Fried Chicken

Serves 4 SPICE MIX 1/4 cup salt 1 tablespoon black pepper 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 1 tablespoon flour 1. In a bowl, combine the salt, black pepper, red pepper, oregano, and flour. 2. Mix well; set aside. COATING 1 cup coarse-ground cornmeal 1 cup flour 2 teaspoons salt ...

Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine on Thursday downplayed the uproar over pitcher Josh Beckett's golf outing after he was taken out of the rotation because of stiffness. Beckett, who was suffering from a sore lat last week, was scheduled to start Thursday night against Cleveland. "I've never seen a pitcher get hurt playing golf," Valentine said. Valentine said Beckett was scratched from a start last week with stiffness, which he didn't think would be made worse by golfing.

Serves 4 CHICKEN 1 cup flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon white pepper 2 cups buttermilk 1 whole chicken (3 1/2 pounds), cut into 8 pieces 2 quarts canola oil (for shallow fat frying in 2 skillets) 1. In a bowl, combine flour, salt, pepper. Stir well.

Tony's Top 5 Things to do after Achilles surgery 5 Watching sports. Before, I told my wife this was "work. " Now, I tell her it's therapy. 4 Bossing people around Of course, this is done in a passive-aggressive fashion by playing up any and all perception of helplessness. 3 The drugs. If I play my cards right, maybe I can even make a few bucks? 2 Sleep. Never realized that lounging could be so exhausting.

Think Southern-fried chicken, and chances are the next words that come to mind are “secret herbs and spices.’’ To me, that’s Southern-fried baloney. Prolonged immersion in very hot grease is not a method that coaxes out bouquet; the only elements likely to survive are garlic and cayenne. But spicing aside, the sine qua non of good fried chicken certainly is the crust, the best being a simply seasoned flour- or cornmeal-based coating delicately but thoroughly welded to the skin in a crisp, delicious synthesis.

Don't look for former manager Terry Francona at Fenway Park when the Red Sox celebrate the 100th anniversary of their beloved ballpark a week from Friday against the Yankees. Francona is still smarting from the way things ended between himself and the Red Sox after the collapse of 2011. "Somebody went out of their way to make me look pretty bad," Francona said, referring to a story by the Globe's Bob Hohler that cited unnamed club sources expressing concerns that Francona's job performance may have been affected by his use of pain medication.

EARTH Hidden Pond, 354 Goose Rocks Road, Kennebunkport, Maine 207-967-9050. www.hiddenpondmaine.com Ken Oringer has long been a Boston chef, opening Clio in 1997, followed by Uni, Toro, K.O. Prime, La Verdad, and Coppa. This season, he teams up with resort Hidden Pond to create a restaurant in Maine. Earth features herbs and vegetables grown on the premises. Seafood and meat are local, too. Almost all of the ingredients come from within 50 miles of the resort.

The fried chicken, of course, did not cause the historic September collapse of the Boston Red Sox. But when the whole ugly affair came out later, it was the perfect symbol for it, a shorthand metaphor for feeling gross inside. And at the dawn of a new season Thursday, and Fenway open again, there it was doing brisk business, the Popeyes chicken at the center of it all, with a taunting new banner and that framed photo on the wall. For those who need reminding, the story goes like this: When the superstar pitchers were not on the mound - Josh Beckett,...

The hottest culinary opening so far this year wasn't a four-star restaurant or a venture from a celebrity chef. It was a branch of the Guatemalan chicken chain Pollo Campero. When the restaurant opened its doors in Chelsea a month ago - the first Massachusetts outpost - madness ensued. Central Americans, eager for a taste of home, lined up for hours in the rain, Campero's neon sign of a chicken in a cowboy hat reflected in the puddles at their feet. (Why does that chicken look so happy, so enthusiastic about its fate?

Jason Varitek said the Red Sox stuck together this season and that reports about bad chemistry were inaccurate. The Red Sox denied report that three pitchers were drinking in the dugout. Meanwhile, the Theo Epstein compensation talks have slowed to a crawl. Nick Cafardo has that story. This is all good news for Popeye's fried chicken. Mark Shanahan has the story.

