Corn Crepes with BBQ Chicken for Symon Sundays

I would like to thank the academy.

She says. Wide-eyed. Hairbrush in hand. Microphone-style.

Don't mock. A girl's gotta practice her acceptance speech if she ever plans on doing anything of any import with her life. It's in the handbook.
So. From the top. Minus the judgment. Yes. You there. In the front row. I'm talking to you.

I would like to thank the academy. Family. Friends.

My roommates for allowing me to destroy the kitchen three times a day. And for never complaining when it sometimes takes me hours to put it back together.

The streets of New York for glittering every so often. For luring me in. For never letting me down.
Michael Symon. For challenging me. With all of his Herculean might. For driving me to the edges of my sanity. And then reeling me back in. With every delicious bite.

Sure. It may take 3 days to make this recipe. (The Trojan War of dishes, in my opinion. You've got to sneak up on it with your wooden horse. Get it at from behind. And then, when it leasts suspects it...ATTACK.) And it may not exactly equate to winning an Oscar. But it's pretty damn tasty. And that, in a way, is its own reward.
I changed this recipe. A lot.

The original recipe called for the crepes to be stuffed with a duck confit. That is to say, duck submerged in pounds of its own fat for many hours while being slow-cooked. Hah.

Yeah. Right.

So instead. I took some chicken legs. Covered them with the spice rub that Symon calls for. And threw them in the crockpot for many hours (5-6?).

That was day one. On day two. I made the coffee barbecue sauce. But instead of using the spicy ketchup I just used tomato sauce with a hint of sriracha. Due to the whole ketchup/gag reflex thing that I have going on.

On day three. I actually made the crepes. And whoa. Were they good. The chicken had the most amazing flavor from the spice rub...something having to do with the coriander/cinnamon/paprika combo. It really shone through, even after smothering it with the coffee barbecue sauce. Which was really tasty as well.

Big flavors all around. Just the way I like them.

Just a word of advice. If you're going to make this. Plan ahead. Because it can get a little intense. I speak from experience.
Chicken (Not) Confit
8 chicken legs and thighs
3 tbsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp coriander seeds, toasted and crushed
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp smoked paprika
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 minced shallot
4 bay leaves, crumbled
1/4 cup water

1. Rinse the chicken legs and thighs and pat dry. Transfer to a large ziploc bag. Mix together all of the ingredients through the bay leaves. Coat the legs and thighs all over with the mixture. Close the bag and refrigerate overnight.

2. The next day, put the chicken in the crockpot along with 1/4 cup water. Cook it on low for 5-6 hours or until cooked through and easily shreddable.

Coffee Barbecue Sauce
1 small yellow onion, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
salt
1 1/2 tbsp coriander seeds, toasted
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sherry vinegar
1 cup strong coffee
1 1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 tbsp chipotle powder
sriracha to taste

1. Sweat the onion in the olive oil with a good pinch of salt in a large saucepan over medium-low heat until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the coriander, brown sugar, vinegar, and coffee and simmer 10 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, chipotle powder, and sriracha. Simmer for 2 hours. Strain, discard the solids and let cool. Store for up to 1 month in the fridge.

Corn Crepes with Barbecue Chicken (Not) Confit
Serves 4 as an appetizer, 2 as a main dish

1/2 cup thawed frozen corn (or fresh)
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup almond milk
1/4 tsp salt
black pepper
1 orange pepper
1/4 cup RAMPS - I saw these at the farmer's market and thought they would be great here in place of the scallions. They were.
1 cup shredded chicken (not) confit
1 cup coffee barbecue sauce

1. Combine the corn, flour, eggs, milk, salt, pepper, bell pepper and ramps in the bowl of a food processor and puree until smooth. Cover and refrigerate for 2-4 hours.

2. Pour a film of oil in a 7 or 8-inch saute pan over medium heat. Ladle in about 2 tbsp of batter and cook until it's slightly browned. Flip the crepe and continue cooking for another minute until it's cooked through. Transfer to a plate and repeat to cook the remaining crepes, stacking them on top of one another. There should be 4-6 crepes.

3. Preheat the oven to 400.

4. Wrap 2-3 tbsp of chicken with a tbsp of sauce in each corn crepe to make a cylinder. Arrange the crepes, seam side down, in a baking dish. Bake until heated through, about 10 min.

This is my submission to this week's Symon Sundays! Be sure to check out the round-up at Ash's blog on Monday!