Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Honey-Crisp Oven-Fried Chicken

I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC) is welcoming a new chef this week, Ellie Krieger. I am rather excited and looking forward to cook from her recipes for the next six months. She is a certified nutritionist and dietitian, with 5 books to her name. And I already have three of her books (yipee!!); So Easy, Comfort Food Fix, and The Food You Crave. I am really looking forward to cook her healthy meets delicious dishes! 

The Votes Are In!


To welcome Ellie Krieger to IHCC, this week's theme is "Hello, Ellie". We can cook any recipe of Ellie's, to welcome her into our kitchen. As usual, for each IHCC's new featured chef, I would explore the chosen chef's chicken recipes first. Ellie Krieger has lots of chicken recipes and they look really delicious, can't make up my mind which to make! So for a start, I've made her Honey-Crisp Oven-Fried Chicken, which I've been wanting to make for ages. I knew that this would be a hit with the family. Who doesn't love "fried' chicken!




There's no frying involved, but the chicken is baked in the oven until crispy, a healthier option if you are craving for fried chicken. I've used 6 whole chicken legs, which I've chop into two pieces each, separating the drumsticks and the thigh. Discard the skin (Ellie's recipes are all about a healthier diet!). The chicken pieces is soaked in lowfat buttermilk, refrigerated for a few hours. I do not have any buttermilk but I've used whole milk (not lowfat!!), mixed with a tablespoon or so of lemon juice. 

For the cornflakes coating, I've used Kellogs, Since I'm cooking more chicken than the recipe calls for, I've doubled the cornflakes, used about 8 cups. After processing in the food processor, they yield about 2-3/4 cups of cornflake crumbs. The crumbs are mixed with paprika, cayenne powder, salt, garlic powder and ground black pepper. I tested on the seasoning by tasting a pinch of the seasoned crumbs, adjust on the seasoning if needed. I added a pinch more of salt to mine.

Prepare the baking sheet by spraying it with some oil. Preheat the oven to 350F.
When the chicken is done marinating in the buttermilk mixture for a few hours, remove the chicken pieces and discard the buttermilk. Each chicken piece is then brushed with some honey on both sides. Dip the chicken into a plate of the cornflake crumbs, pressing hard so that the cornflake crumbs adhere to the chicken. Place the chicken pieces onto the baking tray and spray lightly with oil on each piece. Bake until cooked, golden and crispy. I've used two baking sheet as I could not fit them all in one. I rotate the two trays every 15 minutes, and the chicken was done in 1 hour 15 minutes.
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Can you see how crispy it is! Just as Ellie Krieger says "Glazed with honey, coated in crushed cornflakes, then baked to crisp golden perfection - this is your fried chicken craving satisfied."

Baked, not fried! No oily stove, no greasy mess, and no extra oil to discard! Thumbs up!



This is so good! Chicken is so moist and  tender, thanks to the buttermilk. The cornflake crust is so crispy, very tasty with the spices. A total winner in my house!


Creamy Potato Salad with Eggs, Gherkins and Scallions


I served the delicious golden crispy chicken with some salad leaves and one of Ellie's potato salad on the side. The potato salad is similar to what I usually make at home. I've used some yellow potatoes which I've peeled and then steam. Ellie's recipe uses peas, which my kids are not fond of. I have omitted that and have added two pieces of pickled gherkins which I've chopped to small pieces. I've always added pickled gherkins to potato salads, we love it! There's hard-boiled eggs too in the salad. Recipe says to cook 4 hard-boiled eggs, use 4 of the whites and 2 yolks, discarding the other 2 yolks. I have however cooked and used 3 hard-boiled eggs, both the whites and the yolks, no need to discard anything! For the creamy dressing, I did not have any Greek yoghurt at hand, so I've used my homemade yoghurt. The creamy dressing is made by mixing yoghurt, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, salt, and ground pepper. Instead of chives, I've used scallions. I've made a large bowl of this salad as the family loves creamy potato salads. And we really like this creamy delicious potato salad.

We had an enjoyable and satisfying meal. Yums! My kids was asking when am I going to cook another of Ellie Krieger's recipes! Soon, very soon!


