Two dishes I promised you back in the chilly days. Neither one of these are actual recipes, just my own personal method.
For frying chicken
I have heard many people doing many different things with their chicken. I have seen people tenderize it. I have seen people use the entire chicken. I have seen people make up a concoction of corn meal, flour, eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. I have seen it deep fried, pan fried, and baked.
Very seldom have I met a piece of fried chicken that I didn't like, unless of course it was a thigh. I personally think that fried thighs are disgusting. There is always that weird looking black thing in there somewhere.
My way of frying chicken is to use breast meat. I buy the boneless, skinless because I think that it makes the juiciest chicken. The bone-in with skin works as well, just takes longer to cook. I have tried using the chicken tenders, but they often turn out very dry.
I have also found that the best way to fry anything, is to use an electric skillet. This does a great job of regulating the temperature of the oil and I have never burned my oil in a skillet like I do when I fry on the stove.
I like to put quite alot of oil in the pan so that it gets the sides of the chicken. Be sure that your oil is around 350 degrees before you put in the chicken.
As far as seasoning the chicken, all I do is liberally salt both sides of each piece, then dip and thoroughly coat it in flour that has pepper in it. I fry the first side with the lid on then turn it over when it's golden brown and fry with the lid off. This helps keep it nice and crispy but not dry.
Now for the Somersizing way to eat fried chicken. Yep it can be done! Simply omit the flour. Salt and pepper and fry. You will be amazed at how good it is. I just cook it a little longer so that it's nice and crisp. I am going to try and dip it in egg and parmesan one day before I fry it. This works great with eggplant, so I don't see why it won't work with chicken.
As far as deviled eggs, I have found that everyone has their own special way of making these. Most of you probably have already found your tricks to great eggs, so this is for those of you that are new to cooking. I like my eggs very salty (of course) and more mustard than most people.
I simply boil the eggs (bring to a boil then continue boiling for ten minutes) then drain and fill with cold water. Then I peel the shells off and cut them in half long ways. Pull out the yolk with a spoon and put in a small bowl. I recommend buying an adorable deviled egg try. For some reason it seems to make this dish so much more fun! Then using a pastry blender or fork, mash the yolks until fine and crumbly. Then I put in enough mayo and mustard to make it the consistency of your liking. My mom uses mostly mayo with just a touch of mustard, but I use alot of mustard in mine. Then I salt and pepper it and using a spoon (or a pastry bag if you want them fancy) fill each hole in the white part and spread around leaving just a little white visible on each egg. Meghan prefers them with Paprika sprinkled on them, but I am not partial to the taste of Paprika on my eggs. To store them, simply pop in a couple of toothpicks to keep your plastic wrap from sticking, and refrigerate.
I know that right now it is all the rage to use farm fresh eggs, but I will warn you that peeling those things can be an absolutely booger! I have heard of trying everything from peeling them piping hot, to soaking them in ice water and have still never found anything that works. Good luck with that!!
By the way, deviled eggs are a perfect Somersizing side dish! They are considered your proteins.
That just about wraps it up. I'm off to organize my pantry! Talk to you soon!!
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