Time to feed the troops

It is Monday. That means very very very busy day at Pure Country Pet Boutique which is where I work and make and design dog clothes. As well as ship them out to over 600 stores worldwide and individuals who order from our retail site. So I don't usually get as much time to focus on dinner as I would other days. Mondays are the accumulation of Friday, Saturday and Sunday's work all shoved into one day. On top of that, we have been dealing with drama regarding my daughter’s basketball team for months now. To make a long story short, they fired a great coach, her coach, in the middle of the season. FOR NO REASON other than a new Freshman was the daughter of the principal, and they brought her dad, the principals, husband in to coach. It should be illegal. Every single one of those girls on the team was upset, with the exception of the freshman. Blah. Anyone who cares can read about it here. The whole thing has made all of us parents so mad and I am so sick of it. We have another meeting in front of the school board tonight where the girls will be speaking. Last time it was just us parents and they pretty much did nothing. Nothing changes unless you stand up for what you believe in, and that is what we are teaching our kids to do. Any way, I have to make something that will feed the team, because they are all coming over to my house before the meeting. My son has been asking for a spicy chicken sandwich. So this is what I came up with.
Tip of the day: When you have to feed a lot of people in a limited amount of time, try to go for finger foods. Sandwiches work well. You can put your own touch on them to make them more gourmet, or make different styles to accomodate different tastes. For instance my daughter cannot stand any sort of spice. So I made both the spicy version and the mild version of the sandwich.

Sandwich di pollo piccante
24 chicken tenders

1 cup flour
3 TB chili powder
3 TB Paprika
2 TB granulated garlic (yes I do use it… amazed?)
2 tsp black pepper
1 TB Cayenne pepper
1 TB dried Thyme
1 TB dried Oregano
3 TB salt
Canola oil
Lettuce for the sandwich
Bread or buns. Usually I would make homemade buns but we have a time crunch tonight. So I am using the Francisco sourdough I got on sale for $0.75 for the whole loaf.


Spicy Aioli or regular mayo – depends on how much spice you can handle.


Egg Wash: 4 eggs and 4 TB milk


Pound the chicken to 1/8 inch thin. Combine all dry ingredients into a bowl.
In another bowl beat together the eggs and milk.
One piece at a time 1st into the dry ingredients, then into the eggs, then back into the dry ingredients again. Refrigerate until ready to cook. Fry chicken in canola oil at 350 until brown on each side. Usually 3-4 minutes each side.

Fryin'

simple sandwich

Spicy Aioli Recipe:
1 quart mayonnaise
½ cup Siracha hot chili pepper sauce
2 TB chili pepper (calls for espellette pepper which is a variety of chili pepper that is cultivated in the French commune of Espelette… but lets all be honest. Who has the time to go find that or afford it? Chili pepper it is!)
¼ cup lime juice
2 TB salt
1 TB cayenne pepper

Here is the spicy aioli

Course I made a few bland ones. Because my daughter is a huge wimp when it comes to spice. So if you want a mild blend Here:
1 cup flour

3 TB Paprika
2 TB granulated garlic
2 tsp black pepper
1 TB bread crumbs
1 TB dried Thyme
1 TB dried Oregano
3 TB salt

bland and boring. Use regular mayo.
OK, well off to the speak to the deaf at the board meeting. Wish us luck!