Chef's Choice Recipes from the Rotten Apple's Jerad Gardner

In my profile of Jerad Gardner of the Rotten Apple in Grafton, Illinois, he made fried green tomato breakfast sandwiches and fried rabbit livers. After the jump, the recipes for both.

Fried Green Tomato Breakfast Sandwich

Makes 2 sandwiches

½ pound bacon
Olive oil
1 medium green tomato, sliced into ½-inch rounds
2 cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp Cajun seasoning
2 eggs
2 slices American cheese
4 slices multigrain bread, toasted

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Lay bacon in a single layer. Bake bacon for 10-15 minutes or until desired crispness is reached. Drain on paper towels.

2. In a large skillet, pour olive oil ¼-inch deep and heat. Combine cornmeal, flour and seasoning in a medium bowl. Add tomato slices and coat. Place in hot olive oil, being careful to not overcrowd the skillet. Cook 3 minutes, then flip tomatoes. Cook another 3 minutes, remove from skillet and drain tomatoes on a paper towel.

3. While tomatoes are frying, add enough olive oil to another skillet to coat the bottom. Heat, then add eggs. Prepare over medium.

4. For each sandwich, assemble one slice of cheese, one egg, half of the tomato slices and half of the bacon on the toast.

Fried Rabbit Livers

Makes 4 appetizer servings

2 pounds rabbit livers
Buttermilk
Canola oil
All-purpose flour seasoned with salt and pepper

1. Soak livers in buttermilk for 10 minutes.

2. In a 4-qt. heavy saucepan, pour 3 inches of canola oil and heat to 340 degrees.

3. Dredge livers in flour, shake to remove excess, and place in hot oil, being careful to not overcrowd. Fry until golden brown, about 5 minutes. When livers float, they're cooked through.

Robin Wheeler writes the blog Poppy Mom. She is a regular contributor to Gut Check, including the columns The Dive Bomber and Throwback of the House.