Fried Chicken for I Heart Cooking Clubs

Another week has gone by, and that means I cooked up another Bittman recipe for I Heart Cooking Clubs. This weeks theme was "Spice Caravan". I know we can take alot of liberty with the theme, but I really wanted to try something A.) I don't make that often and B.)that stays true to the theme. I think I succeeded with this Fried Chicken recipe.

Now, I can't really tell you the last time I had fried chicken. Actually, I guess that's one of the benefits of having a food blog. I can look back and tell you exactly the last time I had fried chicken. It was in February when I made Chicken Etouffee. Since "fried" is not normally on my roster, I decided to only make two fried chicken legs and then bake the rest in the over using the same spice combination. Both came out delicious - except the fried version took MUCH less time to cook, and I forgot about the baked version. YIKES! No worries, though. I caught it before it burned and it tasted great!

Fried Chicken Made Easy
courtesy How to Cook Everything, Completely Revised 10th Anniversary Edition: 2,000 Simple Recipes for Great Food by Mark Bittman
Submitted to I Heart Cooking Clubs: Caravan of Spice


Ingredients

Enter, the spices!



1 whole chicken, 3 to 4 pounds, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 8 pieces, or any combination of parts
2 legs of chicken, cleaned and patted dry
Neutral oil,like grapeseed or corn, olive oil, or a combination of lard and butter, as needed
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon pinch of salt
1 tablespoon teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or more to taste
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon - I used the chili spiced recipe below
Lemon Lime wedges (optional)

Directions

1. Dry the chicken well with paper towels. Heat at least 1/2 inch of the fat over medium-high heat in a large, deep skillet, broad saucepan, or similar vessel with a lid. While it is heating, mix together the flour and seasonings in a plastic bag. Toss the chicken in the bag, 2 or 3 pieces at a time, until they are well coated with flour. Put them on a rack as you finish. (Or wait until the oil is hot, then toss the chicken with the flour one piece at a time and add the pieces directly to the fat one at a time.)

2. When the fat reaches 350°F, raise the heat to high and slowly but steadily add the chicken pieces, skin side down. When they have all been added (or, if you're working in batches, one batch), cover the skillet, reduce the heat to medium-high, and set a timer for 7 minutes. After 7 minutes, uncover the skillet, turn the chicken, and continue to cook, uncovered, for 7 minutes.

3. Turn the chicken skin side down again and cook for about 5 minutes more, turning as necessary to ensure that both sides are golden brown. As the chicken pieces finish cooking (to check for doneness, remove one piece and cut into it close to the bone; the juices should run clear), remove them from the skillet and drain them on paper bags or towels. Serve hot, warm (keep warm in a low oven if you like), or at room temperature, with lemon wedges if desired.




Chili-Spiced Fried Chicken

Even more punch: Use neutral or peanut oil. Sprinkle the flour with 2 tablespoons each chili powder and ground cumin, 2 teaspoons ground coriander, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne (optional), and some salt and pepper; omit the cinnamon. Serve with lime wedges.





Like this recipe? Check out last week's Mark Bittman recipe here.

Eggplant Dip for I Heart Cooking Clubs

Awhile back, I participated in a blog roundup called Tyler Florence Fridays. Well, that roundup sadly came to an end a few months ago. Lucky for me, the people who ran that blog have started up something new called I Heart Cooking Clubs. All the recipes submitted are by a certain chef, just how Tyler Florence Fridays worked, only the chef on I Heart Cooking Clubs changes every few months.

In April, they are featuring the recipes of Mark Bittman. When I first read who the chef was, I though, who the heck is that?. Then when I was searching for recipes, I realized I actually followed his NY Times blog Bitten. Duh, Melissa. An interesting thing about Mark Bittman is that he's never had any formal training, he's never worked at a restaurant. So I guess that means there is hope for all of us cooking enthusiasts yet. Read more about Mark and his philosophy on eating simple here.

If you know anything about Mark Bittman, you'll know he's all about simple and easy. He frequently posts "101" lists on his blog, which go through 101 ways to make something quick. Some of these lists include, 101 salads, 101 make-aheads, etc. I got the recipe below from "101 20-minute dishes for Inspired PIcnics"

This is a departure from my normal recipe post because the recipe is so simple. It doesn't even require an ingredient list.

Eggplant Hummus Dip
from Mark Bittman's 101 20-minute dishes for inspired picnics , #22

Cook whole unpeeled eggplant in a dry, hot skillet, turning occasionally, until collapsed and soft. (Or grill, or roast, or hold with a fork over an open flame.) While it’s cooling, whisk together tahini, lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic and parsley in a bowl. Chop the eggplant flesh (leave the peel behind) and roughly mash in the bowl. Add red pepper flakes if you like. Serve with pita



Chef's Notes:
Yup, that's the whole recipe. You thought I was kidding when I said he was a simple cook, didn't you? Since there aren't any measurements, I'll list the amounts I used:

1 large eggplant
1/4 c. hummus (my grocery store was out of plain old tahini)
1 tablespoon of lemon juice - but I ended up squirting in a little bit more after I tasted it
three shakes of salt and pepper
1 clove garlic (if I was just using tahini, I probably would have used 2, but hummus already has garlic in it.)
I'm not sure of the amount of parsley, but after it was chopped, it was about a palmful
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

This is for the potluck roundup on I Heart Cooking Clubs, so I guess it's appropriate that I'm taking it to a BBQ tonight. I'm excited to see what everyone thinks!