What Anyone Might Do After All This Rain

Yesterday was Tuesday, and another rainy day here in Philly, and there is a certain type of rainy day cooking I resort to. It has rained so much, my coleus have doubled in size, but my verbena is simply drowning, and I’m not sure it’s going to make it. It’s raining so much I can’t even get going on the long list of things I should be doing. It’s raining so much I am making some questionable food choices. When I went shopping the past weekend I bought a big pack of chicken thighs that I brined in a buttermilk-garlic brine based on Deb Perlman’s delicious recipe for Buttermilk Roast Chicken from Smitten Kitchen. I did make that recipe (minus the sugar) and ate those thighs for dinner Saturday, but I had four left sitting in the brine, that I really needed to cook, so I decided to make fried chicken thighs.

I know I’ve already written a lot about fried chicken, and have had limited success with it, but today’s was quite good! I’m sure a few days of brining helped. So, as I said, it’s been raining a lot, and I had the oil hot, and was already frying, and I had some of the batter/flour left from making the chicken, and a nice fat Vidalia onion…no doubt you can see where this is going. I have no idea the last time I made onion rings at home, though I do love them, and I thought why not, and they, not the chicken were the real stars today!

Even though I really love them, it is hard to find a good onion ring. I like them thin enough so when I bite into it the onion yields, rather than pulling out the whole ring from the breading. I like a delicate breading- really just a light flour, and I guess not too many people like them this way, because when you order them in restaurants you generally get big fat rings like the ones they serve at Bobby’s Burger Palace. One time I was in Pittsfield MA, and had lunch at a diner that didn’t have much to recommend it except the lovely onion rings they served. I liked them so much I went back just for the rings- a big plate of super-thin crispy rings.

The rings I made today were as good, or better! Because I am lucky enough to have a good exhaust fan, my house doesn’t smell too bad after my fry-fest, and I did not eat all the chicken, I saved some for tomorrow. I thoroughly enjoyed every bite of my meal, including a salad, and in fact, the sun is starting to come out, I can see blue sky and big, puffy white clouds! I’m sure that the change in weather is a direct result of my cooking, but there is no need to thank me, the pleasure has been all mine!

What do you cook when you’re been stuck inside for days?