Category Archives: Edible Fiction

Drowning Your Sorrows In Cinnamon

January 11, 2016 By in Edible Fiction, Food From The Secrets of Dr. John Welles Tags: , , , 1 Comment

Drowning Your Sorrows In Cinnamon 2John Welles and his two best friends, Sam Feldman and Claude Willoughby, formed a strong bond during their two years of pre-med studies at the University of Maryland. As they faced the upcoming challenge of pursuing the heart of their degree, the three young men fluctuated between excitement and anxiety. Yet their biggest concern wasn’t that they would perform poorly in their classes and labs or receive low grades. What sent the trio into a case of the doldrums was the worry that they would lose touch as their classes intensified in difficulty.

John’s Aunt Prudence suggested an end-of-summer barbeque to lift the boys’ spirits, but her sassy cook, Lucia, responded with a more immediate remedy: cinnamon cake. Lucia knew the benefit of comfort food, and the cake she served the boys was rich and delicious enough to drown anyone’s sorrows.

The following recipe is the one I had in mind when I wrote this scene. The flavor is reminiscent of pound cake, but this golden confection is lighter in body and smooth in texture. Be warned: it is rich beyond belief; however, most of the sweetness comes from the cinnamon streusel layer.

Enjoy a slice of Lucia’s cake with a cup of coffee or tea or a glass of milk.

Lucia’s Cinnamon Cake

Cinnamon Streusel Topping

½ c flour

½ c packed brown sugar

1 t cinnamon

¼ t salt

¼ c unsalted butter, cold & diced

Mix the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Work in the butter with the dry ingredients using your fingers or a pastry blender until coarse crumbles form. Set aside.

Cake Batter

Preheat oven to 350° and grease and flour a metal 9 x 5 x 3 inch baking pan.

I strongly recommend using a stand mixer for this cake. The thick batter closely resembles dough and has the tendency to climb the beaters of a handheld mixer.

½ c unsalted butter, softened

1 c sugar (I use raw)

2 ¼ c cake flour OR all-purpose flour sifted with 1 T cornstarch per cup

2 t baking powder

¾ t salt

5 egg yolks

¾ c whole milk

1 t vanilla

Cream the softened butter and sugar. Add flour, baking powder, salt, egg yolks, vanilla, and milk. Mix on medium low speed until thoroughly combined, approximately 3 minutes. Spread 1/3 of the batter evenly in the baking pan. Top with half of the cinnamon mixture. Spread the remaining 2/3 of the batter in the pan and top with the rest of the cinnamon mixture.

Bake on the center rack for 65 minutes or until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool the cake until you can handle the pan before turning it out.

Enjoy!

Completely Sauced

January 4, 2016 By in Edible Fiction, Food From The Secrets of Dr. John Welles Tags: , , , Leave a comment

IMG_20151123_095305152Breaking bad news is never easy. Receiving bad news isn’t much better. The only hope is that it doesn’t affect you directly, but even then, you may be called upon to share the grief and comfort those who need it. But what do you do when the bad news is disguised as a lovely dinner with your friends and slips out through the course of pleasant conversation? Factor in the knowledge that the bad news is tiptoeing dangerously close to your own awful experiences, and the situation is bound to go south. Such was the case for Dr. John Welles when he accepted an invitation to dine with Reuben and Hannah Wise.

What began as an enjoyable meal with people he knew for years turned out to be a hidden request for assistance with a task that John absolutely does not want to complete. Not even Hannah’s delicious cooking could persuade the doctor to go against his conscience or dredge up painful secrets. By the time the Wises and Dr. Welles parted, not even the sweetness of Hannah’s homemade applesauce could soothe hurt feelings or smooth over the rift between them.

The following recipe is the one I had in mind when I wrote the above-mentioned scene. As with many recipes, there is room for change based on your preferences. I find that applesauce, not unlike apple pie, is one of those recipes that bear the signature flavors usually handed down through the family. I hope you enjoy the way my family makes it.

Homemade Applesauce

My favorite apples to use are Cortland, Jonagold, Melrose, Idared, Winesap, and Golden Delicious, and I use a combination of all six in this recipe. Stotler’s Orchard is where I purchased apples for saucing.

