It’s (finally) getting colder here in California and BOY am I thrilled! I love warming up my house with delicious comfort food. Something I love more? Being able to get a sneak peek into the Eat Like a Firefighter Cookbook by sharing these awesome recipes with you. If you happen to whip this one up remember to share your success (or hey sometimes failures, but funny ones!) with us on Facebook and Instagram. We love to see what you’ve got cooking!

This recipe comes to us from Fire Wife Denise Walsh from Hardwick, Massachusetts.

Denise has been married to her firefighter for a little over two years and she has this to say about her recipe:

“My husband always wanted me to learn how to cook fried chicken since it is one of his favorites. After several failed attempts (and boy were they failures), I finally figured out this recipe. It’s a great family style, sit down dinner, which I feel is a vital component of the fire service. Fried chicken is such an American staple and I love how it can be adapted for a large crew down to a small family.”

Well you may have had failures before Denise, but this certainly isn’t one of them. I know my husband can’t wait until I finish up this post and he gets his dinner tonight. So, without further ado: Fried Chicken and Mashed Sweet Potatoes!

Fried Chicken

Ingredients

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (more if adapting recipe for a large crowd)

salt & lemon pepper seasoning, to taste

red wine vinegar

1 c. flour

1 T. garlic powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. chili powder

1/2 can/bottle of beer/lager

1 egg

1/2 c. milk

canola oil

Instructions

The night before you plan to cook the chicken, season each breast well with salt and lemon pepper seasoning and submerge in a plastic bag with red wine vinegar. Refrigerate chicken in marinade overnight. When ready to fry, mix together flour, garlic powder, salt, pepper and chili powder. In a second bowl, combine the beer or lager, egg and milk; mix well to combine. Remove chicken from marinade and cut breasts into strips. Individually put each strip in the flour mixture and coat well, then move the strip to the egg mixture and coat well, finally return the strip to the flour mixture and coat again. Place each coated strip onto a plate; once each strip is well coated return plate to the refrigerator and chill for at least 20 minutes. Fill a fryer or deep frying pan with canola oil, and heat until it reaches 360F. When the oil is heated, cook each chicken strip for at least five minutes (or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165F). Once chicken is removed from the oil sprinkle with salt and let cool.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients

2-3 lg. sweet potatoes

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

2 T. butter

1/4 c. milk

2 T. brown sugar

Instructions

Fill a large pot with water and salt well, put on the stove over high heat and bring to a boil. Peal and cut the potatoes into cubes and place in boiling water. Cook potatoes until tender, approximately 15 minutes for one inch sized cubes. Drain potatoes and put them in a bowl; add all other ingredients to the potatoes. Using a potato masher, mash until little to no lumps remain and all ingredients are well incorporated.  Add additional salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!