Oven-Fried Chicken

I have been wanting to make oven fried chicken for the last three months. Why? I have no idea… it just sounded delicious, and seemed like something that would be fairly easy to whip together… and yet, I’d been putting it off and putting it off. So today, I had a few hours of free time in the afternoon, quickly brainstormed a menu, went to the store, and put something together.

The recipe I decided on was not a traditional fried chicken recipe, but it was amazingly delicious. Coconut-oven fried chicken. Marinated in coconut milk, lime juice and a bit of Siracha sauce, then rolled in coconut flakes & panko, these little chicken thighs were succulent and tasty. The rich dark meat was incredibly moist, and the coconut flavor was subtle. Easy, delicious, exactly what I needed for my first attempt at cooking meat in a good long while.

My fall back side dish is usually coconut rice with cilantro, but I was a little worried about over-doing the coconut aspect, so instead I cooked the rice with miso paste. The result was everything I was hoping for. Interesting flavor, good seasoning, and the perfect pair with the with the chicken and salad/relish.

I couldn’t find a recipe that I liked for Papaya salad, so I ended up morphing about three recipes and doing some improvising and substitutions. I sliced papaya, avocado, and jicama, and then added some peanuts for texture, and cilantro for color. Topped with a lot of lime juice, and an additional dressing made of rice vinegar, honey, siracha, smoked salt, and more lime juice, this tangy salad married beautifully with the miso rice.

Ok, I know its not incredibly exciting for me to just write about my dinner…I was inspired by it, but now, hours after consumption I am getting ready for bed, thinking about the next few early mornings, and making an attempt to not be married to my job. I'm multi-tasking, which is never good when writing, but in case you didn't know this, Bridal clients are incredibly needy. Honestly, how many different ways can I tell the same client that Liability Insurance is required, and no it cannot be purchased through us... (Literally, we've had six e-mails going back and forth about this... what kills me is that she acts like I'm just being difficult, and like if she begs me long enough I'm going to change my mind/ the situation... I'm not being difficult, you just need your own insurance! It actually cannot be purchased through us, and in the time that we have written these six e-mails, she could have been insured like twelve times...) Sorry, I'm digressing quickly. Anyway, the writing isn't as magical as it could be, but hopefully you'll trust me and try the chicken. In the meantime, I might not be writing anything of quality, but at least I'm keeping my resolution of blogging more regularly... and cooking more at home.  Anyway, try the chicken, and I highly recommend experimenting with papaya (in a strictly culinary sort of way).