Nashville Style Hot Chicken

prep: 3 hours

cook: about an hour

serves: 6

special equipment:
 A deep-fry thermometer

to dry brine the chicken you’ll need…

1 3–4 pound chicken, cut into 10 pieces, cut breasts cut in half, discard backbone and wing tips

3 tablespoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

for the dredge you’ll need…

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons paprika

2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons salt

for the dip you’ll need…

2 large eggs

2 cups buttermilk

1 tablespoon hot sauce (vinegar based, like Tabasco)

for frying you’ll need…

Safflower Oil, Vegetable Oil, Peanut Oil or Lard (yep, I said the “L” word)

for the spicy sauce you’ll need…

1 cup hot frying oil

4 tablespoons cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon chili powder

let’s get to it…

Place the chicken in a large bowl and rub it with the salt and black pepper; cover and let it hang out in the refrigerator for 3 hours (or overnight if possible). Let the chicken stand at room temperature for about 45 minutes before cooking.

Set a wire rack inside a large rimmed baking sheet lined with paper towels.

Whisk the flour, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper and salt together in a 9x13x2-inch baking dish (like a lasagna pan). Beat the eggs, buttermilk and hot sauce together in a medium bowl; set aside.

Heat the oil in a large (10-inch or 12-inch) skillet or other heavy straight-sided skillet (not nonstick!) to about ¾-inch deep. Prop the deep-fry thermometer in the oil so the bulb is submerged, but not touching the bottom of the pan. Heat over medium-high heat until thermometer registers 350°F.

Using 1 hand for dry ingredients and 1 hand for wet ingredients, dredge 1 piece of chicken in the flour mixture. Shake off the excess. Dip the chicken piece in the buttermilk mixture; shake off the excess. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture AGAIN and shake off the excess.

Place 4 to 5 pieces of chicken in the skillet, depending on how much room you have. Working in batches, fry the chicken, turning with tongs every 1–2 minutes. Adjust the heat to maintain a steady temperature of 325°F. Cook until the skin is golden brown, about 10 minutes for wings and 17 to 20 minutes for thighs, legs, and breast quarters, and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken reads 165°F.

Remove chicken from skillet with tongs, allowing the excess oil to drip back into skillet; transfer the cooked chicken to the rack. Repeat until all of the chicken is cooked.

And now, this is what makes Nashville Style Hot Chicken so HOT:

Ladle 1 cup of hot oil into a small saucepan or heatproof bowl and whisk in the cayenne pepper, dark brown sugar and chili powder. Brush or baste the sauce over the Nashville Style Hot Chicken. Serve on a slice or two of white bread with a few pickles.

Simple Irish Soda Bread

prep: 20 minutes
bake: 40 to 45 minutes

you’ll need…
3 cups lower-protein unbleached flour (plus a little extra for dusting)
1 cup plain cake flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1½ teaspoons baking soda
1½ teaspoons salt
1½ teaspoons cream of tartar
4 tablespoons butter, softened and divided
1½ cups buttermilk

let’s get to it…
Place the oven rack in the upper-middle position. Heat oven to 400°F.
Sift the flours, sugar, baking soda, salt and cream of tartar into a bowl. In a separate bowl, blend 2 tablespoons of the softened butter and buttermilk.
Stir the butter and buttermilk into the dry ingredients using a fork until the dough starts to hold together. Remove dough from bowl and place on a lightly dusted cutting board or clean counter.
Knead gently until the dough holds together (it will not be smooth). Don’t overwork the dough or it will be tough! Form the dough into a disk 6-inches across and 2-inches high. Place on a parchment-paper lined baking sheet (you can also grease the baking sheet if you don’t have parchment paper). With a sharp knife, cut a cross on top of the dough (this is called blessing the bread).
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. The bread should be golden brown and sound hollow when the bottom is tapped.
Brush the top the top of the bread with the remaining 2 tablespoons of softened butter.

cooking know-how: Cool the bread completely before cutting (I know it will be tempting!). Otherwise the bread will be somewhat wet and spongy and not light and tender.