½ c brown sugar

1 t vanilla

1 t cinnamon

Allspice to taste***

1 c apple cider

I prefer to use a 6.5–quart cast iron, enamel covered Dutch oven, but any heavy cooker will do.

Peel, core, and cut enough apples into one-inch chunks to fill the cooker, leaving a little room to stir. Add the apple cider, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and several hearty dashes of allspice to the apples. Stir all ingredients, cover, and cook on a medium high heat. Don’t let the apples boil. Check regularly and stir the apples up from the bottom so the mixture cooks evenly.

At about 30 minutes, the apples should be soft enough to cut through a chunk with the side of a wooden spoon. If not, cook for an additional five minutes and recheck.

Once the apples are tender, transfer small batches to a food processor and blend to desired consistency. I allow the applesauce to cool to room temperature in a large metal bowl before transferring it to gallon-sized freezer bags. Enough applesauce is ladled into the bag so that it is about a half inch thick when sealed and laying on its side. Full bags stack nicely in the freezer.

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***If your allspice lists several other spices in the ingredients, you’re not using real allspice.

The Sweet Side of Bitter

November 4, 2015 By in Edible Fiction, Food From The Secrets of Dr. John Welles Tags: , , , 1 Comment

The Sweet Side of Bitter 3John Welles and his two best friends, Sam Feldman and Claude Willoughby, formed a strong friendship during their two years of pre-med studies. By 1927, when they began studying medicine in earnest, they were inseparable despite the differences in their personalities. It was their closeness that allowed John to pick up on the problems with Claude’s family life that his friend tried to keep hidden. After the boys naively crossed the line by interfering with Claude’s father’s private business, the once subtle problems exploded to the surface. John felt powerless to help Claude.

Worsening the issue was J.D. Willoughby, Claude’s Father, who infuriated John by maintaining a polished veneer on the situation in an effort to keep up appearances. J.D. Willoughby was the type of man who didn’t even flinch when he realized John and Sam overheard him yelling threats at Claude. Instead, he ushered Claude’s friends to the kitchen, treating them like ignorant children and distracting them with freshly baked cinnamon rolls.

The Sweet Side of Bitter 2

The following recipe is the one I had in mind when I wrote the above-mentioned scene. The sinfully rich, delicious baked good is a cut above a regular cinnamon roll with the inclusion of bourbon, golden raisins, and Zante currants; it’s just the sort of dessert J.D. Willoughby would expect to be served in his home. They are so luscious, I hesitated to attach them to such a despicable character. I trust J.D’s reputation won’t negatively influence your opinion of the recipe.

Enjoy!

Willoughby Family Recipe for Cinnamon Rolls

Dough:

2 ¼ t yeast (1 – ¼ oz. package)

½ c warm water (110° – 120° F)

½ c scalded milk

¼ c sugar (I used raw)

⅓ c unsalted butter, melted

1 t sea salt

1 egg

1 t pure vanilla extract

3 ½ – 4 c flour

Filling:

½ c unsalted butter, melted

¾ c sugar (I used raw)

2 T cinnamon

2 T bourbon

1 t vanilla

¼ c golden raisins

¼ c Zante currants

½ c finely chopped walnuts

Butter and sugar to prepare a 9 X 13 baking dish

Glaze:

4 T unsalted butter, melted

2 c powdered sugar

1 t vanilla

3 – 6 T freshly squeezed and strained orange juice

1 t orange zest

The Sweet Side of Bitter

In a small glass bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine the scalded milk, sugar, melted butter, salt, vanilla, and egg. Add two cups of flour and mix until it is smooth. Add the yeast/water mixture. Add another 1 ½ cups of flour until the dough is easy to handle. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 5 – 10 minutes. This is where you may need to add the additional ½ c of flour a little at a time as you knead. The dough should not be overly sticky on your hands. Place in a large, well-greased bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let it rise until doubled in size, approximately 1 to 1 ½ hours.

Place the golden raisins, Zante currants, bourbon, and vanilla in a small glass bowl. Toss the fruit to coat with the liquid, cover, and set aside.

