Spicing Up Our Tuesday

Welcome to July, where the dedication of the month is The Precious Blood of Jesus. Don’t worry, we aren’t going to get into all that just yet. But come Advent and the start of the new Church Year I’ll have plenty to say. That is if I remember . . .

Do you love to play around with recipes? I know I sure do. Right at this moment I have 208 cookbooks on the shelf in our den (which is also an indoor extension of my kitchen where you will find everything from an electric ice cream maker to a roasting oven on the shelves). In addition to the cookbooks, I have an assortment of recipe magazines. Oh, and there’s even a cookbook among my faith based books. I really struggled with the decision of where to put The Holy Days Catholic Kids’ Heavenly Food Cookbook. Truth be told, the real deciding factor came when I realized I am just about out of room on my cookbook book shelf. The Catholic Bookshelf has only 119 books, so there’s still room of expansion.

The oldest cookbook in my collection was published in 1899. It’s a cookbook put out by the White House chefs. I don’t think I’ve ever actually used a recipe from that particular book. Some of the directions aren’t exactly clear such as a quick oven (375-400 degrees) and ingredients aren’t readily available these days from your local grocery store such as pheasant or squab. I’m strange in that I’d rather read a cookbook than just about anything else, except maybe a book on faith.

Anyway, this recipe was one I came across online. It was a site dedicated to New Mexican Cooking – which happens to be one of our favorite American Cuisines. The original recipe called for Chicken Fried Steak. Chicken Fried Steak makes sense since the dish is something generally served up smothered in a creamy white gravy. The Hatch Pepper Gravy, void of any meat drippings, is clearly in the white gravy category. As a northern gal with southern tastes, I like Chicken Fried Steak. However; it’s not a favorite with Hubby. So a few tiny changes needed to be made.

If the chicken seems familiar, it’s a modified recipe I’ve use to recreate the Chick Fil A Spicy Chicken Sandwich. I thought it would compliment the Hatch Gravy beautifully. And I was right. Each is spicy hot in its own right. Together the heat really builds. Which brings us to another reason to serve this amazing chicken with the biscuits. Spread a little honey butter on those biscuits, it’ll bring releif from the heat if you need it.

Spicy Fried Chicken with Hatch Pepper Gravy
Spicy Fried Chicken
2 Chicken Breasts
1/3 cup Franks Red Hot Sauce
1/3 cup Water
1 Egg
1 cup Flour
2-1/2 teaspoons Salt
4 teaspoons Cayenne Pepper
1 teaspoon Coarse Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Onion Powder
1/2 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
Pinch Garlic Powder
Vegetable Oil for frying

With a sharp knife, cut each breast in half lengthwise to create 4 thin breasts. Set chicken aside.

In a pie tin whisk together hot sauce, water and an egg. In another pie tin combine flour, salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper, onion powder, paprika and garlic powder.

Dredge each fillet in flour for a light coating, then dip in hot sauce mixture, shaking off excess, then in the flour coating again. Lay the chicken out on a wire rack and let rest for 10 minutes for the triple coating to adhere to the meat.

Fill a skillet with about a half in or so of oil. Heat oil over medium-high heat. Once hot enough to sizzle when hit with a drop of water, place chicken into the skillet to begin to fry. Immediately turn heat down to medium. Fry the chicken for about 3 minutes or so. Turn and continue to fry another 3 minutes.

Place chicken on a wire rack to drain, then hold in a serving platter in a warm oven until ready to serve.

Hatch Chili Pepper Gravy
2 tablespoons Butter
2 tablespoons Flour
2 cups Milk
Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste
1 (4 oz) can diced Hot Hatch Green Chilies

In a medium-size sauce pan over medium heat melt butter until foamy. Sprinkle with flour, whisk to blend. Lower temperature and cook for about 3 minutes for the raw flour taste to disappear.

Slowly whisk in the milk, about a half cup at a time, whisking vigorously after each addition. Once the milk has been added, season with salt and pepper. Stir in the Hatch Chilies, let simmer for a few minutes to thicken. Taste and adjust season if necessary.

Easy Southern Biscuits
2/3 cup Whole Milk
2 teaspoons White Vinegar
2 cups Flour
1 heaping tablespoon Baking powder
1 teaspoon Salt
6 tablespoons Shortening

Heat oven to 450-degrees.

Measure milk in a glass measuring cup. Stir in the white vinegar. Set aside and let sit for 10 minutes before using.

Combine flour, baking powder an dsalt in a bowl. Cut in the shortening with fingertips. Add homemade buttermilk to create a soft dough.

Lightly flour a cutting board. Round up the soft dough, lightly knead in the flour for about 30 seconds or so. Roll out or pat dough into a quarter-inch thick disk. With a lightly floured biscuit cutter or round cookie cutter, cut biscuits. Regroup extra dough, roll again and repeat once more.

Arrange biscuits on a baking sheet, place in the heated oven. Bake until golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Note: With a standard fluted biscuit cutter, this should make between 8 and 10 biscuits. If you have a jumbo biscuit cutter like mine, you should get 5 biscuits. Perfect for a single meal.

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To serve: Spoon some of gravy over the chicken breasts, transfer the remaining gravy to a boat or bowl to use table side. Arrange biscuits on the platter with the chicken. Serve with buttery corn and enjoy.

Honey Butter
1/2 cup softened Butter
1/4 cup Honey

While the biscuits bake, whip butter and honey together to create a smooth, sweet spread. Transfer to a serving bowl.

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Search me, O LORD, and try me;
test my soul and my heart.
For Your mercy is before my eyes,
and I walk in Your truth.