Fried Chicken & Dreamgirls

This is a makeup entry for a dinner we had at Phil & Jason's a month or so ago. Jason being a lovely Southern gent and me being Southern by indoctrination by Stephen, Patty LaBelle cookbook, and "Gone With the Wind," have been talking endlessly about making fried chicken. Actually to be more concise, our theme camp could be "Double Wide, Deep Fried." Not sure how the "Dreamgirls" bit came about, but it does seem fitting as Beyonce does love her Popeyes.

I used Ms. LaBelle's recipe for the most part. Chicken pieces marinated overnight in buttermilk with some Lawry's and some cayenne for a tiny bit of kick. Flour with Lawry's again. Double dipped. Fried to golden brown in vegetable oil, plus a secret ingredient we won't subject Phil's eyes to.

I was having trouble with controlling the heat on their stove - quite brave of me to make fried chicken on someone else's stove, huh? Thus, some of the pieces came out darker than I wanted. But then again, mahogany chicken is very much an accepted form of Southern fried chicken. We had store bought sides that I can't seem to remember if they were from KFC or Popeyes, but they were great. And one of the guests brought a homemade peach cobbler that was to die for! Everyone loved the chicken... crispy, flavourful, and juicy... if I do say so myself. Scarlett would be proud.....

As for Dreamgirls... let's jsut say Beyonce clearly was not having her Popeyes for awhile and Jennifer Hudson was. Was also digging the mom from "Good Times" look Miss Hudson was sporting. HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!