When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and roll it out on a floured surface into a 15 X 10-inch rectangle. Spread half of the melted butter on the surface of the dough. Mix the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the buttered dough. Sprinkle the raisin/currant/bourbon mixture and any remaining liquid over the dough. Sprinkle the walnuts over the dough. Begin with the 15-inch side and roll up the dough. Seal the long edge by pinching shut. Prepare a 9 X 13-inch baking dish by buttering the bottom and sprinkling it with sugar until coated. Cut the rolled up dough into 12 slices and place evenly in the buttered/sugared baking dish spiraled side up. Brush the sides and tops of the slices with the remaining melted butter. Let rise until double, approximately 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Bake the rolls for 30 minutes or until nicely browned. While the rolls are cooling, mix the melted butter, vanilla, orange zest, and powdered sugar with 3 T of orange juice. Stir until smooth, adding 1 T of juice at a time until the desired consistency is achieved. Drizzle the glaze over the slightly warm rolls.

Serve immediately. These reheat well in the microwave for 10 – 15 seconds.

Sweet Distractions From Life

October 14, 2015 By in Edible Fiction, Food From The Secrets of Dr. John Welles Tags: , , , , 4 Comments

IMG_20151010_184243495[1]Collie Mercer is the type of woman who believed that children should be protected from all that is bad in the world. This is exactly what she did for the four Welles siblings in my novel, The Secrets of Dr. John Welles.

Whether shielding them from the overly harsh discipline of their oft drunk father, news of the Great War in Europe, or details of the Flu Pandemic, Collie worked hard to ensure peace for the children she was raising.

Her tactics could be as simple and comforting as a batch of homemade molasses cookies. Of course, any of Collie’s delicious recipes supplied the distraction and reassurance her stepchildren needed as she brought them together time and again to the table as a family.

When I wrote the scene involving Collie’s molasses cookies, I had a soft cookie in mind but no recipe. I don’t care for crisp molasses cookies, and while I enjoy the chewy version, I adore the soft ones best. Thanks to my friend, Gayle Hoffman, I finally have a recipe for soft molasses cookies such as Collie would have offered that are tender, delicious, and easy to make.

Enjoy!

Gayle Hoffman’s Soft Molasses Cutout Cookies

1 c shortening (I used unsalted butter)

½ c sugar (I used raw)

½ c packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 c dark molasses

5 ½ c flour

1 T baking soda

1 ½ t ginger

1 t cinnamon

¾ t salt

½ c water

Preheat your oven to 350°. I worked with a KitchenAid stand mixer.

Cream the shortening or butter and both sugars about five minutes. Add the eggs one at a time. Beat in the molasses.

Combine and sift the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and salt. Add to the cream mixture by large spoonsful, mixing well and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. I suggest adding the water alternately with the dry mixture as the batter thickens. When completely mixed, it should be soft and pliable.

Cover or wrap the dough and refrigerate for at least three hours. This will make for easier handling and rolling.

Divide the dough into four sections and refrigerate the other three to keep the dough firm. Roll one section at a time, approximately 3/8” thick, on a surface dusted with a half flour/half powdered sugar mixture. Cut with your favorite cutter.

Bake at 350° for 10 – 11 minutes. You may need to adjust the baking time depending on how large or small your cut cookie is.  Allow to cool on a rack and dust with more powdered sugar.  An alternate topping would be to dust with sanding sugar prior to baking.  Store in an airtight container. Freezes well.

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All-American Goodbye

September 21, 2015 By in Edible Fiction, Food From The Secrets of Dr. John Welles Tags: , , , , , 6 Comments

Granny Smith ApplesWithout a doubt, apple pie ranks among the top choices of best comfort food. Like the other recipes I’ve shared here (biscuits, cornbread), every family has their own version, compliments of mom or grandma, and their own opinion of exactly how authentic apple pie should taste. This humble, all-American classic, often the cornerstone of Sunday dinners, picnics, and church-hosted bake sales, is also the dessert of choice that Collie Mercer sends with her youngest child, John, as he leaves the family farm to go live with his Aunt Prudence in Baltimore.

