“Two Day” Fried Chicken from Ad Hoc at Home by Thomas Keller

I finally got the cookbook “Ad Hoc at Home” by Thomas Keller.  It’s an amazing book!  Beautifully illustrated and full of wisdom.  After leafing through it, I decided I was going to make the Fried Chicken.  How hard could it be?  Well, it wasn’t so hard as it was time consuming.  Mr. Keller is a gourmet chef and he really can’t leave that behind.  His recipes are very well written, full of detail.  Although this book is all about “home cooking”, I wouldn’t call it a book for beginners.  The recipes are about making what sounds homey into something unbelievable.  This ain’t your mama’s fried chicken.

Looks tasty, doesn’t it?  It is.  The recipe didn’t start with, “On Day One”.  Maybe it should have.  Here’s the short version of the technique.

• Make the brine with kosher salt, water, lemon halves, garlic, bay leaves, parsley, thyme and peppercorns
• Let brine cool to room temp
• Add chicken pieces and refrigerate 12 hours
• Remove chicken from brine and pat dry
• Place on drying wrack for 2 1/2 hours on the counter to come to room temp
• Mix two bowls of flour dredge adding garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, paprika, salt and pepper
• Pour a quart of buttermilk into a separate bowl, season with salt and pepper
• Heat oil approx two inches deep
• Dredge chicken, dip in buttermilk, dredge in other bowl of flour
• Sit on parchment lined tray until time to fry
• Fry 3 – 4 pieces at time at about 320 for 10-12 minutes or so
• Sit on a draining wrack while you fry the rest

Here’s the whole set up…

Notice how it stretches almost entirely across my kitchen?  That’s chicken, way back there by the sink.

No biggie, huh?  Unless, of course, you put the chicken in the brine at 3:oo in the afternoon, not realizing you’ll need to take it out at 3:0o in the morning.  Here’s a good reason to always read completely through your recipe before you begin and to set up a little time-line in your head for how it’s going to go. 

Two days after I began…  was this chicken juicy?  Absolutely.  Did the thick, crispy crust adhere wonderfully to the skin?  Yes sir, it did.  The flavor of the meat and the crust was fantastic. 

My only disappointment?  After two days,  it was still just fried chicken.  Damn good fried chicken.  But, only fried chicken.  I never made fried chicken before this in my whole life.  Why?  I’d rather have chicken fried steak.  I should have made gravy.

Sure is pretty, though, isn’t it?

Next up!?  Pork Belly!!

The Splendid Table’s How to Eat Supper

Recipes, Stories and Opinions from Public Radio’s Award-Winning Food Show

Have you checked out this book?  I’m really liking it.  It’s by Lynne Rossetto Kasper and Sally Swift.  I really bought it just because it was associated with Public Radio.  Then I listened to the podcast and was totally sucked into their whole thing.  I listened to the podcast that is devoted completely to this book.  It’s a short one, about 10 minutes or less per episode.  The banter between the two of them is nice and they talk about the basics of cooking and food.  I listened to the The Splendid Table podcast of the radio show that existed long before this book.  There are guest speakers, call-ins from great chefs and food personalities, discussion of food trends, etc.  At the end the open the phone lines to questions from listeners.  Very entertaining and fun to have going while I’m cooking.

The book is a very good read.  Simple, yet intriguing recipes.  I’ve only tested a couple so far and I was happy with the results.  Overall, I love a cookbook that reads like a book instead of just a compilation of recipes.  Lots of thoughts and ideas are shared.  If I still road the bus to work, this one would for sure be in my lap.  Good purchase.  Unlike a lot of books I’ve bought and sent to the re-sell shop, I think this one is going on the main shelf in the kitchen.

Check it out.

Matt Martinez Mex Tex – Traditional Tex-Mex Taste

 

 

 

I love this book.  When I first started cooking I kept wondering where the Mexican food books were.  I found Diane Kennedy.  But, what I was really looking for was Tex-Mex.  Just like the Tex-Mex we had at our local eatery, Matt’s Rancho Martinez.  We started frequenting Matt’s from the time he opened his place in Lakewood.  It’s not quite the same without old Matt around coming by to see how everyone is doing.  But, it’s still good and often what I think of when I want Mexican food.  

He had a couple of books before this one.  This one is undoubtedly the best.  The photos are great and the recipes cover all my favorites and more.  His chili rellenos are by far the best I’ve ever eaten and the recipe is right here.  All his salsas, margaritas, enchilada sauces and more.  I really recommend this book.  I roll out this one when I want to impress visitors from out of state who never sit down to Mexican food at their table at home.  I’ve seen the book at Borders and on Amazon.

If you don’t already have a good Tex-Mex cookbook, this is the only one you’ll need.