Don’t you hate it when a plan doesn’t come together?

Recently, I had a hankering for a certain dish I used to make in my early days of cooking, one I hadn’t made for several years and had all but been removed from my repertoire: chicken Kiev.

There was a recipe in my first cookbook, the Better Homes and Gardens one my mother handed me as she pushed me out of the nest and said “good luck.” She hadn’t really taught me to cook — I guess she figured BH&G could do the job as well as anyone, and I must say, it rather did. There’s everything from a simple pancake recipe to what I then thought was a super-fancy dinner party dish (chicken Kiev) between those red-checkered binder walls.

I don’t know if chicken Kiev actually has any roots in Russian cuisine. My gut tells me that no, it’s just something someone once decided to call it after too many vodka shots. Chicken Kiev is a piece of chicken wrapped around a stick of butter, coated in bread crumbs, browned and baked.

Anyway, I had this urge for chicken loaded with butter, and I called in some help because it was nearing on the afternoon and I was at work, and the chicken? Still in the freezer. I could see a big package of chicken breasts in my mind’s eye, just waiting to be wrapped around some butter and secured with a toothpick. What could be better?

I called home and asked Kiley to pull the chicken from the freezer, and I fantasized all day about this ’70s classic that was soon to adorn my dinner plate.

Until I got home and saw that instead of split breasts, the only chicken in the freezer had been drumsticks. Wah wah wah. I can’t wrap a drumstick around a stick of butter! Hopes, they were dashed.

Until I decided that it didn’t really mattered to me whether the butter was inside the chicken, and really, who needed that browning step anyway? Lemons, meet lemonade. I transformed chicken Kiev into a simple weeknight meal and, oooh, did the family love it. I mean, really, what is not to love.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/photos/2013/dec/02/265416/

Weeknight Chicken Drummy Kiev *(for dummies)
1 large package chicken drumsticks — I believe I had 10
1 stick melted butter
1 cup panko bread crumbs, herbed
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
Fresh parsley
1/2 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

I nestled all those chicken legs into my largest casserole dish and sprinkled with garlic, salt and pepper. Then I poured the butter over the top, covered generously with panko bread crumbs, and baked for 30 minutes in a 350 degree onion. Garnish with a squeeze of lemon and fresh parsley.

This is so stupid easy! It looks a bit fancy, tastes like you shouldn’t be having it (and maybe you shouldn’t but heck, it’s just a drumstick), and makes everyone happy. Also, it doesn’t take an hour like real chicken Kiev does because you don’t have to pound out chicken breasts and wrassle them around the butter, fight to secure them with a toothpick, and then hope it doesn’t all fall apart in the browning part of the show.

Just pop it in the oven and serve. I think it goes great with a little wild rice side dish and some roasted vegetables.

I just love it when a plan comes together.