Celebrating Kentucky Day

When you hear Kentucky, what comes to mind? For most of us we think Blue Grass, horses and fried chicken. Thanks to Harland Sanders, Kentucky is forever linked with Pressure Cooker Fried Chicken.

Before we get into all the goodness of fried chicken, let’s explore a few fun facts about the great state of Kentucky.

Saint Mary’s Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington, Kentucky is an eye-catching display of architecture, with a total of 82 stained glass windows.

Duncan Hines is more that just a brand of cake mixes. Duncan Hines was a real person, born in Bowling Green Kentucky in 1880. Before introducing the world to food products, Duncan Hines was a traveling salesman. While on the road, he made notes about the restaurants he visited. Eventually Duncan self-published a list of his recommended restaurants. He called it Adventures in Good Eating. One of the places Duncan recommended was Sanders Café in Corbin, Kentucky. According to Duncan, Sanders Café was a good place to stop, highlighting its sizzling steaks, fried chicken, country ham and hot biscuits. The owner and chef was none other than Colonel Sanders, who cooked his first batch of KFC in a small Café across the street from his Shell Service Station.

Cumberland Falls is the only place in the Western Hemisphere that a person can spot a moon bow. This unique rainbow is formed from light bouncing off the moon. Every full moon, the moon bow can be seen.

Next time you use a Post-It-Note, thank the good folks of Cynthiana, Kentucky. All Post-It-Notes hail from the same factory.

Kentucky has more barrels of Bourbon than citizens. There are over 7.5 million barrels of bourbon in Kentucky. As of the last censes, Kentucky is home to some 4.5 million people.

Can we talk KFC for a minute? I can remember growing up a bucket of KFC was a real treat. When my kids were kids, KFC was a Mother’s Day Special. I didn’t have to cook, and we could have a beautiful picnic after church. Lately, something has happened to KFC. The chicken is dry and tough and just not very enjoyable. And it’s not just one KFC. Seems they have all taken a page from the same “How to Make The Worst Chicken” cookbook. If you have a decent KFC, consider yourself truly blesses. I’ve given up. Besides, unless we are talking 5-Star French Restaurant, most anything you can get from a restaurant you can make at home with better ingredients and that secret touch – love.

Kentucky Country Supper
Kentucky Fried Chicken
Mashed Potatoes with Brown Gravy
Buttery Corn
Southern Biscuits

Pressure Cooked Kentucky Fried Chicken
Pressure Cooker
2 tablespoons Paprika
1 tablespoon Garlic Powder
1 tablespoon Onion Powder
1 teaspoon Black Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
3 teaspoons Kosher Salt, divided
4 bone-in Chicken Thighs
4 Chicken Legs
1/2 cup Water
1/2 cup Chicken Stock

Stir together paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, cayenne, and 2 teaspoons of the salt in a small bowl. Sprinkle evenly all over chicken, pressing to adhere. Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes.

Place trivet inside the Instant Pot pressure cooker. Pour water and chicken stock into cooker. Place chicken on trivet (it’s okay to stack chicken pieces on top of one another).

Close cooker with lid, and lock in place. Select MANUAL PRESSURE COOK setting. Select HIGH pressure for 15 minutes. Press START.

Once cooked, release pressure by venting the pot. Once steam has released, remove lid from cooker. Carefully place chicken, skin sides up, on paper towel-lined plates to drain. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

For Frying
1 cup Flour
1/2 cup Breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons Roasted Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Paprika
1 teaspoon Black Pepper
1/4 teaspoon Poultry Seasoning
Oil for frying

In a bowl whisk together flour, breadcrumbs, garlic powder, paprika, pepper and poultry seasoning. Set aside. Place a wire rack in a baking sheet. Working with one piece of chicken at a time, roll chicken in flour mixture and let rest on the wire rack.

Once all the chicken has been breaded, heat about 1/2 inch of oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat.

Gently place the chicken pieces, skin side down first, into the heated oil and cook about 5 minutes until chicken is golden brown. Turn and continue to fry until golden, another 5 minutes or so. Drain on crumpled paper towels. and keep warm until all the chicken has been fried.

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Simple Mashed Potatoes with Rich Brown Gravy
Mashed Potatoes
3 lbs Russet Potatoes
1/4 cup Milk
4 tablespoons Butter
Kosher Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste

Peel potatoes, if desired. Cut into 1-inch cubes. Place potatoes in a large pot with just enough water to cover the potatoes. Sprinkle water with a little salt if desired.

Bring potatoes to a full boil. Lower heat to maintain a rolling boil without boiling over. Cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

Drain well. Return potatoes to the pot, dry potatoes of excess moisture over low heat, about 2 minutes, shaking pan to keep potatoes from sticking.

Heat milk in the microwave or in a small pan. Add half of butter, one tablespoon at a time, blend until melted into the hot milk.  Set aside.

Using a masher, mash potatoes until smooth. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Pour warm buttery milk over the potatoes. Whip until smooth.

Transfer mashed potatoes to a serving bowl. Top with remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Sprinkle with a little course pepper if desired. Serve immediately.

Brown Gravy
1 cup Chicken Stock
1 cup Beef Stock
1 teaspoon Better than Beef Bouillon
1 teaspoon Onion Powder
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1-1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
3 drops Kitchen Bouquet Browning Sauce
1/4 cup cold Water
3 tablespoons Cornstarch
1 tablespoon cold Butter

Add the chicken stock, beef stock, beef bouillon, onion and garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce to a medium saucepan. Stir to combine.

If a darker color is desired, add a few drops of Kitchen Bouquet Browning Sauce.

In a small container with lid, combine the cold water and corn starch. Seal tightly, shake to combine.

Bring gravy to a boil. Whisk in cornstarch slurry. Decrease to medium low. Continue to whisk to ensure that it blends in smoothly.

Let gravy gently simmer until desired thickness in reached. The longer it simmers, the more concentrated the flavor will become.

Remove from heat. Swirl in one tablespoon COLD butter just before serving. finish.

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Buttery Corn
1 can Sweet Corn
2 tablespoons Butter, divided
Salt to taste

Drain corn into a mesh strainer. Rinse well under cold water. Let drain until most of the water is gone.

Empty corn into a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add 1 tablespoon of butter. Gently warm corn. Season with salt to taste, stir to blend butter and salt with the warm corn.

Transfer to a serving bowl. Top with remaining tablespoon of butter, serve and enjoy.

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This recipe for Southern Biscuits has been modified from a recipe first published in a Betty Crocker Cookbook from 1956. The only change to the original recipe is the use buttermilk rather than whole milk for a richer, slightly tangy biscuit to compliment the sweetness of the butter.

Betty’s Southern Biscuits
2 cups Flour
1 tablespoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
6 tablespoons Shortening
2/3 cup Buttermilk

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in bowl. Cut in shortening. Add buttermilk to make soft dough.

Round-up dough on lightly floured board and knead lightly about 30 seconds. Roll or pat out 1/4-inch thick. Cut with biscuit cutter or round cookie cutter. Place on ungreased baking sheet.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown and serve with butter.