More Cheese More Chocolate

Until yesterday I was pretty much indifferent to Valentine’s Day.  I was happy to celebrate it if I had a reason to celebrate, but I was never one to make a big deal out of not having a reason to celebrate.  Fancy dates on a pressure-filled night are totally not my style, and neither are anti-Valentine’s parties.  Wearing a little pink or red, eating seasonal candy, and digging into a slice of Chocolate Chip Applesauce Cake from my mom’s annual Valentine’s Day package are definitely my style, though.  I’m all for being festive and eating good food, but I’m not into celebrations fueled by pressure and high expectations.

Until yesterday I was also indifferent to fried chicken, which stems from the fact that I have never had real fried chicken.  I should mention that I don’t count chicken strips from fast food restaurants or anything from a grocery store deli case as real fried chicken.  Mass produced, reconstituted blobs of chicken-y stuff and pieces of chicken encased in a cold, soggy coating cannot be what fried chicken is all about.  My boyfriend disagrees and tries to tell me that fried chicken is like pizza; there’s good pizza, mediocre pizza, and bad pizza, but it’s all pizza.  I’m sticking to my story: I have been living a fried-chicken-free existence for the last 27 (almost 28!) years.  And then last night happened…

Fried chicken might not be the most traditional choice for a Valentine’s Day dinner, but it was an inexpensive choice, it sounded good, and it’s on my list of 31 things to make in 2011.  It was without a doubt the right choice.  This was the best meal we’ve ever made.  Thanks to my wonderful valentine and our delicious dinner of salty fried chicken, crunchy slaw, bacon-infused greens, crispy potatoes, and a sour beer to balance it all out, I am no longer indifferent to either Valentine’s Day or fried chicken.  Standing over a pot of three hundred and forty degree safflower oil might not sound all that romantic, but I couldn’t have asked for a better February 14th.

The Menu

• Salted Fried Chicken from Martha Stewart
• Cabbage and Carrot Slaw from Mark Bittman
• Collard Greens with Bacon
• Crash Hot Potatoes from The Pioneer Woman
• Chocolate Covered Strawberries
• Rodenbach Grand Cru

Dipping and dredging the chicken while the oil heats up

Sizzling chicken

Proud/amazed/hungry

I’m clearly not an expert in the area of fried chicken, but I thought the results were fantastic.  It was salty and crispy on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside.

Is it wrong to eat a piece of fried chicken as an appetizer while you’re cooking the rest of the bird?  Not if it’s in the name of quality control.

This fresh, crunchy slaw went really well with the salty chicken.

[1/2 head of cabbage, 1 carrot, a few scallions + 1/2 jalapeño, 1 clove minced garlic, 1 tbsp Dijon mustard, 1 tbsp lime juice, 2 tbsp olive oil, salt & pepper]

The collards were not quite as refreshing as the slaw (and we could have been less heavy-handed with the bacon), but they were still delicious.

[1 or 2 strips of bacon, chopped and sautéed until starting to crisp + 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, minced + 1 bunch of collard greens, stems removed and chopped, leaves cut into strips (sauté the stems with the bacon + garlic for a few minutes, then add the leaves and cook until soft) + a little chicken broth to loosen up the pan bits + salt + pepper]

Crispy potatoes for a completely unnecessary (but tasty) non-veggie side + most of the chicken.  The blurriness of this photo is due to my excitement over what we just cooked and that we were about to eat it.

I ate every last bite on my plate and then realized that I was too full to take off my elastic-waisted skirt to put on sweatpants.  After a few minutes of cleaning up the kitchen I was able to make the switch, and I immediately found my way to the couch where we (fittingly?) watched two episodes of one of the greatest shows on television, Heavy.

Thirty minutes later, I somehow managed to eat a couple of chocolate covered strawberries.  What a night.

[Melt some semi-sweet chocolate chips in a bowl, dip strawberries in the chocolate, place them on wax paper, and cool in the refrigerator]