It's finally
Friday (!!) so I'm going to stick with Vanessa's classy party theme here, ya'll.
New York City's
Hill Country Chicken in the Flatiron area is an atomic little heaven of rich Southern fare: fried chicken, biscuits, and homemade pies with names like Whiskey Buttermilk and even an apple pie with a cheddar crust (note to self: need to try this). I've ended up here in the past because I love food but also because of it's proximity to an awesome antiques garage and flea market right down the street. This is dangerous stuff. Rummaging for finds (like
this) and then settling down for a hot cafeteria-style lunch at HCC is a pretty decadent and perfect day for a girl like me.
One of my favorite things to get is also probably the weirdest on the menu: The Texas Handroll. Just don't sound right, does it? The Texas Handroll is like if Waylon Jennings had went to Japan and returned with a tasty illegitimate love child. It's wrong but so right. It's fried chicken strips (or deep fried avocado if you go with the vegetarian version) with a mound of coleslaw, sweet red pepper jelly, and sliced almonds all wrapped in a flour tortilla like a sushi handroll. Cute right? This thing is a delicious party in your mouth - a slightly disorienting party where you forget who you are and where you were going. Cool, hot, crispy, creamy, crunchy - there are a lot of textures and sensations going on here and it pretty much rules.
This week, craving one and getting bored with usual dinner options, I decided to experiment with making a healthier version at home using some of my favorite foods and and go-to tricks. Here is how it went down.
