What do you mean fried chicken in the oven? Well, if you LOVE fried chicken (like me) and you don't have a deep fryer or don't want to make that sort of mess if you do, you can pull off Oven Fried Chicken.
Sometimes I don't want to muck around with my deep fryer so I had a nose around and found this recipe for some pretty good chicken.
Ingredients:
3-4 lbs (1.5-2kg) chicken parts (just don't use wings, they're too small and will burn)
1 cup flour
1 tbsp paprika
1tbsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/3 cup butter
2 large eggs, beaten with a splash of milk
Method:
Preheat your oven to 425F (220C)
Wash chicken and pat dry with paper towels.
In a bowl, beat your eggs and milk to make an egg wash.
In a large bowl, combine flour, paprika, salt and pepper.
Coat chicken with the egg wash, then coat with the flour mixture.
Put butter in a roasting pan; place in oven to melt.
When the butter is melted, arrange chicken in the pan in a single layer, skin side down.
Bake at 425F (220C) for 30 minutes; turn and bake for 15 longer, or until chicken is done. Remove and place on a plate covered with paper towels.
Serve with sides of your choice...you could do coleslaw and fries or salad or, like us, braised cabbage and a Birdseye Steam Fresh pouch.
So, you can fry chicken in the oven...and with the cheap cost of chicken, it's a lot cheaper than going to whatever restaurant you normally get your from.
Enjoy!
Matt
Trying to think of different things to cook can be limited by what you have on hand. So, instead of going out to the supermarket and looking for something I went to the basement to see what I had on my pantry shelves. (we have a pantry in the kitchen, but I put stuff that we aren't going to use straight away a couple of shelves I built in our basement.
I saw a couple of cans of salmon on the shelf and thought about having another go at making Salmon Patties again.
Again? you ask, I haven't seen anything about them before...that's because I haven't made them in a few years and when I did, they were an absolute disaster. The recipe I had used mashed potato in them, so I diligently followed the recipe (on a number of occasions) and the results were always the same...they just fell apart as soon as I tried to cook them.
So I had a look around the net and found this recipe that uses bread crumbs. I should have thought of that a long long time ago, but I didn't, so, there you go.
Ingredients:
1 can (16oz/450g) salmon
1 small onion, finely grated
2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
ground black pepper to taste
2 large eggs, well beaten
1-1 1/2 cups dry bread crumbs
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
Method:
Grate your onion, or if you don't have a box grater, use a small food processor.
Mince the parsley and set aside.
Turn salmon and liquid into a medium mixing bowl. Flake with a fork, removing OR mashing any bones (they are edible).
Mix in the onion, parsley and pepper. Mix beaten eggs with salmon. Add enough bread crumbs, about 1/2 to 3/4 cup, to make thick enough to shape.
Shape into whatever size patties you like, then roll the patties in the rest of the bread crumbs.
In a large heavy frying pan over low heat, melt 1 tbsp of butter in 1 tbsp of olive oil; add patties.
Fry patties slowly on one side, turn and fry until brown on the other side.
Add the remaining butter and oil and finish cooking the rest of the patties, remove to a plate covered with paper towel.
Serve with a salad or whatever you like. A great sauce for these is Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce.
I think I remember having these as a kid, and now that I've "mastered" them, I'll whip them up every now and again.
Enjoy!
Matt
A few weeks ago, Chanin and Connor went to Ocean City, Maryland for a week, so I cooked something that I like but they don't because of it's heat. I made myself a batch of Pork Vindaloo. You can actually make this as hot or not as you like with chillies...my saying is, if you're not sweating, you're not eating, so I made this the way I like it.
Ingredients:
Vindaloo Paste:
2tbsp fresh grated ginger
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3 red chillies, chopped or more for your entertainment
2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp ground cardamom
4 whole cloves
6 peppercorns
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1/2 cup lemon juice
2lbs (1kg) pork fillets
1/4 cup oil (I use vegetable)
2 tsp brown mustard seeds
2 1/2 cups water (I used this amount and it was too much, I'd suggest starting with 1-1 1/2 cups and add more if necessary)
Method:
To make the Vindaloo paste place the ginger, garlic, chilli, turmeric, cardamom, cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon, coriander, cumin seeds and lemon juice in a food processor. Process for 20 seconds or until all the ingredients are combined and the mixture is smooth.
Trim the pork of any excess fat and cut into cubes.
Heat oil in a heavy based pot (I used my cast iron pot); add the meat in small batches and cook quickly over a medium heat until browned.
Return all the meat to the pot, add the Vindaloo paste and mustard seeds, and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
Add the water and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours or until meat is tender. (As you can see, I had too much water, as this is meant to be a slight dry dish)
Serve with basmati rice and pappadums.
I used pappadums that Mum brought over for me that you can microwave for 1 minute. I have since found quite a good Indian store that sells different types of pappadums as well as the Brinjal (eggplant relish) which I love.
You can substitute the pork for beef if you prefer, I'd suggest using round steak (beef round or eye of round, depending where you live).
Enjoy,
Matt
