Baked “Fried” Chicken & Pumpkin Cheddar Herbed Waffles with A Maple Gravy

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I love my CUISINART CANADA Breakfast Central™ Waffle/Omelette Maker WAF-600C  so I was searching for a savoury recipe for waffles that would put it to use. Chicken and waffles is a great southern classic and is a dinner I always wanted to try it on the family. 😉

There are many versions of this classic available on the web. My search began with a chicken that had the attributes of being “fried” but did not involve a molten pot of oil on my stove.  And there are many recipes to cook chicken with a crispy crunchy skin that didn’t involve a deep fryer. But the thought of a Maple Gravy in this recipe that I adapted below had my taste buds curious.

Baked Fried 😉 Chicken & Pumpkin Cheddar Herbed Waffles with a Maple Gravy

 Adapted from Oven Fried Chicken & Waffles with Maple Gravy
Baked Fried Chicken and Pumpkin Herbed Cheddar Waffles with Maple Gravy

Baked Fried Chicken and Pumpkin Herbed Cheddar Waffles with Maple Gravy

 

Baked “Fried” Chicken Ingredients:

    • 1 cup buttermilk
    • 1 whole chicken, cut into 6 pieces (breasts, thighs, legs)
    • 1 cup all-purpose flour
    • 1/3 cup cornmeal
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
    • finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
    • Cooking spray

      Battered Chicken Pieces on baking rack

Place chicken and buttermilk in a container, cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Set a wire rack on the baking sheet and coat it with cooking spray.

Whisk together the remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Place this flour mixture in a paper bag or large sealable plastic bag. Place one piece of chicken in the bag and toss to coat. Shake off excess flour and place the chicken on the prepared rack. Repeat with remaining chicken pieces. Discard any leftover flour mixture and buttermilk marinade. Lightly coat chicken with cooking spray.

Bake at 425°F for 30 minutes; turn the pan and bake 20 minutes longer, or until chicken is brown and crispy. The chicken was incredibly moist and tender.

Pumpkin Cheddar Herbed Waffle Ingredients:

    • 2 cups all-purpose flour
    • 2 tablespoons sugar
    • 2 teaspoons baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • 2 cups buttermilk
    • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
    • 1/4 cup of canned pumpkin puree
    • 1 cup of grated cheddar cheese
    • chopped fresh chives
    • 2 large eggs
    • Cooking spray, for waffle iron

      Mmmm Waffles

      Mmmm Waffles

Preheat the waffle iron to medium-high heat.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, grated cheddar cheese, and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together buttermilk, butter, pumpkin puree, chives and eggs; add the flour mixture, and mix until batter is combined. Do not over mix – there should still be some lumps.
Spray preheated waffle iron with cooking spray. Spoon a ladle full of batter approx.1/4 cup into the waffle iron and close the lid. Cook until golden brown about 4-5 minutes. Serve immediately or keep warm for a few minutes in a low heated oven.

 

Maple Gravy Ingredients:

    • 3 tablespoons butter
    • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour or Robin Hood ® Easy Blend
    • 1-3/4 cups chicken stock made from bones from chicken carcass
    • Salt and pepper to taste
    • 1/2 cup pure maple syrup

Make a roux.

Start by melting the 3 tablespoons of butter in a pan over medium heat.

When the butter melts and turns frothy, stir in the 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour. You can use either a wooden spoon or a whisk.

As you continue to stir flour into the butter, you’ll see that a thick paste is forming stir constantly 2-3 minutes until flour turns golden brown. Slowly whisk in heated stock. Over medium-high heat, bring to a boil, stirring constantly until gravy thickens (about 10 minutes). Season with salt and pepper to taste, then stir in syrup. Reduce heat to low until ready to serve.

TO ASSEMBLE CHICKEN & WAFFLES: Cut waffles into halves or fourths. Stack waffle sections and top with chicken pieces then drizzle with copious amounts of maple gravy. Garnish with fresh chopped thyme and/or chives, if desired.

Finished dinner

Assembled Chicken and Waffles dinner

 

 

 

 

The Recipe for a Butternut Squash Risotto

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Butternut Squash Risotto garnished with saute cremini mushrooms, toasted pinenuts and finely chopped sage leaves.

Butternut Squash Risotto garnished with saute cremini mushrooms, toasted pinenuts and finely chopped sage leaves.

