If Aunt Jemima & Col. Sanders Went On a Date...

...they'd probably eat chicken and waffles.  What better combination of salty and sweet could you ask for?  We drew inspiration from Edward Lee's recipe for adobo chicken and waffles in his latest cookbook, Smoke & Pickles.  We took a few shortcuts from his version because it was a chilly night in the Capitol and we wanted some comfort food in a hurry.  I wanted something green to accompany our chicken and waffles, so we braised some mustard greens, making a homey, southern comfort dinner.

We had some chicken breasts on hand, so we trimmed the fat, and pounded them into slightly thinner cutlets.  This helped reduce the cook time, and keep them moist.  Lee's recipe calls for an adobo marinade, but since we didn't really plan ahead, we just let the chicken soak in some buttermilk while we got the rest of the meal started.

While the chicken soaked, we got to work on the greens.  Originally, we wanted to cook up some collard greens, but our grocery store didn't have them, so we settled for the mustard greens.  For the greens, we used Lee's recipe for kimchi collards as our guide.  We started by crisping up some bacon.  To that, we added a sliced shallot, and a big clove of garlic.

Once the shallot and garlic had some time cook down, we added in our mustard greens.  We got this huge bunch for less than $1.  You can't beat that!

I gave them a quick spin in the salad spinner to get any grit off of them, and then gave them a rough chop.  Then just toss them into your dutch oven with the bacon, shallots, and garlic.  As they started to wilt down, we added in a pat of butter, chicken stock, a splash of soy sauce, and a splash of apple cider vinegar.  Since we didn't have any kimchi on hand, we added in a bit of sriracha sauce for spice.  Give everything a good toss, so all the liquids combine, your butter melts, and the greens are tossed in the liquid.  Then we just put a lid on it, and let it simmer for about 30 minutes.

Now back to the chicken.  For the breading, we used a combination of flour and panko, and added some adobo spice to replace the adobo marinade that we didn't use, paprika, salt, pepper, and a bit of our homemade bbq rub.  Once your chickens are breaded, just drop them into the oil to fry up.

While Justin took care of frying the chickens, I handled the waffles.  You can use any waffle batter recipe you like.  Ours used buttermilk, for some tang, as well as some paprika and black pepper, to make them a little more savory.

As our waffles and chickens finished up, we placed them on a wire rack and popped them into the oven to keep them warm and crispy.  If you put them directly onto the baking sheet, the bottoms will get soggy.  Putting them on the rack allows the air to circulate around them, keeping all sides crispy.  Plus, putting the chicken on the rack allows the excess oil to drip off.

Once all of your waffles are made and chickens are fried, it's time to eat!  We topped ours with some maple syrup.  We also had some leftover chipotle yogurt sauce, so we used that as a dipping sauce, to add a little smokiness and balance out the sweet syrup.

While we took a few shortcuts and used breast meat, the end result held up in the taste department.  The chicken was perfectly seasoned, and tender on the inside while nice and crispy on the outside.  The waffles had a perfect balance of flavor from the buttermilk and spice, and came out crisp with a light and soft interior.  This was some definite southern comfort with an Asian twist that was perfect for a cold night.

Beets & Meats

Today's post is brought to you by the letter 'B'.  Brats. Beer. Beets. Bacon.  What more could you ask for?

You could easily just throw the brats on the grill and call it a day, but we cooked at my place tonight, and I don't have a grill.  Instead, we gave the brats a quick sear on each side in a skillet, and then dropped in some  sliced yellow onions and a bottle of Red Hook Pilsner to finish cooking.

While the brats were steaming away, we got to work on the beets, which were the star of the show. Start by peeling and quartering your beets, and dropping them into some salted, boiling water until tender.  Though the recipe called for bibb lettuce, we just used the beet greens, so make sure to give them a good rinse and reserve them.  While the beets are boiling, crisp up some bacon.

You can set the bacon aside, but keep the fat in the pan to cook up the red onion, and wilt down your greens.  We then added in some balsamic, brown sugar, and fennel seed.  I only had the star anise pods on hand, so we substituted the fennel seed.  Let the brown sugar melt down, and then toss in your beets and coat them in the sauce.  Once they're coated, just sprinkle the bacon on top, and you're ready to serve.  Though the recipe calls for more of a salad, ours turned into more of a side dish since we wilted down the beet greens.

The beets, brown sugar and reduced balsamic made for a pretty sweet combination, but the greens and the bacon helped balance it out.  It really could've used the dark beer to cut the sweetness...we just didn't have any we were willing to sacrifice.

It was a quick, tasty summery meal; perfect for a Friday night.

Burgers. Beets. Battlestar Gallactica.

Tonight's post is dedicated to Dwight Shrute and the end of The Office.  We're pretty sure our beets came from a farm in Virginia, but Scranton isn't too far from DC, so I guess there's a slight chance they came from Shrute Farms.

This week's share gave us some Polyface ground beef, which we are always excited for. With the warm summer weather, burgers on the grill sounded like the perfect dinner.  We still had some umami dust on hand, and since Umami Burger isn't DC yet, we had to make our DIY version.  This recipe was our inspiration.

The twist this time around was the oyster mushrooms and onions in a port reduction that topped the burgers.

It's a really simple way to elevate any meat, whether it's a burger or a piece of steak.  Start by slicing and dicing your mushrooms and onion, and saute them in some brown butter.

Once they've softened, you'll add about 1 cup of port.  Here's where you'll deglaze your pan, making sure to scrape up all the tasty bits that are stuck on the bottom of your pan.  Then just let the liquid reduce down, stirring occasionally, until you have a thick glaze on your onions and 'shrooms.

We tucked our patties into some lettuce leaves, topped them with the port 'shrooms and onions, and some crumbled bleu cheese.

Since we didn't have any sweet potatoes for fries, we decided to make beet chips again to accompany the burgers.  They're super simple, and add a sweet, crispy component to the meal.  I would advise using a mandoline to slice them, if you have one, so that each chip is the same thickness.  Otherwise, take your time slicing and use a really sharp knife.  We used the beet greens to make a simple salad for a little extra roughage.

The beet chips, along with the port, added a nice sweetness that balanced out the rich umami flavors of the burgers.

And if you use your imagination a little, doesn't my plate kind of look like Dwight?