If You're Going To Do It, Do It Right

Today, my church fasted from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.  No biggie. Much improved over last year's monthly 25-hour fast. However, I remembered we were fasting around 7 this morning. I had been up since 5:00 and I was ready for breakfast. This was going to be a long day.

After service, I spent the afternoon watching TV in bed; I had to conserve my energy (and I wouldn't be tempted to snack). Around 6, I hit the kitchen with my mind set on two things -- chicken and waffles and sweet potato chips. Okay, that's three things, but chicken and waffles kinda count as one. If I was only getting one meal today, it was going to be a meal to remember. I was actually going to fry something! Weight Watchers be damned!

I knocked out the sweet potato chips first.  I got up on my step ladder and hauled down what I now affectionately refer to as The Beast - my De Buyer Professional Mandoline.  I may have used this thing five times in the 10 years I've owned it. But today, I took it out of its case for a single sweet potato ...

WA-Fa thin!

Get thee to some hot grease and grab a spider.

I am a firm believer that at all times, sweet potatoes should taste like sweet potato pie. (This time with pronounced salt and pepper.)

Sweet potato chips fry up dark. God bless those caramelizing sugars.

Ooo wee! I had to move these outside of my reach so that I would have some left for dinner. Sweet potato chips had been on my mind for a couple of weeks. I had some at work and I knew I could make them better. I'm going to cut these a hair thicker next time and they will be perfect.

Now for the chicken and waffles. These are my tried and true recipes.

Seasoned meat, seasoned flour, seasoned buttermilk (including hot sauce). Dry-wet-dry to coat. If you have the time, coat twice and let it air dry for a while. Please start with brined chicken. Add to hot grease.

Waffle recipe from Cook's Illustrated.

Bake and assemble including maple syrup and hot sauce.

Yes Lord! I had homemade ginger lemonade too.

Now I have the itis, so I'm going to bed. I'll correct the typos later and add my Tools of the Trade. Shout out to my cast iron skillet!

Oh My Damn

I have been craving chicken and waffles for weeks. It started when the bootleg version of Roscoe's opened in Chicago. Bootleg is the kindest word I have for the foolishness surrounding the Bronzeville restaurant that I think was a year in opening.

Needless to say, because the Chicago version was named Rosscoe's, I had reservations about going. I also have issues about going to restaurants for soul food. Clearly it's something I can do at home. I really like going to restaurants to be challenged and inspired; I like to eat things that I haven't made at home before. So yeah, CPK -- once I nail your crust, it's a wrap! I also had my "Phil" of chicken and waffles at Phil the Fire in Cleveland (RIP).

Back to the subject. I skipped church today. I know; I'm a heathen. I had power chains put on my braces last week and I have had a killer intermittent toothache. Today I gave up and reached for Vicodin, so I figured not driving would be a good thing. The extra time at home gave the chance to rock a f'o' real breakfast.

Let's get started. We've fried chicken before. Brine it, flour it and get it into some hot grease. Drain it on a wire rack.

Moving on to the waffle -- this is my first waffle from scratch! Yea! I turned to Cook's Illustrated for the recipe because they had a recipe for two. This is the fluffiest waffle ever. I'm no longer missing The Waffle House.

Here's the setup: egg yolk whisked with melted butter; flour, baking powder, corn meal and salt; buttermilk; and an egg white beaten to stiff peaks. The genius in me decided to do this by hand. About 10 minutes later, I had stiff peaks.

Make well in the center of the flour mixture and add the liquid. Whisk gently until the mixture almost comes together. Be gentle! You don't want tough waffles!

Now, switch to a spatula and fold in the egg white.

Now you're ready to add the batter to a preheated waffle iron. Bake until desired level of brown. I don't like Belgium waffles anyway, but I must say that thin waffles are wonderful in this dish. I've had the dish before with the thick waffles and it just wasn't working for me.

Let's assemble, shall we? Get some syrup and butter. For years, I have melted the butter inside the syrup. Sometimes I add hot sauce to my ketchup. Shortcuts are a good thing.

Add your chicken. I have to put in a plug for the boneless, skinless chicken breasts here. I especially love them in this dish because everything can be eaten with a knife and fork -- all in one bite. Trust me. If you brine your chicken properly, you won't even miss the skin. Pour a little syrup on the chicken.

Grab the hot sauce and decorate the chicken accordingly.

You are now ready to get yo' eat on.

Damn. That was good.

Tools of the trade:

• Le Creuset Large Spatula
• Villaware Waffle Maker
• French Whisk