Collie’s decision to send the pie with John is probably based on the fact that apples are a readily available fruit, and her hands could make the pie from memory. Or perhaps her choice is slightly more self-serving as she silently prays the taste of the pie that John grew up with will prompt a change of heart and return her youngest child to her.

Whatever Collie’s motivation, the following recipe is the one I had in mind for her to bake during that melancholy June in 1920. I hope you enjoy it as much as my family does and as much as John did on the day he began a new chapter in his life.

Collie Mercer’s Apple Pie

5–6 Granny Smith apples

2 c flour plus 2 T for thickening

1 t salt

1 c cold, unsalted butter, cut into dices

¼ – ½ c ice water

½ c sugar, I use raw

1 t vanilla

1 ½ t cinnamon

Allspice

4 T butter for dotting

Cinnamon or sugar for dusting

Preheat your over to 425 degrees.

Mix the two cups of flour with the salt. Toss in the cold butter and cut it into the flour/salt mixture with a pastry blender or two knives until it resembles coarse meal. Slowly work enough ice water into the dry ingredients until you can form a ball of dough, making sure it’s not too wet or too dry. Work quickly by hand to ensure that all the dry ingredients are mixed in thoroughly. Be careful not to overwork the dough or the butter will become warm and the dough will be tough. Wrap the ball of dough in plastic and place in the refrigerator for twenty minutes.

Peel and slice the Granny Smith apples to approximately ¼ inch slices. (They are an extremely firm apple and any thicker will require sautéing prior to being placed in the crust or they may not cook well during the baking process.) Toss the apples with the sugar, cinnamon, a couple of hearty dashes of allspice, vanilla, and the two tablespoons of flour. Stir to coat the apples thoroughly and set aside.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut into two pieces. One piece should be slightly bigger than the other to serve as a top crust. Working on a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough enough to cover the bottom and up the sides of an eight-inch pie plate. The bottom crust can hang over the edge of the pie plate just a little. Fill the bottom crust with the seasoned apple mixture and place four tablespoon slices of butter on top of the apples. Roll the top crust larger than the diameter of the pie plate and place over the apples. Tuck the edges of the top crust beneath the edges of the bottom crust and crimp to seal. I prefer pressing with the floured tines of a fork to create an old-fashioned look.

Cut several vents in the top crust with a small, sharp paring knife to allow steam to escape. Brush the top crust with your choice of wash. I prefer a milk wash, but egg white thinned with water is also a good choice. Sprinkle liberally with cinnamon or sugar. Bake for 30 minutes. Check on the brownness of the crust and bake in five minute increments until a golden color has been achieved but no more than 45 minutes total.

Remove the pie from the oven and let stand for fifteen minutes. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

By Bread Alone

June 9, 2015 By in Edible Fiction, Food From The Secrets of Dr. John Welles Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

1433270193628Forgiveness is a tricky concept. It is easily applied to a situation when the transgression is minor. A forgotten birthday, a word misspoken in haste, a misunderstanding of perceptions; forgiveness is willingly doled out in each of these instances.

But what about the attempted genocide of an entire people? Or searching one’s own soul in an effort to release a lifetime of guilt? Who is responsible to bestow forgiveness to the offenders when these are the circumstances? Man and/or God?

These are the questions that trouble the minds of Reuben and Hannah Wise and Dr. John Welles after they dine together one January evening in 1955. All three are divided in their opinions concerning the particular events that generated their questions. While they remain polite toward each other, a wedge has been driven into their friendship, especially between Hannah and John.

I chose to have Reuben serve challah bread during the Shabbat meal to which he and Hannah invited John for two reasons. For one, challah is traditionally served during the observation of Shabbat. More importantly, though, the presence of bread during this significant meal drew attention to the many references of bread in the Bible as well as underscored the differences between the Wises and Dr. Welles.

The following recipe is the one I had in mind for the challah Reuben made in my novel, The Secrets of Dr. John Welles. I hope you will enjoy this lightly sweet, rich, and delicious bread with your meals.

