The Way to a Man's Heart

I found out that the way to a man's heart is as Joe would say.....Fried Chicken, Mashed "Tatos", Gravy, Corn, and Olives. That is what was on the menu for the first meal that I fixed for Joe. I was nervous, having never cooked for him, and really didn't think much about the menu. It was the easiest thing that I could think of that always turned out for me. We had the same meal yesterday, when our neighbor came for dinner. His wife was out of town and Joe invited him to eat with us. I made extras so we could have some today.....and I wouldn't have to cook :) I always try to have an easy meal or leftovers on the day we go to Mass. Sometimes we have a pizza when we get home.Here is my recipe for fried chicken....

• 1 (3 1/2 pound) chicken, cut into10 pieces I added three chicken breasts.(Joe always cuts the breasts in half so they aren't so large and the pieces are uniform in size)
• 2 cups buttermilk
• Garlic Salt
• Canola oil for frying
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
• Freshly ground pepper lots of pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions

Toss the chicken, Buttermilk and 1 teaspoon salt in a bowl or plastic bag. Refrigerate, 1 hour or more.Mix the flour, sweet paprika, pepper and the garlic salt in a shallow bowl. Remove the chicken from the buttermilk, shake off the excess and roll in the flour mixture. Let these pieces sit on a cookie sheet until they dry out a bit. Maybe 1 hour.They will get a little sticky from sitting. Recoat with flour, place in the hot oil and fry, turning occasionally, until golden brown and partially cooked . Then put on cookie sheet and place in a 400 degree oven for maybe 15 min. this will guarantee a crispy crusty chicken.

This might be a nice dinner for two on Valentine's Day. I won't be cooking, however, we will be going out for a nice dinner.

Balisha