Sweet Tea Brined Fried Chicken Is Better Than The Rest

What are you trying to say, you might be asking. What on earth is "sweet tea brined chicken" you are wondering. Are you crazy, you probably mumble; and the answer to all of these questions would be YES, a resounding nonsensical YES. Sweet tea brined chicken is the new, new. Something about the tannins in the tea and the sweetness of the sugar that balances nicely with the herby and salty brine that makes this the go to brine for me for the next 6 months.

Lets cut to the chase and talk about how I did what I did and if you know me like I know me you know I wont be posting a recipe as much as I will describe the process. I took some legs and thighs and separated the drumstick from the thigh and then I trimmed the thigh of its extra fat and the tail bones and what not until they looked just right, and while I wanted to show a picture of this I determined that it was a little too much so you have to imagine it. Now you have your chicken pieces and its time to make the brine. You can use whatever combinations of spices you like, they sell pre-mixed poultry seasonings and these work fine, you can mix and match with cajun seasonings or whatever your little heart desires as long as it has salt, if it doesnt you need to add salt until its salty like the sea: until whats salty like the sea? You ask. Your chicken that is covered in sweet tea! Thats right. You can brew some tea and sweeten it or buy some half gallon jug of pre-made sweet tea and pour that over your chicken and spices.

Speaking of spices you can see some flecks of spices in my chicken and that is a combination of thyme and rosemary, my favorites to go with poultry, now let your chicken pieces sit in the brine for 3 hours up to 12 hours - any longer and your chicken might get a little too salty depending on how salty your brine is. Drain it, pat it dry and here comes the tricky part. Crush one large bag of wavy potato chips and mix with 3 cups of flour and add what ever combinations of herbs and spices and this will be your crunchy, crispy crust. Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour mixture, dip in beaten egg and dredge again, shaking off the excess. Fry at 300F turning often until they are pleasantly golden and the liquid that is showing is starting to get clear. Transfer to a wire rack and put in a 350F oven for 15 minutes to finish the cooking and to add extra crunch to the crunch. I fry the thighs and legs separate since they cook at a different rate.

Using your vegetable peeler you can peel some carrots, apple and cucumber into a bowl, toss with lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and a drip or two of honey and this is your slaw. Make some biscuits in the same hot oven that the chicken is in and in about 35-40 minutes you will be sitting down to this fantastic meal. This about sums it up and from where I sit there should be no questions.

Migrating Feast Tacos and New Mexico in Pictures From The Summer of 2012

I went on a little trip with my son to New Mexico in August and it was great fun to be home and see my family and large extended family and take in all the beauty that the wonderful Land of Enchantment has to offer. Two of the greatest perks on this trip were: Being asked by Farm & Table, one of the, if not the - hottest restaurant in Albuquerque - to be a guest chef on one of their closed nights to help create a $95 per person 8 course tasting menu for 60 distinguished guests including local and popular artists, business people and the Mayor of Albuquerque.

I made an apple pie tamale for dessert. Talk about hitting it out of the ballpark!

I also made a little tart. I am trying to track down the menu I cant find in all my piles of paper but when I do I will append this post.

The event at Farm & Table was an enormous success and I hope to do it again if not at this restaurant hopefully others.

Another perk of this trip was I also got a chance to shoot a segment for Migrating Feast. This is the second thing I have done for this series and I see more in the future.

Each and everything I do with Migrating Feast is something that I am proud of.

The best perk of all was being able to take my son around and do some of the things that I loved to do when I was a kid growing up in New Mexico. We walked around in my field (I own a house there on 5 acres) the ditches, and my parents back yard and we shot the BB gun and the bow and arrows. Huge fun.

We also saw many things. I want to show my son where I am from since he is being brought up in New York City its important for him to know about his heritage.

So once again my batteries get charged from the bright New Mexico sun and and all the delicious chile and I am ready to face the world head on again. I hope you enjoyed this photo vacation.

30 Days of Outdoor Dining *

Stuffed squash blossom with basil pesto alfredo 

and roasted red pepper sauce

When Kitchen PLAY asked me to participate in the “30 Days of Outdoor Dining” event sponsored by Land O'Lakes I knew what I wanted to prepare before I finished saying yes. Then the grueling days went by and the excitement turned to anxiety as I waited for my coupon to purchase my cheese until the day I opened my mail box, and there was the envelope. Now to get the cheese. Shopping to me is half the fun of cooking. The cheese was easy to find and it's available at the service deli section at a wide variety of grocery stores and independent delis. Dave the deli man was more than happy to slice it as thin or as thick as I wanted, offering me tastes as we went - he even asked me if I wanted him to separate it into quarter pound portions -great guy- and he gave me permission to post his picture, I can't wait for him to see this.

