Fried "Chicken" Friday

The Chef: Colleen and Elizabeth

The Menu: As promised, we made a full menu of recipes taken from The New York Times bestseller Skinny Bitch in the Kitch. First thing is first: Yes, those are onion rings. Freakin' onion rings. Moving right around the plate of goodness we have the bitches' Caesar Salad with Homemade Herbed Croutons. Finally, for the amazing main we got hearty helpings of Oven-fried "Chicken" with fresh chopped tomatoes on top.

The Goods: Okay, are you ready for the big reveal of our special guest? We know you've been on the edge of your seat all week wondering who could possibly be special enough to warrant an invitation to lunch here at the VNHQ. And, drumroll please, the top-secret guest was: Rory Freedman! You know how we do things around these parts, once we get a theme going—like recipes from Skinny Bitch in the Kitch—we like to go all the way. The cutie-pie author and VN columnist made time to stop by and enjoy lunch with us during her busy book-tour schedule, and we were thrilled to have her. Does it get better? Why, funny you should ask, because it totally does. Today was freakishly warm and we got to eat al fresco, which was a big treat for us. And so, in the spirit of treats, here's a recipe! Since it's such a rarity that we actually use a recipe for lunch, we thought everyone might enjoy getting a peak between the covers of SBITK. Without further ado, here's how we made the Oven-fried "Chicken":

Serves 6-8

What You Need:
Refined coconut oil, for greasing baking sheet
3/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1/3 cup vegan chicken bouillon
3 tablespoons corn meal
1/2 tablespoon fine sea salt
3/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder
1 cup soymilk
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1-1/2 pouds seitan, in large hunks

What You Do:
1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Grease baking sheet with coconut oil.
2. In a shallow bowl, combine breadcrumbs, bouillon, corn meal, salt, paprika, and cayenne. Place soymilk in a second shallow bowl, and the brown rice flour in a third.
3. Dip each seitan piece in the soymilk, the brown rice flour, the soymilk again, and then the breadcrumb mixture, coating thoroughly. Place seitan pieces on greased baking sheet.
4. Bake for 10 minutes, turn, and bake on the other side for another ten minutes.

And for an extra-extra bonus, here's a group shot of the lovely ladies of VegNews. Happy Friday everyone!