Garlic Fried Chicken with Buttermilk Biscuits, Corn Relish and Coconut Cream Pie

ARKANSAS VS. LOUISIANA MONROE

Right now, you are probably tailgating for the game at War Memorial Stadium, and I am at home, cooking and watching television. Am I okay with this? You bet. Because I have a new baby to watch the game with, and, on an unrelated note, I have all the ingredients for the chemistry experiment  I have been working on all day in the drink shaker.
Last week's menu was all about roasting chilis and hours of effort. This week is about keeping things easy, simple, and classically southern --for the most part.

 

First-and-Ten: Garlic Fried Chicken Breasts

Our main dish is a fun, fast recipe from the 2004 edition of the "Southern Living Ultimate Quick & Easy Cookbook". As the recipe says, "a quick soak in a salty milk mixture makes this chicken extra moist and flavorful. Stir up the breading and heat the oil while it soaks." If you are anything like me, frying chicken has always been a little intimidating. But trust me -- you can do this, and it is quite simple. You just need a heavy, deep skillet or dutch oven. You could make this ahead of time for the next tailgate experience you have.

• 4 small bone-in chicken breast halves
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• Vegetable oil (I'm using sunflower because that's what I have and I like it)

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper and place in a shallow bowl. Whisk together the eggs and milk; pour over chicken, turning pieces to coat. Let stand 5 minutes. Combine flour, garlic powder and parika in a zip-top freezer bag. Drop 1 chicken breast at a time in to the bag; seal bag, and shake to coat. Pour oil to a depth of 2 inches in a large, heavy skillet. (Yes, I used the good old reliable porcelein cast-iron razorpot.) Heat oil to 360 degrees F (medium on an electric burner.) Add chicken and cook, uncovered, 20 minutes or until done, turning as needed. Drain. Yields 4 servings.

 

Sideline Route: Quick Corn Relish

By chance, this recipe also comes from the "Southern Living Ultimate Quick & Easy Cookbook".It is so ridiculously easy. You can even do it in the microwave.

• (11-ounce) can yellow corn with red and green peppers (Del Monte calls it Fiesta Corn)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup (apple) cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup sweet pickle relish
• 2 tablespoons dried minced onion
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds

Combine all ingredients in a snall saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10 minutes. Remove to a serving bowl; cover and refrigerate reslish 4 to 8 hours, if desired. Yields 2 cups. For the microwave, combined all ingredients in a 1-quart casserole. Cover and microwave at medium high 5 to 7 minutes. Cover and refrigerate 4 to 8 hours if desired. (Note -- if you are serving more than two adults I would double this recipe so you have plenty.)

Third-and-Shortening: Buttermilk Biscuits

My goal here was to finally make biscuits that live up to the Platonic biscuit ideal, and that are as foolproof as possible. Most people know that biscuits can be fussy. Well, I have never had a bad biscuit at Cracker Barrel, so my thought was to see if I could knock off their recipe. This 2004 recipe comes to us from Kay Demonbren via food.com. She called it "Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Biscuits," and it is rated 4 1/2 stars. Good enough for me. Plus, my hair stylist (cutter? humorist?), Kim Duval, said she has made these and they are fantastic.  Don't be put off by the Bisquick. If it works, it works. The recipe takes about 23 minutes to make and produces 8-10 biscuits.

• 2-1/4 cups Bisquick
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• melted butter for brushing

(Do not try to make these without buttermilk! It is the key. In case you don't know, buttermilk is the liquid that is created when you churn or shake whole milk to create butter. The watery-milky substance that separates is "buttermilk." I have to tell you that I ate a lot of subpar biscuits in my childhood because there was a certain disregard for the importance of buttermilk. Don't go down this  path.)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Mix the Bisquick, (you will thank me later -- this takes all the uncertainty out of the process of rubbing the flour into the butter or Crisco) buttermilk and sugar together in a bowl. Add the melted butter into the batter. Stir until a soft dough forms. turn out onto a well floured work surface. Knead 20 times (this is a very forgiving dough), and don't be afraid to get additional flour into the dough.

Roll 1/2-inch thick, or thicker if you prefer towering biscuits. (Cut the biscuits -- this step was actually omitted from the recipe!) Place close together on an ungreased baking sheet. Brush tops with melted butter. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes; I  usually find 8 minutes is enough. When you remove the biscuits from the oven, brush the tops with melted butter again.

(Here's something good about biscuits I remember from childhood. If you want to avoid having to re-roll dough leftover from the circular biscuit cutter, just use a knife and cut the small circle of dough like it was a pizza into wedges. This way, there are no tough biscuits from the stuff that was re-rolled, because there are no scraps.)

 

Running the Spread: Razorgoo Pepper Jelly

 This is a really nice recipe my wife, Sarah, developed that features hot peppers grown and red-ripened in my own garden.  First, we used real fruit pectin to make the jelly, rater than gelatin (which, of course, comes from animals.. Side-note - back when I made wooden bows as a hobby, I would always glue the backing to the bow (rawhide, sinew, etc.) with Knox gelatin. Hide glue and bone glues are some of the oldest, best glues out there. When I am eating jelly, though, I enjoy knowing that no animals were involved. Can't explain it. Also, pectin is better. It has a different texture than gelatin. I think you will enjoy it.

