Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Restaurant Recreations: The Tilted Kilt

Okay, let's get one thing straight.  I like Hooters.  The restaurant (get your mind out of the gutter).  You know, with the women in the short orange shorts, and tons of beer.  And wings.  While I don't frequent the place on a regular basis, I can say that they get my business every now and then.  Plus, they have a really good burger - I know, you've all just disowned me.  And I realize that this post isn't about Hooters, but I'll get back to that point in just a moment.

The Tilted Kilt over on Dutchman's Ln. (it used to be Ernesto's) can be summed up in just a few words.  Tacky. Irish. Version. Of. Hooters.  Girls in plaid skirts, school girl shirts tied just below their knockers, exposing their (not-so-attractive) stomachs.  Yeah, to half-drunken men - this is paradise.  To a 25 year old woman, just looking for a quick and cheap meal... not so appealing.

In fact, the first thing Andy said to me when we walked in - "Including you, there's only 3 chicks in here, not counting the ones that actually work here."  Great, I can see this going well.  Almost tempted to leave, (the place was PACKED - the Louisville vs. Ohio game was on - which is one pro to this place is that there are TV's EVERYWHERE, so it's a sports fan's paradise) we thought we'd stick it out for the food.  And we were hungry and desperate.

First of all, it took forever for someone to even talk to us.  I kept telling Andy it was because of my estrogen-empowered self, and if I was of the opposite sex, then we would have been waited on promptly.  But 20 minutes after being seated, we finally had our drink order taken from us.  I don't know about you, but I need to be spoken to at least 5 minutes after being seated.

Anyway, I decided to order the Buttermilk Fried Chicken Salad and Andy got some behemoth of a burger.  I find that ordering a salad with some chicken is always a safe bet.  Well, almost always.  This is what I was served.


Can anybody find the chicken in there?  That was my first response.  If I knew I would be getting skimped on the chicken, I wouldn't have ordered it.  I don't know, maybe I'm just high maintenance, but when chicken comes before salad in the title, I expect to have a decent amount of it.  I knew after looking at this that I would definitely be recreating it.  And definitely doing a damn fine job of it.

Moral of the story?  Stick to Hooters.  There's usually an even man to woman ratio, the food is better, and unfortunately also, the girls are a tad more attractive - if you're into that sort of thing =)

The Tilted Kilt on Urbanspoon


So let's get to this amazing salad... the one that I made.

Ingredients:


Fried Chicken:
Adapted from Simply Recipes


2 large chicken breasts, each cut in half
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 onion, sliced
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper, divided
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
salt and pepper
2 cups vegetable oil

Salad:


2-3 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1 navel orange, peeled and sliced
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
ranch dressing, optional

In a medium bowl, combine the buttermilk, onion, parsley, thyme, tarragon, paprika, and 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper.  Mix together and submerge chicken breasts.  Cover and let sit in fridge for about 8 hours (I put mine together in the morning before work and it was perfect timing).

Remove chicken from buttermilk and set aside on a plate.

In a shallow dish, combine flour, garlic powder, onion powder, remaining 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper.  Mix well.

Dredge chicken in flour mixture and coat well.  Set aside.

In a large cast iron skillet, heat the vegetable oil under medium high heat.  You'll know it's hot enough when a bit of flour sizzles quickly when added.


Add 2 chicken breast halves at a time and fry for about 7-9 minutes per side, or until cooked through.  Place cooked chicken on paper towel-lined plate and cover with foil.  Repeat with remaining 2 chicken breast halves.


To assemble the salad, combine the romaine lettuce, tomato, and navel orange.  Toss well.  Slice up chicken and place atop lettuce.  Drizzle ranch (I know, I should have made my own, but honestly, I have this ridiculously large tub of ranch in my fridge - a Sam's Club purchase, of course - that is in need of being used) over salad and enjoy!


So what do you guys think?  Which salad would you rather have?  

Now this is what I call a proper Buttermilk Chicken Salad.  This is a proper amount of chicken.  And the plate was just so colorful and vibrant, I couldn't help but smile the entire time I was eating it.  Enjoy your Wednesday guys!  And if you haven't checked it out yet, I've got the first giveaway on the blog here.

21 comments:

  1. you show that salad who's boss! haha! I love recreating restaurant food the way I expect them to be =) This looks so professional! I always want to beg you for photography tips.. helllp! you're so good at it! <3

    xoXOxo
    Jenn @ Peas & Crayons

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  2. last week I asked my hubby about hooters restaurant, he told me they serve good food. He didn't offer me to take there. chicken salad looks delicious.

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  3. Um yeah... I'll take your salad over that wimpy chicken salad any day!!

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  4. That is hilarious! I keep on noticing tilted kilt everywhere and have never been in one. I did like the buffalo wings at Hooters. But my take is to avoid both and just make that amazing salad you have there ;)!

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  5. I love the recipe and I might have to try it out next week - it looks sooooo GOOD :-)

    My best,
    Birthe

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  6. That restaurant salad is pathetic! that restaurant needs to take a hint from you - first on how to cook and second on how to plate!

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  7. Hahaha! Love your writing. I was dying reading your description of the Tilted Kilt. Never been there... and surely won't now. But that salad looks out of this world. And no school-girl uniforms anywhere in sight! WIN. ;-)

    p.s.--thanks for taking the time and stopping by my blog yesterday. I'll try to visit you regularly :)

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  8. This is a cool recipe, need to try such varieties now!

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  9. they just opened one by my office... i doubt i head that way anytime soon!

    I am hosting an event on my blog centered around seafood/fish- I would love for you to link up some of your yummy salmon recipes!

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  10. We have a couple of tilted kilts that opened up near us and over the weekend I mentioned we should go there - thanks for the info as I would hate to have gone kids in tow :)

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  11. Yum... What size cast iron skillet do you use?

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  12. How can you get fried chicken looks so delicious and healthy at the same time? Love the photos and the recipe!

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  13. I am not even a big salad fan but i am in love with your chicken salad. I can totally do with this right now...hehe.

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  14. That is what I call a perfect chicken salad; I am keeping this recipe and yes I love to re create recipes I have enjoyed at the restaurant.
    Rita

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  15. I go to Hooters for lunch! After all, a Clemson grad opened it with Clemson colors, gotta show my support as a fellow alumni:) Somehow the Hooters airline idea did not take off, but the food at the restaurant is decent! :) Service is not always the best though.

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  16. Great job recreating this salad - yours looks definitely better!

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  17. That is a beautiful looking salad, so much nicer than the restaurant's. And you definitely don't need female attributes to distract you from it!

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  18. Beautiful Salad!!! Nice work! I'll eat just about anywhere that serves WINGS and BEER! I don't care what the staff is wearing! :)

    New follower!

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  19. That looks absolutely yummmmm..... lovely presentation of the food !
    please do visit n follow my blog if you wish to at http://kitchensojourn.blogspot.com :)

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  20. I have such a hard time in restaurants these days--often I know how easy it would be for the restaurant to put in a modicum of effort to get such better results. Your recreation looks fabulous!

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  21. We have a Tilted Kilt down the road from us. I call it the "Scottish Hooters". We've never eaten there, but the drinks are cheap!

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