Normally, I try to stick to classic books around here, but sometimes I like to shake things up and make a menu for a TV show or movie. Even then, I try to stick to the classics. Still, every once in a while a show comes along that is clearly an instant classic, destined to remain in our minds and hearts for years to come. Stranger Things is one of those shows.

I loved Season 1, so when Season 2 premiered a few days before Halloween, I watched eagerly with a pen and paper in hand, ready to write down anything and everything the characters ate. There was no way I was letting another season go by without making a Stranger Things menu!

To start things off, I wanted to serve a tribute to the food Hopper leaves for Eleven in the woods at the end of Season 1. He places what looks like chicken wings in a Tupperware container along with some plastic-wrapped Eggos on top. Instead of making straight up chicken and waffle, I decided to try a fun new version. I’ve seen fried chicken in waffle cones popping up on Pinterest, so this is my interpretation of that trend.

I started with the breading from my fried catfish recipe and used it to bread some cubed chicken breast. Then I fried them up, glazed them with a mix of maple syrup and sriracha, and scooped them into some waffle cones. Easy and delicious—perfect for the strangest of season premiere parties! 😉

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Eleven’s Spicy Maple Fried Chicken Waffle Cones

“I’m not mad. I’m just…sorry about everything. I don’t want you to get hurt at all. And I don’t wanna lose you. Just make sure you heat up some real food, OK? Not just Eggos. And I want you to eat all the peas even if they’re mushy and gross.”

— Stranger Things

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

• canola oil for frying
• 1 lb chicken breast meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp cornmeal
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• salt
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1-2 tbsp sriracha (1 tbsp is enough to add just a touch of heat)
• 3-4 waffle cones

      

Makes 3-4 cones, depending on how tight you pack the chicken cubes

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. 1. 1. Fill a cast iron skillet 1/2 inch deep with oil. Turn the burner to medium-high heat.
      2. Preheat your oven to 200°. Place a wire rack on top of a baking sheet and place inside the oven.
      3. Add the chicken cubes and buttermilk to a large bowl and allow them to soak while you wait for the oil to heat. Mix your flour, cornmeal, garlic powder, paprika, and pepper together in a large bowl and set aside.
         
         

         

      4. When the oil sizzles strongly when you flick in a bit of the flour mix, drain the buttermilk from your chicken with a colander or sieve and toss the chicken in a light sprinkling of salt. Toss 10-15 pieces in the flour mix.

         

      5. Place the breaded chicken pieces in the hot oil for 1 minute, then turn them over with a pair of tongs and cook for another minute. Take out one of the big pieces and cut it in half to check for doneness; cook 1-2 minutes longer if necessary.
         
      6. Place the finished pieces on the wire rack in the oven. Continue to bread and cook chicken 10-15 pieces at a time and place them on the rack when finished.

         

      7. In a large bowl, stir together your syrup and sriracha. Toss the chicken in the syrup mix and scoop it into the waffle cones.

         

      8. Leave them in the woods as a snack for wandering kiddos with psychic powers.

   

   
    

   Check out our other chicken recipes! 🙂

   

   Poison-Tipped Daggers from Romeo & Juliet

   

   Roasted Hens with Woodland Wine from The Hobbit

   

   Misselthwaite Manor’s Young Fowl with Bread Sauce from The Secret Garden

    

    

   Sa