Buttermilk! Fried! Chicken!

I love fried chicken. I do not love the gargantuan mess I make when preparing it. There's flour & grease everywhere! But I can't go to a picnic and not take it, just can't do it. The recipe is very simple.

I marinate the chicken parts in buttermilk seasoned with salt, fresh cracked pepper and a bit of cayenne for about an hour. After that, it's dredged in flour seasoned with salt, fresh cracked pepper and, yep, a bit of cayenne. Some people use Old Bay or other seasonings in their dredging flour... I say go for it. My mother dips her chicken in an egg mixture before the chicken, which is also quite tasty. I only fry chicken in a cast iron skillet, it's the only way to go. About 4 or 5 minutes on each side... then I stick it in my oven at 350 for a bit, til I'm sure it's completely done. Nothing ruins a picnic like salmonella.

This little fella didn't make it to the picnic:

(one for the chef!)

We spread out on a blanket near the shore of the mighty Hudson. It was truly a gorgeous day. The river, the wine, the friends and the food... all delightful.

Chicken good!

Lil Finn and Duncan stayed home today, but we did have one doggy friend... below is Zeke! Oh, we ate a lot more than just chicken today, some really great stuff that I'm going to tell you about a little later...