Chicken And Seafood Trio In A Basket Recipes

FRIED CHICKEN IN A BASKET

Steps:

• Make the marinade by combining the buttermilk, sour cream, Dijon mustard, salt and freshly ground black pepper in a large bowl. Mix well with a whisk. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and place in the marinade. Stir everything together so the chicken is coated evenly, cover, and set aside in the fridge to marinate for 12 hours.
• Fill a heavy-based pot (such a deep cast iron skillet) with canola oil and set over medium-high heat. Using a thermometer, heat the oil until 375 degrees F. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Prepare the coating by adding the all-purpose flour, salt, paprika, mustard powder, and garlic powder together in a large bowl. Mix with a whisk. Take the chicken pieces out of the marinade and dredge lightly in the seasoned flour, 1 at a time. Set the coated pieces on a wire rack over a tray as you work.
• Add the chicken, 3 to 4 pieces at a time, to the hot oil, skin-side down. Cook until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Increase the heat on the oil if you need to as the chicken will bring the temperature of the oil down. Remove the chicken from the pot with a wire strainer and set over a clean rack over a tray. Season with salt while still hot. Continue to cook in batches, allowing the oil to heat up again before adding the chicken to the pot each time.
• Place the chicken into the oven and cook for another 8 to 10 minutes until cooked through. Allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes before serving. Pile high in a basket for a fun presentation.

WATERMELON SORBET BASKET

Steps:

• Set the watermelon on its side (stem end facing left or right) and cut off a small, flat piece of rind from the bottom so the watermelon is stable. Wrap a piece of thin masking tape horizontally around the watermelon about 1/2 inch above where the stem was. Wrap 2 more pieces over the top at the center to make a band/handle for the basket that is 1 1/2 inches wide.
• Using the tape as a guide, cut out the wedges that remain on either side of the handle to make a basket shape, down to the horizontal tape. Scoop out 4 cups of watermelon balls using a melon baller and reserve. Remove the remaining watermelon flesh and save for another use. Use a paring knife to trim the flesh from the handle to create a small, neat strip of melon. Use a spoon to do the same for the inside of the basket. Freeze the basket for at least 3 hours. Refrigerate the watermelon balls.
• Put 3 cups of the watermelon balls in the bottom of the basket. Scoop balls of sorbet and arrange on top of the watermelon. Decorate with the remaining watermelon balls. Serve immediately or put back in the freezer until serving, up to 1 hour.

DOUGH BASKET

Steps:

• To make the dough: Place all of the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle. Mix until well combined. The dough will be sticky but you will be able to form it into a ball. Use additional flour for your hands and work surface to keep the dough from sticking.
• To prepare the basket weaving structure: This recipe will make enough dough to yield a basket that is about 10 inches in diameter. Use a piece styrofoam as a base. I used an 11 by 14-inch rectangular piece, which was about 2 inches thick. Using a pen, draw a 9-inch diameter circle in the center of the rectangular styrofoam. Insert 21 wooden skewers in a circle following the pen line of the 9-inch diameter circle. Space the skewers somewhat evenly apart. When inserting the skewers, tilt them slightly outward. This will be the outside shape of the basket.
• To make the basket: Roll a piece of dough into a long rope that is at least 20 inches long and about 1/2-inch in diameter. Place the end of this rope inside the basket leaving a 1 1/2-inch long tail resting in what will be the interior of the basket. Weave the rest of the dough in and out of the skewers. This should make one complete layer and may give you enough to continue into the second row. When you are coming to the end of your rope (no pun intended) and you need to stop, make sure you leave a tail inside the basket. This will help the dough stay in place and avoid any unraveling later on. Roll out another dough rope and start the second layer in a different spot than the first one so the starts and ends are staggered throughout the basket. This will help develop a stable structure to the basket. When you have completed 4 full rows, put it in the oven at 200 degrees F (if the oven temperature is higher, the Styrofoam will melt) for about 30 minutes. This is just long enough for the dough to dry slightly and will provide a strong base for the weight of additional layers. Remove from the oven and let cool. Repeat the same process adding another 4 layers to the basket. Put it back in the oven for another 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.
• To make the decorative braids for the top rim of the basket: Using 3 ropes of raw dough approximately 28 inches long, weave the dough ropes into a long braid. Place the braid on the top rim of the basket, gently pressing it down to make it secure. This is now the final row on the basket.
• To make the bottom of the basket: Make a long rope of dough approximately 1/2-inch in diameter. Tightly coil it starting at the center of the inside of the basket. This will be the bottom of the basket. If the rope you made is not long enough, you can roll out another rope and connect the 2 ropes by squeezing it securely to the end of the already coiled rope. Make the coil disk slightly bigger than the base and push the coil into place so it fits snugly.
• To make the handles for the basket: I used a 1/4-inch thick wooden dowel as a base and wrapped a long rope of raw dough, by spiraling around the dowel from top to bottom. I used 3 pieces of dowel to give my basket handle an artistic shape. The length of the dowels depends on 2 things. How tall the side of your basket is and what you want the handles to look like. Cut dowels to desired size. Lay the raw dough wrapped dowels on the baking sheet and bake along with the rest of the basket. The handles will be attached after all the parts have been baked.
• Place the entire basket and the handles in the oven for the final time. I put mine in the oven for about 1 hour, then turned off the heat and left it in the oven overnight. Remove the basket from the oven (it should be cool or room temperature for final assembly).
• To assemble and finish the basket:
• Make the caramel for painting the basket: Place the sugar and water in a saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Stir only until it is combined. Let the caramel cook until it burns. You will see white smoke and the caramel will be very dark. Remove from the heat. Add a little water and stir. You will need to keep adding small amounts of water until the caramel is a consistency liquid enough to use as paint. Use a pastry brush to apply the caramel to the basket and the handle. Allow it to dry completely before filling the basket with your pastries.

