Blood Orange & Thyme Roasted Chicken with Pan Sauce and Roasted Blood Oranges

This recipe comes with great urgency because 1) blood oranges are back in season 2) the world doesn't have enough roast chicken recipes, but perhaps more likely 3) you might be hungry right now or considering dinner plans. Here we have a dry brined roasted chicken, the resulting pan sauce, and a sidekick of roasted blood oranges. Serve with wild rice, farrow, or salad greens. 

I'm all about brining chicken these days and this dry brine recipe using salt, garlic, blood orange zest, thyme and black pepper is too enthralling not to share. You can begin brining the chicken up to 3 days before roasting, but even a few hours will do wonders for crisping up the skin, packing flavor into the bird and sealing in the juices. 

A roasted chicken inevitably means delicious browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Deglaze them into a quick white wine and shallot pan sauce to serve with the chicken. Be sure to slice up a few extra blood oranges for roasting as well. Give them a sprinkle of salt and drizzle of olive oil, roast, then garnish with fresh thyme to accompany the chicken and pan sauce. 

Blood Orange & Thyme Roast Chicken
Serves 4
4-5 pound whole chicken
3 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoon blood orange zest (reserve the blood orange for roasting) 
2 tablespoons thyme leaves
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 blood orange, quartered (use the one reserved from zesting) 

Stir together in a small bowl salt, black pepper, blood orange zest, thyme leaves, and chopped garlic. Spread the mixture onto a cutting board and use a knife to chop and further blend the brine together until it takes on a sand-like texture. Alternatively, pulse the ingredients together in a food processor. 

Rinse the chicken, remove any innards and pat dry. Season the chicken liberally with the brine. Place the chicken in a shallow roasting pan, cover loosely with plastic wrap and let brine in the refrigerator for at least an hour, but up to 3 days. 

When ready to roast the chicken, preheat the oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit and remove the chicken from the refrigerator. Transfer the chicken to an oven proof skillet or shallow roasting pan just larger than the chicken. Stuff the cavity of the chicken with the unsalted butter and quarters of blood orange.  

Roast the chicken until a thermometer inserted into the inner thigh reads 175 degrees, about 1 hour. Remove the chicken and set on a cutting board to rest before carving. Carefully remove the blood oranges from the chicken to use in the pan sauce. While the chicken is resting, make the roasted blood oranges w/ thyme and the pan sauce. 

Roasted Blood Oranges w/ Thyme
Serves 4
2 blood oranges, quartered
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 sprigs of thyme

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place quartered blood oranges on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Give them a sprinkle or sea salt and drizzle of oil oil. Roast for 15 minutes. Serve hot, garnished with thyme. 

White Wine, Shallot & Thyme Pan Sauce
Makes about 1/2 cup
pan drippings from roast chicken
1/4 cup chopped shallots
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
blood orange juice (about 1 ounce to 1 1/2 ounces; use blood oranges from roast chicken)
1 tablespoon thyme leaves

Once you've roasted the chicken, transferred it to a separate dish and are left with the delicious browned bits in the skillet or pan, pour out the clear fat except about 2 tablespoons, making sure to leave the drippings in the skillet. Bring to medium heat on the stovetop, add shallots and saute, stirring often, about 3-4 minutes or until translucent. Deglaze with the white wine, using a wooden spoon to scrape up browned bits stuck to the skillet. Stir in the chicken stock, blood orange juice and thyme. Cook and stir frequently until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Season as needed.  

Apple Cider Ginger Braised Pork Shoulder Tacos with Apple Cabbage Slaw

This fall I discovered boiled apple cider and I cannot believe I lived this long without it. Boiled apple cider is fresh cider boiled down into a naturally sweet, viscous syrup. The magic is reduction. Ever since my first batch of boiled cider I have been obsessively stirring it into drinks and cocktails alike and spreading it onto every baked good I can find. Now I'm taking it to savory dishes like these braised pork tacos. Boiled apple cider takes around 5 hours to reduce, but requires so little attention, just a few stirs with a wooden spoon from time to time. Similarly, low-and-slow braised pork shoulder requires very little attention, but needs at least 8-10 hours on low heat to melt into juicy, shredded perfection. The recipe calls for braising the pork shoulder with a myriad of spices and half of the apple cider, while the remaining half of cider is boiled down into a syrup. Put the pork shoulder in the oven to braise 8-10 hours before meal time, set the cider on the stove to reduce down, and turn to any activity in the house you like until just before serving time, then throw together a quick slaw of tart granny smith apples, watercress, red cabbage, and carrot to serve with the tacos. For a crowd, use a larger pork shoulder and increase the cooking time as needed. Either way, these make incredible leftovers.

