Aug 31, 2016

Eleven Herbs & Spices


Earlier this month, Chicago Tribute reporter Jay Jones met Joe Ledington, the nephew of Colonel Sanders.  In the process of the interview, Mr. Ledington took out a family scrapbook that included this hand written chicken recipe that just so happens to be made up of eleven herbs and spices.  Mr. Ledington went on to say that as a kid, he worked for his uncle, blending the herbs and spices with flour and bagging up the mixture to sell to restaurants.

Naturally, representatives for KFC were quick to say that this isn't the real recipe, but several people have followed the instructions and they say that, with a few tweaks, it tastes just like Kentucky Fried Chicken.  Here's the full recipe, as it was tested, from Joe Gray:

Fried chicken with 11 herbs and spices

Prep: 30 minutes
Soak: 20-30 minutes
Cook: 15-18 minutes
Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2/3 tablespoon salt
  • 1/2 tablespoon dried thyme leaves
  • 1/2 tablespoon dried basil leaves
  • 1/3 tablespoon dried oregano leaves
  • 1 tablespoon celery salt
  • 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon dried mustard
  • 4 tablespoons paprika
  • 2 tablespoons garlic salt
  • 1 tablespoon ground ginger
  • 3 tablespoons ground white pepper
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 chicken, cut up, the breast pieces cut in half for more even frying
  • Expeller-pressed canola oil


Instructions
  1. Mix the flour in a bowl with all the herbs and spices; set aside.
  2. Mix the buttermilk and egg together in a separate bowl until combined. Soak the chicken in the buttermilk mixture at room temperature, 20-30 minutes.
  3. Remove chicken from the buttermilk, allowing excess to drip off. Dip the chicken pieces in the herb-spice-flour mixture to coat all sides, shaking off excess. Allow to sit on a rack over a baking sheet, 20 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, heat about 3 inches of the oil in a large Dutch oven (or similar heavy pot with high sides) over medium-high heat to 350 degrees. (Use a deep-frying thermometer to check the temperature.) When temperature is reached, lower the heat to medium to maintain it at 350. Fry 3 or 4 pieces at a time, being careful not to crowd the pot. Fry until medium golden brown, turning once, 15-18 minutes. Transfer chicken pieces to a baking sheet covered with paper towels. Allow the oil to return to temperature before adding more chicken. Repeat with remaining chicken.
  • A note on MSG: Although KFC has confirmed that its present-day recipe uses MSG, it wasn't part of the list of herbs and spices from the Colonel's nephew.  If you want to try it, sprinkle a bit of it on the finished chicken pieces before eating.

Aug 18, 2016

Bam!



Burgers And More by Emeril
Sands Casino Resort - Bethlehem, PA
We're got to town a little early to see the Rob Thomas and Counting Crows concert tonight, so we stopped for something to eat at Emeril Lagasse's burger joint at the casino.



Emeril always came across to me a pretty chill dude who doesn't talk down to his audience when he's showing them how to prepare one of his recipes, and I've always liked him.  However, I'm not sure how I feel about having a giant stained glass mime with blue and black striped hair staring me down.  Creepy!

Aug 9, 2016

Method of Modern Meme


The shredding bin in the hallway of my office has been expressing it's Philly soul.

Aug 7, 2016

Take It Easy, A-Rod


Press Republican sports page
Chris Duncan - June 16, 2008
Alex Rodriguez announced his retirement earlier today.  I've never been a fan of his, but I'll always remember this hysterical headline from a June inter-league game between the Yankees and the Astros.  Pitcher Chien-Ming Wang injured his foot running the bases, and Rodriguez hit his 12th home run of the season on the way to a 12 - 0 victory.

Aug 3, 2016

The Changing Of The Guard



TV Update
Scranton Sunday Times (August 3, 1986)
Hall Of Fame third baseman Wade Boggs was in his fifth season in baseball when these tv listings were published.  He was making a run at being MLB's first .400 hitter since Ted Williams in 1941.  He finished the season with a .357 average for the 1986 AL Champion Red Sox.



The cover story begins by saying that the future will look back at the 1986 season as the changing of the guard in Major League Baseball, and the author of this article wasn't wrong.  It was the season that saw the young core of the New York Mets come from behind to win the World Series, and the season when Pete Rose recorded his last hit and Bo Jackson hit his first home run.