Honey-Crisp Oven-Fried Chicken
(adapted from "Comfort Food Fix", Ellie Krieger")
Makes 4 servings
4 skinless bone-in chicken thighs (about 1-1/2 pounds)
2/3 cup low-fat buttermilk
4 cups cornflakes cereal
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Olive oil cooking spray
2 tablespoons honey

Place the chicken in a bowl with the buttermilk and toss to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours.
Place the cornflakes in a food processor and process until crumble form (you should have about 1 cup of crumbs). Transfer to a shallow dish and mix in the paprika, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. 
Remove the chicken from the buttermilk, shaking off excess buttermilk from the chicken. Discard the remaining buttermilk. Brush each piece of chicken with honey, then dip in the cornflake crumbs, pressing hard so the crumbs adhere to the chicken. Place the coated chicken on the prepared baking sheet.  Lightly spray the top of each chicken thigh with cooking spray. Bake until the chicken is crisped and cooked through, 45 to 50 minutes.


Creamy Potato Salad with Eggs, Peas, and Chives
(adapted from "Comfort Food Fix", Ellie Krieger")
makes 6 servings
1-1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled (about 4 medium)
4 large eggs
1/3 cup plain Greek-style nonfat yoghurt
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup green peas, steamed until tender (2 to 5 minutes) if fresh or thawed if frozen (I've used 2 pickled gherkins, chopped to small pieces)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives (I've used scallions)

Place the potatoes in a steamer basket fitted over a large pot of boiling water. Cover and steam until the potatoes are knife-tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the steamer and allow to cool completely. Cut the potatoes into 1/2-inch cubes.
Place the eggs in a medium pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 9 minutes. Drain and rinse the eggs under cold water, or refrigerate until cool enough to handle, and peel them. Discard 2 yolks and then coarsely chop the remaining eggs.
In a large bowl, whisk together the yoghurt, mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, salt, and black pepper. Add the eggs, potatoes, peas, and chives and gently fold until combined. Cover and refrigerate to allow the flavours to meld for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.


I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week
"Hello Ellie"


and 
Cook-Your-Books

15 comments:

  1. Those chicken thighs are so golden crunchy and delicious!

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  2. Wow this "fried" chicken looks like it's straight from the deep-fryer! I love eating fried food (seriously who doesn't??) and this is so perfect to satisfy my cravings!

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  3. It looks like you enjoy thighs and legs just like we do :) What a great recipe!

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  4. Nice to know other chef Joycde ! Loon delicious :)

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  5. oh yumm looks so ice and moist.

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  6. Hi Joyce, I'm looking forward to trying a bit of cooking with Ellie too. I don't have any of her books yet. Of the ones you have, which is your favourite?

    Both of these dishes look wonderful - if this is anything to go by, we are in for a treat with this chef - after all who doesn't love crispy chicken?!

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  7. Hi Joyce,
    The next time you cook this again, please cook more, I would like to join you for dinner :D
    I am sure this oven fried chicken will be a total winner in my house too! Would like to try this out soon.
    mui

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  8. The chicken definitely looks delicious and fried, Joyce! The chef is new to me so I will enjoy seeing what you make. Have a great day!

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  9. This sounds like a complete meal, full of flavor, texture and nutritious as well.

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  10. I have all of Ellie's books and my favorites are the 3 that you have! I think they are the most family friendly and the ones I cook from the most.

    We loved Ellie's oven-crisped chicken. I made this a few years ago and still remember how tasty it is! I have not made Ellie's potato salad before and look forward to trying that. I think it's wonderful that you make your own homemade yogurt. I bet the potato salad was so yummy!

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  11. Joyce, I am very excited to try these oven fried chicken! But I will need to buy the cooking spray first.

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  12. Hi Joyce,

    I was thinking of oven baked crispy chicken like these when Lena suggested the baked chicken theme. Looking at yours now, I'm fully convinced that this method of cooking crispy chicken will work well for us too!

    Zoe

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  13. What a fabulous meal and a great way to welcome Ellie. That chicken looks so crispy on the outside and the potato salad looks so creamy and delicious. Perfect healthy comfort food! ;-)

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  14. Joyce, your oven fried chicken looks so good!! This is definitely a good alternative to deep fried ones that leaves the greasy taste in your tongue. I love how you complemented it with the potato salad. Yummy!!

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