Risotto is a dish that is easy to prepare and it really is about developing the technique.  The rice is cooked briefly in a soffritto of onion and olive oil this is to coat each grain in fat. I added finely chopped fennel or finocchio , garlic and shallots to my soffritto.  Once the onions are translucent and the rice is toasted add a cup or more of white wine to be absorbed by the rice.  You can turned the heat up to a medium high heat and gradually add a couple ladles of very hot stock. I used a low sodium vegetable stock. The process of making risotto is to gradually add the stock in small amounts while stirring gently, almost constantly. This develops the starch and creates that smooth creamy textured liquid. I account that the completed risotto should be 18-20 minutes.  So in the remaining minutes, I added the roasted butternut squash then it is finished with a finely grated cheese either Parmesan or a Pecorino Romano. I prefer the Romano. Some cooks will add small pats of cubed butter but I feel that if you have cooked the risotto properly you will not need this to create creamy texture. Make sure adjust the flavour with salt and pepper.  The risotto will be rich and creamy but still with some resistance or bite: al dente, and with separate grains.  I garnished my finished Butternut Squash Risotto with saute cremini mushrooms, toasted pinenuts and finely chopped sage.

Soffritto of onions and garlic in olive oil
Translucent onions and garlic then toast the rice
Adding in white wine for flavour
Gradually adding vegetable stock
Adding in the Butternut Squash
Finished Risotto with addition of Romano cheese and sage

3 cups of roasted butternut squash, cubed

3 tbsp. of olive oil

1 small onion, diced

1/4 cup of fennel, finely chopped

1 shallot, finely minced

1 clove of garlic, finely minced

1 1/2 cups of Arborio rice

1 cup of white wine

7 1/2 – 8 cups of low sodium vegetable stock

1/4 cup of Pecorino Romano cheese, grated

season with salt and white pepper

garnish with saute cremini mushrooms, toasted pinenuts and finely chopped sage

Makes approx. 6 servings

Enjoy! 🙂

Carrot Sweet Potato Apple Muffins from Juicing Pulp

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Juicing is a new adventure in my household. It is time-consuming but well worth it. But sooooo much waste. I was thinking of how I could use the excess to incorporate in other recipes. In cooked recipes such as soups, sauces and stews or baked goods such as cakes, muffins breads.

A sweet and pleasantly spicy carrot-sweet potato-apple-ginger juice will leave you with two to three cups of very usable pulp. Since the ingredients used here are relatively sweet, muffins seemed like a good choice for using what was left of the produce after juicing.

Please note that it is not necessary to peel, trim, or core fruits and veggies in order for them to juice properly. But to incorporate into other recipes it ensures that all the pulp is edible and ready to use. And this is a lesson learned as I had to pass my pulp through a food mill in search of apple seeds! 😉

Fresh Juices
The Ingredients

Carrot Sweet Potato Apple Muffins

2 cups carrot/sweet potato/apple/ginger pulp

1½ cups flour (all-purpose or whole wheat pastry, or a combination)

½ cup of large rolled oatsMuffins

¼ cup of ground flax-seed

2 teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoons each of cinnamon and ground nutmeg

¼ cup brown sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1¼ cups milk or rice/soy milk

¼ cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

chocolate chips (optional)

  • Preheat the oven to 400°F, and line a 12-cup muffin tin.
  • Combine the flour, oats, ground flax seed, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ground nutmeg and brown sugar in a large bowl and stir with a whisk or a fork. In a smaller bowl, combine oil, milk and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and gently combine, being careful not to over mix. Fold in the pulp and chocolate chips, if using.
  • Scoop into muffin tins and bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, before removing muffins to a cooling rack to cool completely.

The muffins are very moist and satisfying.

 

Pan Roasted Turkey Breast with Sweet Potato and Steamed Baby Spinach

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Preheat the oven to 400℉. Wash, pierce and roast the sweet potatoes on a foil lined pan in the oven for approx. 45 min.

I seasoned the turkey breast liberally with kosher salt and Rickard Ultimate Chicken Seasoning. My cast iron was smoking hot with a tablespoon of canola oil. Place the turkey breast in the pan. Season the other side of the breast. Be patient before your flip it over, once the breast no longer “sticks” flip it over. Place the pan in a 400 degree oven. The turkey breast I had purchased was very large (no bone or filet attached). I checked and flipped it again at 10-12 minutes. An internal cooking temperature of 165 ℉ (74 ℃). Remember that it will continue to cook as the breast rests. 

While the turkey breast is roasting, place washed baby spinach in a large frying pan on high. It is not necessary to add any liquid to the pan for spinach, there is plenty naturally. Steam cover until “almost” cooked and shut off to finish. Don’t over cook.

Rested and Sliced

Once the turkey breast is done and has rested slice and serve with drained buttered spinach and roasted sweet potato.

Pan Roasted Turkey Breast with sweet potato and steamed baby spinach

Pan Roasted Turkey Breast with sweet potato and steamed baby spinach

Soup is On!

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Homemade Turkey Broth Soup

Homemade Turkey Broth Soup

My mom sent me home from the holidays with a new Paderno pot and her homemade turkey broth.

I put both to good use for dinner tonight.

While the “peperini” pasta was cooking I sautéed some leeks and carrots then added some chopped leftover Christmas turkey.

Once the turkey broth was heated thru added fresh parsley and dill.

Always topped with grated fresh Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

Delicious on a chilly night.