A recipe for layered yellow cake turned into disaster when I forgot the sugar. Faced with two 9" round vanilla scented biscuits, I figured fried chicken was the way to go. The easier solution? My take on Shake and Bake, perfected in college. Martha Stewart's buttermilk herb dressing with a twist necessitated, once again, by missing some items on the grocery list and a desire to test out different ways of using that bag of buttermilk powder.

Why am I not buying all fresh? Because I'm tired of throwing out half empty cartons of dairy and digging up wilted bunches of herbs from the bottom of my crisper. Have I eschewed produce forever? No. But that dried stuff needs turnover too.

Baked Chicken

I'm totally guessing at the amounts here.

4 whole chicken legs with skin, room temp, lightly salted
1/3 cup of panko flakes, but breadcrumbs of all kinds will also do
1/4 tsp of smoked paprika
1/2 tsp of kosher salt
1/2 tsp of powdered garlic
2 tbsp flour
cracked pepper
*opt. parmesan, dried spices like parsley or seasoning of choice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Throw the dry ingredients into a bag and shake till chicken is coated. If theres a lot of extra panko left over, sprinkle some drops of water over the surface and press on the excess breading. Bake legs skin side up for about 30-35 min or until juices run clear and the skin is crackling and golden (more golden than in the picture). If theres not a pool of tasty liquid on the pan, then the chicken isn't done yet. To make the skin extra special all around, bake on a rack.


Buttermilk Powder Vinaigrette

2.5 tbsp buttermilk powder
1/2 cup water
1.5 tbsp balsamic
1/2 tbsp each of rice, cider, white vinegar (last dregs...)
1 tsp kosher slat
1/3 tsp ground pepper
4 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup minced chives
1/4 tsp dried tarragon
1/4 tsp of dried thyme
1/8 tsp of dried oregano

Whisk all the ingredients up and let it sit before using. Add some extra pinches of herbs if you want the dressing stronger.