If you love spicy food, I mean, really, really LOVE all things fiery and flavorful, then you’re ready for Nashville Style Hot Chicken.

I’m telling you, this atomic fried chicken is guaranteed to burn your face off. Ah, the eye-watering pain. The mouth-burning agony. It hurts (and tastes) so good.

Yes, there are a lot of spicy fried chicken recipes out there. But what makes Nashville Style Hot Chicken so unique is the “sauce” that is brushed, dipped or poured over the chicken just before serving. That sauce is so delicious; you have to serve it with a slice or two of good old-fashioned white bread to soak up all the drippy goodness.

Oh, and you definitely need some good pickles to gussy-up the plate. That’s part of the presentation. You don’t want to go to all the trouble of making Nashville Style Hot Chicken and leave off a traditional garnish!

Several (now famous) places in Nashville have been serving Hot Chicken for decades. But as we all know, it only takes one hip website or famous food show star to get the rest of the country clamoring for the next BIG THING RIGHT NOW.

But what in the world is Nashville Style Hot Chicken anyway? How it came into being is absolutely fascinating, but, then again, I love food history and how it defines our culture, and in this case, a city.

Give a read to Dr. Rachel Martin’s post on the website The Bitter Southerner to understand how Nashville’s so-called signature dish stayed hidden in plain sight for so long before exploding into the mainstream.

Hattie B’s in Nashville, which offers five heat levels, including “Shut the Cluck Up”, inspired my Nashville Style Hot Chicken recipe. I’ve changed it a bit by adding some spices to the flour. Like Hattie B’s recipe, I dredge the chicken pieces (breasts, thighs and legs only) twice in the flour before frying.

But I don’t add quite as much cayenne pepper as Hattie B’s because, well, I may be a little high strung, but I’m not crazy.

Read this recipe all the way through before you begin. I just heard you gasp. That’s right, one of the ingredients in the secret sauce is one cup of the hot oil from the skillet where the chicken is fried.

But, like I always say, you don’t eat like this every day, and I know how much you love fried chicken!

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Presenting! Store-bought puff pastry dough… the Alice in Wonderland of the bread world! Small or big… and everything in between, just like Alice!

Want a little nibble for your tea party? Make these Bacon Cheese Straws just 3 or 4 inches in size. Want something impressive to go across a salad plate? Twist and stretch these until they’re almost a foot long!

Best part: only three ingredients!

It’s very forgiving and can easily be twisted and shaped. Of course, it’s the Parmesan cheese and bacon that gives these straws their amazing flavor, but you are the one who creates the enchantment.

I added a little “hook” on the end to make them look like candy canes… something deliciously festive.

Big or small…who needs a pill to do either when you’ve got these on your plate? Alice would agree!

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clarified butter, also known as drawn butter, is unsalted butter that has had the milk solids and water removed from it… so all that is left is the golden yellow butter fat.
 

Los Americanos stole my holiday… but I’m not angry, I’m thrilled.

I’m talking about the “Day of the Dead,” of course. Or what in Latin America, and particularly in Mexico, is known as Dia de los Muertos. Traditionally, this holiday is celebrated on two days, November 1 and 2. For Latinos, it’s a time of prayer and reflection focused on remembering friends and family who are no longer with us.

When I was growing up in west Texas, every year on the day after Halloween, my parents would load up my nine brothers and sisters (Catholic + Hispanic = NINE) and head to the cemetery for lunch and a visit with the relatives. Relatives, mind you, who were dead.

I learned not to mention this to my predominately white classmates because, well, they wouldn’t have understood. It was the late ‘60s and racism was fairly rampant where I grew up. I wasn’t about to let them know that I was going to a graveyard for a picnic.

And then… things began to change.

Slowly at first… then, in a tidal wave. The Latino population of this country grew increasingly larger, and became more politically, commercially, and socially powerful. And, suddenly it seemed as if Latinos were EVERYWHERE.

Hispanic writers such as Pulitzer Prize-winner Oscar Hijuelos and Isabel Allende were falling off the bookshelves. Latino athletes, such as David “Big Papí” Ortiz and Pedro Martinez, were the new stars of baseball, America’s pastime. Bill Richardson ran for President! (Heck, it was even cool to have a bootie, like Jennifer Lopez!)

And the broader acceptance of Latinos and their culture has influenced everyone’s perception of Day of the Dead… which is both good and bad.

First, the bad. In this country, over the past 20 years or so, Day of the Dead has become a part of Halloween, and in the process, become a bit commercialized, too. I’ve seen Day of the Dead inspired costumes for children, Day of the Dead beer and even Day of the Dead rubber duckies (what?)! Occasionally it’s even incorrectly referred to as Mexican Halloween.

But don’t get me wrong… I’m more than happy to share the Day of the Dead, because it means that Americans are finally becoming more familiar with real Latino culture. (And that’s the “good.”)

Yes, I know the United States has been struggling with a huge Latino immigration issue. That’s not what I’m talking about right now.

I’m looking at what has happened with the Day of the Dead celebration as the gradual mainstreaming of Latino culture into the melting pot that is the United States. People now see sugar skulls and understand that it’s not creepy, but part of a Latino culture… even if they don’t quite get it.

So come on… glom on. That’s how we get past what divides us.

Went a little Hatch Chile-wild this weekend… but these delicate Hatch Chile Mini Cornbread Muffins completely explain my madness.

Hatch Chiles are in season NOW, so you need to buy them while you can. Like I said, I went a little crazy and bought 25 lbs. to freeze. GP thought I was nuts… but we’ll see what he says in November when I thaw some of these babies and make his favorite Chili before a big football game.

If you see Hatch Chilies in your supermarket… buy them! Many supermarkets are partnering with Melissa’s Produce and holding roasting events: you buy the chiles and they roast them right there at the store… how easy is that? If onsite roasting is not an option, it’s pretty easy to do it at home… click here.

These Hatch Chile Mini Cornbread Muffins are a great way to venture into Hatch Chileland if you are a newbie. The muffins are sweet, but have just the right of heat from the chiles to keep things interesting. Have you cooked with Hatch Chiles? What’s your favorite recipe?

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Like this recipe? Then try Unbelievably Moist Pumpkin Muffins.