Southern Specialties

I love my friend Tiffany. She is an incredible person and a great chef to boot. It is always a pleasure to dream up and cook great meals with her in the kitchen. The best part is that we work so well together. We never get in each others way and we are both so inquisitive and interested in what the other is doing.

This weekend we decided to make some of Tiffany's Southern favorites. The fried chicken recipe comes from Tiffany's mother. The other two (Tiffany's tasty Mac and Cheese and Bacon and Onion Spinach) we made up on the fly. Keep in mind that this meal is a real artery clogger, so all of you dieters out there BEWARE.

Special thanks to Tiffany for being the inspiration behind this meal.

Tiffany's Southern Fried Chicken
This chicken is so delicious. Having never made fried chicken before I was amazed at how easy this was to prepare.

4 or five packets of chicken legs and thighs
3 cups of flour
1 tbsp of cayenne pepper
3 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp kosher salt
Vegetable oil

Place about 3 to 4 cups of vegetable oil into a large frying pan and set the heat a little below medium (You want the oil to be about halfway up the chicken once you put it in the pan.). Let the oil heat for about 20 minutes. While the oil is heating place the flour, cayenne pepper, black pepper and kosher salt into a large brown paper bag. Be sure not to pre flour the chicken because the flour cakes due to the moisture on the chicken. Once the oil is ready place five to six pieces of chicken into the bag, close tightly and shake. Remove chicken from the bag and carefully place into the oil, making sure not to over-crowd the pan which will bring down the temp. of the oil (not good for when you want a good scald on an item) Cook until golden brown and then flip and cook the other side until golden brown. This method of cooking the chicken takes a little longer, but ensures that the chicken is cooked all the way through. Repeat until all of the chicken is cooked.

Tiffany's tasty Mac and Cheese

1 pound of elbow macaroni
2 can of evaporated milk
1/4 pound of grated Gruyere Cheese
1/2 pound of grated Colby and Monterey Jack mixture
1/2 stick of butter
Freshly ground black pepper
Kosher saltPanko Bread Crumbs

(1)Cook macaroni until al dente (2) and set aside. Heat the evaporated milk. Add butter and allow to fully melt. Add Cheese and black pepper allowing cheese to completely melt. Taste and add salt as needed.Heat oven to 450 degrees. Transfer macaroni and cheese sauce into a baking dish. Top with Panko bread crumbs and place in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove baking dish and transfer to the broiler until the mixture is golden brown on top.

Bacon and Onion Spinach

12 cups of baby spinach (or two bags of prepared spinach from the grocer)
12 strips of bacon chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
1 yellow onion chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
Kosher salt
Rinse spinach and set aside. Place bacon into sauté pan and cook until slightly crispy. Add garlic and cook in bacon fat until the garlic aroma fills the room. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Now add the spinach and cook until slightly wilted. Taste the mixture and salt and pepper as needed. Place into serving bowl. Keep in mind that there will be lots of broth created from the bacon fat and water in and on the spinach. You will not want all of this in your serving dish so spoon the spinach out leaving some of the broth behind.

FoodNoteworthies
(1) Panko Bread Crumbs were introduced to me by my foodie friend John in San Francisco. He swears by them and having not used bread crumbs very often I started to use them. They are flakier and lighter than regular bread crumbs and have a tendency to stay crunchier than other types of breadcrumbs. You can get them in any grocery store that has an international foods section. If you cannot find them in your grocery, here are two places to order them online.

A great "Southern" substitute for Panko are Ritz Crackers.

(2) Al Dente is a term that many have heard, but what does it really mean. According to the Culinary Institute of America's official textbook, The New Professional Chef, Al Dente means -- To the tooth; to cook an item, such as pasta or vegetables, until it is tender but still firm, not soft. Now we know!