CHICKEN'S EGG EASTER BASKET

Steps:

• Dip cupcake into the icing; let excess drip back into bowl. Place cupcake on a rack over paper towels to catch any drips. Top with a small mound coconut grass. Place malted milk eggs on top.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 12-cup cupcake tins with paper liners. (To avoid cupcakes sticking if they overflow slightly, lightly spray the tops of the pans.) Put tins on a baking sheet. Set aside.
• Process sugar and butter in a food processor until very creamy, scraping sides as needed, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the eggs and yolks, one at a time, pulsing after each addition. Add the milk, water, and vanilla and process to blend.
• Whisk both flours, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the dry ingredients, in 3 batches to the wet, pulsing, and then scraping batter off the sides of the processor as needed after each addition. Process until the batter is very smooth, about 2 minutes.
• Evenly pour the batter into the prepared cups, filling them 3/4 of the way full. Bake until the cakes are just firm and spring back when gently pressed, and the tops are golden, 18 to 25 minutes. Cool slightly in tin, and turn out of tin when cool enough to handle. Cool cupcakes completely on a rack before frosting.
• Put the sugar in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. With the mixer on the lowest speed, slowly add the water, the corn syrup and vanilla extract. When the sugar is sufficiently moistened (it won't fly out of the mixer), raise the speed to high, and beat for 2 minutes until completely smooth and glossy.
• Divide and color, as desired. Store at room temperature, covered with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the icing, to prevent forming a skin.
• For cupcakes: Dip the surface of the cupcakes into the icing, allowing excess to drip into bowl. Clean any excess from the sides. Alternately, use a knife or a spreader to apply. Whisk as needed to keep icing glossy and smooth while using.
• For Light Blue Icing: Combine 2 to 3 drops of blue food coloring to 1 cup of Basic Glaze Icing.
• For Deep Yellow Icing: Combine 4 to 5 drops of yellow food coloring to 1 cup of Basic Glaze Icing.
• For Purple Icing: Combine 4 drops of red and 5 drops of blue food coloring to 1 cup of Basic Glaze Icing.
• Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place a mesh rack on top, if available.
• Put coconut in a shallow bowl. While tossing with a large spoon, add food coloring drop by drop until the desired color is reached. A little more green than yellow makes a pretty grass color. Add a few tablespoons water to moisten the mixture and help disperse the color evenly. If the color is too dark, add additional water, as needed, to dilute to the desired color. Drain the coconut in a sieve or strainer.
• Spread the coconut in an even layer on the rack, or directly on the lined baking sheet. Place in the oven until dry, about 10 to 15 minutes. Use immediately, or store in covered container for up to 3 days.