Pan Fried Chicken and Smashed Red Potatoes

To me, good fried chicken has the crispiest of skin which is gently fried to crunchy perfection and seasoned only with salt.  One could compare the fried chicken skin I'm talking about to chicken bacon. Equally as important is the tender, juicy meat which is in no way dried out.  Although there are many schools of thought on the ideal coating for fried chicken, for me the best has always been the way my mama does it.  A piece of chicken with a scant coating of flour and into a shallow pan with and inch or so of hot oil.  Flip over after a few minutes and, thereafter, turning on a regular basis until the chicken is evenly golden brown and cooked thoroughly on the inside.  While still hot and glistening with oil, season fairly liberally with salt. 

The potatoes arose from having two leftover boiled and quartered red potatoes which I had seasoned with a bit of vinegar, olive oil and salt.  The original intention was to make potato salad as an accompaniment for my BBQ Pork on a Bun the other night before I realized I had some of the Au Gratin Potatoes left over.  So, not wanting the au gratins to go to waste I placed the boiled red potatoes in the refrigerator overnight.  In a cast iron skillet I browned some bacon and onions and placed the potatoes in the pan and let them brown before turning them.  As the pan began to dry out a bit, I added a bit of beef stock (which I just happened to have available, though chicken stock or water would have worked fine as well) and let them them simmer for just a bit until they were heated through.  Simple, but delicious!