Apple Cider Ginger Braised Pork Shoulder Tacos
Serves 6-8
5-8 pound bone-in pork shoulder
8 garlic cloves, peeled
2 thumb-sized pieces of fresh ginger, each about 2 inches long and at least an inch wide, peeled
2 tablespoons cumin seeds, toasted
1 1/2teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper, to season
1 gallon fresh apple cider, preservative-free
1 lemon
2 large shallots, quartered
2 avocados, for serving
12-16 white corn tortillas, for serving

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees fahrenheit. Place the pork shoulder skin side up on a cutting board and use a sharp knife to score the fat and skin, but not the meat beneath, cutting parallel lines about 1/2 inch apart; rotate the cutting board 90 degrees then repeat scoring parallel lines until a diamond pattern has formed across the entire pork skin.

Using a larger mortar and pestle or a food processor, grind together the peeled garlic cloves with the fresh ginger, toasted cumin seeds, salt, and smoked paprika. A mortar and pestle works best to smash everything into a paste, but a food processor can get the job done. Whisk the paste together with the olive oil.

Season the underside of the pork with a pinch of salt and pepper, then place it skin-side up in a large baking dish. Make sure that the baking dish is large enough to hold the pork, half a gallon of apple cider, with extra room to spare (this will keep juices from overflowing onto the oven floor and give you plenty of room for basting). Rub the garlic-ginger-spice paste into the scored crevasses of the pork skin. Place in the oven and cook for 30 minutes at 425 degrees fahrenheit. Remove from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 275 degrees.

Use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin of the peel from the lemon, careful to only get the skin and not the white pith. Cut the lemon peel into 3-inch pieces if you got the entire peel in one swoop (also, props to you if you did; I have yet to accomplish one piece). Add the lemon peel to the pan along with the quartered shallots. Pour half a gallon of apple cider over pork and put back in the oven.

Bake for 8 or more hours, basting with the pan juices ever hour or so. The pork shoulder is done when the mean is falling off the bone and the skin is ultra crispy. Let cool before shredding.

Meanwhile, boil the remaining half gallon of apple cider. Bring the cider to a boil over high heat in a large stockpot. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for about 5 hours. The cider will reduce from ½ gallon to one cup and take on the consistency of maple syrup.

Drain the pork pan juices, reserving 2 cups. Loosely shred the pork and set it aside in a large serving bowl. Combine the cup of boiled apple cider with two cups of pan juices in a small saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer and cook for 10 minutes. While the boiled cider and pan juices simmer together, prepare the slaw.

Pour the boiled apple cider and pan juices from the saucepan onto the shredded pork. Warm the corn tortillas in a frying pan and let dinner goers fill them with the boiled apple cider shredded pork, apple cabbage slaw, and avocado slices.

Apple Cabbage Slaw
Makes about 3 cups 
1 cup cabbage, chopped
1 cup watercress, loosely packed, stems removed and chopped
1/2 cup chopped carrot, julienned into matchsticks
1 jalapeno, finely diced
1 cup chopped granny smith apple, seeds and stem removed, julienned into matchsticks

Combine 1 tablespoon lemon juice from the peeled lemon with the chopped cabbage, watercress, carrot, jalapeno, and granny smith apple.

Stewed Green Beans with Crispy Pork Belly and Caramelized Shallots

Before we get to far into this, the truth is there's only half of the recipe pictured because, well, I was starving and ate the other half before these shots were taken.

I really enjoy stewed green beans, but growing up I was always taken aback by the soggy bacon pieces floating in the juices. This recipe gets around that by crisping up sliced pork belly (or bacon), slowly caramelizing shallots, then setting those aside until serving time. The green beans still benefit from the cooking fat and caramelized bits left in the saucepan and the pork belly is perfectly crisp. I like to add a piece of lemon peel to the stewing liquid and finish the dish with fresh basil or parsley and lemon wedges. 

Stewed Green Beans with Crispy Pork Belly and Caramelized Shallots 
Serves 4-6
1/2 pound sliced pork belly (or bacon)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large shallot or small sweet onion, thinly sliced, about a quarter cup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 thumb sized piece of lemon peel
1 pound fresh green beans, ends removed
1/4 cup basil or parsley, chopped
lemon wedges, for serving

Dice up the sliced pork belly into half inch pieces. Drizzle the olive oil into medium-sized saucepan and set the heat to medium. Add the pork and cook until the fat renders and the edges start to crisp up, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Lower heat to the lowest setting, add in sliced shallots, and slowly caramelize, about 20 minutes. Remove the pork belly and shallots from the saucepan, but leave the cooking fat. In a small bowl toss together the crispy pork belly and caramelized shallots with a tablespoon of red wine vinegar, cover and set aside.

