So I abandoned the idea of trying to ape the colonel’s chicken and decided to create delicious Southern fried chicken you can easily make at home.

One thing I did find looking through various recipes online is the small amount of herbs and spices people use, maybe this is why if like me you have ever tried making one of these recipes they always turn out disappointingly bland.

After a lot of trial and error I found a method and recipe which fulfils my Southern fried chicken cravings and I am now happy to share it with you.

Southern Fried Chicken

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 16 x Chicken Wings, Bone in, Skin On
• 500ml x Milk
• 100g Plain Flour
• 3 x Tsp Dried Basil
• 3 x Tsp Dried Oregano
• 2 x Tso Dried Marjoram
• 2 x Tso Dried Thyme
• 3 x Tsp Sea Salt
• 2 x Tsp Black Pepper
• 1 x Tsp White Pepper
• 1 x Tsp Paprika
• 2 x Tsp Cumin
• 1 x Tsp Garlic Granules (or powder)
• 1 x Tsp Onion Granules (or powder)

Method

Put your chicken wings in a dish or bowl and cover with milk. Leave in the fridge for at least an hour. This is an important part even though it may sound strange, you see the milk makes the coating lovely and doughy which is going to crisp up perfectly.

While the chicken is soaking grind up the salt and onion and garlic granules into powder. Add you flour into a bowl along with all the other dry ingredients and combine thoroughly.

When the chicken has been soaking long enough take each piece one at a time and place in the bowl of seasoned flour. Do not pat the chicken dry! Coat the chicken with a good layer of flour and place on a wire rack. The reason for this is to give a little time to let the coating soak up that milk, you may notice that it gets more ‘gooey’.

Once all of your chicken pieces are coated turn on your deep fat fryer to 170C.

If you don’t have a deep fat fryer then in a heavy saucepan add about 3-4 inches (about 9 cm) and check the temperature with a suitable kitchen thermometer.

If you don’t like the idea of frying then you can place the chicken on a baking tray spray with some oil and cook in a preheated oven at 180C (350F, Gas Mark 4) for about 25 minutes until golden…but you will be missing out on the real fried chicken experience.

Now when your oil is ready place 2-3 of the wings into the oil. They will take about 5-6 minutes and be golden brown. NOTE: THIS TIMING IS FOR WINGS, IF YOU ARE USING LARGER PIECES OF CHICKEN COOK ACCORDINGLY!

Ready to serve immediately, or keep them warm in a low oven until they are all done.

There you have it, delicious authentic Southern fried chicken…

You might even say they’re finger licking good

Remember to tell me what you think of this recipe in the comments below, I really hope you enjoy it.

Michael Robinson

Author information

The Food Curator

The Food Curator (AKA Michael Robinson) is an aficionado of all things food and bon viveur based in London. A passion for cooking and dining has driven him to put fingers to keyboard to bring you his thoughts on the world of food. When not writing, eating or cooking he has a love of American muscle cars. Pop on over to my Facebook page and let's start a Facebook food revolution together: http://tinyurl.com/thefoodcurator

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The post Southern Fried Chicken Recipe appeared first on Food on the Blog. Post by The Food Curator

Like I said intuitive…

And this is real food, soul food, comfort food. There’s a reason French cooking is world famous and loved by all, it’s about keeping it simple and using quality ingredients to create depth of flavours that complement each other and deliver that ‘expérience gastronomique’ through humble home cooking. After all, one of the central cores of French cuisine is the recipes of the ‘Lyonnaise mothers’.

I have been making this chicken casserole for many years, yet have never tired of it. In fact I find on certain days I crave it.

Why don’t you stop what you’re doing right now and give this a go…you won’t regret it. Once you have made it this dish it will stay with you, winning the respect and love from all those you make it for in the future.

Ingredients

Serves 2

• 4 x Chicken thighs skin on, bone in
• 1 x Medium onion
• 1 x Medium carrot
• 1 x Large stick of celery
• 6 x White or chestnut mushrooms
• 3 x Cloves of garlic
• 1 x Large glass white wine
• 1 x Sprig of fresh thyme, parsley and rosemary*
• 1 x Bay leaf
• 1 x Tsp sea salt

*You can use dried if you must but fresh is better, why not grow herbs in your garden or window box like me!

