Waffle Frolic | Lemon Infused Fried Chicken and Waffles

When we visited our son in Cornell, he never heard the end of it from my daughters - taunting him of how Cornell "is in the middle of nowhere."

But of course that's just part of the sisters-brother dynamics, right? For my daughters, who come from SoCal and NorCal, the Central NY terrain is very different. Listening to them tease each other made me chuckle as we drove past acres and acres of beautiful green fields and rustic farms.

Here's their conversation while we were driving on the side roads through the fields and farms - admiring all the bucolic charm of upstate New York:

"What are you taking a picture of?" my older daughter asked her sister.  "There's nothing there", she added.

"Exactly... Nothing! That's why I'm taking it", said my younger daughter.  They said this to give their brother a difficult time.

And of course, by the time we get to the campus and downtown Ithaca, they were charmed by the beauty of the town.

For breakfast, my son took us to a place called Waffle Frolic and we were smitten. The small  hole in the wall stood out from the rest and we knew that we had to go in. I ordered their chicken and waffles and loved it.   

So since July 6 is Fried Chicken Day, I thought I'd share with you my take on  Fried Chicken and Waffles.  I wanted to infuse, or layer, lemon in every aspect of the dish-- the batter, the breading and the chicken itself... so here's my Lemon Infused  Fried Chicken and Waffles.

Enjoy!

Lemon Infused Fried Chicken and Waffles

For the waffles:

Pre-heat the waffle maker.  The pilot light will turn green once it's ready.  Meanwhile whisk the following into a bowl:

1 cup all purpose flour
1 fresh egg
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tbsp melted butter
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp lemon rind

Pour the batter into the waffle maker.  Again, the pilot light turns green once it's cooked. Set aside.

For the Fried Chicken:
I  tweaked my recipe for Fried Chicken Ala Jollibee.  I ditched the five spice altogether and replaced it with Italian seasoning... added lemon rind to brighten up the chicken goodness.

Ingredients:
8-10 pcs chicken thighs and legs
lemon
salt and pepper

For the breading:

1/2 c cornstarch

1/2 c flour

salt & pepper

1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp lemon rind

Procedure:
Marinate chicken with lemon and salt and pepper overnight or at least 30 minutes.

Fill a large skillet (cast iron is best) about  half full with vegetable oil. Heat until VERY hot... or better yet use a deep fry thermometer and fry chicken at 360 to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Meanwhile, roll the chicken pieces on to the breading.
Shake off excess flour.
Drop  5-6  pieces into the hot oil.
Make sure there's enough space to stir the chicken.
Deep fry it until golden brown.
Drain the fried chicken.
It should be crispy golden brown like so

Lemon Glaze
2 tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c lemon juice
3 tbsp of the chicken breadin
1 cup chicken broth
1-2 tbsp sugar

Melt butter, add garlic,  When garlic turns light brown, add flour.  Mix altogether then add chicken broth and lemon juice.  Season with salt.  then add sugar.  Adjust according to taste.