Roni's Pickle Chicken

(Posted by K-Roni of Curious Cooking Board)

4 fabulously meaty chicken thighs (even chickens get that problem)
1 cup sliced Mt. Olive dill pickles
2 cups reserved pickle juice (or whatever you have in the jar)
1 egg
1 generous splash (oops) Frank's hot sauce (about 3 tbsp)
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup corn meal
Garlic salt, black pepper, and paprika to excess

Drain the pickles, dust with flour and set aside. Marinade the thighs in pickle juice just to cover, and use a meat injector to plump them with pickle juice. Let that stand for a bit.

Mix remaining pickle juice, the egg, and hot sauce with a couple of tbsp of flour. Beat well. Soak the chicken in that for a minute or two.

Mix flour, corn meal, and seasonings together in a gallon zipper bag. Drain the chicken and shake in the bag of flour to coat. Shake off excess flour. Pan fry in shallow oil in a heavy skillet. Drain on a rack.

While the chicken fries, dunk the pickles through the egg and pickle juice mixture, shake it in the bag with the seasoned flour, and sift it off to remove excess; pan fry and remove to drain on paper towels.

I SWEAR, this was GREAT. The chicken didn't taste like pickles, but was lusciously tender and the breading was EXCELLENT on both chicken and pickles.

Lemon Vinaigrette Asparagus

(Kim Cooking with the Seasons)

2 pounds, washed and trimmed
1 clove garlic, chopped fine
1 small red bellpepper, diced (for color)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice (fresh squeezed)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

In a mixing bowl, combine garlic, red bellpepper, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Cover and store in the refrigerator. Serves best at room temperature.

Blanch asparagus in boiling water for about 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove from heat and rinse with cold water. Drain well. Gently toss with lemon vinaigrette dessing to lightly coat

 

Cucumbers with Chive and Dill Sauce

(Kim Cooking With the Seasons)

1/2C mayo
1/2C sour cream
2TBS. chopped chives
2TBS. fresh dill chopped
2-3 cucumbers

Mix all and pour over cucumbers and chill until ready to serve.