Trigger Fingers

Pictured with Our Black as Midnight BBQ Sauce

     So... remember in my Interview with Ben from North Market Spices how he was talking about their 'Gunslinger Rub,'? Well, I can't pass up good spice recommendations and I picked up a bag. And it was delicious, so, one evening in a mood for one of the comfort foods from my youth I decided to make up a batch of Chicken Tenders, and lo, the birth of something wonderful.

Here's What You'll Need:

1 Pound of Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast

4 Cups of Flour

1 1/2 Tablespoons of North Market Spices Gunslinger Rub

Here's What You'll Do:

1. Cut your chicken into thin strips lengthwise, about 1/8 of an inch thick.

2. Toss the Chicken Strips into a zip top storage bag with the Gunslinger Rub, make sure they are evenly coated, and squeeze the air out of the bag.

3. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

4. Put your Flour into a large shallow container, like an 8x8 cake pan, and a few at a time place the Chicken Strips in the pan, bury with flour and press down lightly to make sure the flour adheres.

5. Lay each strip in a single layer on a plate and allow to rest for at least 20 minutes at room temperature. This will give the flour time to form a little Gluten, which will help it hold together in the fryer, as well as giving the chicken time to get a little closer to room temperature. You don't want to hold raw meats between 40 degrees and 140 degrees (known professionally as 'The Danger Zone') because it gives bacteria time to breed, but a few minutes shouldn't hurt anything, and the closer your Tenders are to room temperature when they enter the fryer the less cool down you will experience from your oil, the faster and easier each piece will leave 'The Danger Zone' and the crispier the end product will become.

6. One at a time drop your Tenders into a deep fryer heated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 6-8 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. (I know, this can be tricky to determine with fried foods, but that's why you sliced them so thin Chief. Also, get a digital probe thermometer, you can get one for like, $20 and it might save someones life.)

7. Using Tongs or a 'Fryer Spider' extract your Trigger Fingers and place them on either a wire cooling rack on a sheet pan, or a couple of paper towels on a plate for a minute to wick away excess grease.

8. Enjoy with our Black as Midnight BBQ Sauce as pictured above, or with Sour Cream, or maybe even ranch dressing (I personally hate the stuff and feel like it is for people who don't want to taste food, they just want to taste ranch. I will be disappointed in you if you go for the Ranch, but unless you're one of a very small number of people I'm probably not peeking through your window to watch you eat, so I'll likely never know.)

Restaurant Review- Flyers Pizza

     The first local only place I tried, Flyers was one of the initial kicks I needed to get me so interested in local food culture. I was new to the area, unemployed, and nearing the very last of my savings when I got a call back for a management position at Flyers. After a half dozen e-mails back and forth I finally got scheduled for an interview and made my way to their corporate headquarters in Dublin. The interview was going pretty well I thought, since I met 3/4 of the companies executives. They liked my passion for food, they liked my drive, they even seemed to accept that I hadn't had training in a lot of the paper work that managers needed to know how to do.
     But then came the question that ended my chances of stepping into that job. "Which of our pizza's is your favorite?"  I had to answer honestly,  I was new to the area and hadn't actually had Flyers Pizza yet. And it was over, thanks for your time, so long, farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, goodnight. I was given a coupon for a free pizza, any size or toppings, and ushered out the door.
     Now, I'll admit it, I was heart broken. That had been my best possible job prospect at the time and I was desperate for work, but despite that I couldn't help but approve of their decision and respect them for it. My passion for food was excellent, practically a job requirement, but I wasn't passionate about THEIR food. I wasn't in love with THEIR product yet, so I wasn't right for the position.
     It is a glorious thing for a business to care so much about what they make that you can't work there if you don't genuinely love it as much as they do.
     So, later that same day, sad and dejected, Mary (my fiance) and I made our way to our local Flyers to console ourselves with a nice slice. The interior of the place was spotlessly clean, and done up in much the same way that an old diner would be, though that diner would have to have a strong aeronautical theme to it. Classy.
     So we placed our order, the staff was friendly and helpful, and seemed genuinely excited when they heard that it was our first time there. We were seated quickly, drinks were brought immediately and kept full the entire time, and eventually we were brought our pizza. The "Ultimate" BBQ Chicken Pizza.
      I was slightly disappointed to find that unless you ask for it specifically, and are willing to to pay a little extra for it, you're not getting a thick doughy crust. Their standard is a flat crisp crust that, as it turned out, was still really good. It managed to be just the right mixture of crisp and flaky, and went extra well with the BBQ Chicken, leaving the overall dish  feeling like really high class nachos. The cheese was gooey and delicious, the vegetables (though sparse on this particular pizza, as opposed to their Country Garden Pizza which is heaped with all kind of fresh goodness) were well chosen as an accompaniment, and the sauce was tasty. They use Sweet Baby Rays which is the only big commercial Barbecue sauce that I will actually pay for, thoguh I still prefer my own Black as Midnight BBQ.
     Despite the crippling blow to my finances that, that day represented, I still took away a love for the product that would have stood me in good stead 12 hours earlier. So now many months, and many pies later, I finally get to tell everyone about it.

Final Ranking: A+ (Take note, this is an A+ DESPITE the places way higher than average prices. I'm even willing to pay for their 'Thick Dough,' more often than not. Flyers is a totally worthwhile buy, and I'm happy it's a part of my Columbus Experience.)

Ginger Crusted Chicken

     Fast, easy, and with a distinctive Oriental flair, this is a dish to impress friends, family, or co-workers with at your next function.

Here's what you'll need:
8 Chicken legs
8 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
2 Teaspoons Ginger
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
2 Teaspoons Sesame Seed Oil
2 Teaspoons Red Food Coloring (Is food coloring cheating? Maybe. But damn does it look nice.)
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Black Pepper
1 Teaspoon Cardamom (yeah, this one is a bit expensive, but a little goes a long way, so that bottle should last a while)
1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder

Here's what you'll do:

1. Preheat Oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.
2. Rinse Chicken legs with cold water, pat dry with paper towels, and place on a baking sheet.
3. Combine all other ingredients in a bowl or Food Processor, they should form a red paste of medium thickness.
4. Spoon mixture liberally over chicken legs, making sure they are evenly coated.
5. Place tray on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 45-60 minutes, until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Farenheit.
6. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 3-5 minutes then serve.
7. At this point the chicken should be covered with a crisp red brown crust.