Homeade Chic Fil A chicken and Pancakes

This summer on a brisk Friday morning in Jacksonville, with the arrival of my girlfriend later that day, I stumbled upon a Paula Deen show... Praise Paula, Much love. Seeing as I hadn't seen Katie in a while I wanted to make something Legen... wait for it....

DARY...

Paula had a recipe to fry a chicken finger (on a stick) and dip it in Pancake batter then refry.. So, me, being the food connoisseur that I am, took to the kitchen. I one upped you Mrs. Paula though, and I apologize for this. I made a Chic Fil A chicken finger recipe that I received from my top notch girlfriend and mixed it with this pancake batter. There has been no better union of flavors to ever come out of my kitchen. The powdered sugar based batter for the chicken mixed with the extra sweetness of the pancake better and maple syrup was incredible. It sent a sensation of flavor through my taste buds, similar to the feeling of when you first bite down on a Starburst and that flavor explodes into you're mouth. Yea I know that was deep... So if you're ever in town and want a little "Southern Hospitality" stop on by... I would never turn down an opportunity to eat this again.

Recipe~
-Soak the chicken in buttermilk overnight (this will help to keep the batter on the tender).
-Next make the batter: I just did 2/3 Flour and 1/3 Powdered sugar mixture. And the pancake batter was just Aunt Jemima.
-If you want to use the sticks to make it like Mrs. Paula, put the chicken on the sticks at this point. (I didn't do this part, made no difference. Flavors too good...)
-Fry the chicken with the Chic Fil A batter. Then dip the chicken in the pancake batter and cook until its golden brown. (this won't take long).
-Sit back pour some of natures gold (Maple Syrup) on top and let me know what you think.

#Dantnation

Lobster and Swordfish Pasta

Fans, brothers, sisters, followers, friends, family before I start to tell you this recipe I would just like to say. Your welcome. Having just moved to Florida I am now in the bed of fresh seafood. And if you don't think I'm taking full advantage of that... Check yourself. Today I took a trip to Publix seafood section and just picked two random critters to indulge myself with: Lobster and Swordfish. Since most of you are not in Florida and seafood is at best a delicacy I would recommend just using crab meat (imitation is fine, but if you have Publix use the Jumbo lump meat its very good).
The recipe is as follows:
-1 lobster tail meat cubed
-Half Pound of Swordfish cubed
-4 Cups of Heavy Whipping Cream
-2 TBSP of Olive oil
-Garlic Salt, Basil to taste
-Half an Onion Diced
-1 twig of Green Onion Diced
-One package of any pasta. (I prefer Wagon Wheels, it really butters my biscuits)

Start off by heating up a pan Medium High with the olive oil in it. At the same time start boiling water, once boiling toss in the pasta. Little trick throw in some garlic salt and basil into the water, really adds nice flavor. Once the pan is to temperature throw the cubed swordfish and lobster into the pan. Season both with garlic salt and basil, I go pretty liberally on the garlic salt. After about 2 minutes throw in the onions and green onions. It should take about 5-7 minutes for this all to cook, taste to see you can tell by the color change. Once cooked throw in the heavy whipping cream and reduce the heat to between low and medium. Let it thicken up. This should take around 7-10 minutes. Once done strain the pasta and toss it into the seafood mix. This stuff if perfect. Always gotten good reviews, don't hesitate to use the jumbo lump crab. Crab is just as delectable! Enjoy... Until next time.

P.S. Never hurts to broil up some french bread, once you get down to that sauce it really works well as a dip. Trust in the Dip.

~Dantnation

Homemade Lobster Rolls- Cajun Style

When it comes to Mississippi's seafood cuisine the first thing that comes to mind is crawfish. Well sorry about it, but this guy likes lobster a little bit more. So for my Sunday Funday I made some homemade lobster rolls. Even though I got the lobster from Kroger it still turned out to be great meat and only 13$ for two whole lobsters. Warning- This recipe is Linsanely good (shoutout Jeremy Lin).... Sorry had to insert a cheesy line about him, like the rest of the world. So here we go:

Lobster Rolls: For two
Two Whole Lobsters
Zatarans Crab boil packet.
Light mayo about 3-4 Tablespoons
Cayenne Pepper to taste, and Cajun Seasoning to taste.
1/4 of a Red and Green Pepper diced
1/4 of a red onion diced.
Two  Baby Mushrooms diced.
Two Hoagie rolls

First bring a pot of water with the zatarans to a boil. Then place the lobsters in for about 7-8 minutes. While doing this put the diced peppers, onions, and mushrooms in a skillet with butter and cook until nice and soft. Once these are done mix these with the Mayo, Cayenne, and Cajun seasoning. When the lobster is done break off the tail and claws and take the meat out of them. I recommend using cooking scissors to do this, unless you have the metal clampers. Chop up the meat and mix it in with the mayo pepper mix. Butter the bread, toast it and then put the Lobster mix on the bread and enjoy. And trust me, you will enjoy. This is a good cajun twist on a northern dish. It was grrrrrrrrreat! If you make it invite me over... and I'll tell you how my taste buds react.

