Tuesday, April 6, 2010

I Love Christopher Kimball!


I only got The Cook's Country Cookbook as a gift little over a year ago and already many pages are stained from various sauces and liquids made for dishes from the book. I could watch the dvd's of season one over and over, and finally I am getting around to season two on dvd this weekend since its going to rain here in New York. I love America's Test Kitchen, but there is just something even better about Cook's Country!

And lets face it, who doesn't love Chris Kimball? He is a true farm boy from Vermont with the foodie snobbery of a top New York City food critic. And that bowtie - what a character! I would actually be quite nervous working for him and find he is always giving Jack too much of a hard time with tastes tests. Julia and Bridget are master chefs, though, and just plain hold their own when it comes to Kimball's doubts about a recipe! The cookbook is a favorite gift of mine, as are subscriptions to both Cook's Country and Cook's Illustrated, all from dear friends.

I never eat fried chicken and wish I could, so how could I pass up Chris Kimball's oven fried chicken if he is telling me its crispy and I won't miss the deep fried flavor? No matter what, any foodie worth his salt will tell you that you have to use corn flakes for oven-fried chicken.

And he did.

I served mine with buttermilk mashed potatoes and asparagus roasted with onions and garlic. Enjoy!

Fiery Oven-Fried Chicken (courtesy of Cook's Country)

Ingredients:
2 cups lowfat buttermilk
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
pepper
1 tablespoon hot sauce
6 bone-in chicken thighs (skinless)
1 slice of hearty white sandwich bread, torn into pieces and pulsed in food processor into coarse crumbs
2 1/2 cups crushed cornflakes
1/2 teaspoon ground poultry seasoning (I used Penzey's)
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:
1) Whisk buttermilk, mustard, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon pepper, and the hot sauce together in a large bowl. Add the chicken, turn to coat well, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or overnight.
2) Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, set a wire rack on the sheet, and coat with vegetable oil spray. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3) Gently toss the bread crumbs, corn flakes, remaining garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, poultry seasoning, paprika, chili powder, and cayenne in a shallow dish until combined. Drizzle vegetable oil over the crumbs and toss until well coated.
4) Working with one piece at a time, remove the chicken from the marinade and dredge in the crumbs mixture, firmly pressing the crumbs onto the sides of the chicken. Place chicken on prepared baking sheet leaving 1/2 inch between the pieces.
5) Bake until the top is a deep golden brown and the juices run clear, about 35-45 minutes.



21 comments:

  1. I am a huge fan of Cooks Country and Cooks Illustrated. Love the fiery chicken. Anything with that hot spice is my friend:D

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  2. I confess I've never seen that show! I looked it up and will try to find it this week.
    The chicken looks wonderful. I've never done chicken with corn flakes.
    Some years ago a cookbook came out by Rosie Daley who used to be a chef for Oprah. She had an oven fried chicken. If I recall, it used yogurt and Italian bread crumbs and had lots of herbs and spices. I think I have the recipe someplace...I may even have the cookbook.

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  3. this fiery chicken sure does sound super elicious Chef Aimee, and i so love oven fried chicken that have buttermilk..well this one sure is bookmarked :-)))

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  4. This looks delicious. I love fried chicken. This one looks a little healthier being baked not fried.

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  5. Sounds delicious and I'd love to try this. I'm a sucker for fried chicken!!!

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  6. love the cook's crew! Chris Kimball is a character- would love to go to his house for dinner. The chicken sounds delish

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  7. I haven't had good luck with oven-fried chicken but on your recommendation I'll give this recipe a try. I hope you have a wonderful day. Blessings...Mary

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  8. The oven-fried chicken sound delicious! And I loved your Passover feast - hope you had a wonderful celebration!

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  9. I'm loving the spiciness in there. That sounds delicious!

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  10. I sooo love Cooks Country! I didn't realize there was a show. I've gotta watch that. This recipe sounds amazing. I just bookmarked it. Thanks, Aimee!

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  11. The chicken sounds really good for being baked. It has lots of flavor going on!

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  12. I don't know this Chris Kimball guy, but his chicken looks great! Love the crunchiness and all the flavors in there.

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  13. Good oven-fried chicken can be so. Good. The seasoning on this sounds amazing!

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  14. Buttermilk and cornflakes is an old trick for southerers. I too like Mary, have not had much luck with the oven fried method. So looking forward to giving this one a try. Love America's Test Kitchen on PBS.

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  15. I'm bookmarking this recipe, it sounds like something I need to make very, very, very soon.

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  16. Some of my favorite (and most referred to)cookbooks is the Best Recipe and the Best Light Recipe cookbooks from Cook's Illustrated. In the Best Light Recipe, there is a very similar oven baked chicken recipe that rocks. But it uses melba toasts... This version looks as delicious as the one I've tried! Nothing can compare to the food geekery of the CI crew!

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  18. I miei complimenti per le ricette e per il blog !

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  19. aside from his obvious brilliance and love of food, my favorite thing about mr kimball is that awesome bow-tie--nerd power! this sounds like a winning batch of fried chicken, no doubt. :)

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  20. I agree, oven fried chicken needs corn flakes, grins. And with all those savory spices, I know this must be good. I can't wait to give this one a try. YUM YUM

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