Incidentally, the winners of the free jar of Razorgoo from a week back are Ashli Ahrens and Kelley Bass, one of my favorite couples in the world. If two people were ever made for each other, it is these two. Both incredible ambassadors for the city of Little Rock, and people who live life to the max. Ashli, you can expect this jar at your office early next week.

• 2/3 cup hot peppers. (I prefer they are red, as this is Razorgoo, after all.)
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 1/2 cups white vinegar
• 6 cups sugar
• 8 oz. liquid pectin (two packets)

Chop peppers and put in food processor with vinegar. Blend well and pour into large boiler. Add sugar and mix well. Bring mixture to a rolling boil (caution -- this will boil over faster than you can blink) and boil for six minutes. (Don't strain the peppers. That gets rid of the pretty stuff. Don't add food coloring, either. The jelly has a nice red color without it if you go with ripe peppers.

Remove from heat, add pectin quickly, put into six-half-pint jars and seal. I recommend the hot-water bath methood to seal. Let cool completely without disturbing for 24 hours, then store in a dark cool place. Refrigerate after opening.

 

Cooler Break: Orange Dreamies

Ok. This week's menu is really all about this item. And I have good news: You make this with or without alcohol and it is still good.

The goal was to create a boozy drink that simulated the experience of the dreamsicle or orange creamsicle. The key elements would be vanilla and orange flavors and a palpable sense of creaminess. Last night I basically drank myself into an early bed time trying to get this right. Started with punch as the base and tried to work in Bailey's, triple sec and vanilla vodka. As you probably knew but I did not, Bailey's curdles (still tastes good but looks awful) when you put citrus with it. In the morning I started working on what was essentially a vanilla orange martini with a sugared rim, but I basically had a white Russian there and it didn't look orange or really fit with the menu I was making, which was classic country favorites.

However, two people smarter than me -- one, my co-worker, Angela, and two, the valedictorian of my high school class, Julie, both suggested using a sherbet base. So I gave up and got some sherbet. The result was genius. In the words of my wife, "well, that's just stupid good."

• Orange Hawaiian Punch
• Orange Sherbet (I got the deluxe version from Kroger)
• Vanilla vodka (optional)

Fill a cocktail shaker about 40 percent full of the orange punch. (Chilled would be best). Then put that much again of sherbet into the shaker. You need to leave some room for shaking, but it should be about half and half. Don't put ice in. The sherbet itself serves as the ice. Take the cap off and strain the mix into a glass. The drink should look like a creamy punch. Then take the strainer off and dump the unmelted sherbet on top. To add a nice white, foamy top. Now, if you want this to be alcoholic, once you get the look and taste mix right on your sherbet to punch ratio, throw in a good-size shot of vanilla vodka (I used Cupcake), shake briefly, and repour. If you do it this way, you can pour "virgin" versions of the drink for your kids, then spike the adult version. I promise you will be pleased with this. If you aren't making a dessert, just put another big scoop of sherbet on top and make it a float.

 

Two-Minute Drill: Coconut Cream Pie

This easy dish comes to us courtesy of The Neelys via  foodnetwork.com. The recipe takes a total of 2 hours, 45 minutes to make, with 25 minutes of prep, 20 minutes to cook and 2 hours to set up. One reason it's so easy -- and yummy -- is that the crust is made of ginger snaps. Perhaps if you eat this pie you will be as fabulously in love as the Neelys are. I always enjoy wondering whether they are going to make out on camera. You can just feel that they are ready to run to the bedroom on every episode.I also like how they say "pap-uh-ree-kah."

Crust

• 30 gingersnap cookies (genius!)
• 1/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• 5 tablespoons melted butter

Filling

• 3 cups half-and-half (that is more than one typical container)
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1-1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
• Whiped cream for topping (Since we are going easy this week, I just got a can of spray cream)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Process the gingersnaps in a food processor until fine. Add them to a bowl with the coconut and melted butter; toss until combined. Press firmly to the bottom and up the sides of a deep-dish 9-inch pie pan. Bake 10 minutes and let cool completely.

Add the half-and-half, egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and vanilla to a round-bottomed saucepan off the heat and whisk together until the mixture is smooth and the cornstarch has dissolved. Place on medium heat and bring to a simmer, whisking constantly while it thickens. (Don't do what I did, and work on your drink recipe while the custard cooks. This needs your full attention of you want it to be beautiful. However, if you end up with some little brown stuff in the custard it still tastes good and hey, it looks like toasted coconut.) Once thick like pudding, remove from the heat and stir in 2 tablespoons butter and 1 cup coconut.

Before the pie sets up in the fridge

Pour the thickened mixture into the cooled pie shell and refigerate for two hours or until set. Add the remaining 1/2 cup coconut to a baking sheeet and toast in the oven for 5 minutes. Top the pie with whipped cream and toasted coconut before serving. (Now, be the envy of everyone you know.)