Fried Chicken

We take date night very seriously in our household. I take each of my children once a month for a special time just with me and My husband does the same thing. We take date night twice a month for our marriage and we each take a personal night out a month too.

In our fast paced and ever busy American cultural it can be daunting to find the space and the margin (and the money) for date night. We know it is worth it. It still can be a challenge. I am aware of this but it has to be priority. No excuse. No reason why it didn’t happen last month. Just get to it!

Because we have made this a priority it has become second nature to us to have this. If we go without dates for a time I start getting cranky. We all crave that much-needed one on one connection and quality conversations over the speed and hustle of quantity and busyness. You don’t have to go out to make date night either. A one on one basketball game in the front yard with my son, a Barbie ball playdate with my daughter, and an ice cream on the deck with my hubby can all be called “dates”.

In light of trying to make this a priority, We personally have fallen into a routine of predictable dates. Part of dating is the shared adventures of doing things out of the norm. And so those of us who even do date night regularly can fall into monotonous and underdeveloped relationships. To get your head out of mundane chores and work and school and house routines and into a more creative and fun thought process. It gives us room to imagine and dream and laugh and remember why we do all the things we do in the first place. So are you giving yourself the time to date? You do not have to have kids or spouses or even a significant other to date. Sometimes my most favorite “dates” are all by myself.

For this blog I have chosen to give you a fried chicken recipe that is amazing!! We did this recipe at a cooking class this last month and ate way to much! it was incredible. I hope that this recipe can inspire you to be creative, to take time away from your normal routines and to go have fun! Go see a concert, take a drive somewhere you haven’t been, go try a new coffee shop, visit a museum. There is so much more out there than just dinner and a movie. (although for us toddler moms, going to the movies would be like a kid getting told they get to go to Disney.)

Find time to make this happen! Take the leap, don’t let any opportunity be wasted. Investing in the most important people in your life is a life well lived. By having fun and going on adventures together you create passion and drive and connection. Connection that you just can’t get folding that persons socks and t-shirts. So without anything further here is the fried chicken recipe that we created in our cooking class. It literally created some “spice” back into our date nights as we considered fun and different ways we could experience date night.

Nashville hot Chicken

The secret to the spicy chicken is in the layering of flavor the spices show up in the buttermilk Brian spice flower and at the end of a burnished layering of spicy glaze.

 

Nashville spice mix:

2 tablespoons of ground Cayenne pepper 

6 tablespoons of granulated garlic

A fourth a cup of paprika

Fourth a cup of onion powder

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons sea salt

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

Marinade:

1 (3 to 4 pound) whole chicken cut into 10 serving pieces each breast split in half

four cups buttermilk

1 tablespoon vinegar-based hot sauce such as Frank’s

Fourth a cup Nashville spice mix

Seasoned flour:

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Fourth a cup and Nashville spice mix

Buttermilk coating:

one cup of buttermilk

one large egg

1 teaspoon baking powder

half a teaspoon baking soda vegetable oil for frying

Glaze:

half a cup Nashville spice mix

1 cup oil reserves from deep-frying

sea salt or seasoning

1: To prepare Nashville spice mix: in a small bowl whisk all the ingredients to combine and set aside. 

2: To prepare marinade: arrange the chicken and a large baking dish and set aside in the refrigerator in a large mixing bowl combine 4 cups buttermilk hot sauce and spice mix pour over chicken. Cover and marinate the chicken in the refrigerator for at least three hours and up to eight hours

3: Place a wire rack over a baking sheet remove chicken from marinade set on Rack and drain thoroughly Pat away the excess with paper towels and bring chicken to room temperature about 30 minutes

4: To prepare seasoned flour: in a large mixing bowl whisk together the flour and spice mix set aside

5: To prepare buttermilk coating: in a large mixing bowl whisk together butter milk egg baking powder and baking soda and make sure will bubble and phone as the baking powder reacts with the liquid creating a ration in the batter by releasing carbon dioxide

6: Clip a deep fry thermometer into a large heavy Dutch oven over medium high heat add 3 inches of oil and heat until the oil registers 350° if you’re paying a smaller used to pan and fry the chicken in batches

7: To dip the chicken pick up a piece of marinated chicken and ranch the piece in the season flour making sure all the creases are well coated dip the chicken in the buttermilk shaking off any excess and then dredge it back into the seasons are shaking off the excess

8: Add coated chicken to the hot oil carefully skin side down always plays food in a hot skillet away from her body to avoid splashing your skin and clothes. Once all the chicken is in the pan turn heat to medium so the sizzling is study after about 15 minutes check the chicken if a rich brown crust has developed turn each piece if the chicken still looks pale increase the heat slightly and cook for a few more minutes continue frying the chicken and so well browned the meat is totally cooked through when it registers 165° about 15 to 20 minutes transfer the check into a wire cooling rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. If you are cooking chicken in batches allow your oil temperature to return to 350° before starting the second batch

9: Add 1 cup of hot oil to the remaining space makes and whisk until thoroughly combined generally brush the season and glazed over the chicken and sprinkle lightly with salt serve warm or at room temperature