I picked a few things from the garden. Summer is the perfect time to make great healthy dishes, and having a garden makes it even easier.  Squash blossoms, cherry tomatoes, basil, and a red pepper will come together nicely with my Land O Lakes^® 4 Cheese Italian Blend and will make my little addition to the picnic have some color and flair.

My plan was to make an olive oil and blanched basil slurry then incorporate this into a creamy alfredo sauce with the cheese resulting in a basil pesto alfredo.

I first put in some flour and a knob of butter and stirred until my roux was a perfect golden blond. I then poured in my basil slurry and some water and about a quarter pound of this delicious cheese As it thickened I continued to thin it with water until it was the consistency I was looking for: not too thin, not too thick. I tasted for salt and pepper, decided it needed pepper and this sauce was done.

I charred the red pepper, peeled it, put it in the blender with some garlic and a little water until it was smooth. Then I warmed it up with a tablespoon of tomato paste to kick up the color, and this sauce was done.

The next step was to stuff the squash blossoms with a little bread crumb and some of the 4 Cheese Italian Blend and an egg to bind it all together. 

Once they were stuffed they were rolled in flour then egg then bread crumbs and shallow fried until crispy and golden. Now pack the blossoms in a Ziploc bag and your cut tomatoes and basil in small sandwich bags, put your two sauces in squeeze bottles and you are ready for your kicked up picnic.

I plated this dish up by first squirting a little of the alfredo sauce in the center, then I drizzled a little of the red pepper sauce around the edge. I placed the stuffed and fried blossom in the center of the sauces and garnished it with a little of my shredded basil and some sliced cherry tomatoes. This is most definitely the tastiest and cheesiest stuffed blossom I have ever had. The combination of the cheesy basil alfredo and the sweet spiciness of the red peppers balanced so nicely with the fried and crunchy goodness of the squash blossom with its ooey gooey cheese center. This is, without a doubt, a cheese lover's delight that is good warm and at room temperature. So pack this in your next picnic and have it on your deck, balcony, roof top or little patch of grass. You will not be disappointed and neither will your guests. Oh and it goes great with an ice cold pilsner or a crispy cold pinot gris.

Stuffed Squash Blossoms

6 fresh and large squash blossoms
1/2 pound of Land O Lakes^® 4 Cheese Italian Blend
2 large red peppers
20-30 basil leaves
2 cloves of garlic
1 cup all purpose flour
2 cups fresh bread crumbs
1 egg
4 T extra virgin olive oil
1 T tomato paste
2 T all purpose flour
2 T butter
2 cups water
1/4 cup olive oil for frying
Salt and Pepper to taste
Sliced cherry tomatoes and shredded basil for garnish

Method 


Basil Alfredo Sauce

Blanch the basil leaves in salted boiling water for 5 seconds then shock in and ice cold water bath.
Put basil in a blender with the olive oil and puree until smooth.

Make a roux with the 2T flour and the 2T butter, when roux turns a nice golden color add the basil slurry stirring constantly and drizzle in some cold water to maintain consistency, when it looks like the roux is at its thickest add half the cheese and more water until it is a smooth sauce that sticks to the back of the spoon.

Red Pepper Sauce

Char the peppers over a hot flame, when charred on all sides place in a plastic bag to sweat. Once the peppers are cool, peel the charred skin, discard the seeds and place the peeled peppers in a blender with the garlic and a little water, blend until smooth.

Transfer the red pepper sauce to a small saucepan and add the tomato paste, stir to warm and taste for seasoning.

Blossoms

Take the remaining quarter pound of cheese and mix it with the bread crumbs, add a pinch of salt and pepper and the egg. This is the filling for the squash blossoms. Take a blossom in one hand and gently split it open on one side so you have a flap, put in about a tablespoon or two of the filling until the blossom looks full and plump then wrap the petals back around to make a cylinder. Repeat with remaining blossoms.

Dredge the stuffed blossoms in flour then in egg then in the bread crumbs and fry in a pan with the 1/4 cup of oil until golden, drain on paper towels or a rack.

When ready to serve put some of the basil alfredo sauce on the plate and circle it with the red pepper sauce, put the blossom in the middle of the sauces and garnish with sliced cherry tomato and shredded basil.

Be sure to check Kitchen PLAY every day for the next fabulous recipe featuring new LAND O LAKES^® 4 Cheese Italian Blend or LAND O LAKES^® Deli American Cheese. Then, get in on the fun by leaving a comment with your own “30 Days of Outdoor Dining” tip for dining al fresco this summer. If you do, you’ll be entered to win a lovely grilling prize pack, including one grilling spatula, one marinade brush, one set of tongs and one grill scraper. Kitchen PLAY will be giving away four prizes total, one each week! Please visit Kitchen PLAY for sweepstakes guidelines.

*Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Land O’Lakes as part of the Kitchen PLAY SideCar series. The views and opinions are my own and are given without prejudice.