With the Popeye's chicken sandwich fiasco that has citizens losing their minds across the nation, local residents of Tennessee have been as cool as a cucumber and reveling in the greatness of their own chicken sandwich. Thanks to the African-American community of Nashville, the hot chicken sandwich has been booming since the 1930s. However, the current spice paste that is commonly applied to the chicken now, dates back to the 1970s.
After being properly soaked in a vat of buttermilk, the chicken is floured and seasoned using cayenne pepper and lard as main ingredients, pan-fried, and served atop a fluffy white bread bun with pickles to add a vinegary kick to the luscious sandwich. The sandwich and chicken have become such a hit, the city of Nashville holds festivals and competitions celebrating the tasty poultry. The chicken's unique red hue and spiciness are unique to the region and could be spotted by your average Tennessee patron from a mile away.
Chefs made their way into celebrity land a while ago. But how many celebrities that weren’t trained as professional cooks are actually whizzes in the kitchen? Here are several that come to mind.
Actress Julia Roberts is confident about her cooking skills. “I’m quite a good cook,” she told E! News. “I’m like a closet home ec teacher…I can really cook anything.” Roberts has said she often cooks fish for herself and her kids. And speaking of her three children, “They think that I’m a good cook,” Roberts told People. “They actually told me that I should open a restaurant.” She also relishes cooking for the holidays, particularly shredded Brussel sprouts. Roberts hasn’t published a cookbook, but we did find recipes attributed to her for peach crisp and banana hemp muffins. Or you can make the same summer salad the actress supposedly eats.
Chrissy Teigen started off as a supermodel. Then her love of cooking filtered into her professional life too. At this point, she’s created recipes for a limited Blue Apron release and also just launched her own home and cooking line at Target named “Cravings,” after the two cookbooks she’s released. Teigen describes cooking as “a time of peace” for herself. So maybe peace out to her tuna melt sandwich or the fried chicken wings that are a favorite of her husband, John Legend.
Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, comes from a cooking Italian family. Her father started his own restaurant in New York and also published a cookbook. And apparently, Lady Gaga has inherited the family’s cooking genes. Her Instagram account occasionally features photos of her culinary activities. Sure, sometimes it’s topless cooking. But other times it’s more poignant like in the post she shared about her bringing food to the family of her dear friend who passed away. Want to try a Gaga/Germanotta family favorite? Check out her recipe for whole wheat pasta with a sweet fennel sauce.