Tag Archives: southern recipes

Fried Chicken and Waffles Recipe – Unfried

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Having recently been reminded of an ill-fated trip I took to Atlanta a few years ago, I began thinking back to some of the highs and lows of the journey.

1. I was there for work…low, but work meant interviewing Chris Robinson, a awesome music video producer and director of the movie ATL…high.

2. Diana Ross was staying at our hotel…high, but she refused to sign an autograph…low.

3. I didn’t get a part in the movie…low, but I did get to try Chicken & Waffles for the first time…high!

Chicken and Waffles are a southern tradition. The roots of the recipe are somewhat debatable. According to Wikipedia recipes for the famous dish appeared shortly after Thomas Jefferson brought a waffle iron back from France. The waffle iron had been used for quite some time in Belguim to make…you guessed it…Belgian Waffles.

When it made it to the plantations of the south, house kitchen workers learned the recipe and began to use it for special occasions and celebrations when they were able to get chicken. Today, Chicken and Waffles has become an art. With places like Cali’s famous Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles and Atlanta’s Gladys and Ron’s (owned by Gladys Knight!! – - clearly why I went there) giving it street credibility, the dish has now found a place in restaurants from fast food to full on gourmet!

The combination can be a little heavy though, so I tried to lighten it up a bit with Oven-Fried Chicken and Waffles.

Crispy but light Oven Fried Chicken

Oven-Fried Chicken

  • 1/2 cup nonfat buttermillk
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 1/2-3 pounds Chicken Breast, Wing, Thigh, Leg
  • 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt Freshly ground pepper, to taste
  • Olive oil cooking spray

Whisk buttermilk, mustard and garlic in a shallow glass dish until well blended. Add chicken and turn to coat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Set a wire rack on the baking sheet and coat it with cooking spray.

Whisk flour, paprika, baking powder, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Place the flour mixture in a paper bag or large sealable plastic bag. Shaking off excess marinade, place one or two pieces of chicken at a time in the bag and shake to coat. Shake off excess flour and place the chicken on the prepared rack. (Discard any leftover flour mixture and marinade.) Spray the chicken pieces with cooking spray.

Bake the chicken until golden brown and no longer pink in the center, about 25-30 minutes minutes.

Waffles!!!

Waffles

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 1/2 cups buttermilk Maple Syrup

Preheat a waffle iron and lightly grease. Into a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients together. In a clean bowl, beat the eggs. Add the butter and buttermilk and beat to combine. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and mix well. Pour the batter into the hot waffle iron and cook until golden brown and lightly crisp. Remove and if desired, top with a slice of butter, and serve with the chicken and maple syrup

National Catfish Day: Southern Fried Catfish Recipe

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Growing up in a household with southern roots, fried fish is one of those sacred recipes that is never to be touched. It has been, is and always will be made the same way as your great grandmother made it.

Luckily, I got my great grandmother’s fried fish, fried chicken, fried bread…fried everything recipes during a summer crash course in Littleton, NC. The thing with a town that small in rural North Carolina is, if you don’t cook, you don’t have anything to do.

So I cooked and I studied and I burnt myself and I laughed and I fished for my own Catfish in a creek. My previous experience with which amounted to the magnetic fishing game below.

Melissa & Doug’s Magnetic Fishing Game

I had a wooden rod, string, a safety pin and a cricket that my Great Grandma Dell had to hook because I was too squeamish. When we would return from our fishing trips (she caught about 20 and I hooked 4…maybe) I would take a tick bath and then get to work in the kitchen.

You would think that I am talking about some distant time between 1901 and 1955, but I am only 30! This was literally 1991 and 9-year old me learned to fry a catfish like a seasoned pro.

Today, most of our Catfish is farm-raised or aquacultured and has become one of the most sustainable and eco-friendly fish that we eat. Due to special programs that include free-flowing waters and diet regulation, these former bottom feeders have risen to the top of cleanliness and deliciousness in the past few years.

Southern Fried Catfish

So here’s to a good old recipe using the modern catfish!

  • 1 cup Cornmeal
  • 2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
  • 2 tsp Paprika
  • 2 tsp Coarse Ground Black Pepper
  • 1 tsp Onion Powder
  • 1/4 cup Dijon Mustard
  • 3/4 cup Buttermilk
  • 4 Catfish Fillets
  • 1/4 cup EVOO
  • 2 Tbsp Butter
  • 4 Tbsp Green Onion
  • Small Slice Lemon Slices (optional)

Mix Cornmeal with Cayenne Pepper, Paprika, Ground Pepper and Onion Powder. Sift on to a large plate and set aside. In a wide bowl, whisk together Dijon Mustard and Buttermilk.

With one hand (wet hand) dip Catfish Fillets in the Milk mixture and lay flat on the Cornmeal mixture. With the other hand (dry hand) dust top of fish with the dry mix until covered. Remove fillet and shake off all excess. Repeat with each fish fillet.

Heat large pan with 1/8 cup Olive Oil to medium high heat. Add 1 Tbsp Butter and lay two fillets in pan. Fry for minutes per side. Drain pan into hot oil safe container and repeat with remaining fillets.

Serve with over Rice Pilaf with diced and pan softened celery, peppers and onions. Top with Green Onion and garnish with Lemon Slices.

For Rice: Prepare Rice Pilaf using box directions and add sauteed Celery (small dice), Red Bell Peppers (small dice) and Yellow Onion (small dice)

For an additional recipe check out this video on How to Prepare Catfish Fillets: