Oh, Canada!

I know, I know. I never call. I never write. To be honest, I simply haven't had much time for fabulous cooking--which is kind of sad. I also haven't had time (or is that patience) to tweak the xml formatting, so this blog still has some rough edges. I have updated a few posts with pics of the end product, just to tempt you a little more :)

This quick post is dedicated to an amazing beer. I have the fortune of living very close to a pub and their associated provisions store that import beer from all over the world. And when I say "import", I'm not talking Guinness or Sapporo. I'm talking dozens of international microbrews and honest to God Trappist beer from all the six monasteries that export to the United States.

A few weeks ago I picked up Equinoxe du printemps (Spring equinox) from Brasserie Dieu du Ciel. This is a Scotch ale brewed with maple syrup. It was unlike any beer I've tried. It tastes like good scotch without the bite. Smooth, light, sweet, it goes great with desert. Paramed and I enjoyed ours with Trader Joe's Apple Blossoms (basically an apple dumpling) and vanilla ice cream. This beer makes me love the Canadians even more.

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A little bit of southern fried

Paramed and I decided to start the New Year with a traditional Southern breakfast: country fried chicken, biscuits, and gravy. (It was a bit of a "last hoorah" before reverting back to a healthy diet.)

Paramed is the biscuit maker in our house. This go round he used a Paula Deen recipe. In his hands, he needed a little more flour (perhaps because we measure flour by weight instead of volume?), but we were out by that point. For this reason, they turned into drop biscuits, which were still quite tasty.

I always have gravy duty, as I began training for this task as a kid and have mastered its intricacies. I also took on the chicken, which turned out to be pretty friggin' awesome. Hence I will share here.

Reagents

• 1/2 cup buttermilk (or substitute, see note at beginning of protocol)
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 thin cut chicken breast cutlets (I filet a standard boneless, skinless chicken breast through the plane)
• Canola oil

Protocol

• Traditionally one would use buttermilk for country fried anything. We never have buttermilk in our fridge. On this occasion, I used a 1:1 mixture of nonfat plain Greek yogurt and low-fat milk whisked together until smooth. You can also substitute 1 tablespoon lemon juice plus milk to 1 cup final volume; allow to sit for 5 to 10 min before use.
• In a dish, whisk together the flour, salt, and pepper.
• Coat cutlets in flour, shaking off excess. Dip in buttermilk (or alternative). Then coat in flour again, shaking off excess. Set aside.
• Heat canola oil in a large skillet over medium to medium high-heat. There should be enough oil to completely cover the bottom of the skillet with a thick layer (1/8 to 1/4 inch). 
• Carefully place chicken in skillet. Fry on each side until golden brown and cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes per side.

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