Okay, before I get the recipes rolling, I have to share something.  Son Well Done, my three year old, was playing restaurant tonight (it’s a new phase since he’s started watching Ratatouille).  All of the sudden he picks up a plastic “knife” and announces “I am cutting onions, everyone close your eyes.”  He then waits to begin chopping pretend onions until Mrs. Well Done and I have closed our eyes.  It was fantastic.

Now to the food…  Today marks the fifteenth post of unResolution month, the oh-so-delicious journey through the ranks of the rich, the cheesey, the fried, and the (sometimes) amazingly vegan.  How are we to celebrate?  How about with a dish inspired by Beth who said her favorite bad for her comfort food was …

Fried Chicken

Truth be told, I am not the world’s greatest fryer of chicken.  At least part of that comes from being vegan and being generally unpracticed at it, but some of it comes from being disinterested in making it at home.  As much as I hate to admit, the Colonel does a much better job of making fried chicken than anyone in my family ever could and we have some EXCELLENT fried chicken places in Kansas City.

On the other hand, it’s kind of sad to say that one cannot make fried chicken, so right before I went vegan I really studied the art of good fried chicken making.  From this exhaustive time in the kitchen, I basically developed two ways of frying chicken: the hard way (with a big batter crust, sort of like the Colonel’s) and the easy way.
This is the easy way.

Easy Fried Chicken

You will need:

• 8 pieces of chicken or 20 chicken wings
• 2 cups buttermilk or whole milk
• 1 cup flour
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon salt + extra salt for sprinkling on the chicken
• 1 tablespoon smoky paprika
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• Oil for frying

Put the chicken pieces or wings and the buttermilk in a bowl.  Let the chicken soak for 10-15 minutes.

Once the chicken has soaked, remove from the buttermilk and pat the chicken dry.  Put the flour and the spices in a bag.  Shake to coat completely.  Let it sit another five minutes.

Heat the oil to 350 degrees or medium high heat on the stove.

Cook the chicken in small batches so that they do not crowd each other for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown and cooked all the way through.  Sprinkle with salt and let drain on a cooling rack or on paper towels.

At that point, it’s time to dig in and enjoy!

Thanks to avlxyz for the picture.