KUFC?

We blinked an eye and poof!  we were suddenly living in 2011.  We choose between tempurpedic mattresses or old fashioned coil beds, a remote control gets used for everything imaginable, a smart phone doesn't mean having a dial that lights up in the dark...it truly is smart, and in our modern kitchens...well, I always think that if a pioneer woman from over a century ago was suddenly alive and standing in some of our kitchens...she would think we were from outer space and die all over again.  We would have so many ways to freak her out...we could make her a loaf of bread in our bread machines or make her something in our microwave ovens or make her some carrot juice in our juice extractors. I would seriously want to be there just to see her facial expression. 

We really do have a whole range of new choices now in how we prepare our foods.  There are some things from long ago I grasp wholeheartedly.  A few years ago, an old woman gave me a very old spice grinder that clamps to your counter.  Turning the crank is a whole sense heightening experience as the spice scents from cumin seeds or cinnamon sticks waft through the air.  I know how much quicker it is to use a coffee grinder to do these tasks, but every now and then, for some reason I want to do it the old fashioned way.  Maybe it makes me appreciate the era that I cook in more.  I will never have to use a wood stove unless I want to.

I tend to lean toward new-fangled ways of preparation, especially if it is healthier.  Lard has been banished from my kitchen.  I am contemplating using Blue Agave Nectar as a sweetener instead of sugar and anything with any MSG doesn't live in my kitchen...so many choices we have.

Last summer, I was at a garage sale at a house around the corner.  I noticed a stack of cookbooks.  I really scored that day...well my cookbook fetish was fed anyhow.  One of the cookbooks was relatively new, from 1994.  It is called In the kitchen with Rosie, Oprah's favorite recipes. It is by Rosie Daley.  It is a book filled with health conscious recipes.  Right away one stood out for me called Un-fried Chicken.  I was skeptical but after reading Oprah's blip about this recipe I decided to try it.  Since finding this cookbook, I have made the recipe several times.  I miss fried chicken and this is the closest I have come to a good old KFC fix that gets baked in the oven.  You get the crispy coating and the juicy tasty chicken inside without all the bad fats from frying.  If you take a piece of leftover chicken out of the fridge the next day...it's just like eating a piece of cold fried chicken...you can't beat that! *The only modification I have made to this recipe is that I leave the skin on.  I am assuming that when you make this without the skin, it will turn out as good.  I just like chicken skin...I figure that deep frying has been eliminated so eating the skin unfried can't be as bad as if it were...hmmm good old rationalizing.

Unfried Chicken

Non stick cooking spray
6 chicken drumsticks, skin removed
3 whole chicken breasts, halved and skin removed
3 1/2 cups ice water
1 cup plain nonfat yogurt

For the Breading
1 cup dried italian bread crumbs
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp Old Bay seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup creole seasoning
1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper
dash cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Coat a baking sheet with 4 sprays of the cooking spray
Put the chicken in a large bowl in the iced water. (I add ice to make extra cold)
Put the yogurt in another bowl
Toss all the breading ingredients together in a large Ziploc bag
till thoroughly mixed
Two pieces at a time, coat in the yogurt and then transfer to the bag of breading
Close and shake well.  Place the chicken onto the baking sheet
Repeat the process till all the chicken is coated 
Lightly spray the chicken with the cooking spray
Place the baking sheet on the bottom shelf of the oven and bake for 1 hour, turning the chicken every 20 minutes 
You can serve hot or at room temperature

I altered the amount of chicken I use.  The most economical way to go is to purchase whole chicken legs (they are always extra cheap)
I use my kitchen shears to separate the thigh from the drumstick and use these in the recipe.  Again, I chose to leave the skin on.
If you miss KFC, you will love this KUFC recipe.

bock bock!

robert