Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Crunchy chicken without the guilt...

I talked about a recipe for Sesame Twists that we had with the soup last night. I ran out of time to get them posted, so I need to play a little catch up with them first.

If you have a fear of yeast (which you shouldn't!), these breadsticks are just the thing as this recipe uses baking powder for lift instead. Though you do need to wait for the dough to chill, these can be quickly thrown together in the morning if needed, then rolled out and baked later in the day. These golden twists are crisp and very buttery, after all there is a whole stick mashed in - but, you do get 30 breadsticks out of one batch. Nutty whole-wheat flour is mixed with all-purpose which keeps them from being too heavy. Buttermilk keeps them tender with just a hint of sweetness from a small amount of sugar. The crunchy sesame seeds set these apart - be sure to sprinkle them with a little coarse salt when you add the seeds to enhance the flavor. The dough is a little delicate, so try not to be too rough when you are twisting them.

Since I was going to have leftover buttermilk, I opted to make a recipe for Oven-Fried Chicken for dinner tonight. What makes this a little different than most "oven-fried" recipes is that you actually start browning the chicken in a hot skillet before they go in the oven. This gives the crust a head start to get crispy in the oven. Cornmeal is mixed with some slightly spicy seasoned flour to ensure you get that crunch when you bite into them. The original recipe called for bone-in breasts, thighs and legs, but I rarely have them in the freezer... I ended up using all boneless chicken thighs instead. Just be sure to adjust the final time in the oven depending on which chicken pieces you use. The chicken was tender, moist and had a very subtle tang from the buttermilk - next time I may let the chicken sit in the buttermilk mixture for a little while before I start dredging them. To make sure the bottom of the chicken stays crunchy, I preheated the baking sheet for a few minutes before adding the chicken - you could skip this, but I do find it makes a difference! One of the better "oven-fried" recipes we have tried thus far!


6 comments:

  1. We loved this chicken recipe too! It is amazing how crispy it gets without having any skins on!
    Glad to know it worked out well with boneless breasts, I used bone-in breasts and drumsticks when I made mine (my son likes the drumsticks, but I am a white meat girl!)
    Like the idea of the bread sticks, sometimes i just don't make recipes with yeast not because I am afraid, but because I don't have the time to let the dough rise... great alternative this one!
    Ana

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  2. Ana - I did use thighs, but I am sure that the breasts would still work as long as the cooking time was adjusted!

    Wheresmymind - Oh yea!

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  3. Oh yes Joe, you didi write that you used thighs... and I was sure it was chicken breasts that you mentioned. Sorry!
    Oh well, I was happy to see the results with boneless chicken, I will certainly try with the boneless breasts soon!!
    Ana

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  4. I confess- I have a fear of yeast. But this recipe sounds too good to pass up!

    Greetings from Bethesda :)

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  5. Ana - I'd certainly try it with the breasts - I would have, if I didn't have a bunch of thighs that needed to be used!

    Liz - Hey! Don't fear the yeast... it does take some getting used to. Once you get a hang of it though, nothing compares to fresh homemade bread!

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