Chicken & Waffles

Chicken & Waffles is arguably the tastiest of the "odd combination" meals when it's done right. There's a restaurant nearby us here in Philly called Cedar Point that makes a chicken + waffle combo that is to die for. Here's our best interpretation:

Fried Chicken

The fried chicken started with a single dredge, but halfway through cooking, we turned to the double dredge method.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds thawed chicken tenders (we cut ours into "nugget" shape)

• 2 cups buttermilk

• 1 egg, lightly beaten

• 1/2 cup flour

• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt (or Maldon/kosher salt)

• 1 teaspoon dried dill weed

• 1 teaspoon dried basil

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper (or black pepper)

• Vegetable oil for frying (we had a combo peanut/vegetable oil laying around)

Instructions

1. Mix together 1 cup buttermilk and chicken in a shallow bowl and stir to coat. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours. This marination process helps tenderize the chicken and imbues it with tangy flavor

2. Remove chicken from buttermilk and whisk egg into buttermilk. Return chicken to buttermilk and stir to coat.

3. In a flat plate or dish, combine flour, seasoned salt, dill, basil, garlic powder, and white pepper. This is for part of the dredging process

4. In a separate shallow dish, add the remaining 1 cup buttermilk

5. Pour about 1 inch of oil into a cast iron pan or a Dutch oven. Heat oil to 375 degrees.

6. Remove chicken tenders from buttermilk mixture and coat in flour mixture. Then dip in shallow buttermilk dish, and then coat in flour mixture one more time. That's 3 layers of coating: Flour, buttermilk, flour.

7. Fry in oil for 6 to 8 minutes, flipping over halfway through. Remove chicken with a slotted spoon or tongs and place on a paper towel-lined plate.

Waffles

For the waffles, there's some tech involved. You'll use pretty much any waffle recipe you like for this, but we decided to go with the most plain version for this recipe.

Cuisinart 5-in-1 Griddler

Compact in size but big in features, Cuisinart's countertop Griddler offers five-in-one functionality as a contact grill, panini press, full grill, full griddle and half grill/half griddle.

Cuisinart GR-WAFP Griddler Waffle Plates

Snap these plates onto the Griddler to bake deep-pocketed Belgian waffles-four at a time. Plates are nonstick, so waffles are easily to release. And because the plates are dishwasher safe, cleanup is a breeze.

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour

• 2 tablespoons sugar

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 2 eggs

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil

• 1 3/4 cup milk

• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

2. Separate eggs and place egg whites in a blender. Blend until frothy. Add egg yolks, vegetable oil, milk, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Blend until mixed well. Pour into bowl with dry ingredients and stir until combined.

3. Make waffles according to waffle iron instructions.

(Optional) Spicy maple syrup

• Maple syrup

• Hot sauce of choice, either Texas Pete or Tabasco.

1. For every 1 part spicy hot sauce, add 5 parts maple syrup.

2. Mix well. Drizzle over chicken and waffles.