What’s This? A TAH’er Birthday Today!

5th/77th FA

One of our ninja’s ratted you out, Gun Bunny. No sense in denying or running, our ninjas are remorseless, and the best, as you well know. To take the sting out a bit, it was suggested I dummy up a couple recipes to celebrate another lap around the sun. So here ya go, ya dirt diggin’ doggy.

Skillet Fried Chicken (cast iron was made just for this, but make sure you have a fry screen to cover, or face a kitchen with a nice coating of oil, everywhere)

You’ll need:

8 chicken thighs (I like thighs-stop that- they’re usually uniform in size, and the dark meat won’t easily dry out when cooked)

2 cups low fat buttermilk

2 tablespoons kosher salt

2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika

2 tablespoons ground sage

2 tablespoons dried thyme

1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Flour, for dredging

Vegetable shortening, or oil of choice. I like neutral canola for frying.

You’ll do:

1) Place chicken pieces into a plastic container or zip-lock, and cover with buttermilk. Refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.

2) Melt enough shortening (over low heat) to come just 1/3-inch up the side of a 12-inch cast iron skillet or heavy fry pan. Once shortening liquefies raise heat to 325 degrees F. Do not allow oil to go over 325 degrees F. Or use canola oil, same level and temp.

3) Drain chicken in a colander. Combine salt, paprika, pepper and herbs. Liberally season chicken with this mixture. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

4) Place chicken skin side down into the pan. The oil should come half way up the chicken. Cook chicken until golden brown on each side, approximately 10 to 12 minutes per side. More importantly, the internal temperature should be right around 180 degrees. (Be careful to monitor shortening temperature every few minutes.)

5) Drain chicken on a rack over a sheet pan. Also hit the chicken pieces with a pinch of salt while hot. Don’t drain by setting chicken directly on paper towels or brown paper bags. If you need to hold the chicken before serving, cover loosely with foil but avoid holding in a warm oven, especially if it’s a gas oven- it’ll get soggy otherwise, and no one wants that.

Serve with whatever floats yer boat, or cocks your cannon. But wait…

AW1’s Mom’s Key Lime Pie

Mom would make the pie crust from scratch, but that art skipped a generation and I get store bought, and blind bake per instructions.

You’ll need:

Filling:

Pre-baked pie shell.

2 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk

1 cup key lime juice (bottled is fine)

2 whole large eggs, separated

1 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1 tablespoon lime zest if available.

Meringue:

4 egg whites

6 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

Pinch salt

You’ll do:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2) In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and condensed milk. Stir in the lime zest, lime juice, and cream. Pour the filling into the crust and bake about 30 minutes or until firm. Remove pie from oven.

3) Meanwhile, in a medium bowl beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. In a second bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Add the sugar mixture, a little at a time, to the egg whites, beating between additions. Continue to beat until the sugar dissolves. Spoon the meringue over the hot pie filling. Torch the meringue to give it’s golden color; or bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Serve pie warm or at room temperature. Or top with whipped cream, up to you.

Heh, You share a birthday with Chaka Khan, so…

Happy Birthday!

Category: Bravo Zulu, Geezer Alert!, Guest Link, ninja