Celebrate National Fried Chicken Day with fried chicken five ways

It's National Fried Chicken Day y'all. Why not celebrate the ultimate comfort food, tailgate snack and guilty pleasure of finger lick'n fans everywhere? There's a reason why fried chicken is typically served by the bucket full.  It's simply too hard to ever get enough of that crispy, salty skin and juicy moist chicken. After all, it really is the best way to cook a bird.

To celebrate, you can definitely get your chicken fix at a restaurant, but why not make the good stuff at home? Think of it as a way to eat as much as you want, as messily as you want in the comfort of your own home. I've been known to cause quite a mess of my own with what I like to call my "special  technique." Take all the meat and skin off a piece of fried chicken, with your hands of course, then pile it sky high on a waffle or a biscuit. Top it off with a healthy dose of syrup and hot sauce then wrap it up like a burrito and voila. Some serious finger lick'n is sure to ensue. 

If you're up for the challenge, here are five ways to make fried chicken from the Los Angeles Times test kitchen. And as a bonus, here's the recipe for The Tasting Kitchen executive chef Casey Lane's sweet and savory bacon waffles with fried "clucks" after the jump. Enjoy, and don't forget the napkins!

What I cooked this weekend: An all-American dinner

Our friends Jenni and Philip are about to move back to London for a year, and so, as a goodbye, three of us decided to cook them an all-American dinner.

The menu:

Gin and tonic made with Hendrick’s gin, Fever Tree tonic water and lemon verbena.

Crudités with red pepper dip (a recipe from former L.A. Times Food section editor Leslie Brenner).

Heirloom tomatoes from the Santa Monica farmers market with goat cheese.

(You can see we were worried someone might go hungry.)

Southern fried chicken from the Ad Hoc cookbook by Thomas Keller.

Cole slaw.

Potato salad.

Homemade clover-leaf dinner rolls.

And for dessert, homemade vanilla bean ice cream with Nancy Silverton’s satiny hot fudge sauce.

Readers, it was a wonderful dinner party. I got home at 2 a.m. 

It’s never too soon to start planning a welcome home menu. Is it?

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-- S. Irene Virbila
Twitter.com/sirenevirbila

Photos: heirloom tomato salad, fried chicken. Credit: S. Irene Virbila/Los Angeles Times.

Everything, and we mean everything, gets fried at the Orange County Fair

The Orange County Fair is a gluttonous playground where if it fits in the deep-fryer it’s probably going in. If you’re on a diet or like to count calories, prepare to be bombarded by oversized, golden-brown, crispy, grease-glistening, fried everything -- yes everything ... even Kool-Aid. 

This year’s theme is, appropriately, Let’s Eat, and in truth the fair really is all about the food, with a concession stand at the ready no matter which way you turn. It seems there is something for everyone in a moderate price range ($2.50-$15), with a variety that included Hawaiian chicken, fried clams, Italian meatball sliders and even sushi.

Celebrate National Fried Chicken Day with these finger-lickin' recipes

 
It's National Fried Chicken Day, y'all! (The mere mention of fried chicken makes me talk like Paula Deen, y'all.)

Now, you could honor a finger-lickin' good holiday by hitting the drive-through on your way home tonight. Or you could D.I.Y.: Here are five fried chicken recipes from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen, including this gorgeous specimen: pan-fried chicken. To get you on your way, here's a fried chicken primer from L.A. Times Test Kitchen manager Noelle Carter.

I only ask this in return: If you try this or any of the recipes from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen, we want to see the finished dish so we can showcase it on the blog and in print. You can upload your photos to this gallery.

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-- Rene Lynch
Twitter.com/renelynch 

Photo credit: Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times

Times restaurant critic S. Irene Virbila on croquetas served up in ... what?

OK, so now we know José Andres has a sense of humor. Not that I doubted it. No fussy presentations for the Spanish chef at Jaleo, his tapas and paella restaurant in the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. 

How’s this for quirky? He serves croquetas (fried ham or chicken balls) in a shoe. But not just any shoe, a suede ankle boot from Camper based in Majorca, the Spanish island.

Olé!

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— S. Irene Virbila

 

Photo credit: S. Irene Virbila / Los Angeles Times

Deep-fried fun at the L.A. County Fair

I don't know about you, but I'm a sucker for fried food. No, I don't eat it all the time, but I'm completely and totally fascinated by some of the ideas people come up with for deep-frying. And I've long been a fan of Chicken Charlie.

In case you haven't heard  of him, Chicken Charlie is famous at county fairs for his fried food menu. The guy fries everything. You name it: White Castle burgers, Oreos, frog legs, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, avocado. Even Klondike bars. And he comes up with a new signature dish every year.

I finally met Charlie a couple weeks ago after giving a cooking demonstration at the L.A. County Fair. Knowing I'd be back the following week for another cooking demonstration, Charlie invited me to hang out afterward so I could check out his operation and see all that deep-fried goodness in action.

Oh -- and he also invited me to bring something along to fry. Sure, it was totally sweet of him, but to be honest, I was more than a little intimidated. What to bring? I mean, this guy has probably fried EVERYTHING....

My L.A. Street Food Fest regret

I think I am still in a food coma.

But I am pretty sure I could makesome room for an order of Frysmith's kimchi fries....

My stomach was extremely honored to be asked to judge the L.A. Street Food Festival, held Saturday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. More than 50 restaurants, food trucks and carts were well represented, and thousands turned out to sample the offerings. Founded and organized by fellow foodies and entrepreneurs Shawna Dawson and Sonja Rasula, the event was a fund-raiser for St. Vincent Meals on Wheels and the Woolly School Garden.

Fellow judges included L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa -- arm visibly swollen and still in a sling -- as well as chefs Susan Feniger and Walter Manzke (yes, I asked; no, he wouldn't say), Bill Esparza of Street Gourmet LA and actor Jesse Williams ("Grey's Anatomy").

With so many appetites, and so many choices, I wondered how we'd ever come to a consensus at the end of the food orgy. In fact, it was pretty easy. In almost every category, we were nearly unanimous on one or two choices. Too full to fight, we just decided to use the powers invested in us to name runners-up. In doing so, we were able to give a shout-out to nearly every standout.

There was a spirited debate about what constituted nouveau street food -- as opposed to classic "old school" street food. I'll spare you the details, but it's a sign of L.A.'s diversity -- and sophisticated tastes -- that "old school" honors went to both the explosive Thai bites served up by chef Robert Danhi of Southeast Asian Flavors and the tamales from Tamales Elena. Nouveau honors went to both Sedthee Thai's pork spareribs and the pork belly adobo served up by the Manila Machine.

Best sweet tooth honors went to Scoops Westside for its Thai Iced Tea Coconut flavor and Munchie Machine's PB&J S'More Sandwich. (It's just what it sounds like, a S'more tucked inside a PB&J. If a dessert could get a key to the city, this would be it: Villaraigosa went nuts for it, as we all did.)

Turn the page to see more winners....  

Here come the trendy end-of-year lists: Epicurious makes its forecasts

Looking back and looking ahead. Must be December. The Epicurious website has come up with its predictions for 2010 trends. Fried chicken will be big, and burgers will move to the back burner, Epicurious says. Also ready to move to the spotlight: lamb, homemade beer and potluck dinners, as well as the profession of butchering. There's more.

In case you're keeping score, among the Epicurious predictions for 2009: the rise of Peruvian food, noodle bars and smoked food.

-- Mary MacVean

(Photo by Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Sampler Platter: URBNMKT, deep-fried fair food, Eric Ripert, bacon iPhone sleeve

-- L.A. has deep-fried pickles, olives, s'mores, Twinkies, frog legs, White Castle burgers and more. But Texas has deep-fried butter. Star-Telegram
-- Salma Hayek cusses out hostess at Chateau Marmont. Radar (log-in required)
-- "Avec Eric," chef Eric Ripert's PBS cooking show, debuts this weekend.
-- Delicious Coma's online recipe organization system.
-- A new version of surf 'n turf: the Land, Sea and Air burger. Eat Me Daily
-- The bacon iPhone sleeve: so right it's wrong. Engadget
-- Oregon and Washington bicyclists fighting to use fast-food drive-throughs. Los Angeles Times
-- Gourmet Pigs reviews Brian Redzikowski's revamped BondSt menu.
-- Savory succotash at Reservoir. Caroline on Crack
-- URBNMKT, farmers markets and football at USC. Food GPS
-- Russians say "Nyet" to effort to curb drinking. Los Angeles Times "We're not drinking," a construction worker says while gulping down cans of beer at noon on a weekday. "We're just killing our hangovers."

Oh, beer ... is there any logic you can't defeat?

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: Yevgeny Chasovskikh, left, and Oleg Korbu in Alyokhnovo, outside Moscow, kill their hangovers with a bottle of vodka. Credit: Sergei L. Loiko / Los Angeles Times.

Four Food Events You Should Know About: Your weekend is made of food

SATURDAY

It's Greek to me Get your Zorba on at the 60th annual Long Beach Greek Festival. Enjoy a wide variety of authentic Greek dishes and pastries, including spanakopita, Greek barbecue, pork souvlaki and baklava. Also on the menu: traditional Greek costumes, dancing, music by the Olympians, game booths, carnival rides, specialty shops, a children's play area and more. Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church, 5761 E. Colorado St., Long Beach. Noon to 9 p.m., daily, through Monday. Adults, $3; children under 12, free. (562) 494-8929. www.lbgreekfest.org.

The frying game The L.A. County Fair is back and ready to give you and yours a fatty dose of food love. Come for the rides, people-watching and entertainment; stay for row after row of food booths featuring the snacks and treats that you probably associate most closely with your childhood including hot dogs, nachos, pizza, ice cream, sausages, barbecue, and of course, all things deep fried and golden. (Check out the story Elina Shatkin wrote about Chicken Charlie's booth and his Frankenstein-like fried creations.) 1101 W. McKinley Ave., Pomona. Opening weekend lasts from Saturday through Monday. 10 a.m. to midnight, Saturday and Sunday; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday. $17; or $1 if you arrive between the hours of 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. (909) 623-3111. www.lacountyfair.com.

SUNDAY

Why the sour face? If you're a devoted lover of pickled cabbage, consider attending the Machine Project's Kraut Fest '09. Sign up to learn how to make sauerkraut, kimchi or both. You bring the ingredients and you'll be provided with a "kraut kit," which includes a bucket, a plate and a hand silk-screened poster. Machine Project, 1200 D N. Alvarado St., L.A. 11 a.m., making sauerkraut; noon, making kimchi. $10 per demonstration, $15 for both. (213) 483-8761. www.machineproject.com.

MONDAY

Potluck for change Attend an "eat-in" in support of encouraging the introduction of healthful, locally sourced food into school lunchrooms. Those in attendance will share the food they bring, sign petitions and call their legislators. This event is being sponsored by Slow Food L.A. and organized by Jennie Cook catering. There are five additional eat-ins happening around town, so check the Slow Food website for times and locations. The Cesar Chavez Arboretum in Elysian Park, 835 Academy Road, L.A. 11:30 a.m. Free. (310) 850-1884. www.slowfoodla.com.

-- Jessica Gelt

Photo: Baklava. Credit: Rick Meyer / Los Angeles Times