Valentines and Birthday

Last month we showed the delicious Valentines Day bourbon marinated steaks we had for dinner, but I forgot to post this little gem: the heart shaped toads-in-a-whole Megan made us for breakfast!

After the failed horseradish vodka experiment we also went more simple with our drinks that night, trying out a few different ways to use Pinnacle's glorious caramel apple vodka. First up was a shot using brewed coffee, a bit of half and half, and a big splash of caramel apple vodka. It's an interesting combination that works, because it's a bit like having a caramel apple latte, just with an alcohol kick.

Keeping it even more simple is of course just the straight up ginger ale and vodka, with a slice of apple on the side.

Earlier this month I celebrated my 28th birthday, and of course on birthdays we try new recipes! I'm a big fan of fried chicken, so we went with a modified version of a recipe from Bobby Flay's Bar Americain restaurant, with an asparagus side inspired by Guy Fieri. Here's our base ingredients: buttermilk, flour, paprika, cayenne, and garlic and onion powder for the chicken, along with eggs, panko crumbs, and mayo for the asparagus.

First up we start the asparagus, which of course gets snapped off on the woody end, then we put together the mayo with an egg yolk and some salt and peper.

The asparagus is dredged in the mayo mixture, which is going to help the panko stick. The reason for the mayo and egg yolk is to give the asparagus a great flavor and a crunch with the panko, since these are going to be baked instead of fried.

Next they go in a bowl of panko crumbs until thoroughly coated.

We're setting them on an upside down grilling pan so heat can come from the underside as well as the top so we don't have to flip them over halfway through the cooking process.

Now it's time to coat the chicken, which will be a two part process: dredged in flour, dropped in the buttermilk, and then dredged in a second plate of flour for a double coating.

While the chicken is frying in oil on the stovetop, the asparagus is getting golden brown in the oven.

Here's our beautifully fried chicken tenders, crunchy baked asparagus, and a dollop of mashed potatoes, with a delicious beer to wash it all down.