COTW: Nolan Mattix Williams

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This week’s Cook of the Week is Nolan Mattix Williams, 7-year old son of Brittany Hall and Stephen Kyle Williams. When Nolan isn’t helping in the kitchen, you can find him listening to his favorite band - Imagine Dragons, playing soccer, swimming or spending time with his family. He is a student to Miss Hope Henry’s second grade class at Swainsboro Primary School and his favorite subject is music. When he grows up, he aspires to be an archaeologist because he wants to “Discover new things for the world to see.”

Mommas Funnel Cake Fried Chicken & Waffles

1 lb. boneless, skinless, chicken breasts.

1 c. dill pickle juice.

1 1/2 c. of milk.

1 c. peanut oil (or vegetable oil if you have a peanut allergy.)

1 large egg.

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour.

1 Tbsp. powdered sugar.

Seasoning to taste (Momma doesn’t measure in her house. For seasoning, she uses sea salt, fresh ground black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, a pinch of garlic salt and red pepper, Italian herbs & spices to taste and a little rosemary.)

Place chicken breasts in a large bowl. Add pickle juice and 1/2 cup of milk and place in fridge. Allow chicken to marinate in mixture for 30 minutes or, for best flavor, overnight. When ready to cook, heat peanut oil in a large skillet or soup pot over medium heat. Whisk together remaining milk and egg in a mixing bowl. In a large Ziplock bag, combine flour, powdered sugar and spices. Remove chicken from marinate, dip into milk and egg mixture on both sides, and add one breast at a time to the Ziplock bag/dry mix. Seal Ziplock bag and shake until chicken is fully coated. In batches, carefully add 4-5 breasts to hot oil and cook on each side for about 3-5 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer to a serving dish that has a paper towel laid on it to catch the grease and drain excess oil. Serve on your favorite homemade Belgian waffle recipe, alone, or you can even use this recipe as a sandwich.

Mommas Waffle Recipe

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. melted butter

1 c. milk

1 egg, separated

A tiny dash of vanilla extract

Your handy dandy waffle iron.

Turn on waffle iron and heat to temperature. Add a little butter or oil if you like. In a small bowl, beat egg whites on high until they form stiff peaks. Set aside. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Then, pour in melted butter, milk and egg yolk and briefly beat ingredients together until smooth. (Or use a whisk or spoon.) Gently fold in beaten egg whites, making sure to fold in one continuous direction. Pour batter into waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer's directions. Smother waffles with maple syrup, fresh fruit or anything else you desire. Mom likes to make a fresh blackberry jam butter to go on top of our recipe (See ingredients she uses in below tips).

Tips:

• Once cooked, serve waffles right away because according to Nolan - “Cold waffles are kinda gross.”

• Momma’s Fresh Blackberry Jam Topping: Fresh honey, your favorite farmers market blackberry jam or just fresh blackberries, a little all spice and salted butter. Mix ingredients together, measuring by sight - or as Nolan and his cousin Kimber likes to say, “I just wing it”. Chill until jam becomes solid.

Nolans Cucumber and lime salad

1 Cucumber, chilled

2 Limes

Salt to taste

Tajin to taste

Cilantro for garnishing

Peel and thinly slice chilled cucumber. Slice limes in quarter sizes. Get a plate out. Squeeze one of the limes onto empty plate. Sprinkle some salt onto it. Lay cucumber slices out on plate in a clockwise structure until entire plate is covered. Add remainder of lime juice, more salt to taste and a little Tajin. Garnish with cilantro.