Chicken!

Friday Derrick and I went to see Employee of the Month. Yes, again. I think I laughed harder the second time. Derrick was half-asleep while he was waching it (surprise, surprise) so he didn't full enjoy it. Bum.

Yesterday we did a fat load of nothing most of the day. Slept in, ate breakfast. That proved to be too exhausting for Derrick so he took a 2 hour nap. After he woke up we went to the gym. I'm working my way back up after my slacker vacation. There's talk of perhaps traveling to Columbus to see our friends in April and run the same half marathon they're running. We'll see. You'd think I'd be ready by then right???

My friend Linda recommended a fried chicken recipe to me so I made it today for dinner. It's courtesy of Tyler Florence's show "Tyler's Ultimate". I just started watching his show, and it's pretty great. I don't know what it is about these Food Network hosts, but I loooove them. So adorable. Alton, now Tyler. Must just be something about men that cook. Anyway, the chicken was fabu. Here's the recipe in case you're jonesing for some great finger-licking-good grub.


1 (3 to 4 pound) chicken, cut up into 10 pieces
Kosher salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
2 teaspoons cayenne
Freshly ground black pepper
1 quart buttermilk
2 tablespoons hot chili sauce (recommended: Srirachi)
Peanut oil, for frying
1/4 bunch fresh thyme
3 big sprigs fresh rosemary
1/4 bunch fresh sage
1/2 head garlic, smashed, husk still attached
Lemon wedges, for serving

Put the chicken pieces into a large bowl. Cover the chicken with water by 1 inch; add 1 tablespoon of salt for each quart of water used. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
In a large shallow platter, mix the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and cayenne until well blended; season generously with salt and pepper. In another platter combine the buttermilk and hot sauce with a fork and season with salt and pepper.

Drain the chicken and pat it dry. Dredge the pieces, a few at a time, in the flour mixture,
then dip them into the buttermilk; dredge them again in the seasoned flour. Set aside and let the chicken rest while you prepare the oil.

Put about 3 inches of oil into a large deep pot; it should not come up more than half way. Add the thyme, rosemary, sage, and garlic to the cool oil and heat over medium-high heat until the oil registers 350 to 365 degrees F on one of those clip-on deep-fry thermometers. The herbs and garlic will perfume the oil with their flavor as the oil comes up to temperature.

Once the oil has reached 350 to 365 degrees F, working in batches, carefully add the chicken pieces 3 or 4 at a time. Fry, turning the pieces once, until golden brown and cooked through, about 12 minutes. Total cooking time should be about 30 minutes. When the chicken is done, take a big skimmer and remove the chicken pieces and herbs from the pot, shaking off as much oil as you can, and lay it on a tea towel or brown paper bag to soak up the oil. Sprinkle all over with more salt and a dusting of cracked black pepper. Repeat with the remaining chicken pieces. Once all the chicken is fried, scatter the fried herbs and garlic over the top. Serve hot, with big lemon wedges.


I didn't break down and buy the peanut oil, so I just used veggie oil and it was fine. Also, I don't really think you need to use a whole quart of milk. Half would have been fine. Then I could have used the other half to make my yummy chicken pasta salad. Lesson learned.

I have work off tomorrow for MLK day. Or Civil Rights Day. Whatever you want to call it. To-may-to, to-mah-to. We're supposed to be getting 5" of snow tonite. I think we're up to 1 or 2 as of right now. Everything is all white and snowy and peaceful, but will soon turn into ugly gray slush and general crappiness. Hooray for winter.