Spicy Oven-Fried Chicken

Fried Chicken! One of my all time favorite foods. I grew up on chicken fried in my mom's well seasoned iron skillet. Yes, I make traditional fried chicken every once in a while, but baking it in the oven is a bit healthier and not nearly as messy...all that greasy flying everywhere. I found this in my new cookbook, Bon Appetit, Fast, Easy, Fresh. Most oven fried chicken recipes use boneless skinless chicken, but my favorite part of fried chicken is the crispy skin. This recipe uses bone-in, skin-on chicken, the tastiest kind!

This is easy, but it does take a bit of time. The first step is to marinate the chicken in the buttermilk recipe. If you don't have buttermilk, I didn't, you can make an excellent substitute by adding 1 TB of white vinegar or lemon juice to milk. Don't worry about the amount of hot sauce. This chicken isn't that spicy. You should marinate for at least 3 hours, but you can marinate overnight. So you could put it together the night before and cook for dinner the next day. Next you coat the chicken in your bread crumb topping and let it sit on a rack for 30 minutes before you put it in the oven. Finally, just bake at 425 degrees for 50 minutes. Voila, crispy chicken that's almost as good as really fried!

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons hot pepper sauce

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 large onion, sliced

12 chicken pieces (breasts, thighs and drumsticks) with skin and bones

1 cup dry unseasoned breadcrumbs

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup all purpose flour

2 teaspoons dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions

Whisk buttermilk, oil, hot pepper sauce, mustard, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in large bowl to blend well. Add onion, then chicken and turn to coat. Cover; chill at least 3 hours or up to 1 day, turning chicken occasionally.

Place racks on 2 large rimmed baking sheets. Whisk breadcrumbs, cheese, flour, thyme, paprika, cayenne and 1 teaspoon salt in large baking dish to blend. Remove chicken from marinade, allowing excess to drip off. Add chicken to breadcrumb mixture and turn to coat completely. Arrange chicken, skin side up, on racks on baking sheets. Let stand 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425°F. Drizzle butter over chicken. Bake until crisp, golden and cooked through, about 50 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Sauteed Chicken with Garlic and Rosemary

I love

I love a lot of things, I love a whole lot of things

After reading through some of my blog posts, I noticed how many things I say that I love. The problem is, it's true. Which made me think of a poet that I LOVE, Eloise Greenfield. My copy of her book of children's poetry, Honey I Love is yellowed and dog eared. I've read the poems in this book to more children than I can count. I'm sure I love them more than any of the kids. 



I love a lot of things
Like
My herb garden - what is better than walking out the door and snipping fresh, fragrant herbs. Almost every time I do I bring them in and stick them under Puppy Daddy's nose. He is always amazed at the scent. Even better is how they taste. This recipe uses fresh rosemary. Sure you could use dried. It is cheaper and lasts for a while in your pantry, but doesn't hold a candle to fresh. I don't know how easy it is to grow in other climates, but in Florida it grows like a weed and there is no reason not to grow your own!

I love a whole lot of things
Like
Cookbooks - I got two for Christmas. This recipe is from a huge volume, The Bon Appetit Fast, Easy, Fresh Cookbook. I love Bon Appetit, too! I've looked at every single one of the 1,100 recipes.

And honey I love this, too.
Sauteed Chicken with Garlic and Rosemary is the first one I've tried and it did not disappoint. It was very easy and very tasty. I used thighs because I think they are much tastier, but you can use your favorite pieces.  The original recipe does not call for cream, but when I was making the sauce, it just seemed to ask for it. The cream softens and pulls together the flavors.
 
I hope you'll try this recipe and follow Honey I Love link to read the poem!

Ingredients
2 lb. chicken pieces, with skin and bones
2 tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves garlic
2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary or 1 tsp. dried rosemary, crumbled
1 c. chicken broth
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/2 cup heavy cream
Fresh rosemary sprigs; optional

Directions

Season pieces with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large skillet on high. Add chicken. Saute until brown, about 5 minutes a side. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and fry until chicken is cooked through, 15 minutes. Put chicken in a bowl. Keep 2 tablespoons drippings from skillet. Add garlic and rosemary to skillet. Cook and stir until fragrant, 1 minute. Add broth, vinegar and cream. Increase heat and boil until sauce is reduced to 1/2 cup, scraping up brown bits, 8 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Put chicken juices in skillet. Cover. Cook over low heat until chicken is heated, 10 minutes. Spoon sauce over the chicken on a platter. Garnish with rosemary. 4 servings.