Fried Chicken with Spiced Peach Gravy

Fried Chicken Ingredients

• 1 3-3 1/2 lb. chicken, cut up
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp salt fresh ground black pepper
• 2 c. peanut oil

Spiced Gravy Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. butter plus drippings from chicken
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 2 tbsp. seasoned flour
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup spiced peaches** (chopped) [Del Monte product. Can be found in most grocery stores in the south.]
• 1/4 - 1/2 c. syrup from spiced peaches
• salt & freshly ground black pepper

Chicken Preparation Instructions

Marinate chicken in buttermilk for at least two hours. Preheat oil in cast-iron skillet. As oil is preheating, combine dry ingredients in paper bag, drop the chicken pieces in the bag, tossing to coat evenly. Add dark pieces to oil first, followed by white pieces. Reduce heat to medium, cover & fry 15 minutes. Remove cover, turn each piece and fry another 10 - 15 minutes uncovered. Remove chicken to paper towels to drain.

Spiced Gravy Preparation Instructions

Re-use skillet from frying chicken. Saute the onion in the butter until golden. Whisk in flour and cook until browned. Whisk in chicken stock, bring to boil, turn down heat and add chopped peaches & syrup. Simmer for 4 or 5 minutes. Season w/ salt & pepper and serve over chicken.

Serves 5-6

Avocado & Wehani Rice Salad with Grilled Vegetables

• 1 c. wehani rice (available in health food for some grocery stores)
• 3 ripe plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 1/4 cup diced red onion
• 1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
• 1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp. lime juice
• 1/8 tsp. celery seed
• salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 ripe avocado
• mixed baby greens

Cook wehani rice according to package directions. Spread on baking sheet to cool. In large steel mixing bowl, mix rice with tomatoes. red onion, jalapeno pepper and cilantro. Add extra virgin olive oil, lime juice & celery seed. Season with salt & pepper. To serve, peel and slice avocado, arrange slices over mixed baby greens. Spoon wehani rice salad over avocados. Garnish with grilled vegetables such as squash & red pepper, if desired.

Shrimp & Grits

• 3 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 lb shrimp, peeled & deveined
• 2 tbsp flour
• 2 tbsp peanut oil
• 1 _ c. sliced mushrooms
• 1 lge clove garlic
• Tabasco
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• _ c. thinly sliced green onions

Fry bacon until crisp, remove from pan & reserve; pour off all but 1 tbsp of fat. Gently toss shrimp w/ flour until lightly coated; remove excess flour. Add peanut oil to pan w/ bacon fat & heat over medium high heat. Add shrimp & sauté until half-cooked. Add mushrooms & toss. When they begin to cook, stir in reserved bacon, add garlic with a press but do not let brown. Then very quickly stir in tabasco and lemon. Cook until shrimp are pink on both sides and mushrooms are golden brown. Season w/ salt, add green onions and then remove from heat. Spoon shrimp mixture over grits. Serve immediately.

Mile High Biscuits

• 4 c cake flour
• 2 T baking powder
• 2 t sugar
• 1 t salt
• 2 oz cold butter
• 2 oz cold veg shortening
• 1 oz cold refined lard
• 1 1/2 c. cold milk

Preheat oven to 425F. Sift dry ingredients together in large bowl. Cut in cold butter, vegetable shortening and lard w/ pastry blender or fingertips. Stir in cold milk quickly w/ about 10 strokes. Place dough on floured surface & sprinkle lightly with flour. Knead lightly for 10 strokes. Push dough out and fold back on itself on every four strokes. Pat out or roll out to a thickness of 3/4 inch. With a small cutter dipped in flour, cut the dough and place biscuits close together on ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned. Makes 16

Buttermilk Pie

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs, separated
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
• 1 baked 9-inch deep-dish pie shell

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine butter and sugar until sugar is completely incorporatoed. Add egg yolks and mix well to combine. Add flour, lemon juice, nutmeg and salt. With the mixer running, slowly add buttermilk. Mix well and set aside. In another bowl, whip egg whites until they form soft peaks. Pour a small amount of the buttermilk mixture into the whites. Fold gently to combine. Gently fold egg white mixture into remaining buttermilk mixture until just combined. Pour custard into baked pie shell. Bake in the middle of the oven until filling is lightly browned and barely moves when the pie is jiggled, about 45 to 50 minutes. Cool in a rack and serve warm or at room temperature. Refrigerate any leftovers. Preperation Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 45-50 minutes, plus pie shell