Additional

Vegetable oil, plain flour, water, white and black pepper

Method

Preheat your oven to 180C (160C fan, 350F or Gas Mark 4)

Chop the carrot, celery and onion into similar size pieces about 1 cm (1/2 inch) long. Chop each garlic clove into 4 or 5 thick slices.

Add a small amount of vegetable oil to a frying pan, about a tablespoon, and on a low heat add the chopped vegetables. Sauté for about 6-7 minutes, we do not want any browning at all so keep an eye on this stage and stir frequently.

Once the onions are translucent add the garlic and stir for about a minute just until you get a lovely garlic fragrance from the pan.

Now remove all the vegetables to a casserole dish with a lid along with the herbs.

Your frying pan will have a coating of oil left and that should be all you need now.

So turn up the heat and add the chicken thighs to the pan. We want to seal them and get some colour on the skin.

NOTE: We are using chicken thighs as they stay moist and the bone adds to the flavour and texture to the casserole. You could use legs but there is less meat so increase the quantity. Please no chicken breast here, as that would be missing the point.

Once the skin is a nice golden brown place into the casserole dish and pour in all those pan juices.

Now add the salt, a good pinch of white pepper and a few good twists of black pepper. You could use one or the other of course but these different peppers do have different complimentary flavours.

Keep the heat on the frying pan and pour in your glass of white wine (see here for my cooking with wine guide), we are going to let the wine boil to remove the alcohol and deglaze the pan. Once boiling turn of the heat and pout into the casserole dish.

Quarter the mushrooms and add them to the casserole dish.

In a cup mix a tablespoon of plain flour with about 100-150ml of cold water and mix until completely combined, now pour into the casserole dish, we want just enough to cover the chicken up to the skin. Do not cover the chicken completely!

Now lid on the casserole dish and place in the preheated oven.

Cook for 1 ½ hours.

After that time you can serve or remove the lid return to the oven and turn off the oven. This will allow the chicken to rest as you sort out your sides. Potato anyway you want it along with some greens.

The chicken will be fine for at least 45 minutes as the oven cools down.

Serve and enjoy, I know you will 

Please remember to tell me about your experience trying this recipe in the comments below.

Bon Appétit!

Michael Robinson

Author information

The Food Curator

The Food Curator (AKA Michael Robinson) is an aficionado of all things food and bon viveur based in London. A passion for cooking and dining has driven him to put fingers to keyboard to bring you his thoughts on the world of food. When not writing, eating or cooking he has a love of American muscle cars. Pop on over to my Facebook page and let's start a Facebook food revolution together: http://tinyurl.com/thefoodcurator

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The post French Chicken Casserole Recipe appeared first on Food on the Blog. Post by The Food Curator

[svp]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNiGTDr7z9U[/svp]

If you loved this recipe, then please subscribe to my YouTube channel.

Let me know how this Chicken Tagine worked for you in comments below and remember to share this post and get your free recipe book.

Michael Robinson

Author information

The Food Curator

The Food Curator (AKA Michael Robinson) is an aficionado of all things food and bon viveur based in London. A passion for cooking and dining has driven him to put fingers to keyboard to bring you his thoughts on the world of food. When not writing, eating or cooking he has a love of American muscle cars. Pop on over to my Facebook page and let's start a Facebook food revolution together: http://tinyurl.com/thefoodcurator

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The post Easy Chicken Tagine [video] appeared first on Food on the Blog. Post by The Food Curator

The steak and prawns really take the flavours well, and there are some other suggestions for using this mix after the recipe. This is an ultra quick dish that tastes as though you’ve taken a long time to prepare it – always good! And it’s healthy! (You can use defrosted prawns)

Ingredients for 2 good portions:

• 1/4 tsp each: cayenne, paprika, sea salt, mixed peppercorns, celery – all crushed together
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 300g feather steak sliced (as though for stroganoff)
• 6 large/king prawns/shrimp, raw & butterflied or cut in half
• 1/2 tsp each butter and coconut oil

Method:

• Heat the butter and oil until foaming.
• Add the steak, shrimp and the seasoning and stir to coat the steak & shrimp.
• Cook on high, turning often, for 3-5 minutes until cooked to taste.
• Serve with a mixed salad and baked sweet potato topped with sour cream
• Or with mashed celeriac and steamed vegetables (as pictured)

With this same spice and herb mix you can cook chicken or turkey – either cut in strips and quickly pan fried like the steak and prawn or you can coat chicken breasts or chicken thighs and bake them in the oven.

Salmon also takes the cajun flavour well – either pan fried or baked in the oven.

You could also create Cajun style kebabs – using chicken, onions, peppers, small tomatoes coated in the spice & herb mix. Or a vegetarian version would be good too just using the vegetables or replacing the chicken with tofu.

Choose side dishes that act as a nice counterfoil to the spice – that’s why I suggested either the salad and sweet potato or mashed celeriac and steamed veggies.

Sweet potato and celeriac are healthier (and I think more tasty) alternatives to potato.

Enjoy!

Author information

Karen Kennaby

Karen Kennaby is the Intuitive Food Coach. She helps people, primarily women, discover the best foods & eating pattern for them so they feel & look AMAZING!
“The focus is very much on delicious, beautiful & healthy food. For the last 9 years I’ve chosen real food, moderately low carb diet & maintained my weight all that time – plus no tummy aches, no bloating etc"
I am excited to tell you about: 'Around the Table with Karen'... I believe a lot of life goes on around the table…meaningful 121 conversations, group discussions, interviews, coaching, relationships developing, preparing & sharing food, eating, and more! Around the Table with Karen covers all this.
Click here for more information on Karen.

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Of course, we’re not against  a little instant soup or some mayo here and there, especially in salads. There’s no point in being too strict about food. I just don’t eat out, because that’s a very expensive habit, and I avoid eating snacks and fast food. So, how do I manage to eat healthy homemade meals with two kids around, plus a job? The key word here is: freezer.

My freezer is packed with everything I can use when I don’t have time to really cook (i.e., when I get home from work). There are freezer bags filled with chopped onions, crushed tomatoes, cooked rice, ground beef, berries, and lots of ready-made meals like chicken stew, vegetable lasagna, broccoli soup, etc.

Whenever I cook, I make a little more of whatever I’m making, and I save it for later. I use strong freezer bags and freezer labels to label everything that goes inside – otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to keep track of what I have, and how much time I have to use it.

Here’s a really fun recipe because it’s tasty and quick, and you can freeze it and save it for later. It’s also perfect for those situations when uninvited guests show up, and you have nothing to offer them, but you still want to make an impression. It will take you less than half an hour to make this dinner.

Chicken in Mushroom and Cream sauce

It’s not completely healthy, because we’ll be using some of the instant mushroom soup powder, but it’s OK once in a while…

Here’s what you need: chicken breasts cut into thin slices, or strips; mushroom soup powder, cooking cream, rice.

Put the mushroom powder in a bowl and press chicken breasts in it, so that the powder sticks to the meat completely. Heat some butter in a pan and fry the mushroom-powdered meat in the pan. When the meat is done, add cooking cream and boil for a minute or two.

Cook rice separately, and serve it with meat. Some lettuce salad would make a nice addition to the meal.

Ana Brady is a writer who enjoys writing about food and family life, offering quick recipes, and inventing fun games for children in the kitchen. She also works in a group of designers who just finished projects on food packaging labels and piggyback labels.

Author information

The Food Curator

The Food Curator (AKA Michael Robinson) is an aficionado of all things food and bon viveur based in London. A passion for cooking and dining has driven him to put fingers to keyboard to bring you his thoughts on the world of food. When not writing, eating or cooking he has a love of American muscle cars. Pop on over to my Facebook page and let's start a Facebook food revolution together: http://tinyurl.com/thefoodcurator

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