~DantNation

P.S. Your Welcome

Hole in the Wall, Phillips Grocery

With the recent launch of www.dantnation.com I've decided to step up my game. I'm going to take you guys on a little adventure down the back woods to a little place called Phillips Grocery. Now, when it comes to Oxford, MS, the food scene is extensive and diverse. For all you college kids looking for a good pregame with great food this is your place. For all of you non-natives looking for a taste of the town.... look no further. First of all Phillips does not serve alcohol, but the cool thing is they do brown bag. If you've never brown bagged it's just BYOB (liquor) essentially. The atmosphere is very original they have unique pictures and a very quaint shack type location.To start out there is only one option for an appetizer as far as I see, the corn nuggets. Your probably saying corn nuggets? Take my word for it, they are some serious fire. Somehow they roll a bunch corn together and fry it in a way it looks like chicken nuggets. They're perfect. I know I probably had you at fried. Seriously though, this is the stuff of legends, Paula Deen worthy. Phillips has been considered to have the best burger in town. I would tend to agree. Always go with the cheeseburger and bacon, and as a side you have to get the seasoned fries! They also have amazing sweet potato fries. If your not a fan of burgers and your looking for a little afternoon delight try out the shrimp po boy or catfish(fried, naturally).This is the most "Oxford" restaurant that I've been to. It's a great place to pre-game the bars, and a great place to take your family to. I've brought my family here numerous times, and they haven't been let down. It's a great taste of the town, and cheaper than virtually everything on the square. It's a regular staple to my diet. Not to brag or anything, but I have a damn good diet. Good food, good times, on the reg.

~DantNation

The Infamous- Big Bowl

"HERRO WELCOME TO BIG BURWL",the greeting I recive every time I go to Big Bowl(now named Noodle Bowl, but thats the last time we'll mention that). I love these people like my own family. When we come back from vacation they get so excited, they asked me "We thought you moved..." Well I've got knews for you Harry Kho, I haven't moved. Big Bowl is a regular staple in my diet. There are levels you need to follow when you go to Big Bowl. First you gracially accept the free appetizer given to you, normally teriyaki popcorn shrimp and a possible crab stuffed pancake. Then for your actual appetizer I would recommend the Chicken Wontons or Crab and cheese wontons. If your a soup person, go with the wonton. You wont regret it. Best wonton soup in the Western Hemisphere. Ask for the crunchies for your soup though of course. Now when it comes to the Entree. I would always go with General Tao chicken, or the Lobster tempura roll. If your a fan of the spicy delicatessen then go with Pad Tai Chicken (spicy). With anything you choose you have to order yum yum sauce. This is the dagger. Yum Yum sauce has kind of become an addiction of some sorts for me. It's kind of a problem. A problem I've ignored, and will continue to ignore. If your feeling lucky order a vile of the desert sake, Strawberry if given the choice. It's an amazing palate cleanser. On top of all the great food and great times, Big Bowl has the best customer service of any restaurant I've ever been to. They treat you like family, one time my girlfriend Katie was sick and I went to eat there. They asked where she was, and when I told them she was sick, they brought out a to go cup of Wonton soup on the house. These people are the real deal. This restaurant is hands down receives the Dant-Nation stamp of appreciation. So to Peter, Harry Kho and the gang, I appreciate it all.

Much Love,
Dant~Nation

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Now I'm pretty new to the BBQ scene overall, I was pretty anti up until I moved down to Mississippi. Boy was I missing out. The BBQ down here is out of this world. Soulshine Pizza has the absolute best BBQ chicken pizza I have EVER had. This crust is made with brown sugar.... Mix that sweetness in with the tangy sauce and grilled chicken and you are looking at a pizza worthy of the great ones. Personally I think they have the best BBQ sauce in town. They really seem to use brown sugar effectively. If you've never cooked BBQ with brown sugar, then well I really truly feel sorry for you. If I were to tell you I've been back in Oxford for 2 weeks and I haven't eaten at Soulshine. I would be lying, because I have. 3 times. Most people would say you have a problem, I would say go big or go home. When the goings good... keep going. So before you go to the freezer aisle and pick up California Pizza Kitchen BBQ chicken, think again. Go to Soulshine, its the egg mcmuffin (trademark MCDS) of BBQ pizza.

~Dantnation