Oven-Fried Breaded Chicken

We don't have a strict routine of which meals fall on which day around here. I like to change things up frequently and take advantage of fresh, seasonal produce. I do make fish quite a lot, and there is often a night that is heavily pasta-centric. Although I love doing a whole chicken stuffed with lemon and herbs, I've discovered the convenience "picnic packs" of whole, cut-up chickens, making it easier to reserve the whole breast for another dish and just concentrating on my kids' favorite, the dark meat. I've been cooking chicken quite a bit more often around here, and as my older daughter said last night, "Oh, Poultry Night - I love Poultry Night!"

I've usually been braising the meat in a chicken fricassee because it is so easy and creates such a luscious gravy, but I also want to keep things interesting with new recipes. I love fried chicken too, but don't especially care for the hellish mess that the splatter of chicken fat and oil can make in the kitchen, so I decided to do a cheater's "oven-fried" method.

Oven-Fried Breaded Chicken

Ingredients:

• An assortment of chicken parts - I had 4 drumsticks and 4 thighs
• mayonnaise
• approximately 1 cup seasoned soft breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup grated parm
• salt
• pepper
• paprika

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F and line a large roasting pan with a layer of aluminum foil. Spritz it with some cooking spray.
2. Mix together the breadcrumbs, parm, salt, pepper and papika in a shallow bowl or pie plate.
3. Coat each chicken piece in a very thin film of mayo and then dredge the chicken pieces in the crumb mixture until totally coated. Shake off the excess crumbs and lay in the roasting pan.
4. Roast for approximately 25 minutes or until the chicken juices run clear when poked with a knife.
5. Remove to a platter and serve hot.

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