Kentucky Cooking in Oklahoma

 Determined to keep my summer resolution to cook with bourbon once a week, I decided my mom and I should try a recipe together. Forced mother-daughter bonding activities can get tense, but fortunately we had fun making the recipe and neither of us walked away traumatized. 

We picked out Chicken Kentuckiana, a fried chicken dish with a spinach and mushroom bourbon cream sauce. I would love to post the recipe, but unfortunately think there might be some copyright issues, so the best I can do is refer you to The Kentucky Bourbon Cookbook's Amazon page. 

We modified the recipe slightly as we had skinless, boneless chicken breasts and used vegetable oil. My mom is a big advocate of always washing your chicken in warm water, so that helped the flour stick to the chicken, and the vegetable oil worked just fine for frying. The end result was great, and our approach was a bit healthier than the original recipe.  

Our healthier take on "fried" chicken.

While finishing cooking the fried chicken in cream sauce, we were concerned because the sauce was not thickening. Fortunately, my mom knew just what to do! She put a tablespoon of cornstarch into 1/4 cup of hot water and stirred so the starch dissolved. Once we added that to the sauce, it thickened nicely...

The bourbon cream sauce in mid-thicken

Chicken Kentuckiana was delicious and is dish I will be making again.  We ate it over rice, but the recipe also suggested mashed potatoes.  

Not wanting to miss out on the fun, my dad decided to make his fried green tomatoes!  They turned out great, and fortunately, I can share this recipe:

1) Mix Louisiana Fish Fry (in the cornmeal section of the grocery store) with a dash of Old Bay seasoning. 

2)Thinly slice green tomatoes. 

3) Combine 2-3 egg whites in a bowl and set to the side. (You can also whisk 2 full eggs together if you'd prefer.) 

4) In a large skillet, pour vegetable oil (enough so that there is 1/2 inch of oil in the pan) and heat over a medium heat. 

5) While the oil is heating, dip your tomatoes in the egg whites and cover both sides with the fish fry/seasoning mix. 

6) Place the tomatoes in the pan (they shouldn't touch each other and should leave room for you to maneuver), and when the tomatoes are browned, flip and fry them on the other side. 

7) Drain fried tomatoes on paper towels.

8) Serve and enjoy!