Lizzy, I think that's an even better idea than chicken on the bone, and here chicken is removed from the bone, added to the gravy and spooned over the waffles, much like your version I'd guess, except the chicken is fried. Many times chicken "strips" or "fingers" are used. Renee, you're right about regional dishes even within a state. Elery moved to Michigan when he was 11, but he spent his childhood in Tennessee and had never heard of chicken and waffles, although I thought it was a "southern thing". He was astounded when I dragged out the sorghum molasses to put on my cornbread, and said that was a southern thing but I've been doing it all my life and I was born here in Michigan. Of course, he claims that Grandma had to be from the south because of the way she cooked, but she grew up in Ohio. A little searching revealed that Grandma's stepmother, who raised her from a very young age and taught her to cook, was from Kentucky. So some of her cooking "migrated" to Michigan with Grandma and my kids grew up eating what is considered by some to be "traditional southern cooking". I guess after a couple of generations, the way people move around, anything can become a regional specialty! As for the chicken and waffles with syrup, I know a lot of people who will cover their sausage with syrup when they have breakfast, so chicken with syrup is no stranger than that, I've just always seen it served with gravy and never for breakfast. Annie

Since I first posted that, I've made that recipe a few dozen times. Observations: 1. I find I hardly ever bother with the sauce. The thighs are plenty good on their own. 2. While it's tasty with just salt & pepper, you can use whatever herb or spice you want. Chipotle powder is good, as is the Penzey spice mixture 'Arizona Dreaming'. 3. If after 18 minutes the flesh side doesn't look quite done, it's okay to flip the thighs and cook the flesh side for a minute or two. 4. What's really nice is that if you haven't planned for a dinner, you can stop on the way home from work and pick up as many chicken thighs as you want, and have 'fried' chicken in under a half hour. I wouldn't try it with any other cut but a thigh; the thigh flattens out nicely in the pan when you make those flesh cuts parallel to the bone. What you're doing, from a food-science-geek perspective, is rendering the skin fat and frying the skin side in that fat, while the vapors in the covered skillet are steaming the flesh side.

i can't believe i chopped off the original poster's name and i apologize for that--i think it belongs to "dances in garden". if not, please step forward and correct me! but this was a good dish that was kind of fun to prepare and eat: Barbecued Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps 2 cups, 4 handfuls, fresh shiitake mushrooms 1 1/3 to 1 1/2 pounds thin cut chicken breast or chicken tenders 2 tablespoons light colored oil, such as vegetable oil or peanut oil Coarse salt and coarse black pepper 3 cloves garlic, chopped 1 inch ginger root, finely chopped or grated, optional 1 orange, zested 1/2 red bell pepper, diced small 1 small tin, 6 to 8 ounces, sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped 3 scallions, chopped 3 tablespoons hoisin, Chinese barbecue sauce, available on Asian foods aisle of market 1/2 large head iceberg lettuce, core removed, head quartered Wedges of navel orange -- platter garnish Remove tough stems from mushrooms and brush with damp towel to clean, Slice mushrooms. Chop chicken into small pieces. Preheat a large skillet or wok to high. Add oil to hot pan. Add chicken to the pan and sear meat by stir frying a minute or 2. Add mushrooms and cook another minute or two. Add salt and pepper to season, then garlic and ginger. Cook a minute more. Grate zest into pan, add bell pepper bits, chopped water chestnuts and scallions. Cook another minute, continuing to stir fry mixture. Add hoisin Chinese barbecue sauce and toss to coat the mixture evenly. Transfer the hot chopped barbecued chicken to serving platter and pile the quartered wedges of crisp iceberg lettuce along side. Add wedged oranges to platter to garnish. To eat, pile spoonfuls into lettuce leaves, wrapping lettuce around fillings and squeeze an orange wedge over. I was trying to replicate my favorite lettuce wraps from PF Chang's, so I changed a few things. I used ground turkey instead of chicken tenders, skipped the orange, added more complexity to the sauce, and had cilantro, basil and lime wedges on the plate for people to add to the wraps. This is what I added to the hoisin sauce: 5 tsp sweet chili sauce, 2 tsp sesame oil, 1 TBSP sherry, 2 TBSP rice vinegar, 3 TBSP oyster sauce, and juice from half a lime. I think this made them much tastier. They were unbelievably delicious!! A keeper for company. i really enjoyed this but my husband didn't so i've only made it once. i certainly would be happy to make it for lunch with the girlfriends though! Braised Greek Chicken and Artichokes 1 tablespoon olive oil 4 chicken breast halves with skin and bones 2 6-ounce jars marinated artichoke hearts, drained 2 tablespoons marinade reserved 3/4 cup canned low-salt chicken broth 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper 3 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Add to skillet and sautchicken until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons reserved marinade, broth, lemon juice, peel, and crushed pepper. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until chicken is almost cooked through, about 10 minutes. Uncover; stir in artichokes and 2 tablespoons oregano. Simmer until liquid is slightly reduced and chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon oregano. Season with salt and pepper; serve. Makes 4 servings. Bon Appétit December 2001 and we both liked this one really well: ORANGE HONEY-BAKED CHICKEN -- Daisy 1 cup orange juice 1 tablespoon lemon juice 3 tablespoons honey 1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange rind 1/2 teaspoon ginger 4 boned chicken breast fillets (about 500g) 2 tablespoons orange marmalade (1/8 tsp red pepper flakes) (2 T peanut butter added into the sauce to be reduced) Preheat oven to 200C. In baking dish, mix together orange juice, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons honey, orange peel and ginger. Add chicken pieces, turning to coat all sides. If time permits, let chicken marinate for 10 minutes. Bake, uncovered, for 8 minutes, baste with pan juices. Bake an additional 8 minutes, baste again. Glaze chicken with a mixture of marmalade and remaining 1 tablespoon honey, continue to bake 8-10 minutes or until done. Transfer chicken to serving plate. Reduce pan juices until thickened and pour over chicken, garnish with orange slices.

We've been eating SE Asian food for 40 years, at a variety of friends' homes and restaurants. The food - not just SE Asian, but Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and even Californian bistros - has become increasingly sugar-heavy. Using some sugar is traditional in much of Asian cooking, but I'd agree it's becoming overdone. It's not a trend we like. Yes, I'd feel free to reduce some, but not all, of the sugar. However, the author states up-front that her intent was to make a very intense sauce. A couple of times I've subbed honey or brown sugar in Asian recipes, the latter being actually closer to what Asians traditionally used. But you have to use a very neutral honey, if you choose that route. You also have to be careful - in a frying recipe, the food may brown too fast. My DH and I have found it very interesting how the Millennial foodies have much more liking for sweet hard-liquor cocktails, plus saltier and sweeter food, than we do as Boomers. We can sometimes tell what we're going to dislike about the food just from the clientele of diners when we first walk into a new restaurant. This post was edited by jkom51 on Tue, Dec 30, 14 at 16:40