Friday Night Eats

Hey Gang, we had a little family get together at the house this past Friday. Nothing special, but it was another opportunity to do some cooking. I've had to slow it down a little lately because my wife, Lupe, is on one of those cleansing diets for 7 days. So I have been supporting that venture. All soft food, but she is feeling a whole lot better and I can see it in her.

But one of my daughters invited herself, hubby and 3 teenagers over for dinner. Of course no complaints here because that meant I got to cook "real food". So I decided to change it up a bit from the regular grilling and BBQing. I figured to do up one of my favorite combos.......Surf and Turf!!!!

So here is the spread that we planned for:

Smoked Paprika Fried Chicken

Butter Sauteed Jumbo Tiger Shrimp

Homemade Buttered Mashed Potatoes

Mixed Veggies in butter

Pork and Beans doctored up with a little ketchup and mustard

White rice

Fresh dinner rolls

Lupe's special homemade tartar sauce and 

Finadenne' hot sauce...

Here is a picture of the finished spread:

Here are the recipes for the two main courses:

Smoked Paprika Fried Chicken

Here is another variation for one of our old time favorites, Smoked Paprika Fried Chicken.

I love using smoked paprika for fried chicken. The paprika gives the chicken a subtle smoke flavor without affecting the overall great taste of the chicken. The paprika also gives the chicken that dark golden brown color.

I like to use whole chicken because there is always a piece there that someone prefers. I usually throw in another 4-6 pack of chicken thighs because thighs are my favorite parts of the chicken.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken

4-6 chicken thighs (depends of thigh size)

Flour mixture:

2 cups of all purpose flour

2 tbsp of smoked paprika powder (add a little more if you desire)

1 tbsp of salt

2 tsp black pepper

Mix these ingredients together in your favorite container or plastic bag.

Egg Dip Mixture:

5 eggs

1 cup of milk

Whisk this mixture together

Panko bread crumbs

Directions:

Cut up whole chicken into frying size pieces. Each chicken will give you 2 thighs, 2 legs, 2 wings, 2 breasts that are each cut in half, 1 lower back and 1 upper back with the ribs for a total of 12 pieces to each chicken.

Rinse and drain. I cut up the chicken about 2 hours ahead of time and place the chicken, uncovered, into the refrigerator. This is one of the secrets to great fried chicken. Dries out the chicken exterior for a better fry.

Pre-heat the oil to about 350 F, standard temp and add 1-2 tbsp of salt to oil. This will ensure that every piece of chicken is salted evenly on the outside of each piece and also serves as a non-stick method;

Dip chicken in egg dip mixture;

Coat with flour mixture;

Re-dip into the egg mixture;

Then coat with the Panko bread crumbs.

These coatings will ensure a very juicy fried chicken.

Fry chicken for about 15 to 20 minutes depending on the sizes of the individual chicken. You can check the thickest piece, the thigh, by slicing it to the bone and checking for doneness. But with experience you will be able to tell if it is done or not by how the chicken finally floats up to the top of the oil and also when the chicken stops producing most of it bubbles when frying.

Once the chicken is done, place on a cooling rack over a baking tray. This cooling will also add to the crispness of the chicken.

That’s all there is to it.

Recipe for the Butter Sautéed Jumbo Tiger Shrimp

Sautéed Jumbo Tiger Shrimp

Everyone loves sautéed shrimp. One of my favorite shrimp is the Jumbo Tiger Shrimp. They are big, sweet, tender and super juicy. What more could you ask for in a shrimp.

Ingredients:

15 pieces of Jumbo Tiger Shrimp

1 cube of butter

1 medium onion cut in half and then thinly sliced

1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp of Mama Sita’s brand barbecue marinade (http://www.msita.com/sauces.htm)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions:

Heat wok over high heat;

Add cube of butter into wok when you turn on the heat. If you add the butter after the wok is heated, there will be a lot of smoke from the butter and the butter will burn and turn brown;

Sauté the onions until for about 3 minutes or until they have separated from each other and are browned;

Add in the shrimp, Worcestershire sauce, and Mama Sita’s Barbecue Marinade and stir constantly until cooked to your satisfaction but no more than 4 minutes. The shrimp should turn orange in color.

Taste liquid and adjust seasoning if needed.

Garnish with diced green onions.

Serve with your favorite sides.

Well folks, needless to say we all had a great time. A couple of us had a hard time breathing by the time we got up from the table. But we knew the job was dangerous when we started!!

Until next time....