That sneaky chicken…

At some point, KFC, Popeyes Chicken or any other kind of fried chicken has tempted and lustfully conquered even some of the most discerning of pallets. If everything tastes like chicken and more specifically organic free range fried chicken then everything must be delicious. But, if you are like the rest of us who suffer from New York’s square footage malnutrition and live in tiny spaces with tiny dogs and tiny kitchens probably don’t have the ability or the desire to purchase a deep fryer for the occasional glutinous submersion. As you have no option, but to love The Roots and to enjoy the occasional clove cigarette, you succumb to the fast food industry’s siren-like call of the delicious and obscenely detrimental to your health fried chicken.

So, what’s the answer? Do you pack it in and invest in bigger pants in the anticipation of a greasy deep fried future or do you grab your laptop, throw your play list on shuffle and give an alternative a chance? The alternative is the right combination of spices, a little grape seed oil and a little grape seed oil and a little something on the side.

Chicken drumsticks

Butternut Squash

Hungarian Hot Paprika

Morton & Bassett Cajun Spice Blend (paprika, celery seed, garlic, basil, white pepper, cayenne pepper, thyme and parsley)

Chili Powder

Pangu Salt

Nigerian Cayenne Pepper

Grape Seed Oil

The preparation of this meal is extremely simple. Chop all of the drumsticks in half, season to taste with the above listed spices (use only a little bit of the Nigerian Cayenne Pepper), drizzle with grape seed oil and place in the oven at 450 degrees. After 30 minutes, turn the chicken and don’t be shy make sure that it’s covered in its own juices. Continue to cook for an additional 15 minutes. Peel, clean and cut butternut squash, place it in the pan right next to the chicken (do not season) and once again baste it with the chicken juices. Continue to cook for 15 minutes and you’re done.

The beautiful thing about this dish is that you can use as much chicken and butternut squash as you need. The most important part is that you cut the drumsticks in half and use the right spices; everything else is up to the chicken, that sneaky chicken. Enjoy!