Chicken drumsticks dredged in seasoned flour and a buttermilk and egg batter and prepared in an air fryer.

Air Fryer Fried Chicken Drumsticks

While I don't eat it every day, and I rarely cook it at home anymore because it can be a bit messy, I do LOVE fried chicken.

Absolutely love it.

The chicken is tender. The coating on the deep-fried skin is so deliciously crunchy and loaded with flavor, it may well be my most favorite part. With easy access to places like Popeye's, and our local fried chicken buffet Hartz, fried chicken is The Cajun's and my top comfort food. We probably eat it more often than we should! 

Chicken drumsticks, marinated with a dry rub, air fried and finished with a spicy glaze.

Air Fryer Spicy Drumsticks

While I know we're heading out of summer, I have sure been enjoying my air fryer in this summer heat!

It was an appliance I didn't really think I needed, so I was on the fence about getting one for quite awhile, but I sure am glad that I finally took the plunge. I literally use mine in some way almost every day, though I would say that if you are going to go beyond snack foods, french fries and frozen convenience foods, go for a larger oven style.

Bone-in chicken thighs and legs, rub marinated, then grilled over indirect heat or smoke cooked, brushed with Alabama white sauce and served with additional sauce on the side.

Smoked Chicken with Alabama White Sauce

I have to admit, I don't cook outside as much these days. The heat is just too hard on me as I've gotten older, and it gets hot as a match in the summertime here! I mean, I was filling bird feeders yesterday and just in that short time I thought I was gonna die!

Though I haven't let go of my stack smoker, Weber, Lodge Sportsman, or my gas grill, of all of the cookout tools I have, I still love my Traeger pellet cooker {affil link} the most.

A hearty, one-pot Italian-style meal, made with bone-in chicken thighs, Cajun andouille, potatoes, tomatoes and white beans.

One Pot Italian-Style Chicken Stew

This is a good and hearty, one-pot, Italian style stew, though "stew" is really a loose interpretation here. It's hearty, but not thick and rich as we think of stews to be, but rather a bit lighter, making it fully appropriate any time of the year.

I based my recipe on a bit of a combination of MarkCharles Misilli's One Pot Italian Chicken from the cookbook Easy Everyday Favorites and Jacques Pépin's Chicken Bouillabaisse in his cookbook Fast Food My Way {affil links}, since I find them to be strikingly similar.

Grilled chicken is first brined in a salt water solution, then given a light rub, and finally glazed with a root beer reduction.

Root Beer Glazed Drumsticks

I have been wanting to get a root beer glaze up for awhile and finally got around to it - just in time for the 4th! You can use whatever chicken parts you prefer, drumsticks just happen to be my most favorite part of the chicken - so juicy, tender, and full of flavor, especially with a brine.

Grilled Backyard Barbecued Chicken

One of my favorite grilled foods is backyard barbecued chicken. Mine starts with a brine, gets a nice rub before hitting the grill and is basted with sauce at the end. Delicious!

Backyard Barbecued Chicken

Grilled barbecued chicken - meaning chicken cooked on the grill and doused in barbecue sauce - is one of my favorite foods. I just simply love it. It's been a little bit hard to get it in here lately though, since April showers seem to have surfaced full force here in May, and I don't have a covered patio.