Return to the saucepan and add green beans, 4 cups of water, whole black peppercorns, a large piece of lemon peel, and a generous dash of salt. Bring to a boil, lower heat to medium and cook until tender, about an hour. Add water as needed to ensure the green beans lightly simmer fully in the liquid throughout the cooking time. Strain out the liquid and plate the green beans. Top them with crispy pork bely and caramelized shallots and chopped fresh basil or parsley. Serve with a lemon wedge. 

Farmhouse Ale Braised Pork Shoulder & Next Day's Shredded Pork Bánh Mì Sandwiches

This is a weekend project or an endeavor for a day off work. It's a two day process, but the results are worth the wait. 

I fell in love with a low-and-slow pork shoulder recipe with a cook time of 18 hours. Yes, it is an agonizingly long time to wait, but the end result is wildly crispy skin with tender, flavorful falling-apart meat. And honestly, the wait just feels tortuous because the smell perfumes the air the entire time, seductive as it is, and only robust willpower will keep you from snacking on the pork every time you open the oven to baste it. 

Pork shoulder leftovers are a beautiful open road for tacos, sandwiches, salads and beyond. I adapted the original recipe with leftovers in mind, all of the above, but especially Bánh Mì sandwiches. Beer, garlic, and maple sweetness are prominent players in the braising, along with the addition of honey, scallions, soy sauce, and sliced lemon for brightness. The beer I used is a lovely farmhouse ale called Spring Batch from my hometown brewer, Mother's Brewing Company. It balances soft floral and fruit flavors, namely lemon citrus, perfectly suited for braising pork. Naturally, I got a six pack so the beer could be enjoyed on its own, too, while I waited for the pork to cook and during dinner. I'm thrilled with how the pork turned out and I absolutely love the way it works as a Bánh Mì sandwich. Dare I say that I love the leftovers more than the original meal. Enjoy! -Mallory

Farmhouse Ale Braised Pork Shoulder
8 pound pork shoulder, bone in and skin on
10 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 cup grapeseed oil
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup honey
6 scallions, whites and greens thinly sliced
1 lemon, sliced
2 12-ounce bottles Spring Batch, or another Farmhouse Ale or Saison

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Allow the meat to come to room temperature then use a knife to score the fat and skin side in a checkerboard like pattern. Grind garlic and salt together into a paste using a mortar. Add soy sauce and stream in grapeseed oil. Stir in cayenne and black pepper. Rub the 1/2 paste over the meat, then place it skin side down in a large roasting pan. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the remaining paste with maple syrup and honey. 

Reduce oven heat to 225 degrees Fahrenheit. Flip the shoulder over in the roasting pan, using a clean towel or a very sturdy tongs. Add the remaining paste onto the meat along with scallions and lemon slices. Pour 1/3 of the beer onto the pork and return to the oven to bake for 18 hours, adding the remaining beer in two intervals and basting every few hours. You can slide the pork into the oven before bed and have it ready to serve for dinner the next day. Good luck with sleeping though, the smell will wake you up and have you grateful you're not dreaming.  

Bánh Mì Sandwiches
Serves 4
1 lime, juiced
1 tablespoon sugar
2 carrots, peeled and julienned
5 radishes, julienned
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Sriracha chile sauce
1 baguette, cut into 4 pieces (about 6-inch lengths)
1 large or 2 small cucumbers, sliced
1 pound of leftover pork shoulder, shredded
3 jalapenos, thinly sliced
1 cup cilantro, loosely packed

Whisk together lime juice and sugar. Combine with carrots and radishes in a small bowl and set aside. Whisk together mayonnaise and Sriracha then spread onto piece baguette length. Add sliced cucumbers, pork shoulder, carrots and radishes. Top with jalapeno slices and cilantro and serve. 

Fish Tacos with Quick Pickled Rhubarb and Strawberry Salsa

Hey there! Evidently, based on recent recipes, I have fish and strawberries on the brain as of late, so please indulge me while I share a recipe that brings the two together. It's all in the spirit of rhubarb season, which is finally here. Somehow I've turned into the lady who has been anxiously calling the local grocery stores to find out if rhubarb has arrived yet--a peculiarity as rhubarb is rather new for me. It wasn't something that we ate when I was growing up. Any time I caught ear of rhubarb pie, I had a hard time imagining that a stalk could be sweet and delicious as rumored (it's true though, and now I understand the cultic intrigue of rhubarb as the focus of a pie, or any other dish for that matter). 

