the chicken stock and tomatoes.  Bring the sauce back to a simmer and reduce back down again by half (this will take 20 minutes at least, more if you’ve doubled the recipe.  Once the sauce is reduced down by half (use the sides of the pan as a measuring gauge – and the sauce will be much thicker – this is a very important step, you have to let the sauce reduce down) add your salt, pepper, and sugar to taste.  I normally add about a tsp of kosher salt at a time to prevent from over salting.  Let the sauce continue to simmer while you make your pasta according to the box directions.  When the pasta is done, drain it thoroughly and set it aside.  Add the cream into the pasta sauce and allow it to come back up to a simmer.  Remove it from the heat and add your basil leaves.

Toss the pasta and sauce with some sliced chicken (I just brine mine the night before  and bake in the oven till its cooked through) and serve with crusty bread.  YUM.

Cook’s Note:  I would never suggest using cheap vodka for this recipe. The general rule of thumb is that if you wouldn’t drink it, you should definitely not cook with it!

Domestic Diva: Perfect Pork Chops

18 Monday Jun 2012

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So last night, I whipped up a big batch of brine and brined some bone in thick cut pork chops, 2 split chicken breasts, and some smaller chicken breasts.  I made the pork chops for dinner tonight and…my hand to God…they were be best I’d ever eaten.  I have to document this so I don’t forget it either!

Perfect Pork Chops:

Ingredients:

  • 2-4 Thick Cut Bone In Pork Chops (1-1.5 inches thick)
  • 4 quarts water
  • 3/4 cup kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup packed Splenda brand brown sugar mix
  • Bay leaves (approximately 6)
  • 20 black peppercorns
  • 5 large sprigs of rosemary

Bring the water, salt, and splenda to a slow simmer till the salt and sugar dissolve, then bring the water to a boil.  Add the seasoning and let the mix get down to room temperature.  Make sure to let the brine get down to room temp before putting in your pork chops. Cover securely and let them sit in the refrigerator for 6-8 hours (I let them go over night and took them out of the brine as soon as I got up). Pat the pork chops dry.  Store in a safe container until you’re ready to cook.  Let the pork get down to room temperature before you cook it.

Pre heat your oven to 425 degrees. Make sure its nice and hot!  Using an oven safe pan, spray with high heat cooking spray (regular Pam or Olive Oil will burn!) and sear the pork chops on both sides for 3-4 minutes each till a nice golden brown crust forms. Put a pat of butter on top of each chop and put them in the oven for 7 minutes (skip this step if you’re doing this low fat – I’m doing low carb right now so a little butter is allowed).  Remove right at 7 minutes and let sit for 5 minutes.  They will be perfectly lightly pink inside.  Enjoy!

The portions above make a LOT of brine (enough to brine a whole large chicken!) so you can cut them in half if you want.

Brining: **Key here, do NOT go over times for brining! You will have super salty meat.**

  • 6-8 hours for the pork chops (I did it over night)
  • 2 hours for split chicken breasts
  • 1 hour for the small chicken breast cutlets
  • Whole chicken: Over night
  • Small game hen: 2-3 hours

The Garden and Gun Club

16 Saturday Jun 2012

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My discovery of Garden & Gun magazine came with a hilarious gaffe and gift. A friend from my Auburn crew offered me a gift membership.  Via Twitter, I famously replied, “Can I have the Garden without the Gun?”

I can safely say I earned a lot of jokes at my expense there. Amazingly, she still gave me the gift membership.  My first issue arrived and I sat on my back patio, drinking my coffee on a Sunday morning and read it from cover to cover. It was brilliant. Well written, not pandering or kitschy “look how Southern we are, hee haw!” as some other magazines, books, or television shows can be.  Its a gentile look at my beloved South – the full South. Having been born in Georgia, raised in Florida, then spending my final high school and college years in Alabama, and now living in Atlanta, I know the South is more than just grits, fried chicken, and Paula Deen (although I do just adore her – I cannot help it). And there are so many aspects of being Southern.  This magazine captures it eloquently and respectfully.  I devour every issue and my friends and I all talk about how much we LOVE the magazine. So much so that I finally decided I needed to join the Garden and Gun Club.  I signed up last week for their Secret Society and my welcome package just arrived in the mail.

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What a treat!

  • An invitation to the Annual Secret Society gathering (this year’s is at Blackberry Farm in Tennessee, which I’ve always wanted to go to!)
  • A year’s magazine subscription
  • Five free gift subscriptions
  • Southern Secrets: The G&G Guide to the Best of Southern Culture
  • A longleaf pine seedling planted in my honor
  • A custom G&G weekend bag (I’m using it today!)
  • A custom G&G Club baseball hat
  • Advance access to the Southern Agenda events calendar
  • Look Who’s Talking emails from G&G contributors
  • 10% discount on all G&G merchandise
  • 2 Garden & Gun koozies

I’m going to start budgeting now for next year’s Secret Society gathering!  I hope they have it at Blackberry Farm again.  That would be amazing!  In the meantime, its time to figure out who doesn’t have a Garden & Gun subscription and start sharing the love!