Street 801 Islington St., Portsmouth, N.H. 603-436-0860 www.streetfood360.com Hours: Monday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sunday, brunch, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; dinner, 4-8 p.m. Major credit cards accepted Accessible to the handicapped As its name suggests, Street is an artsy bistro that specializes in — well — street food from throughout the world. What's not to like? You can nosh on munchies from Vietnam, Korea, Mexico, and other exotic locales and you don't have to present a passport, take your shoes off, or pass through a metal detector.

The fried chicken, of course, did not cause the historic September collapse of the Boston Red Sox. But when the whole ugly affair came out later, it was the perfect symbol for it, a shorthand metaphor for feeling gross inside. And at the dawn of a new season Thursday, and Fenway open again, there it was doing brisk business, the Popeyes chicken at the center of it all, with a taunting new banner and that framed photo on the wall. For those who need reminding, the story goes like this: When the superstar pitchers were not on the mound - Josh Beckett, John Lackey, and...

Don't look for former manager Terry Francona at Fenway Park when the Red Sox celebrate the 100th anniversary of their beloved ballpark a week from Friday against the Yankees. Francona is still smarting from the way things ended between himself and the Red Sox after the collapse of 2011. "Somebody went out of their way to make me look pretty bad," Francona said, referring to a story by the Globe's Bob Hohler that cited unnamed club sources expressing concerns that Francona's job performance may have been affected by his use of pain medication.

BROOKLINE — If Bobby Valentine says he was the one who invented the wrap, Andy Pomper, owner of the Coolidge Corner Clubhouse in Brookline, isn't going to be the one to doubt him. ‘'If Bobby says he invented the wrap, so be it," Pomper said. Instead, Pomper is paying homage to the new Red Sox manager by creating a new menu item in Valentine's honor. The ‘'Bobby V Wrap" will be added to the menu for this season, Pomper said, optimistically adding, ‘'and hopefully thereafter.

Boston Red Sox pitcher John Lackey has apologized for using "a thoughtless choice of words" during an interview this week. Speaking with a Boston Globe columnist, Lackey said it was "retarded" to make too much of reports about some Red Sox starters drinking beer and eating fried chicken in the clubhouse last year during games when they weren't pitching. On Tuesday, Lackey issued a written statement released by the Red Sox. "I apologize for my thoughtless choice of words that appeared in print earlier today.

FORT MYERS, Fla. - There's no question this beer/fried chicken theme is getting old. It is indeed time to move on with the Red Sox, but every so often we hear a different twist that stirs the imagination and brings up mind-boggling issues. And so we delve in again. Comments by David Ortiz yesterday stirred the pot once more. Ortiz said he spoke to the beer-drinking fried-chicken-eaters at one point last season about knocking it off, but he backed off, he said, because he's not the manager, the general manager, or the owner.

Chef Jim Casey focuses on seafood at Plymouth restaurant the Blue-Eyed Crab, but weekend pig pickin' events there have always been very popular. So when the West Roxbury resident began thinking about a new project closer to home, barbecue was on his mind. The result is the Red-Eyed Pig, offering takeout and very limited seating. With the help of a Cookshack smoker, the tiny storefront turns out large amounts of barbecue for a neighborhood hungry for something different.

Tony's Top 5 Things to do after Achilles surgery 5 Watching sports. Before, I told my wife this was "work. " Now, I tell her it's therapy. 4 Bossing people around Of course, this is done in a passive-aggressive fashion by playing up any and all perception of helplessness. 3 The drugs. If I play my cards right, maybe I can even make a few bucks? 2 Sleep. Never realized that lounging could be so exhausting.

FORT MYERS, Fla. - There's no question this beer/fried chicken theme is getting old. It is indeed time to move on with the Red Sox, but every so often we hear a different twist that stirs the imagination and brings up mind-boggling issues. And so we delve in again. Comments by David Ortiz yesterday stirred the pot once more. Ortiz said he spoke to the beer-drinking fried-chicken-eaters at one point last season about knocking it off, but he backed off, he said, because he's not the manager, the general manager, or the owner.