bon appétit inspired Skillet-Fried Chicken

prep: 3 hours
cook: about an hour
serves: 6

you’ll need…
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt, divided
• 2 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 3–4-lb. chicken (not kosher), cut into 10 pieces, backbone and wing tips removed
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 3 1/2  cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• Peanut oil (for frying)
• special equipment:
A deep-fry thermometer

let’s get to it…
Whisk 1 tablespoon of the salt, 2 teaspoons of the black pepper, the paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic and onion powder together in a small bowl.  Rub the chicken with the spices in a medium bowl. Cover and chill for at least 3 hours (you can also let it sit overnight).

Rest the chicken out of the refrigerator for 1 hour before cooking. Set a wire rack inside a large rimmed baking sheet lined with foil.

Whisk the buttermilk and eggs in a medium bowl. Whisk the flour, the cornstarch, remaining 1 tablespoon of salt, and remaining 1 tablespoon of pepper in  in a 9x13x2″ baking dish (like a lasagna pan).

Pour the oil into a 10″–12″ cast-iron skillet or other heavy straight-sided skillet (not a nonstick pan) to a depth of ¾-inches. Prop up the deep-fry thermometer (or clip it to the side of the pan) in the oil so the bulb is submerged. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until thermometer hits 350°F.

Dip the chicken in the buttermilk mixture one piece at a time, allowing the excess to drip back into the bowl. (I like to use one hand for wet ingredients and one hand for dry ingredients.)

Dredge the chicken piece in the flour mixture and shake off the excess. Place several pieces of the chicken in the skillet (don’t crowd the pan!). Fry the chicken, turning with tongs every 1–2 minutes and adjusting heat to maintain a steady temperature of 300°F–325°F, until skin is deep golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 165°F, about 10 minutes for wings and 12 minutes for thighs, legs, and breasts.

Remove the chicken from the skillet, allowing excess oil to drip back into skillet and place on the wire rack. Repeat as directed until the chicken is cooked. Cool for 10 minutes before diving in! 

Caramel Cake
prep: 30 minutes
cook: 20-25 minutes

for the cake you’ll need…
2 cups cake flour, sifted (cake flour is supposed to be sifted already, but sift it again anyway)
1/4 teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon vinegar

for the icing you’ll need…
½ cup butter
2 1/4 cups light brown sugar (about a pound)
1/2  teaspoon salt
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla

let’s make the cake…
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Make sure the middle rack is in place.
Grease and flour two 8-inch cake pans. (In the image you see 3 layers. I used a jelly roll pan to bake the cake and then cut out three circles for three layers after it was baked.)
Sift the flour and salt together and set aside. I do this on a paper plate so that I can bend it when adding it to the mixture later.
Cream the butter and sugar together in an electric mixer on medium low speed.
Add the eggs, one at a time, and then add the vanilla. Continue beating until the mixture is light and fluffy.
Turn the electric mixer up to medium and alternate adding the sifted flour and salt and the buttermilk to the butter mixture.
Dissolve the baking soda in the vinegar and add to the mixture.
Pour equal amounts of the batter into the pans, using a rubber spatula to remove all of the batter from the bowl and to evenly distribute the batter in the pans.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cake springs back when lightly touched in the middle.
Cool cake in the pans for 10 minutes; flip onto a wire rack and cool at least 1 hour.

let’s make the icing while the cake bakes….
Melt the butter on medium low heat in a heavy saucepan.
Whisk in the brown sugar and salt.
Add the evaporated milk and continuing stirring until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage (about 235°F).
Remove from heat and let cool 15 minutes.
Stir in baking powder and vanilla for 10 minutes, or until at a spreadable consistency. (Remember this is an icing so you won’t slather it on like you would a frosting).
Cool completely before icing the cake.

cooking know how…
Icing and frosting are different. Icing is usually sugar based and is thinner, almost like a glaze. Frosting is thicker and tends to be cream or butter based.