Just what we needed...

Back a few years ago, our diet pretty much consisted of chicken fingers, fries, or probably pizza. We were pretty picky and didn't stray too far from that selection. Since then, we have really branched out on the variety of foods we will try and we now tend to eat pretty healthy. Sometimes, though, one just wants to have something comforting and familiar - especially during stressful times. Before, the chicken fingers certainly would not be coated in almonds and whole wheat flour... and the fries were definitely deep fried.

Instead of going back, tonight's dinner gave us what we were craving - but without the guilt in the morning.

Almond-Crusted Chicken Fingers are coated in a mixture of almonds, whole wheat flour, papkria, garlic, mustard powder, salt, pepper and cayenne. Instead of leaving this spicy mixture dry, olive oil is drizzled in while it is being processed to give an indicative golden hue that is sometimes lacking in other baked recipes. The nutty coating stayed intact when they were turned over and added a crunchy texture to the moist chicken. The combination of spices complimented each other and brought a friendly level of heat.

There is not really much of a recipe for the fries. There are a couple key points though that I found to really help make them tasty. One thing I like to do is soak them in water to draw out some of the starch - you can use cold water, but they will need a longer soaking time. I use a tip I found from Cooks Illustrated that if you use hot water, they only need to sit for about 10-15 minutes. While I dry them off, I preheat a lightly oiled pan for about 5-7 minutes in the oven. If you do this step, as soon as they hit the hot pan, they will start to form a crust and will not end up sticking or tearing apart when you go to turn them over. I coat the dry fries with a couple splashes of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. I flip them halfway through and in about 30 minutes you have golden crisp fries that are still tender and moist on the inside. Don't forget to season them again while they are still pipping hot from the oven. For these two recipes, they are cooked at the same temperature so they will be done at the same time if you start the fries a few minutes before hand!

Recipes
Almond-Crusted Chicken Fingers