Pain and Pleasure: Gums 'n Chicken...

No, the first half of that title is not a Depeche Mode song.

Yesterday I had a Gum Graft on one of my upper teeth/gums. I'd been putting it off since October partly because I had already depleted my Flex Plan. With the new year, the flex plan is loaded and ready to be used for stuff such as this wonderful painfree funfest.

I needed a gum graft because that particular tooth had gingival recession. The area was exposed and had to be covered with "grafted oral tissue" (my own gums) to prevent further exposure and damage. The dentist had to cut a thin piece of my own tissue taken from the back of my mouth (the rear  upper palate) and stitch it to the area that needed coverage.

During this whole time, I had on my iPod, but it was not set to music. Instead, I was listening to a movie, "Ferris Bueller's Day Off". So I can now remember each and every excruciating detail of this gum graft and relate it to specific scenes of that Hughesian classic.

I was in the dentist's chair for one full hour. As I got shot up with anesthetic, I listened to Ferris Bueller fake out his parents. When the doc started prepping my gums, it was the part where Dean Rooney is calling his secretary a "pinhead". Later, as I tried to keep still  and suppress my raging urge to pee, the doc injected me again on the palate, it was the part where Cameron Frye impersonates Sloan Peterson's father and calls Principal Rooney an "asshole"! I was trying not to laugh and cry at the same time.

I could feel the long filaments brush against my cheeks and lips as the dentist wove stitches as he was suturing my gum.  After nearly an hour of trying not to stare into the dentist or his assistant's masked faces, I was finally free to go. The end point of the movie? It was at the Chicago Art Institute where Ferris and Sloan kiss; the song playing in the background is a Smiths cover, "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" by the Dream Academy.  Yeah, my iPod was freeze framed on this exact scene...

After all this, I had to get some pain medication and antibiotics which took another hour including drive time and wait time at the pharmacy. What a way to spend an afternoon. Oh yeah, and I can't brush the upper right side for a week. I was given only one look at my tooth/gum at the dentist's office. He warned that if I tried to look at it at home, I could potentially rupture the stitches which made me cringe. So I won't be doing much smiling for a few weeks nor will I even be doing a Billy Idol style sneer. I also get to do this again in a few weeks but on another tooth on the bottom opposite side! Fun times!!! Just call me Frankengums.

Faaaah-uck!

On a much much nicer note, we finally used the KFC Mix from Michael (of the blog Foodopolis) who was kind enough to gift it to me. Check out his post on "Killer Fried Chicken" here...better photos and directions included! Due to my fear of frying, I recruited Bert to do the dirty work.  It's pretty easy. Dip 8-10 pieces of chicken into an egg wash.

Coat with the spice mix and let it sit for 10 minutes. There was leftover mix so Bert added that on before he put the thighs into the oil.

which has to be bubbling hot (350 F)! This was 48 oz of vegetable oil by the way.

Here's the first batch waiting to be devoured...

OMFG, this was the best chicken we've ever made! The skin was crazy crispy and flavorful and the chicken inside was so juicy! Even though I had that damned gum graft earlier that afternoon and even though my upper right side was still numb, I was going to eat this thigh! Feeling like a toddler or elderly person, I separated the skin from the chicken (for later enjoyment) and cut up the thigh meat into teeny tiny pieces. I felt like I was but one step away from pureeing it and gumming my food.  Despite the middling and nagging feeling of the sutures and the residual numbness fading away, I still enjoyed this chicken as much as I could!

The chicken was served with fried garlic rice and salad (not pictured). "Sam Merlotte" style shirt modeled by Bert (courtesy of Old Navy). Makes me wanna square dance AND ride a mechanical bull. I feel like buying him a Lynyrd Skynyrd belt buckle  and snakeskin boots to make this outfit complete.

Thanks again Michael for such a delicious dinner thanks to your awesome "Killer Fried Chicken" mix!!!