Courtesy of Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg's The Flavor Bible, here is a quick, although non-comprehensive list, of delicious rhubarb pairings: strawberries, cream, creme fraiche, blue cheese, caramel, citrus, pork, and fish. I see citrus and my mind instantly goes to rhubarb-focused cocktails, but I'm also really interested in rhubarb as an ingredient in savory dishes because of its tart and tangy flavor and crisp crunch. So, here we are with quick pickled rhubarb as a slaw for mahi mahi fish tacos with a sweet and spicy strawberry salsa to tie it all together. If I didn't think the combination of tastes and textures here were worth sharing, I'd have tucked this recipe into the "glad I tried, but better luck next time" category and moved on. It is, however, crazy delicious, and I'm really glad to share it with you. -Mallory

Fish Tacos with Quick Pickled Rhubarb and Strawberry Salsa
Serves 4
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
1 lime, juiced
1/4 cup olive oil
4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 pound mahi mahi fish filets, thawed
1 tablespoon olive oil
8-10 corn tortillas
sour cream, for serving
pickled rhubarb*
strawberry salsa**

Whisk together honey, ginger, lime juice, olive oil, garlic, cumin, chili powder, and cinnamon. Cover the fish with the marinade and refrigerate for 15 minutes. 

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and let it heat up. Add the mahi mahi filets and top each with a tablespoon of the marinade, getting as much garlic in there as you can. Let the fish cook for 3 minutes, until it becomes browned and caramelized, flip it and cook an additional 2-3 minutes until cooked through. Remove from heat and let cool slightly before serving. 

Wipe down the skillet and warm up the corn tortillas for serving. Garnish each taco with a smear of sour cream, mahi mahi, pickled rhubarb, and strawberry salsa. 

*Quick Pickled Rhubarb
2 stalks rhubarb, leaves removed
2 thumb-size pieces of lemon peel
2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorn

Cut rhubarb into matchstick pieces. Combine lemon peel, apple cider vinegar, salt, brown sugar, peppercorn, and 1 cup water in a lidded glass container. Add rhubarb and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Drain the liquid and remove the lemon peel and peppercorn from the rhubarb. Enjoy leftover pickled rhubarb pieces within one week of making. 

**Strawberry Salsa
2 cups strawberries, diced
1 jalapeno, finely diced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 lime, juiced

Stir together strawberries, jalapeno, salt, and lime juice. Serve on tacos and enjoy leftovers within a few days. 

Spring Greens with Pan-Seared Salmon and Horseradish

I'm joining in on that collective sigh of relief that spring (and it's glorious weather) is finally here. It's bike rides in short sleeves, the sound of midwest thunder, and blanket afternoons beneath blooming trees. We spent the weekend cleaning up the yard, an especially cathartic operation, and preparing the garden. 

As a personal sigh of relief, another semester of graduate school is winding down. I'm a year deep into a Master's in Library & Information Science. It's been a great experience so far and I'm looking forward to the upcoming semesters. But first, summer. Time to garden, to travel, to sit and read a book, rather than listen to it on audio while cooking or cleaning, and to shorten the time between lunch and coffee dates with friends. And time to share more recipes! 

Today I'm sharing a salad full of some of my favorite spring greens, topped with pan-seared salmon and a spicy horseradish dressing. Take heed, this salad has a delicious, but fierce, bite to it from that horseradish. -Mallory

For the salad:
Makes 2 salads
2 cups salad greens of your choice
1 cup peas, cooked
2 cups pea shoots
1/2 cup sprouts 
1/2 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 cup french green lentils, cooked

Arrange ingredients in two separate salad bowls, top with salmon and horseradish dressing. 

For the salmon:
2 salmon filets
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper

Heat olive oil over medium-low heat in a skillet. Season both sides of the salmon filets with salt and pepper. Drop the filets onto the hot skillet, skin-side up. Cook for 3 minutes until browned, flip with a spatula, then cook an additional 2 minutes until cooked through. Let cool slightly before serving. 

Horseradish dressing:
Makes just over a cup
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons freshly grated horseradish (or substitute prepared horseradish)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine ingredients in a small bowl. Stir until smooth. Refrigerate for 2-3 days.

