Fried Chicken and Waffles

Fried Chicken and Waffles has to be one of the world’s best comfort foods. It’s all decadent, and not healthy… just the way comfort food should be. I made this recipe last week because I was in serious need of some comfort food. It’s been a bit of a mad house around here lately with the injury and surgery of our dog Thor, the launch of our cookbook, and the general craziness of life with kids.

One crazy interaction specifically happened last week, and I wasn’t going to share it because it was embarrassing as hell, but I decided why not. You guys have seen me at my best and worst! So here goes.

Lately Little Chef has this awful habit of pulling every single item out of the wardrobe that him and Little Sous Chef share in their room. And by every item, I mean EVERYTHING. Clothes, shoes, blankets, diapers, headbands, undies, coats. Nothing left un-turned. And he is dead quiet sneaky about it too. So the a few weeks ago I am nursing Little Sous Chef and I hear rustling and think “Oh Crap!” so I jump up and say “You better not have pulled everything out of your closet!” and you can just hear the panic in his voice knowing he is in trouble and he quickly locks the door from the inside. I rattle the door and when it won’t open I try the skewer trick. Nope still locked, I try a few long pointy objects until I just decide to use a screwdriver and take the door handle off the door to get in. Once I’m in, and have a very stern talking to him and a time out we clean the mess up and move on. I put the door handle back on the opposite way, so that he can’t in the future lock himself inside. Smart mommy right? Wrong.

Fast forward a week and similar situation, I hear him messing around and I go blazing in to his room and discover the mess. Little Sous Chef thinks this is all hilarious and is crawling on the clothes pile and laughing and they are basically having a giant party on the pile of stuff. I go in and start cleaning up and telling Little Chef that this is so bad and he is getting a BIG time out as soon as he helps me finish cleaning up. I tell him to get his monkey butt over here and help me because he is messing around over by the door. He shuts the door and starts to help and we clean up the mess. Then it’s time out for him, I take his hand and turn the knob. It won’t open. I rattle it again. Nothing. Little Chef pipes up in the happiest tone ever “Mommy! I locked it!” You have got to be kidding me. He had locked the handle from the outside, then shut the door when he came to help me. I reach for my phone to call for help. It’s not there. It’s on the table, on the other side of the door.

I try not to panic and start rummaging around in their room for something to use to unlock the door. But as I discovered last time, the only thing that really works is a screwdriver. And oddly enough I don’t keep screwdrivers in the kid’s room. Then I try to kick down the door. It is not as easy as in the movies, trust me. I tried lifting it off the hinges. I pulled down picture frames and tried to use a nail to open it. By this time I am in a panic. I locked in a room with my small people in a house in the middle of nowhere and who knows when Jamie will be home from work. Little Chef decides he has to pee. I tell him to pee in a pull-up. Nope. He refuses. So he pee’s on the floor and I wipe it up with baby wipes. Every time I hear the dog rustle, or a noise I bang on the door and yell “Jamie! Jamie! Help us we are stuck!!” And Little Chef of course is lounging in his bed reading a book and yells back “Jamie’s not here!”.

We entered the room at 3:30. At 4:40 Jamie returned from work. I am fairly sure he thought I was messing around until he heard me pitching a toddler sized fit and pounding on the door. He of course let us out and hugged me and took the baby while I calmed down. Little Chef still thought the whole thing was hilarious and not 10 minutes later was back in his room playing “locked in” and banging on the door yelling “Jamie! Jamie! We are locked in here!” and then laughing hysterically.

Later that evening Nana came over for birthday supper and I re-told my saga hoping for some sympathy, and she looks at me and says ‘Why didn’t you use the ipad in the kids room to message someone to help you?” My chin hit the floor. HOW DID I NOT THINK OF THAT. The entire time the sleepy time music was playing on an ipad in the room. And I didn’t once think to go on Facebook and message our neighbours, or Jamie, or anyone! So the moral of the story is, if you ever do one of those locked room challenges, do NOT pick me for your team. Just don’t.

So I can’t escape locked rooms, but I can make freaking amazing fried chicken and waffles. Hope you enjoy!

Fried Chicken and Waffles Recipe:

Fried Chicken:

6 chicken thighs or breasts (or some of each)

2 cups buttermilk

2 sprigs rosemary

1 Tablespoon peppercorns

2 Tablespoons salt

5 cups canola oil

3 eggs

1 cup milk

2 cups flour

3 cups breadcrumbs

Rinse and place the chicken in a shallow pan or container. Pour the buttermilk over top and add the salt, rosemary and peppercorns. Set aside in the fridge for 1 – 2 hours.

Put the oil in a pan on the stove and get hot. You will know it is ready when you sprinkle some flour in it and the flour “fizzles”. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Find 3 bowls and fill the first with flour, the second with the eggs and milk (and mix), and the third with the breadcrumbs. Roll each piece of chicken in first the flour, then the egg mixture, and lastly the breadcrumbs. Then place the chicken in the oil. Use tongs to flip it and when it is golden brown on both sides place it on a baking tray and into the oven. Cook until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.

While the chicken is in the oven prep the waffles: