tyler florence's fried chicken

i'll catch a cooking show from time to time, but i'm not really partial to anyone in particular and i rarely ever try the recipes i see on t.v. i'll get ideas for food, but that's about it. i think i just really enjoy watching people cook and the whole process of a meal coming together perfectly...which usually isn't the case in my kitchen. anyway, sometime this past august though i caught an episode of tyler florence on the food network and it was for fried chicken, corn and tomatoes...all the stars must have been aligned because i had maybe 98% of all the ingredients on hand. i think i might have had to run to the store for buttermilk, but other than that i had everything and further more i really needed to use the chicken and tomatoes before they went bad. so for the first time that i can ever remember i actually made a meal exactly like the one on a cooking show! the great thing about food network is you can look up the episodes and download the entire shows recipes and print them off. the thing i liked about this meal as a whole is that it was easy to time everything well, so the meal was piping hot and everything tasted great together. the chicken stays hot for at least 15 minutes if not more after it's taken out of the oil, so you can get a couple batches on the table without anything going cold on you.

here is the menu with links to the recipes and my own tips and reviews...

Fried Chicken
click here for recipe
i love this fried chicken because it is very traditional and basic, so it would appeal to almost anyone's taste. i made it twice and the second time i did change two things...the first thing is i added a bit more spice because the guys in my family like it hot! the second thing i did different was the breading. the recipe calls for you to: dip the chicken in the buttermilk, coat it with flour, dip it a second time in buttermilk, and coat it a second time in flour. when i did this the first time the breading was a little too thick for my taste, so i revised the process to the following: dip in buttermilk, coat in flour, set aside. i did that to all the drumsticks then i went back to the beginning and coated the drumsticks in flour a second time. i eliminated dipping them in buttermilk a second time. this made the crispy breading even better in my opinion. tips: i would get to know your stove and practice with frying foods because if you follow exactly what recipes say temperature wise sometimes it doesn't come out. like when i followed this recipe the drumsticks were overcooked on the outside by the time the chicken was fully cooked. so, i ended up lowering the heat a little and cooking them longer...they ended up golden brown on the outside and super moist and juicy on the inside.

Roasted Corn with Chili Lime Butter
click here for recipe
i will never go back to making corn any other way! this is the best corn i've ever had in my life and we've made it this way several times since the first try. the chili lime butter is also amazing if you like a nice southwestern flavor. i softened the butter mixed the spices and then put it in a small ramekin to store in the fridge. we ended up using the butter for other things as well. tips: i have one major warning on this one...make sure you line the bottom of your oven with foil or cookie sheets to catch any juices that might leak from the corn. this isn't mentioned in the recipe or on the show and the first time i made it there was goop on the bottom of my oven.

Cherry Tomatoes with Buttermilk Blue Cheese Dressing
click here for recipe
this recipe is super easy, so keep it in mind during the summer when you have one or two things you're trying to time right...you might want to go with this as a side dish because it takes no time and you can't go wrong with it. tips: i did think the dressing was a little bit runny, so i think i'd cut back a tiny bit on the buttermilk or add a little extra blue cheese.