Cornflake crusted chicken and announcing the World's Biggest Coffee Morning

I have exhausted almost everything from my drafts and this was a recipe I hadn't planned on posting, not because the recipe was a failure, but because I wasn't too happy with the pictures. Since I hadn't fed my blog in a while, I thought, why not, lets get it out there. 

My last set of guests have left and I must say its awfully quiet around here. No rushing between houses, no early morning sightseeing and no travelling in the car (which I dread completely. Hail the London Underground). I haven't cooked in a reaaaallly long time and as always, its a slow start. Even with taking pics and stuff, I haven't really got down to it and I hope it wont be long before I'm up and about with the camera and props.

 

Anyways, this cornflake crusted chicken was the after effect of a cornflake over dose, more like, I want to finish it off as soon as possible so I have to think of recipes to use them in. So dinner on one night was taken care of with these crispy, crunchy chicken which I served with a healthy salad. I still had some more remaining which I force fed my sister-in-law when she stayed with us for a month :) :)

Its an easy peacy recipe and quite tasty for a picnic and such. It wont go soggy on you if you store it in an air tight container. I even used up the boneless crusted pieces of chicken in a sandwich the next day and it was just as good. So go on, try it and I'm sure you'll thank me later. Don't judge the recipe by the pics, it was waaaay better tasting than it looks :)

Recipe adapted from here

 

Chicken- 1/2 kg (mix of drumsticks and thighs, cut into large pieces)

Buttermilk- 300ml

Cumin powder- 1 tsp

Kashmiri chilli powder- 1 tsp

Spicy chilly powder- 1 tsp (paprika)

Black pepper powder- 1/2 tsp

Garlic powder- 1 tsp

Salt- to taste

Cornflakes- 3 cups (crushed using a rolling pin. Don't powder it)

Parmesan cheese- 3 tbsp (grated)

Salt and pepper- to season

Whisk together the buttermilk with cumin, chilli powders, pepper, garlic and salt. 

Place the chicken pieces in a non reactive bowl and pour the marinade over. Mix well and keep it covered in a refrigerator for a minimum of 3 hours or overnight.

When ready to cook, pre heat the oven to 220C.

Place a wire rack over a baking tray and keep aside. You can place a sheet of foil on the baking tray to catch any juices or crumbs falling off the chicken. Less cleaning that way :)

Season the crushed cornflakes with the Parmesan and salt and pepper. Mix well and keep ready in a shallow bowl.

Shake off the excess marinade from the chicken, keeping some on for the cornflakes to stick and then roll the pieces in the crumb mix properly, making sure they are completely coated.

Place on the wire rack and into the oven. 

Bake for about 25 minutes, making sure you check the chicken pieces every 10 minutes and turning them around if required. They should not brown too much.

To check if its done, slice through to the bone and if the juices run clear, and the meat is not pink, you are good to go.

Take out of the oven and serve when still hot.

Notes: You can basically add any spice of choice and then coat the chicken with cornflakes.

To get a much crispier version, place under the broiler towards the end. Again, make sure you don't burn it.

On a different note, I would like to announce that on the 28th of September this year, the World's Biggest Coffee Morning is going to take place. It is a one day fund raising event hosted by Macmillan Cancer Support to raise money for people with lives affected by Cancer. 

Silver Spoon, the homegrown sugar people, are the official sugar sponsor for the event and this year they have decided to launch a fantastic competition as part of their activity. By launching the Silver Spoons Little Local Hero Awards, they are scouring the country for local heroes under the age of 18 who have done something truly special. It could have been from looking after their little sister when they were ill to gone to great strengths to make Mother's Day very special or done something great to raise money for charity. If you know anyone falling into this category, then just follow this link and explain in less that 100 words who you are nominating and what you would bake to say thank you. Master Patissier Eric Lanlard will choose a Silver Spoon national Little Hero and to celebrate he will bake them a special cake of their choice and 10 runners up will also receive a Silver Spoon baking hamper with full of exciting treats.

Also don't forget to register to hold your own coffee morning on the 28th September, and to do so just follow this link and you can help raise money for people with lives affected by cancer.

Cornflake cookies

(Specs: Aperture f/ 3.2, Shutter speed 1/60s, ISO 320. I cropped a bit of the pic on top)

We had guests staying with us the last couple of days and were busy carting them around London and some other nearby touristy places. Every summer we are swarmed with guests (something both of us thoroughly enjoy) and this year is no different. So now I'm taking a breather before my next set arrives :)

After every set of friends/ relatives leave, I go into a slight lull because, as much work as it is when they are around, it is also super fun with all the non stop banter, late nights and food and drinks. The fact that I haven't seen the sun in the last 3 days adds to that lull. Its been raining non stop since Sunday evening and apparently its gonna continue being so till the weekend. What fun!!! We are almost into mid June and its supposed to all summery and hot and nice, not depressing like how it is now. I had put away all my jackets and boots but looks like I will have to dig them out if this scenario doesn't change.

