CRASH!

I'm posting this from work, during my lunch break, life without my laptop sucks, 'nuff said. Hopefully I will be back online within the next couple weeks. On the downside I have been unable to share recipes from the weekend and this week thus far, these recipes include carrot cupcakes, tofu with spicy peppers stir fry and yesterday's turkey rigatoni in a creamy red sauce. All of which were delicious, I apologize for rubbing it in, but I will not let my technical difficulties keep me out of the kitchen! On the upside I am in the market for a new laptop, if anyone out there feels strongly about any that are currently on the market let me know. I hope to be back soon, stay tuned friends! 

Buttermilk Fried Chicken w/ Dill Mashed Potatoes

I decided to try a southern favorite, buttermilk fried chicken. The secret to my crispy skin? Twice dipped and twice battered, it helps give a nice coating that sticks to the chicken and creates a beautiful crisp that lasts. The mashed potatoes I made usually only appear on Thanksgiving, but since Jim loves them so much, and we did have a rather pleasant Valentine's Day, I decided to bring them back! They were the perfect complement to the chicken. The downside is, the chicken does take a bit of prep, at the minimum 2 hours of soaking in buttermilk before you fry it (overnight is best). Once its in the pan about 30-40 minutes depending on how many pieces of chicken you're frying. I definitely think the end is worth the means, enjoy!

Serves 4

First thaw and wash six pieces of bone in chicken. I used all drumsticks.

Place the chicken pieces in a dish and add in 3 cups of buttermilk.

You want to have as much buttermilk as you do chicken, so adjust accordingly.

Place the dish in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, if you plan ahead you can leave it in the fridge overnight which is so much better. 

Once your chicken is ready, measure out 4 cups of flour, and split the flour into two separate shallow bowls evenly, 2 cups in each bowl.

Add one tablespoon of salt to each bowl.

Next, add in one tablespoon of black pepper & garlic powder to each bowl.

Finally add in one tablespoon of cayenne pepper to each bowl.

With a fork stir the ingredients together to mix.

In another dish add 2 cups of buttermilk.

Set the bowls in line in order, the bowl with the chicken first, then the flour, buttermilk and flour.

Meanwhile in a fryer, add in enough canola or peanut oil to come up about half way on the sides of the chicken and heat on medium heat. It took me about 2 1/2 cups.

On a flat surface set up a piece of parchment paper for the prepared chicken.

Grab a piece of chicken and let the excess buttermilk drip off.

Then place it in the first flour dish, turning and covering the piece with flour.

The chicken should look like the photo above.

Then dip the chicken in the fresh buttermilk bowl, coating it completely.

Let the excess buttermilk drip off.

Finally, dip the chicken into the last bowl of flour and coat again, well.

You may want to use tongs to handle the chicken, or your hands will get all glue-y and gummy like mine.

Lay the finished chicken pieces on the parchment paper until all chicken pieces have been prepped.

Using tongs :), carefully drop each piece of chicken into the oil.

Be careful not to overcrowd the fryer, fry the chicken in batches if needed.

Flip the chicken over when it is golden brown about 10-15 minutes at medium heat. 

You want to make sure you use medium heat so that your chicken doesn't over brown and cooks thoroughly inside. Adjust your heat levels according to your stove.

Fry the chicken until golden brown on the opposite side. Remove from heat when done.

To test the chicken for done-ness, carefully remove one piece and slice into the thickest part to check.

Place fried pieces on a plate lined with paper towels, or a wire rack, to drain oil. 

Meanwhile for the potatoes...

Wash five medium size red potatoes.

I bought these babies fresh from the Farmer's Market.

Cube the potatoes into 1 1/2 inch cubes, place in a stockpot and bring to a boil.

When potatoes are tender and done, drain and place in a mixing bowl.

Add in three tablespoons of butter, or margarine (which is what I used).

Add in about 1/2 a cup of milk.

Using an electric mixer, mix ingredients on medium/low speed until combined.

Using a rubber spatula scrape the sides of the bowl.

At this point I gave it a taste, added in one more tablespoon of butter/margarine, and some salt to taste.

And freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Run mixer to combine ingredients well.

Wash one sprig of baby dill.

Chop the dill finely.

Add it to the potatoes.

Using a rubber spatula fold in the dill.

Beautiful and creamy! I love the slivers of green and beautiful red skins from the potatoes.

Serve with chicken and enjoy! 

Red Velvet Cupcakes w/Creamy Frosting

My Valentine's Day dessert this year, Red Velvet Cupcakes. These were a first for me, so I turned to my idol, Martha Stewart. I found this recipe for red velvet cupcakes and used it as the main base for mine. I did differ from her recipe but only very slightly. The frosting is a pretty simple cream cheese frosting that was paired with the cupcake recipe so I opted to try it. As opposed to the cakes, I followed the frosting recipe to a "T" and was very happy with the results and consistency. They only take about 20 minutes to bake, and 15 minutes to whip up. The frosting is a quick 10 minutes, this dessert was easy and so yummy! To check out the recipe click here. Jim loved them, Happy Valentine's Day everyone, I hope you had an amazing day, I know I did!

Yields 22 cupcakes, (24 if you stretch it)

Add 1 1/2 cups of sugar to a mixing bowl.

Combine it with 1 1/2 cups of vegetable oil.

Beat with an electric mixer on high to combine.

Add in two large eggs and beat to combine.

The mixture will look all yellow-y like this.

I added in one teaspoon of vanilla extract.

And 1/2 a teaspoon of red food coloring. 

I will stop here and explain myself, if you read Martha's recipe you will already notice my changes, she uses food coloring gel I used liquid, she wants you to stop and add each egg one by one and beat them in before adding the next, I added both at once, etcetera etcetera, you may notice a few more of these minor changes. I still got great results, I just like to streamline things a bit, no hard feelings Martha.

Beat the ingredients together on medium/high speed until combined.

Add in one teaspoon of salt.

Two tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder, good ole' Hershey's is what I used.

You will need one cup of buttermilk and 2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour.

Add half of the flour.

And half of the buttermilk.

And beat on high until combined. Your batter will begin to look brownish instead of reddish.

Add in the other half of the flour.

The rest of the buttermilk, and I added in about 4-6 more drops of red food coloring to balance out the cocoa powder brown. Beat to combine batter well, using a rubber spatula make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl.

The result should be this beautifully blush batter!

In a small dish add 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda to 2 teaspoons of white vinegar.

Add it to the batter and combine again to incorporate.

Hello beautiful!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a cup cake tin with paper cups.

Ladle the batter into the cups filling about 3/4 of the way full.

Bake for about 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

The cupcakes look so beautiful and plump with perfect crowns.

Let the cupcakes cool completely about 45 minutes to an hour.

Once the cupcakes have cooled you can begin to make the frosting. First add 2 sticks of unsalted butter to a mixing bowl.

Add in 12 ounces of cream cheese.

Beat with a mixer on medium/high until fluffy and smooth.

Add in 2 cups of confectioner's sugar and beat to combine.

Add in another 2 cups of confectioner's sugar and combine well.

Finally, add in 3/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Beat on high about 4-5 minutes until completely smooth and whipped.

Using a rubber spatula, spoon the frosting into a pastry bag filling it about 3/4 of the way.

Pick a pastry bag tip of choice for your decorating, I used a wide star tip, I believe its tip #6.

Start by making an outer ring and working your way to the middle, forming a swirl.

It takes about 2.3 circles to fill.

Ta-Dah!

Beautiful!

Please note, refrigerate the cupcakes (or at least the leftovers) since the frosting is cream based. Enjoy!