Herb Fried Chicken

My husband's favorite birthday dinner is always herb fried chicken, a childhood favorite, and this year was no exception.  The chicken stays nice and moist and we only pan-fry the chicken and then finish it in the oven so it's not too greasy.  It sounds like a lot of work but it is actually very easy and a definite crowd pleaser.  

ingredients:

6 chicken breasts, pounded
eggs, start with 2 and add more as needed
¹⁄₂ cup beer
2 cups flour
¹⁄₂ cup oats
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon garlic powder
pepper
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
¹⁄₄ cup parsley, finely chopped
6-8 sprigs fresh sage
1 sprig fresh rosemary
4-5 sprigs fresh thyme
5-6 fresh basil leaves
canola oil

Heat the oven to 425°F.  Place a cooling rack on a baking sheet and set aside. 

Combine, flour, oats, spices and herbs in a food processor.  Pulse until to mix and break up oats and herbs (you still want to see them).  Set aside.

Mix eggs and beer and place in a shallow dish.

In a deep sauté pan pour in the canola oil so that there is about 1 inch of oil.  Heat the oil on medium high heat until the oil is hot, about 325°F.

Dip the chicken pieces in the egg/beer batter and then dredge through the flour mixture.  Shake off any excess.  

Place the floured chicken pieces in the hot oil (make sure to leave space between them - you can fry in batches if neccessary) and pan fry until golden brown on the bottom (about 5-7 minutes).  Flip and fry on the other side until golden brown.  (you will need to adjust the heat as you go along so they don't start to burn).  Once both sides are golden place the chicken on the cooling rack/baking sheet and place them in the oven until cooked through.  The easiest way is to check with a meat thermometer (your thermometer should tell you what temperature your chicken should be at).

Serve immediately!

Serves 6

R's mom's versions of Herb Fried Chicken, adapted from, Lynn Alley's, "COOKING WITH FRESH HERBS"

Artichokes and Garlic Olive Oil

Artichokes are one of those winter vegetables that we love.  The kids gobble them up so fast that we have to watch them to make sure they aren't eating the whole leaf!  We steam them until the leaves are tender (or for a real treat we partially steam them, cut them in half and finish them off on the BBQ!) and then we dip them in garlic olive oil! 

Artichokes:

Steam until tender (about 40 minutes)

Garlic Olive Oil:

Good olive oil
sea salt
several cloves of garlic (more or less depending on how much garlic you like)

Fill a ramekin with some olive oil (about 1/4 of a cup).  Minch several garlic cloves and add them to the oil.  Add a pinch (or 2) of salt, to taste.