Lemon Brandy Pork Tenderloin & Kumquat Salad

This salad is equal parts straightforward and gratifying. The magic is in the marinate, a sweet combination of lemon juice, brandy, thyme and honey. Marinade the pork in advance, then the meal comes together in just under half an hour, making it great for fast dinners and packed lunches. Kumquats, whose flavor is softly sweet with citrus sourness and the tartness of an orange peel, are a lively and colorful addition to any spring-time salad. I love them with the juicy pork tenderloin and toasted walnuts. -Mallory

Lemon Brandy Pork Tenderloin & Kumquat Salad
Serves 4
For the marinade:
zest of 1 lemon
3 lemons, juiced
1/2 cup brandy
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 2-pound pork tenderloin

Whisk together lemon zest, lemon juice, brandy, thyme, honey, olive oil, dijon mustard, salt and pepper. Place the pork tenderloin into a re-sealable plastic bag, add the marinade and refrigerate overnight, or 8-10 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the pork along with 1/2 cup of the marinade. Discard the remaining marinade. Brown the pork for 3-4 minutes on each side, then place in oven and cook for 20 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the pork reaches 145 degrees fahrenheit. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Lemon Vinaigrette: 
1 shallot, minced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1/3 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to season

Whisk together shallot, thyme, vinegar, lemon juice, dijon mustard, olive oil and salt and pepper. The dressing will keep in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. 

For the salad:
6 cups of mixed greens
1 cup walnuts, toasted
Topped with sliced pork and lemon vinaigrette. 

Herb Fried Chicken Biscuits & Apricot Mustard

This all started with craving for apricot jam and slowly transformed into an excuse to dish up fried chicken, which happens more often than not; I love fried chicken. I have very sweet memories from childhood of fried chicken and roller coasters because my family would venture to Six Flags St. Louis theme park once every summer and we couldn't do so without packing fried chicken. The tickets were awarded to my brother, sister and me for reading books throughout the school year as part of the 600-Minutes program- now it's called Read to Succeed. When lunchtime rolled around, we migrated back to the parking lot for a packed picnic lunch of fried chicken that we enjoyed cold from iced coolers packed in the family minivan. My mom fried the chicken the night before, so as I was lying awake in bed anxious for the next day's allures, the rich smell of fried chicken seeped into my room and pulled me even further from sleep. 

Getting back to today and the apricot decisions, I opted to postpone apricot jam until summer when I can get fresh, in season apricots from the market to bring to a sweet stovetop simmer. Instead, I put together an apricot mustard from dried apricots. The mustard seeds and dried apricots take a few days to hydrate in a bath of white wine and apple cider vinegar, but the result is glorious. The biscuits and fried chicken come together in less than an hour. 

Apricot Mustard
Makes about 1 cup
1/4 cup mustard seeds
1/2 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Soak mustard seeds and apricots in a glass bowl along with wine and vinegar. Cover with plastic wrap and let soak for 3 days at room temperature.  Transfer mustard seeds, apricots, white wine and apple cider vinegar to a food processor. Add salt, brown sugar and nutmeg and blend until the mustard reaches your desired coarseness and consistency.

Buttermilk biscuits
Makes 12 biscuits
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees fahrenheit. 

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt. Using a pastry cutter or your fingertips, cut the butter into the flour until it’s the size of small peas. Add buttermilk in a pool in the middle, then mix until just combined. Turn out the biscuit dough on a lightly floured surface and knead gently by folding it in half, rolling out the dough, then repeating the fold and roll two additional times. Cut out biscuits using a 2-inch cutter, place on parchment-lined baking sheet, then brush them with melted butter.

Bake at 475 degrees fahrenheit for 12 minutes. Remove biscuits from the oven and cool on a wire rack. 

Herb Fried Chicken
Makes 12 biscuits 
Peanut oil
6 cloves garlic, lightly smashed with skins in tact
6 sprigs hard herbs: thyme, oregano, rosemary
4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, each cut into 3 pieces
1/2 cup greek yogurt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon chili sauce or hot sauce (optional)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Fry chicken in three batches using a medium skillet. Add 1 1/2 inches of peanut oil to the skillet and set the heat to medium-high. Add garlic and herbs immediately so that they infuse while the oil comes to temperature. Meanwhile, pat dry the chicken and set aside. Whisk together greek yogurt, milk and chili sauce (if using) in medium bowl. Sift together flour, salt and black pepper in a separate medium bowl. Drench the chicken first in the flour, then in the milk and again in the flour. Then fry, baby, fry. The oil is ready to start frying when it sizzles from a drop of water. Fry the chicken for 3 minutes on each side. Check for doneness by cutting into the center of a piece, then adjust heat and cooking time accordingly. It's better to keep the heat in the medium to medium-high range and cook longer than to crank the heat and end up with burnt chicken. Transfer the fried chicken to a paper towel-lined plate, then serve with biscuits and apricot mustard.

-Mallory