This started out as a post to share a chicken strips and dipping sauce recipe
A recipe, that I’ve adapted from Southern Living and to introduce a fabulous giveaway and yet (as often happens) this went completely away from me.
Am I the only one who starts out with one idea and ends up with something completely different as an end result?
Y’all know that I am all kinds of Southern.
I believe that being addressed as Ma’am and Sir are not signs of disrespect or getting older, but signs of respect and Southern Tradition.
I believe in Sweet Tea and Moon Pies, Manners and Morals, the healing powers of Fried Chicken and Grits and that Y’all is a completely acceptable form of address.
{/tangent}
Well, the other day this adorable young lady from Time.Inc contacted me about Southern Living and my interest in working with them.
It took less than two shakes of a beaver’s tail for me to say; “yes, I’d love to and here’s how I would love this partnership to grow”
Well, bless her darlin’ heart, she was right on board and although they’ve featured me as a Mama Blogger of the week, I’m not sure she actually realizes what she is getting them in to.
In the mail today I got a couple of Southern Living Magazines, an All You Magazine and a Southern Living Cookbook {swoon}
I spent a good 30 minutes flipping pages, bookmarking and realizing that this cookbook is a simple, instruction book to Southern Cooking for those Southern and Not.
This book will walk you through the Why, How, What, How To, Why You Should, and What to Do of Southern Cooking.
Many of these recipes reminded me of my Granny’s well worn recipe cards, recipes shared in hushed whispers in church kitchens and the tradition of junior league cookbook fundraisers.
The pictures are gorgeous, the instructions are simple and the notations are wonderfully easy to follow for the southern and non-southern alike.
{I’m giving one of these away, stay tuned]
My kids are absolute chicken tender fanatics and my husband and I love anything chili and garlic.
I found the recipe for Chicken Tenders with Come Back Sauce and the fact that I had 85% of the ingredients and it mentioned chili sauce, made the decision for me.
I set out to make them, and since I’m completely and utterly unable to leave any recipe alone and make it as written….. I did it my way, with what I had on hand.
As any good southern girl (and ex-southern-restaurant manager) would do, I soaked the chicken in buttermilk and seasonings
Please, for the love of all that is lovely and delicious and southern
SOAK YOUR CHICKEN IN BUTTERMILK PRIOR TO FRYING
{ahem}
Ingredients
- The original: Southern Living's Recipe
- My Version:
- 8 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1 Tbsp Zatarains Big and Zesty Garlic and Herb Seasoning
- 2 C flour
- 1 Tbsp Zatarains Big and Zesty Garlic and Herb Seasoning
- Vegetable Oil
Instructions
- Cut the chicken breasts into equal strips size strips or nuggets
- Combine chicken, buttermilk and seasonings into a dish or ziplock baggie, seal/cover and refrigerate for 3 to 5 hours
- Mix 2 C flour and 1 Tbsp seasoning in a shallow dish and set aside
- Remove chicken from fridge
- Dredge chicken through flour (for a super thick crispy skin, dredge through flour, dip back into buttermilk and dredge through flour again) and set aside, repeat this step with all strips
- Pour oil into a cast iron skillet or dutch oven, about 2 inches deep.
- Heat to 350 (yes, this needs to be exact)
- Fry chicken about 5 pieces at a time, this takes about 5 or 6 minutes, turn halfway through until chicken is golden brown on each side.
- Lay to drain on a draining rack/cookie cooling rack placed over newspaper or paper towels to cool and drain
- Serve with favorite dipping sauce
The chicken tenders are fabulous.
Tonight, the dipping sauce way outshone the chicken.
I made asparagus in the skillet to serve next to the chicken tenders.
I dipped the asparagus into the dipping sauce and that, is where my planned evening went awry.
OH MY HOLY HELL.
OH MY HOLY TONGUEGASM.
Seriously, y’all.
The side dish and sauce far outshone the main dish on this one.
I could totally see serving this sauce drizzled over grilled asparagus, I drizzled it over what we had left, turned around to get my camera and Nathan had snatched half the plate and gone back to our room with it!
as a dressing for salad, a complement to my favorite burger…. the possibilities are endless
Serve this as a dipping sauce, a salad dressing, a sandwich spread
Ingredients
- Adapted From
- My Version
- 1 C. mayonnaise
- 1/3 C. chili garlic sauce
- 1/4 C ketchup
- 1 Tbsp water
- 2 tsp coarse freshly ground pepper (about 12 turns for my grinder)
- 4 tsp Worcestershire
- 4 tsp Dijon Mustard
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 medium onion, minced
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 C olive oil
Instructions
- Whisk all the ingredients together in a medium size bowl
- Cover and chill, for at least one hour.
I can’t even begin to tell y’all how much I love this recipe, the cookbook and Southern Living in general.
The lovely people at Southern Living have offered one of the Southern Living Cookbooks and TWO Southern Living magazine subscriptions to my readers.
Here’s the deal.
THREE of y’all will win!!!
One person will win the Southern Living Cookbook
Two others will win a subscription to Southern Living Magazine (one of my favorite magazines for recipes, decorating and inspiration)
How To Enter:
Mandatory:
Leave a comment telling me: What your favorite Southern Recipe is, or what Southern Recipe you’d love to learn how to make
Bonus Entries:
Tweet this giveaway and leave the Tweet URL in the comments
Subscribe to A Southern Fairytale through e-mail or reader and let me know in a comment (I can verify this)
Follow Southern Living on FB and tell them where you came from, leave that in the comment
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is 4 possible entries per person! 
