Wednesday, September 10, 2008

11 Herbs and Spices

When I read on CNN yesterday that Colonel Sanders's original handwritten secret-recipe formula for the world's most famous fried chicken was being moved under guard while its secure location was being updated, I started to drool and gurgle Homer-Simpson-like on my keyboard. Mmmmm, eleven secret herbs and spices....gaaaaah.....

Now, I can tell you that I make a mean fried chicken myself. Over the course of the 11 years I've been cooking for me and Jason, I've consulted with my mom, watched cooking shows, and pored over techniques from chicken geniuses like Paula Deen to get a darn-good version into the supper rotation. Of course, we only use boneless, skinless chicken breasts in my immediate family, and some would tell you that this doesn't count. All I know is that my mother, one of the finest chicken fryers in the southeast, likes to come over for dinner whenever I get inspired to whip up a batch. That's just about the biggest compliment I could ever get.

I don't want to hide my "secret"; I'd gladly tell you the tips and tricks I've learned (some of which I just learned in the past 2 years or so; God love the Food Network.) The Colonel, on the other hand...Not so big on the sharing.

It's genius, really. By making such a big deal about all the security behind that little yellowed piece of paper, the KFC people have gotten a lot of publicity for their product. And by making people like me think about perfectly and secretly-seasoned deep-fried chicken skin, which I can't get on my own chicken, they're pretty much guaranteeing that this Kentucky girl is going to make a KFC drive-thru stop sometime in the very near future. I know I'm not alone.

Like McDonald's secret sauce, and Skyline Chili: often imitated, never duplicated. And therefore crave-worthy. As much as I try to stay away from fast food, these are the things I abandon my own perfectly-passable home-cooked dinners to eat and to later clog my arteries.

Damn you, Colonel. You and your wee beady eyes.

Do you crave the Colonel's Original Recipe? Are there other fast-food faves that make you abandon diets and New Year's resolutions and good food sense?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

oh my goodness... not fast food per se, but pretty much any Indian Food and Aussie Cheese Fries at Outback Steakhouse... evil... EVIL I tell you!

Let's see though, fast food... every so often (like very couple months) I get a craving for a double quarter pounder from McD's or French Dip with swiss from Arby's or a Spicy Chicken sandwich from Wendy's. That's a list!! LOL

Library Lady said...

Ah, Indian food. I crave that every few weeks. The crazy thing is that while I eat it I often find the flavors to be a little too much but then 10 minutes after I leave I want to dig into the doggy bag.

And the Wendy's Spicy Chicken...oh, man. I'm starving.

Anonymous said...

You know, the Colonel puts an addictive chemical in the chicken that makes you crave it fortnightly. ;)

Every so often, I have to go to Long John Silver's and have some of their chicken planks - yeah, I said chicken planks, not fish. :)