Get You Some Wings and Fly Away - True Blood Style

Howdy!
Guess who got a mini deep-fryer for Christmas! This lady!! Now I can properly make ANYTHING fried! Muahahaha! Which is kind of funny because we rarely eat fried food but it was one of those...I need this is my tiny kitchen items he he! Ok let's be honest...I knew it might elevate my beignet game and I was all for THAT! 

The True Blood Cookbook has a great recipe for wings and for a long time I had wanted to make fried chicken for Craig. The man deserves some meat!  
First thing was marinating the chicken in some Tabasco for about an hour, refrigerated of course. Then pouring in more veg oil than we would have thought into the fryer and letting it heat up to 350. While we waited for the oil to heat up, it was time to get the chicken ready. Mixed up the flour with some salt, pepper and garlic powder and then in a separate bowl whipped eggs and milk together.

Craig was helping me prepare the chicken legs and it wasn't until I took one of the little cold thighs into my hands that the realization hit me...I am not okay with this. Not to bring down the True Blood magic but my vegetarian nature was coming out and handling the chicken bits was so unappetizing. I've never been super picky about touching meat if it meant helping someone else. Other people eat meat and I have accepted that...so like a champ I battered those thighs....flour to egg to flour but after three I was done. It hurt my heart. Okay...back to the yummy.

Craig finished battering the rest of the legs/wings while I worked on the sauce! And nothing says southern comfort food like fried chicken with blue cheese sauce! This particular wing sauce included: crumbled blue cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, minced shallot and fresh lemon juice. 

It was fun plopping the chicken into the basket and letting it work it's magic. I could only dream of the beignets...fries...funnel-cakes....who knows! We let the chicken fry until golden brown, about 5 mins really. This little cooker is freakin amazing!

 Once cooled and drained of excess oil these babies were ready to serve. Obviously I have no idea what they tasted like but Craig likened them to a picnic in the park. They satisfied that need for fried meat and took him back to younger days, siting on a checkered blanket and scarfing on homemade chicken. The blue cheese sauce was a nice touch and definitely elevated their flavor.

Even though it was touch and go for me, I was really happy to try out my new fryer! It works wonderfully! I can't wait to try other recipes now that I have this new weapon in my kitchen arsenal he he!

Thanks for readin!

Love, Bunny

All Mixed Up Red Beans and Rice

Howdy!! Yesterday I made some Red Beans and Rice which turned out great. Thanks Sam!

The recipe is similar to the Jambalaya with the biggest difference being that the rice is cooked separately. That turned out to be helpful for me because the broth gets a tad spicy...i'm a wimp! 

First you soak the beans overnight then rinse and sort the next day. I found that if you are in a time crunch a can of kidney beans works well too. To start, cook the bacon fat on medium heat and add in the onion, celery, bell pepper and cayenne pepper. Sprinkle the salt and pepper as well. 

After the veggies are browning/golden add in the bay leaves, salt pork, ham and sausage.

Let the meat cook until pieces are beginning to brown and tender, then add in the beans. Stir and add in water so veggies and meat are submerged, about 1 inch. 

Let cook, stirring intermittently for about an hour. The book says to cook for 2 hours but it really didn't need that long. Add more water if it become too dry/thick.

*I added some black beans to make the dish more complex and yummy...plus who doesn't like black beans?!

Next, take a wooden spoon and mash half of the dish to one side of the pot and continue stirring until the mixture is creamy and beans are soft. About 35-40 mins. The dish should begin to thicken into more of a soup (not watery)...completely enveloping each piece with flavor. 

Remove the bay leaves and serve with rice and garnish with green onion and parsley.

Voila! Dinner for the next few days!! 

I am so happy with how this turned out. It was nice to make something so hardy and flavorful. The beans and veggies were delicious with the rice. Great combo! 

I knew I did good when I caught Craig eating some out of the fridge (left-over container). He gave it a "Sublime"!

   Thanks, Bunny