Southern Belle

I have always loved the movie "Gone with the Wind". I used to go to sleep dreaming I was a Southern Belle, wearing a flowing white dress with a pink sash for my coming out party. This was back in the day when "coming out" didn't mean that you were telling the world you were gay!

When I did d search for "Southern Belle", I came across the word "grits". I always thought this was something that people ate. Turns out it is an acronym for "Girls raised in the South"!

A Southern Belle epitomized southern hospitality, cultivation of beauty and a flirtatious yet chaste demeanour. Doesn't that sound romantic?

So in the fulfilment of my life long dream to be beautiful, flirtatious yet chaste, I made Southern Fried Chicken! This is not a KFC knock off, it doesn't taste like KFC. The chicken is wonderfully tender with a crispy coating. It is fried in lots of oil and then baked to finish it off. Can you make it low fat and gluten free ? I guess you can do anything you want, but then it won't be Southern Fried Chicken.

Southern Fried Chicken

8 pieces of Chicken
500ml Buttermilk
2 teaspoons Paprika

Mix this together and marinade for 4 - 8 hours.

1 Cup Flour
2 teaspoons Paprika
1 teaspoon Rubbed Thyme
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Celery Salt
1 teaspoon finely ground Black Pepper

Mix above ingredients in a bag.

Once you are ready to cook.
Preheat the oven to 180°C
Take the chicken from the buttermilk, and allow the excess to drip off.
Place one piece at a time in the flour mixture and coat.

Heat a large frying pan with oil at least 2cm deep.
Place the coated chicken in the pan and fry until golden on both sides.
Place in a baking tray and bake for a further 20 mins until cooked, turning half way.
Serve with lots of creamy mash and gravy!