Our Favorite Brunch Vol. 2

Chicken & Waffles

My family’s home growing up, was across the street from our church. Living that close, and loving to host family and friends, meant we often had people over after church.  One of our signature events was our New Year’s Party.  We would have any and everyone that would like to join us over after service, for a huge meal and fun party.  We would play games, make virgin frozen drinks, and often laugh and talk, until the sun came up.  The party would often be a pot luck, with some guests bringing their best dishes, but we would always make chicken and waffles. My father made the best fried chicken. He used all different spices, and had his cooking time down to a science.  My mom was the waffle queen, always wanting everyone to have a hot waffle. She would make them to order.

After college, whenever I was away for the weekend with friends, we generally went to brunch on Saturday mornings.  There was always something nostalgic about seeing chicken and waffles on the menu, and I would often try the different varieties.  One of my favorites was at Miss Shirley’s in Baltimore, MD.  It was so different from the traditional version made by my parents.  It featured boneless chicken breast, and cheddar and green onion waffles. After trying this, I knew for sure that I had to recreate it.

My first attempt at recreating this was for a cooking competition.  While I am a trained chef, I have mainly worked professionally in food service management.  In 2009, I was the resident dining manager at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Campus.  We would often host different events to increase student participation, and break up the monotony of the normal meal plan.  This particular event was a cooking challenge.  Since we only had one chef on campus, I stepped up to complete against him and won! Its been 10 years since this challenge, and my recipe has taken many different forms.  Below, I will share the recipe I use now to make another one of Our Favorite Brunch menus.

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Fried Chicken

Ingredients

1 can Coconut milk

3 Sliced scallions

½ tsp Salt

1 tbsp Onion powder

1 tbsp Garlic powder

2 ½ lbs Boneless chicken tenderloins

Flour for coating

Oil for frying

Directions

1. Combine coconut milk, scallions, and seasonings.
2. Add in chicken, and coat well.
3. Refrigerate chicken overnight.
4. Remove chicken from fridge, drain marinade, and let sit at room temperature for 30 min.
5. In a heavy bottom pan, using a thermometer, heat oil to 350 degrees F.
6. Coat chicken with flour, shaking off any excess flour.
7. Place chicken in oil, cooking to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
8. Place on a paper towel to drain, and serve hot.

Combine coconut milk, scallions, and seasonings.

Add in chicken, and coat well.

Refrigerate chicken overnight.

Remove chicken from fridge, drain marinade, and let sit at room temperature for 30 min.

In a heavy bottom pan, using a thermometer, heat oil to 350 degrees F.

Coat chicken with flour, shaking off any excess flour.

Place chicken in oil, cooking to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.

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Place on a paper towel to drain, and serve hot.

Cheddar & Scallion Waffle

This may seem crazy, but I use a complete waffle mix!  I stumbled upon it at my local Aldi, and it consistently works to make a great base for these flavorful waffles.

Ingredients

2 cups Aunt Maples buttermilk pancake mix

1 ½ cup Water

1/3 cup Oil of choice I used coconut

3 Scallions sliced

1 cup Shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Combine pancake mix, water, and oil.
2. Stir in cheese and scallions, being careful not to over mix.
3. Let mixture rest 5 minutes.
4. Cook waffles, following your waffle iron instructions.
5. Serve hot with your syrup of choice.

Combine pancake mix, water, and oil.

Stir in cheese and scallions, being careful not to over mix.

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Let mixture rest 5 minutes.

Cook waffles, following your waffle iron instructions.

Serve hot with your syrup of choice.