Sunday, October 26, 2008

Chicken and Waffles

Even though I have lived in LA for quite some time, I have never been to Roscoe's and had their chicken and waffles. Last weekend, Raul and I got the bright idea that we should make breakfast this weekend. We traded recipes all week and finally on Friday we settled on chicken and waffles. It took a while to find a waffle that we both liked and finally we settled on one of Emeril's recipe for waffles. I decided to serve my portion with a pomegranate syrup that I had experimented with last weekend. The generous people at Pom Wonderful sent me a whole bunch of juice so I used some for the syrup. For the fried chicken we just cut a couple of chicken breasts into strips, marinated them in some buttermilk and then coated them with some seasoned flour before tossing them in the deep fryer. Despite running in to a couple of complications (Raul doesn't have baking powder and we ran out of eggs so we had to make Jen pick a couple up), this turned out to be a really great meal that we devoured before settling in to a marathon of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. A hot Saturday with good friends, good food, and good wine, what could be better?


Chicken and Waffles

Waffles
(Adapted from Emeril Lagasse)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon, cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, separated
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups whole milk
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Nonstick cooking spray, optional

Chicken:

2 chicken breasts, sliced into strips
Buttermilk for coating the chicken
Kosher salt and black pepper
All-purpose flour
Paprika
Garlic salt
Cayenne pepper

Pomegranate Syrup
8 ounces pomegranate juice
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

To make the waffles:
Preheat a waffle iron according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Into a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

In a separate bowl, beat together the egg yolks and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved and eggs have turned a pale yellow. Add the milk, melted butter, and vanilla extract and whisk to combine. Add the flour mixture to the egg-milk mixture and whisk just until blended. Do not overmix.

In a third bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form, about 1 minute.

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the waffle batter, being careful not to overmix.

Coat the waffle iron with nonstick cooking spray, if required, and pour enough batter in the iron to just cover the waffle grid. Close and cook as per the manufacturer’s instructions until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. (Do not open the waffle iron for at least 1 minute.) Repeat with the remaining batter.


To make the chicken:
Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Lay the seasoned chicken in a medium bowl and cover with enough buttermilk to coat all of the chicken. Let the chicken marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Heat oil in a large skillet or deep fryer to 350 degrees.

Pour flour onto a plate, season the flour with garlic salt, paprika, cayenne, and black pepper to taste. Toss the chicken in the flour to coat all of the pieces.

Fry the chicken for 6-8 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.

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10 comments:

maybelle's mom said...

Delicious. Roscoes is one of my great memories of living in CA. Actually I made this a little while ago for a royal foodie joust.

vanillasugarblog said...

Oh my this is a wonderful indulgence. I love chicken & waffles. Here in the northeast there is no such thing (I miss cali so much).
I wish I could have devoured this with you guys. YUM!

Diana said...

I am so impressed! I haven't been to Roscoe's either, but I don't think I'm ambitious enough for my first chicken and waffles experience to be a homemade one like yours! Love the idea for a pomegranate syrup! I may have to borrow that ides for some pancakes...

Erica said...

chicken and waffles? what a funky comobo! I love good food and good friends. I agree, NOTHING better. I gave you a shouts out on my blog tonight! <3 your recipes and your blog!

Heather said...

yumm!! i've never had chicken and waffles, either, but it looks good! i love the idea of a pom syrup!

Natalie Que said...

Am I the last person to hear of this?? I think it is probably one of those things that sounds really crazy / weird but is actually fantastic and after eating it you wonder why you thought it was wierd.

Dee said...

I love chicken, adore waffles, but have never had the together. I'm feeling a little left out, especially since everything looks so good! Nevermind, I'm going to nick the recipe, and ditch the bacon for chook next round. Cheers!

Prudy said...

Oh, yum! I've never been to Roscoes. But man do I love savory waffles!

Esi said...

Hey everyone! Trust me, I first heard about this combo years ago and thought it was the weirdest thing but I have ever heard, but it's really, really, really good!

eatingclubvancouver_js said...

I loved Roscoe's chicken and waffles. . .and the pomegranate syrup is a fantastic addition to it!