Game Day Gorgeous

07 Thursday Jun 2012

Posted by in Auburn University, Favorite Things, Southern

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It goes without saying that I’m a big fan of dressing up on game day. In my opinion, I have no excuse to EVER wear a jersey when I can rock a dress with accessories or another fabulous combo.  I love this part of being a southern girl. You can look good, love the game, AND throw a kick ass tailgate party.  So last fall, I asked the amazing ladies of Elva Fields to design me a custom piece of jewelry.  I had my beautiful orange necklace with a blue brooch, and two other fabulously glam orange necklaces…but I was also looking for the opposite – a truly navy necklace w/ dark orange accents. Variety is the spice of life!

The elegant ladies of Elva put up with my picky requests, my rejection of the EXACT shade of Auburn orange brooch they found me (yes, it was absolutely Auburn burnt orange, not Texas burnt brown orange – do you know how hard that is to find? – but not the look I wanted on this necklace) and finally, months later… Game Day Gorgeous was created.

Game Day Gorgeous:  Polished lapis lazuli with vintage orange celluloid and coral flower ornaments with gold vermeil and lapis clasp.

I’m in LOVE.  It is absolutely exactly what I was looking for.  The quintessential Auburn game day necklace. A one of a kind collectible piece of perfection. I love you, Elva Fields!

A side note:  I was wearing a different Elva piece today and a co worker stopped me in mid sentence and said, “I normally don’t even notice a woman’s jewelry, but I have to tell you that necklace is GORGEOUS! I can’t stop looking at it.”  I gave him the website so he could get his wife a present for her birthday.  A few hours later, another co worker demanded I tell her where I got the same necklace after claiming she couldn’t focus on our conversation because she kept STARING at my necklace thinking, “PRETTY!!” Elva’s pieces are just plain AMAZING.

Equal rights still aren’t equal…

09 Wednesday May 2012

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I walk a fine line in many social circles with my view on politics, but the one thing I’m completely open about is my full and un shaking support of equal rights for all when it comes to marriage.  Let me be clear on this when I say two consenting adults, regardless of sex. There are countries where children are married when they are babies. That isn’t equal rights, that is child marriage. So for those of you out there that like to make the absurd argument that if I’m a supporter of equal rights for all types of marriage, I should support the crazy dude that wants to marry an animal, let me be clear – You’re an asshole.

Yesterday the state of North Carolina passed a constitutional amendment that didn’t just ban Gay Marriage.  It also invalidated domestic partnerships and civil unions. They have essentially stripped gay couples of all of their rights under the law. Companies would no longer have to provide domestic partner benefits. A hospitalized gay man or woman could be banned from seeing their partner in the hospital. If their partner died, they could be legally limited from certain inheritances and are already banned from receiving social security benefits (b/c of federal law).

So really, North Carolina isn’t just making gay men and women 2nd class citizens, they are relegating them to a whole new class.  The unwanted, unequal, and unwelcome.  No one is asking us to force churches to marry gay couples. As a matter of fact, Catholic churches aren’t forced to marry non catholics, nor are they forced to marry divorced catholics.  They can simply say no. Gay couples aren’t asking to have churches, temples, or any religious body marry them.  They are simply asking for equal civil rights under law.  The government issues a marriage license. Its not a civil union license. Its called a MARRIAGE license.  With that marriage license comes specific benefits w/ tax breaks and medical benefits via their health insurance.

So what are you really trying to say?  If marriage was JUST a religious thing, then judges couldn’t marry people.  Only religious figures could. This isn’t about religion, this is about bigotry, hatred, and fear.  I am a christian. I believe in equal rights.  Some of the most loving couples I know are gay. I am straight and I am NOT threatened by gay marriage.  No gay man ever tried to steal my boyfriend.  No lesbian woman I know who wanted to get married threatened the marriage of a straight couple.

Get over yourselves, America. Your protection of “marriage” as an institution is as flawed as a person who doesn’t believe in eating meat telling everyone that eating meat is now illegal.  Could you stand there and tell someone who’s life partner is dying that they are not allowed to be there to hold their hand while they take their last breath? Do you honestly believe a human being who loves another isn’t allowed to legally declare that love by forming a binding contract and form a home together? If so, apparently you need to move to North Carolina.  Which sounds crazy because I live in Georgia and I thought we were in the bible belt, with Alabama being the buckle.  They just took this to a whole new level of crazy.  Now they’ve tossed the gauntlet for civil law suits galore and made other red states who need to prove how conservative they are in an election year inspired to pass similar laws.

It’s terrifying. It’s wrong. And I don’t thing it’s what Jesus would do either…

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