When you get invited to do a spot for the Oscars-- first thing you do it think "what do I wear" LOL Not a problem for a Chef.... I worried what will I cook?! This was a great fun day and I had a blast- sorry it took so long for me to write! I am trying to get back in the swing of blogging!
Sweet, Hot and Low Jazz Chicken and Waffles (Inspired by Whiplash)
Drummies
Ingredients
20 chicken Drummies
part of the chicken wings
3 cups buttermilk
Salt and pepper
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 Tablespoons
Franks Hot Sauce
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon Hungarian
Paprika
1/2teaspoons Onion
Powder
1/4 teaspoons black
pepper
1/4teaspoon salt
Directions
1. Season the drummies with salt and pepper,
then drop into 2 cup buttermilk, and marinade for 2 hrs in refrigerator.
2. After marinating, remove the drummies and
pat them dry on paper towel.
3. Dredge the Drummies in flour mixture (3
cups flour, 1/2teaspoon Hungarian Paprika, ½ teaspoons Onion Powder, 1/4teaspoons
black pepper, and ¼ teaspoon salt)
4. Make egg mixture which consists of 2 eggs,
1 cup of buttermilk, and 1 1/2 Tablespoons Franks Hot Sauce.
5. Create flour mixture which consists of 3
cups flour, 1/2teaspoon Hungarian Paprika, ½ teaspoons Onion Powder, 1/4
teaspoons black pepper, and ¼ teaspoon salt
6. Dredge drummies into the egg mixture and
then back in the flour.
7. Dredge the drummies again in the flour
mixture. This should make a thick coat
on the drummies.
8. Set on a rack and prepare to fry.
9. Heat 3-4 cups of Oil (peanut) to 325 F
degrees in a skillet and fry the drummies until brown.
Temperature of the
meat should be 190 degrees F (roughly 10 minutes).
Jazz Honey
Ingredients
4 Tablespoons Butter
4 Tablespoons Honey
1/4 Teaspoon cayenne
powder
1 teaspoon chili
powder
1/2 teaspoon powdered
garlic
Directions
Melt butter in small
sauce pan, add in honey and melt the two together by stirring. Then, add in the
spices and continue to stir. This should be served warm. Be careful not boil
the sauce.
Savory Cornmeal
Waffles with Herbs
Ingredients
4 Tablespoons butter
melted and let cool
1 cup cornmeal
(stoneground)
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons baking
powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon of sugar
2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs
½ teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon thyme
Directions
1.Heat waffle iron and
spray with cooking spray before using.
2. Mix dry ingredients
together in one bowl.
3. Mix wet ingredients
together in another bowl.
4. Combine the two
together and stir until just blended.
5. Scoop into the
waffle iron and cook until brown.
6. Assemble the dish
by plating the hot waffle topping with the drummies and drizzling with the
spicy jazz honey sauce.
**You can decrease the
heat (spiciness) with less cayenne or knock it up by adding more.
After making the best darned smoked chicken, it was time for the pork.
Boneless pork cutlets are notoriously dry and hard to cook perfect. The Sous Vide does the best best job (http://www.polyscienceculinary.com/).
My first boneless chop I wrapped in bacon and tucked onions under the bacon. This was vacuum sealed and put in the bath at 144.F. After 1 hour to 1 hour 30 min, the pork was cooked. I removed it from the bag and pan seared it for a perfect pork chop. The meat was so tender and the bacon browned up. It tasted really good. This was my WORST recipe, but it was pretty darn good.
I took another boneless chop and rubbed it with my own Memphis BBQ Rub and smoked it with my Smoking Gun, and then sealed into the Sous Vide. This gave an almost instant flavor of a slow cooked BBQ - so popular here in Memphis. I pan seared the meat just to give it some brown color. My Dad loved it and he really hates this kind of meat as it is too dry. He enjoyed the pork with a simple slaw and some pickle beets. If you follow my Blog, you know my Dad is no foodie and he hates dry meat. If you do too, then the Sous Vide should be in your line up.
My last creation with the pork was to take the chop add 1/2 cup of apple butter, salt pepper, and an extra 1/2 Teaspoon of sugar to the bag, I vacuumed sealed it and cooked it in the same round in my Sous Vide. This was the best. I removed it and pan seared it for a bit of color, and served with an easy potato pancake and some red cabbage. It is so good! The apple flavor goes through the meat and it is just sweet enough to be good. This chop was all mine, no sharing.
I can tell you that it is an amazing tool for things you that usually cook dry. The perfect temperature is so great and watching it in the bath is fun too. I am glad I have one. And I hope to share more of my Sous vide successes with you in the the future. Love the Cabbage Leaf, Logan PS Cous Cous cooks like a dream in the Sous Vide. I Love Love Love it!
One of my favorite things about Masterchef Jr, was that they sent me on press tour.
I went to Nashville and Atlanta and my favorite restaurant on that tour was the PineWood Social Club (http://pinewoodsocial.com/). The Pine Wood Social Club is owned by Max Goldberg.
Now, Max has created this awesome restaurant with fun games and great food. Normally when you think of food and fun you get Chuck E. Cheese. But this is totally the opposite! I could spend days in there,it has bowling allies, boccie ball, even a pool, and I'm positive there's an Xbox in the back. If I don't find it on my next visit I will see if Max can put one in that air-stream for us!
Now on to the food; I ordered a fabulous coffee, a catfish sandwich, a hummus appetizer, and Mama got a burger.
Let's start with the fabulous coffee- well, it was fabulous nice and dark and creamy, and JUST fabulous. Next the appetizer, the hummus was nice and fresh and the chips were interesting, overall I liked it. When you live in the south you have to eat at least one fried catfish po-boy or sandwich. The catfish sandwich was delicious, to say the least, it had lettuce and tomato and a light creamy tarter, very simple. But still great! Mama's burger was fantastic !!! It was so good I had to steal some of the burger! It had a wonderful flavorful beefy taste.