Somehow everything I hoped would coat the chicken – that crunchy mix of sesame seeds and bread crumbs drizzled with butter – ended up on the bottom of the baking dish. As I stood scrapping the essence of a toasted sesame bagel with butter from the pan, I wondered how, with so little effort, I could botch fried chicken.

In lieu of evenly baked “fried” chicken, I had chicken with splotchy skin and clumps of still slightly moist breading. Truth be told, this wasn’t the first time we had to down an attempted fried chicken dinner. I’m not looking to compete with Roscoe’s (of much chicken and waffle renown), some Southern church social, or even K.F.C., but to be able to make some half-decent fried chicken now seems like a long ways away.

Happy to hear any tips!

Sesame Chicken
2 to 4 portions

1 chicken, 2 1/2 to 3 pounds, quartered (I used a package of thighs and wings instead as I’ve found chickens of this size are hard to find.)
2 teaspoons herbes de Provence
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup unseasoned dry bread crumbs
3/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
1/3 cup finely chopped Italian parsley
4 tablespoons sweet butter, melted

1. Arrange the chicken in a bowl just large enough to hold it. Sprinkle on the herbes de Provence, season with salt and pepper to taste, and pour buttermilk over the chicken. Marinate, covered, for 2 to 3 hours, turning occasionally.

2. Preheat oven to 350°F.

3. In a small bowl stir together the bread crumbs, sesame seeds and parsley.

4. Lift the chicken pieces from the marinade, one at a time, and roll them in the bread- crumb and sesame-seed mixture, coating each piece well. Arrange pieces in a shallow baking dish, and season lightly with salt and pepper.

5. Bake the chicken, basting with melted butter, until it is golden brown and done, 30 to 40 minutes. Dark meat may take a few minutes longer. Serve immediately, or cool to room temperature before eating.