This giveaway is open from 7/21/11 to 7/27/11 at 10:00 PM CST
Good Luck, y’all!
I liked Southern living on FB!
And I tweeted!
My favorite Southern Recipe… hmmmm… a good biscuit recipe… that’s it
My favorite southern recipe that I learned from my mom is Sauce Piquante. It’s a dish made with browned stew meat and sausage cooked with green onions and tomato sauce and beef broth. Once that simmers for 30 minutes on the stove, then you serve it over rice. It’s so good.
I’m an email subscriber! I love cookbooks…especially southern ones.
I would like a recipe for red velvet cake with icing, but not cream cheese icing, the kind that is cooked then whipped. And my favorite southern recipe would probably be fried chicken.
Favorite Southern food Country Ham with red eye gravy over grits
I would like the fried chicken the most but second would be moon pies.
I liked Southern Living on FB.
crabcakes and their most recent Govenor’s Mansion Iced Tea
I want a really good Mac & Cheese recipe
Kims2312@verizon.net
I like Southern Living on FB
Kimberly Schotz
Kims2312@verizon.net
Email follower
Kims2312@verizon.net
My favorite southern recipe is Chicken Fried Steak =)
I liked Southern Living on FB
I subscribed through Reader =)
As a southern girl myself my favorite recipe which I learned from my mother who learned from her mother was how to make good oldfashion baking soda/buttermilk biscuits.. It took me many attempts and of course my family had to eat the “ricochet biscuits” until i learned to get the recipe and the touch of the dough just right. Now they ask me to make them as a treat for breakfast. nothing better than biscuits and syrup as my granddaddy used to eat .
I don’t know how strictly southern my fried chicken is, but my husband loves it and craves it pretty much all the time. Last time I made it, homemade mac and cheese was also on the menu. We pretty much gorged and napped because, well, what else can you do after a meal like that?
Btw that sauce? I would eat just about anything if that sauce was involved with it!
I am a follower of your blog.
That sauce looks delicious, will definitely have to try it soon. How to pick a favorite Southern food? Impossible. I’m a transplanted Northerner, living in my second southern state in four years. Sweet tea, divine. Shrimp and grits.. yum. Fried chicken, oh boy. Biscuits…mmm… but caramel cake and banana pudding have to tie for the greatest Southern foods ever.
Now a FB fan of Southern living!
I’m a Southern Living Fan!!! I cooked a holiday dinner for our church ladies last Nov using recipes from Southern Living magazine. They LOVED the cranberry relish recipe and many others. Souther Living recipes are always winners!!
I’m an email subscriber !!!
Like their Texas Sheet Cake
I liked Southern Living on FB
am a subscriber
I’m a subscriber.
I liked Southern Living on FB
My favorite southern recipe is anything fried – okra, green tomatoes, chicken, corn, potatoes & onions. Also, sweet tea and southern cornbread!
i love their almond chicken recipe and also some of their simpler recipes in their weeknight cooking cookbook – awesome quick ideas when i feel braindead – right around 4pm, of course!
subscribe to you already by email, ma’am
I’m a native Georgian, so cheese grits are a staple in our diet – my mom’s recipe with garlic & sharp cheddar is my all time fave Southern recipe to make! YUM. I can’t wait to try the dipping sauce from Southern Living ~ would love to win the magazine subscription!
Aimee
I’m an email subscriber, too! Thanks for the chance to win ~ LOVE Southern Living!
Aimee
I subscribe on google reader.
OMG I am on my way over for dinner, is it too late? That looks fabulous! I absolutely LOVE fried chicken, I just don’t make it very often. Yum. I love Southern Living, that cookbook looks great!
I follow S.L. on facebook already, but left a message saying you sent me over!
Aimee
Oh, how I miss southern food from my time in Nashville. I’m not sure I can narrow it down to my favorite recipe, but I know the squash casserole from McCabe Pub was divine and I’ve never been able to recreate it. I also love making pimento cheese, but no one here in Indiana seems to appreciate it as much as I do!
1 luv luv luv chicken and dumplings! My Aunt Nellie ( who is 93 now!) make the BEST!
Just found your blog and I can tell I will spend the rest of naptime today reading the archives! I cook at least 5 times a week from the Southern Living “Busy Mom’s Weeknight Cookbook”. It is my FAVE. In my dreams I will find a coconut cake recipe like my momma’s houskeeper’s- she made that cake part of my DNA.
I subscribed to follow you by email, liked Southern Living on FB and need a good
bisquit recipe.
I’m an email subscriber.
I’ve always wanted to try shrimp & grits with some type of gravy.
I am a email subscriber. I love…love…love your blog! Texas sheet cake…..yum!
i’ve been making a barbeque meatloaf
from old Southern Living in my mom’s collection for over 20 years
It has been called my “immunity meatloaf” because
no matter how mad someone is at me?
they totally forget about it after one bite of this meatloaf
it’s THAT good
not that people get mad at me that often, i just used to live in
this weird artist colony that would just boot you off the island
so to speak and artists are testy, i know, i think i qualify as one
just maybe a recreational one at this particular time
i’m sorry about that
i’ll just blame it on the wine
I would love either prize like it was my own first born baby
I think I’m past the deadline, but my favorite SL recipe is Hummingbird Cake
Are shrimp & grits southern? Because I would love to learn to make them!!