"Let's start at the very beginning..."

Daddy and I were married on the Saturday afternoon of Memorial Day weekend in 1975. Sometimes I still feel like that young girl of nearly 40 years ago but recently I've started to realize that if I want to leave a legacy for my daughters I had better get a move on. Over the last several years some ideas have come and gone; I tried writing my memoirs but that didn't turn out the way I hoped. Grandma Doris died much too soon and left me with so many questions. There is so much I don't know about my family history, especially on her side. I want to be deliberate and transparent with y'all. I hope to give you more than just a glimpse of who I am and who you are because you are my daughters. The way I plan to do this is by sharing recipes, stories, photos and some of my handiwork from the past, present and future. Some of this will be familiar; some maybe not so much but here goes nothin'.

"Let's start at the very beginning..." (The Sound of Music is a favorite of mine!)

My mom made the very best fried chicken. Hands down. I wouldn't be exaggerating if I told you my fried chicken is as good as hers was. Trouble is Daddy and I became vegetarians a couple of years ago. Well I'm a pescatarian to be exact which means I eat fish. (I didn't last as a vegetarian. I missed chicken too much. I still don't eat beef or pork and I buy my chicken from a local farm. 10-25-2019) I can't imagine never enjoying fried chicken again; maybe some day I will choose to do so. For now I will share my recipe and a story to go along with it.

Shortly after we were married and settled into our little apartment I invited Daddy's parents over for dinner. Of course I wanted to prepare something I was confident I could make. I knew how to fry chicken. I had seen my mama do it a hundred times. In those days you couldn't buy boneless chicken in the super market. You could buy a whole chicken that had been cut up. That's what I bought. To this day I think fried chicken tastes better if the bones are left in! I was so proud of myself for preparing a meal for my in-laws and and I wanted it to be perfect. It would have been too if only I had some napkins in the house. There was not one napkin to be found. Here we were eating fried chicken, with the bone in, with our hands and no napkins. I had to get out my hand towels. I was so embarrassed. Who serves fried chicken without napkins? Your mother does. That's who.

Mama's Fried Chicken

One whole chicken; cut into serving size pieces

4 eggs

a splash of milk

several cups of flour

garlic powder

salt and pepper

a large frying pan

Crisco or canola oil for frying (my mom always used Crisco and I did too years ago. I changed to canola oil when I found out I had high cholesterol. I think maybe the formula for Crisco has been changed through the years so it doesn't have trans fats in it any more.)

Mix the eggs and milk together in a pie plate. In another pie plate mix the flour and seasonings. Dust the chicken with flour and then dip in the egg mixture and then back in the seasoned flour. Place into hot grease. Adjust the temperature so it doesn't brown too fast. This takes some practice and instinct. Fry until the juices run clear.  Grandma Doris always served potato salad with fried chicken. I will share that recipe soon.