THE Dish: Bromberg brothers' fried chicken

(CBS News) NEW YORK -- Over the past 20 years, acclaimed chef Eric Bromberg and his younger brother, Bruce, have built a thriving "Blue Ribbon" restaurant empire in New York City and Las Vegas.

They now own 11 eateries -- all but one in the Big Apple. Their latest is Blue Ribbon Sushi Izakaya, which just opened in Manhattan.

Their restaurant in Vegas is the Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar Grill, in the city's newest resort and casino, The Cosmpolitan of Las Vegas.

On "CBS This Morning: Saturday," Eric shared the recipe for his ultimate dish: the award-winning Northern Fried Chicken. Among other honors, the dish was dubbed Best Fried Chicken in the U.S. last year by FoodAndWine.com.

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Blog: "What's Cooking"
Special section: Food and Wine

RECIPES

Northern Fried Chicken

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 6 cups soy oil
• 1 (3-pound) chicken, cut into 8 pieces (2 legs, 2 thighs, 4 breast pieces)
• 4 large egg whites, whisked
• 1/2 cup matzoh meal
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• Salt and freshly ground white or black pepper
• 1 teaspoon Fried Chick Seasoning (see below)
• Chicken Gravy (optional)
• Mexican honey, for serving

Fill a large pot with about 3 inches of oil. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until a deep-fat thermometer reads 375F.

Rinse the chicken pieces and pat dry with paper towels. Place the egg whites in a large shallow bowl. In a separate shallow bowl, combine the matzoh meal, flour, and baking powder. Dip each chicken piece in egg white and let excess drip back into the bowl. Next press each chicken into the matzoh mix and tap off excess.

Working in 2 batches, if necessary, fry the chicken until dark golden, about 10 minutes for white meat and 13 minutes for dark meat. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate. Sprinkle immediately with the perfect saut» seasoning, then coat the pieces with the fried chicken seasoning. Serve with the gravy if you like, and honey for dipping.

Fried Chicken Seasoning

Makes about 3 Tablespoons

This is great to have around to sprinkle over corn on the cob, grilled vegetables, or anywhere you want to add a little heat.

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons hot paprika
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Combine the paprika, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, basil, and cayenne pepper, and store in a covered container.

For more of Eric and Bruce's recipes, go to Page 2.

FRENCH FRIES

Ingredients:

• Soy oil, for frying
• 1 pound russet potatoes, skin scrubbed clean, cut into 1/4 inch batons

Heat the oil to 350. Blanch the potatoes in batches in the hot oil until a slight skin develops, 2 minutes *SEE NOTE. Drain the fries on a paper towel lined plate.

Raise the oil temperature to 375 and fry the potatoes in batches until they start to become golden, about 2 minutes. Pull the potatoes out of the oil and let stand for 1 minutes. Drop the potatoes back into the oil and fry until golden brown, about another 2 minutes. Drain excess oil, toss the fries with the seasoning and serve hot.

NOTE: Take one or two of the fries out of the oil and blot them on a paper towel for a second. Then crack the fry and try to peel it. If the skin doesn't pull away, or if it just breaks, you have to keep the fries in the oil and let a little more skin develop. If the skin comes off nicely, then they're perfect; time to pull them out.

Perfect Sautee Seasoning

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of salt
• 1 teaspoon finely ground white pepper

Combine the salt and pepper and store in a covered container.

Collard Greens with Browned Butter

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

• 4 tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• Freshly ground pepper
• Salt
• 2 bunches collard greens, cleaned, brown or yellow parts trimmed, leaves and stems cut into 2-inch pieces
• Lemon wedges, for serving

In a very large sautee pan over high heat, melt 2 tbps. Of the butter, Add seasoning and cook until the butter begins to brown and bubble, about 3 minutes. Add half the collards and stems, and let them sit undisturbed for 1 minute. Flip the collards and cook, stirring for 1 minute more. Transfer the collards to a serving dish. Repeat with the remaining butter and collards. Taste for seasoning and serve with lemon wedges.

Banana Walnut Bread Pudding With Butterscotch-Banana Sauce

Serves 8 - 10

Ingredients:

• 1 Vanilla Bean
• 11 Large egg yolks
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 quart Heavy cream
• 1 (12-ounce) Baguette of other white bread cut into 1-inch cubes (about 10 cups)
• 1 lb. Bananas peeled/sliced 1/2 inch thick (2 to 4 bananas)
• 3/4 cup Walnuts chopped/toasted
• Butterscotch-Banana Sauce

Using a small, sharp knife split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape the seeds into a boql; reserve the pod. Add the egg yolks and 3/4 cup of the sugar and whisk until thick and yellow (whisk the mixture immediately to prevent the sugar from "cooking" the eggs).

In a medium pot, combine the cream, the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and the reserved vanilla bean pod. Bring the cream to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Immediately remove from the heat; discard the pod. Whisking constantly, pour a small amount of the cream into the egg yolk mixture. Add the rest, a little at a time, until the cream is cully incorporated. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve. You can make the custard up to 1 day ahead and store it, covered, in a the refrigerator.

Grease a 9 by 13 inch baking pan. Combine the bread, bananas, and walnuts in the pan, making sure everything is well distributed. Pour in just enough custard mixture to complete cover the bread (you may have some leftover; save it). Let stand for at least 20 minutes and up to an hour (or let it rest overnight in the refrigerator). IF the bread absorbs all the custard, top it off with a little more. Then firmly press the bread down into the custard so it's submerged.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cover the pan with foil. Place the pudding pan in a larger pan, adding just enough hot water to the larger pan to come halfway up the sides of the pudding pan. Bake until the pudding is lightly set and a knife inserted in the center comes out almost clean, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. The pudding may be kept, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and reheated to serve.

Before serving, drizzle with the Butterscotch-Banana Sauce.