Grandma Hanna's Menus: Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green vegetable or artichokes with Hollandaise sauce

You may remember that I'm cooking through menus that my great-grandmother gave to my grandma when she first got married. Here are the details. Up first is: Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green vegetable or artichokes with Hollandaise sauce. My interpretation of this menu was fried chicken thighs, mashed Yukon Golds with lots of butter, and steamed green beans. I have to admit I skipped the Hollandaise because there was already deep frying and potatoes -- and in any case, it might be modifying just the artichokes (or that's my excuse).

 The beans and potatoes are both pretty straightforward, but I've posted a crazy-good recipe for fried chicken below. I'm not a huge fan of bone-in fried chicken in general, and I'm really not a fan of cooking it at home because it's so hard to get the middle cooked through before the outside burns. This recipe instead uses boneless chicken thighs, cut in half so you get maximum suface area: aka more crunch! Plus, the pieces are small enough that there's no worry about the inside being cooked.  I know some people swear by white meat chicken, but trust me -- using the dark meat here ensures your chicken doesn't dry out and stays juicy and flavorful.  I think the best part of this recipe is the squirt of Sriracha (or any other favorite hot sauce) added to the egg mixture.  It doesn't make the chicken super spicy (well, unless you add a ton), but just adds an extra kick of flavor.  This recipe would easily scale upward: count on one or two thighs per person (that's 2 or 4 small pieces of fried chicken).

Fried Chicken Thighs (adapted from Tori Avey, original recipe here)

Serves 2-4, depending on how hungry you are and how many sides you make

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 cup self rising flour

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 eggs

2 T water

Sriracha, to taste

Oil for frying

Flaky salt

1. Trim the thighs of excess fat and cut each thigh in half.

2. On a large plate, stir together the flour, garlic powder, and black pepper.

3. On another large plate, stir together the eggs and water.  Add a generous squirt of Sriracha -- more or less depending on how spicy you like your chicken.  Gently whisk with a fork until everything is well combined.

4. Heat a few inches of oil in a heavy pot to 350 degrees.

5. Coat the chicken in the flour mixture, then dip in the egg mixture, and finally dredge in the flour again.

6. When the oil is hot, fry the chicken 4-5 minutes, until well browned and crispy, and cooked through.  Depending on the size of your pot, you will likely need to do this in two batches.

7. When the chicken is cooked, transfer to a plate lined with paper towels so that it can drain.  Sprinkle with flaky salt.