I was on the phone with my mom the other day and she was telling me about a recipe she made (story of our lives): roasted chicken breasts served atop pumpkin-sage grits. You scoop up some of the grits with your fork, she said, then you pierce a piece of the chicken and mmmmmm, there’s just something about the creamy grits with the chicken all in one bite (and then she proceeded to moan some more). That’s my favorite thing, she said. A piece of meat on top of something soft and creamy. (And of course I’m paraphrasing here. I don’t record our phone conversations so I don’t have an exact transcript, but this is the gist.) And I was like what? That’s my favorite thing! I couldn’t believe I never knew this about her. I always talk about how my favorite meal is a piece of something on top of a soft something, either risotto, polenta, grits, or mashed potatoes (am I leaving anything out?).

So, this is not the chicken over grits, but it’s in that category. Scoop up some soft and creamy smashed potatoes, spear a piece of crunchy cornfake-coated chicken, and pop it in your mouth. Cue the moan. Mmmmm.

A creamy gravy would really put this over the top, but we had just had some cheesecake for an afternoon snack, and so gravy hardly seemed wise or necessary. We drizzled our chicken with some honey and hot sauce, which was the husband’s suggestion, and a fabulous one at that (his mother used to make a honey-coated cornflake-crusted chicken dish).

So I don’t usually do mashed (or smashed) potato recipes because I don’t think you need a recipe for them: add things and taste, adjust and taste again. But this here is a good one, and it’s a little different with the peas. I defrosted 2 cups of frozen peas because I wasn’t sure how much I’d want to put in, and I think 1 cup was just the right amount. If you want your potatoes creamier, add more milk and/or cream. You could certainly add more butter and cheese to these, depending on how much you want to indulge (aka how yummy you want to make them). You could also add chives or sour cream or cream cheese or crumbled bacon, even. I must say, I love the peas smashed into the potatoes here. What a great idea! I imagine this might be a way to get kids to eat peas, too. You could tell them it’s boogers or slimeballs, or make up something else fun and gross. (I could also be totally off the mark here.)

A couple of other pointers: give your oil ample time to heat up. It needs to be hot enough before you add the chicken or the cornflakes will absorb too much oil and get soggy. The medium setting on my burner was just right. Also, you should probably crush your cornflakes up smaller than I did (they’ll stick better that way). I was working with cornflakes on steroids (Whole Foods brand), and no matter how much I pounded on them, many of those suckers just refused to break! I suppose I could’ve put them in the food processor, but I didn’t feel like getting it out.

One other thing: this meal really makes me want a waffle iron.

Cornflake Fried Chicken with Smashed Potatoes and Peas, adapted from Gourmet July 2008

Ingredients:

For the chicken

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (for me, this was 6 breast halves), pounded to 1/2-inch thickness
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 cups cornflakes, crushed (put them in a sealed plastic bag and pound on them or pulse them in a food processor)
• vegetable oil for frying
• salt and pepper
• honey and hot sauce, for serving

For the potatoes

• about 2 lbs red potatoes
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup milk, cream, half-and-half, or a combination
• 1 scallion, sliced thinly
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, packed
• salt and pepper, to taste (I always find I need to add a lot of salt to mashed potatoes)

Directions:

1. Cut potatoes into 1-inch pieces and add to a 3- to 4-quart saucepan. Add enough cold water to cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil, then simmer until potatoes are tender (you should be able to pierce one easily with a fork).
2. Meanwhile, cook the frozen peas according to the package direction, either in the microwave or in a small saucepan.
3. When potatoes are tender, drain them in a colander and rinse. Return them to the pot and add milk and/or cream, butter, cheddar cheese, peas, scallions, and salt and pepper. Mash with a potatoes masher. Taste and add more salt and pepper. Keep warm while you cook the chicken, or transfer the potatoes to a bowl and reheat them in the microwave when you’re ready to serve (what I did).
4. Whisk together egg and milk in a shallow bowl. Put cornflakes into another shallow bowl and toss with salt and pepper.
5. Heat a thin layer of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Meanwhile, season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper.
6. One at a time, dredge chicken breasts in milk mixture, then in cornflakes, pressing to help adhere, then add to the pan with the oil. Fry chicken 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until just cooked through and cornflakes are golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve with the smashed potatoes and peas.