Oven Fried Chicken

Dinner had to be something simple that could wait while James finished today's projects in the yard. He'd come in hungry but I had no idea when he'd be finished. I grabbed a package of drumsticks. Setting the oven to 450º I put half a stick of butter in a roasting pan and let the butter melt in the oven. Meanwhile I mixed flour (about a half cup) grated Romano cheese, thyme, S&P, paprika, and a bit of poultry seasoning (I used Les Epices Rabelais a French spice mix made in marseilles since 1880) in a zip lock bag. Three at a time I dusted the drumsticks in the seasoned flour and placed them in the roasting pan siting on the melted butter. The chicken baked for 40 minutes on one side and then 15 minutes after turning the drumsticks over. "Hey these are good," James, not usually a drumstick fan said  after his first bite. He quickly reached for another.

Alongside these crispy drumsticks a cool cucumber salad. Our garden is positively overflowing with bulging round yellow lemon cucumbers. This salad with it's white vinegar dressing is the perfect way to hide some of the bitterness from a cuke or two that stayed too long on the vine. I combined thinly sliced cucumbers and red onions with shreds of mint and celery leaves (we've got a lot of celery in the yard too) and dressed them in white vinegar and olive oil with just a splash of lemon juice. I gave everything a good toss and seasoned the salad with salt and pepper. Just before serving I mixed in crumbled feta cheese and brought our indoor picnic to the table.