Oven Baked Fried Chicken...that's the ticket

Gene and I are still up to our sinuses in the respiratory infection so we're still big babies about food.  We're not eating much during the day because we can't smell which equals not being able to taste which equals not being really hungry until our stomachs rumble loudly at dinner time. And then what do we want? Comfort food, of course.  Last night was oven baked fried chicken and mashed potatoes. 

There is no real recipe for this but I do make it a little differently, I think, than most people. It is a lighter version of fried chicken than being completely immersed, deep fried, but the object in mine isn't really so much to strip all the calories as it is to make it as tender and juicy and easy on me as possible. 

Last night, I used thighs and I didn't skin them.  They're dipped in salted flour and then milk and then a half flour/half bread crumb mix that's seasoned with salt, pepper, and cayenne.  Then they're browned in just a couple of tablespoons of expeller pressed canola oil on the stove top before being baked in the oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  The outside retains the crispy while the inside is tender and juicy.  This is Gene's favorite meal in the whole world.

Just in case you were wondering. Yes, I made him cream gravy with the skillet drippings to go with the mashed potatoes. Not brown gravy as we laughingly fight over with our friend from Boston. Brown gravy is for roast beef.  Cream gravy is for fried chicken and mashed potatoes. She'd never heard of making gravy with cream (or milk) until she moved to St. Louis.  In truth I used fat free half and half, not real cream but you know what I mean. It works and tastes the same.

Comments

[Kyleen]

I want to come have dinner at YOUR house! Why oh why can't we be neighbors?

[Jeff]

I made chicken thighs (deboned by moi) last night too!

[tinakala]

Yum. I love fried chicken but because of certain dietary reasons I`m using only the fillets. No skin allowed. So to retain the crispyness I first vigorously fry in in generous amount of oil (the outside becomes crisp but inside is still raw), then put it in the oven (not microwave) for 20 minutes (even 120 degrees will do) without greasing the pan and voila - it retains its crispiness and all the visible fat is left on the pan.

[Rachel]

I love that fat free half and half. It really tastes pretty much the same, and of course still has calories, but NO FAT! Its great!

You know I roomed with a girl once from Pennsylvania who had never heard of biscuits and gravy. The whole white gravy thing was foreign to her too. What is this world coming to!?

[Pamela]

That looks really sublime!!

[Glenna]

Kyleen--Anytime you're passing thru--just yell! I'll even give you the Brad Pitt tour. :-)

Jeff--Great minds think alike!

Tinkala--Great idea--kind of same song, second verse.

Rachel--I agree. You can't tell the difference so it's the perfect sub! And yes, it's one of those north/south things that makes me laugh when you have friends who say "Huh?" I had Canadian roomates in college so we played that game all the time. It was fun. "Okra? What's okra?"

Pamela--Thank you!

[Cyndi]

I was told by someone (of course I don't remember who) that fat-free half and half didn't thicken for gravy. So I don't buy it. But you make gravy with it - does it thicken like regular? Think of the calories I'd save! We had chicken/mashed potatoes/cream gravy tonight. And I make biscuits and gravy at least once a week.

[sherry]

Oh man!!!!! I'm drooling here. The chicken, mashed potatoes--and gravy??? I'm a goner. I'm sure that cured you.

[Glenna]

Cyndi--I'd never heard that. Maybe that's why it turned out for me! I had no problems at all so I don't know what they're talking about. I just used it like I would have used cream or milk and it was fine...shrug?

Sher--I'm sure it was! LOL!