OK so now that the weather dilemma is out of the way, here's a bit about the recipe. I am not a big fan of cookies. I mean I could have one or two once in a while, but certainly not everyday. I also like to eat them warm out of the oven and once they have completely cooled down, its no longer appetising to me. The only chocolate chip cookie that I don't mind eating is the ready to make Betty Crocker cookie mix (yes! I know I'm a disgrace to the entire food blogger community) and the dough is something I can just finish off in no time. Again, they are heavenly just warm out of the oven, but unbearable (to me) once they cool down. Ro loves this cookie mix and begs me to never again make anything but this. Well! So much for all the blogging enthusiasm!!! Weirdly (or maybe not), my favourite ice cream is the Ben & Jerry's cookie dough which I can have even during the coldest of winters. 

 

And so, this cookie was born not out of my love for them, but because I had some cornflakes I had to finish before they went cold on me. That said, I have fond memories of having these cookies when I was in school. My mum was such a pro at making these awesome evening snacks, that my brother and I on our walk back home from the bus stop would build our appetite like no business by guessing what mummy would have made. We raise our hopes to such extent that we would be thoroughly disappointed if it was just ethakka appam (banana fritters) where we would have anticipated cakes or cookies in its place. 

Back then, these cookies were a favourite of mine and I remember my moms version to be more cornflake-y than the one I made. My mom's been so busy the last couple of weeks that I haven't been able to get her to email the recipe she's been using and so I had to make do with one I got online. I'm not complaining here, these were close to what I used to have and I like biting into the crunchy cornflakes to reveal a softer centre full of buttery flavour. I ate up quite a few of these right out of the oven and to my surprise even after a day or two. I don't know if it were the memories attached that made me want to keep eating them, or they were just too darn good to stop, they got over in a matter of days. Would I make it again?? Yes, I'd probably compare it with my moms recipe and if its different I'll definitely give it a go. In the mean time, I have to break my head wondering what to do with the remaining cornflakes :)

Recipe adapted from here (makes 20-22 small cookies)

 

Butter- 100 gms

Caster sugar- 75 gms

Egg- 1 large (slightly beaten)

Vanilla extract- 1/2 tsp

Plain flour- 150 gms

Corn flour- 15 gms

Baking powder- 1/4 tsp (optional)

Plain cornflakes- 40 gms (coarsely crushed)

 

In a bowl mix together the flour, corn flour and baking powder. Keep aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl till light and fluffy. You can either use an electric beater or just a hand whisk would do.

Add the lightly beaten egg followed by vanilla extract and mix together for about a minute or so, till they all come together.

Tip in the flour mix and fold with a spatula till no traces of flour is seen. 

Pre-heat the oven to 175C and line a baking tray with baking paper.

Have the crushed cornflakes in a bowl.

Lightly wet your palms and make small balls out of the dough. About 1 tsp in size (approx.)

Roll the balls in cornflakes and place on the tray, about an inch apart.

Bake for 25 minutes or till the cookies become a nice golden brown in colour.

Take the tray out of the oven and leave to set for about 5 minutes after which you can transfer the cookies on to a cooling rack and wait for them to completely cool.

Store them in an air tight container or eat them right away with a cuppa tea :)

Notes: You can replace the caster sugar with normal granulated sugar.

I used Kellogg's cornflakes.

Refrigerate the dough for about half an hour, if you find they are too sticky to make into balls.

I am also sending the first pic to Aparna's Exercise in Food Photography #2: Less is More. I wanted to join in on her first exercise, but time constraints and other irrelevant stuff got in the way and so couldn't. I would like to improve my photography and would like to be regular hence forth. In this exercise, she has asked us to shoot a picture with minimalistic composition, keeping it simple and divert all your attention to the subject. Now, this is a difficult proposition for me, because, I tend to over crowd my pictures with all sorts of prop. It sometimes works to my advantage, but most often than not, is not a really great idea. I love simple food styling, but somehow get carried away with all the various prop I've managed to collect, there-by ruining the picture. So this time, I made a conscious effort to keep it simple and I'm quite proud of how they have turned out. I wanted the texture of the blue board to stand out and over crowding would have made that impossible. I used a roughed up piece of paper and arranged the cookies on it. Kept one cookie separate so you could see it clearly. The lighting is from the back diffused with a white cloth. The stray crumbs were added for effect :)