Summertime Fried Chicken Day

Why did the chicken cross the road? To get away from the kitchen, of course. After all, today is National Fried Chicken Day. So with the exception of vegetarians and chicken pet lovers, the rest of us are cooking up some wonderful pieces of chicken.

What is it about fried chicken that we love so much? For me, it has everything to do with childhood memories. I can remember Dad frying up chicken. Back then, we didn’t have an AC unit to cool the house. But we did have some big shade trees and a cooling Delta Breeze. Often in the summer, meals were served picnic style. Dad made the best fried chicken. While I can fry up a chicken with the rest of them, I prefer Oven Fried Chicken. Less oil, more flavor.

Summertime also means corn season. Acres and acers of corn. Take a Sunday Summer drive in any direction along the rich valleys of Sacramento and San Juaquin and you’ll see corn. These days most of the corn ends up trucked somewhere to be canned or creamed or frozen for later. When I was a girl, there were roadside stands that sold the local corn to the local people. Twelve ears for a dollar. And the locals knew which stands had the sweetest corn.

This menu celebrates both the National Fried Chicken Day and the sweetness of summertime corn. Enjoy!

Summertime Fried Chicken Supper
Southern Cornmeal Oven-Fried Chicken
Sweet Cornbread with Honey Butter
Milky Sweet Corn on the Cob

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Southern Cornmeal Oven-Fried Chicken
3-1/2 lb Fryer Chicken
1/2 cup dry Breadcrumbs
1/2 cup Cornmeal
4 teaspoons dried Parsley Flakes
3/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
1/2 cup Buttermilk
2 tablespoon Butter, melted

Heat oven to 375-degrees. Line two rimmed baking sheets with foil. Insert baking racks in each pan, spray heavily with cooking spray, set aside.

Remove backbone from fryer chicken. Cut breast in half to create two large sections of chicken. Cut leg-thigh from wing-breast. Separate leg from thigh at the joint. Remove skin, set dark meat aside. Snip wings from breast. Cut breasts in half for more uniform size. Remove skin from white meat, set aside.

In a large shallow dish, combine breadcrumbs, cornmeal, parsley, garlic powder, salt, onion powdery, cayenne and black pepper. Place the buttermilk in another shallow bowl. Dip chicken in buttermilk, then dip in bread crumb mixture, a few pieces at a time, and turn to coat.

Arrange coated chicken pieces on the racks in the prepared pans. Let rest for 10 minutes for coating to adhere to the chicken pieces.

Spray chicken with cooking spray. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes;

Melt butter. Remove chicken from oven, carefully turn, drizzle with butter. Bake until juices run clear, another 30 minutes longer.

Sweet Cornbread with Honey Butter
Cornbread
1 Cup Bisquick Mix
1 Cup Yellow Cornmeal
3 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1/4 cup Butter, melted
2 Eggs
1 cup Milk
1/3 cup Honey

Heat oven to 400-degrees. Spray an 8-inch square baking pan well with cooking spray, set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together the Bisquick mix, cornmeal and baking powder. Set aside.

Melt the butter, let cool to room temperature.

In a small bowl, beat the eggs until blended. Measure milk in a 2-cup glass measuring cup. Pop milk into the microwave to warm, about a minute or so, then stir in honey and butter. Add eggs, pour mixture into dry ingredients and mix until just moistened. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cut into squares and serve warm with honey butter.

Honey Butter
1 cup Butter, soft
1/4 cup Honey

Mix together butter and honey until smooth and well blended. Taste and adjust honey to personal preferences.

Mound in a small crock. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator. Allow butter to come to room temperature before serving.

Milky Sweet Corn on the Cob
4 Ears of Corn
Water as needed
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons Sugar
1/2 cup Butter, divided
Salt for serving

Shuck corn. Trim ends and tips as desired for an attractive presentation.

Fill a large stock pot half full with water (use a large enough pot to hold all the corn).

Add in the milk, sugar and 4 tablespoons of butter. Bring to a boil, then add in the corn cobs. Reduce heat to a simmer and allow corn to cook for 10 minutes or until just tender, depending on size of corn.

Using long tongs remove corn from the pot. Arrange corn on a plate or large serving bowl, Quickly roll with remaining butter. Serve with salt to season as desired.