Reuben Wise’s Challah Bread

1 ½ cups warm water

2 tablespoon yeast

½ cup olive oil

½ cup sugar (or honey) (I used raw sugar)

3 eggs (2 for the recipe and 1 for the wash)

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 cups flour (slightly packed)

In a Kitchen Aid mixer add 1 ½ cups lukewarm water and 2 tablespoons yeast. Mix gently and allow the yeast to foam.

Add ½ cup sugar (or honey), ½ cup olive oil, 2 eggs, and ½ teaspoon salt. Mix well, approximately one minute or so. Add the six cups of flour one at a time and mix thoroughly with a bread hook. You may need to add ½ cup of flour if the dough is very sticky.

Remove from the mixing bowl and divide the dough into two halves. Divide each half into four pieces and roll each piece to about 12 – 14 inches in length. Braid the pieces of dough. (You can find instructions for braiding challah on the internet. I chose a four-strand braid for my bread.)

Brush each braided loaf with an egg wash (beaten egg with a little water to thin it). Place the braided loaves on a non-stick cookie sheet with parchment paper or a cooking mat on it and sprinkle liberally with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, or slivered almonds. Let the loaves rise until about 1/3 larger in size.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Bake the loaves for 23 – 25 minutes. Loaves should be golden and firm when finished.

This recipe can also be mixed and kneaded by hand.

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The traditional blessing over the bread as spoken by Reuben Wise:

HAMOTZI – Blessing Over the Bread

Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, Ha-motzi lechem min ha-aretz.

hamotzi_0

Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the universe,

who brings forth bread from the earth.

The Bitter Truth

May 27, 2015 By in Edible Fiction, Food From The Secrets of Dr. John Welles Tags: , , , , , 1 Comment

Horseradish and GraterWhen I first chose the meal my protagonist, John Welles, would enjoy with Reuben and Hannah Wise, I flinched at including horseradish sauce. A website on authentic Jewish cooking suggested the pungent condiment as a topping for the salmon patties I had Hannah serving.

I hate horseradish. My earliest memory of it involves cocktail sauce served at a seafood restaurant called Arthur Treacher’s that went out of business in our area years ago. My aunt was pumping the sauce out of a dispenser into little paper cups when one hefty pump spewed the offending sauce all over my shirt. I was mortified, and I guess my face showed as much because my aunt busted up laughing even as she wiped me off with paper napkins.

To this day I can sniff out horseradish in any meal even as someone is setting the plate down in front of me. I was sure I wouldn’t include it in my Edible Fiction posts featuring food from my novel, The Secrets of Dr. John Welles. Until my mom made fresh horseradish sauce.

Homemade horseradish sauce is a whole different creature. The key, as I discovered, was to grate the horseradish fresh instead of using the jarredHorseradish Grated stuff. Freshly grated horseradish is zesty like radishes; it actually has flavor. Unlike the jarred stuff, which is bitter without much flavor at all, fresh horseradish tastes like peppery herbs.

As for recipes, there are thousands to be found for homemade horseradish sauce. I imagine Hannah would have mixed her freshly grated horseradish into a quality mayonnaise with a little salt and pepper to taste. Sour cream or crème fraiche is another suggestion as is the inclusion of white wine vinegar, chives, and Dijon mustard. You really can’t mess up the recipe; it’s just a matter of tasting as you create until you achieve the flavor you’re looking for.

The following is a basic recipe that provides a great jumping off point.

Horseradish Sauce

4 ounces of freshly grated horseradish root

1 ½ cups of mayonnaise

Salt and pepper to taste

Peel and grate the horseradish root. Stir into the mayonnaise and season with salt and pepper.

In For a Penny, In For a Pound

March 16, 2015 By in Edible Fiction, Food From The Secrets of Dr. John Welles Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

 

Done and cut

It is Christmas morning, December 1917, and young John Welles is celebrating with his family. Their festivities are halted for a moment when John’s often absent, always inebriated father walks into the kitchen. John and his three siblings hold their breath until their stepmother, Collie, prepares a plate of fried eggs and a cup of coffee and sends him back to wherever he spends his days.

As a surprise for her stepchildren, Collie made pound cake and hot cocoa. She’s not the type to serve dessert for breakfast but makes an allowance for Christmas.

The following recipe is the one I had in mind when I wrote the scene above. I first tasted this particular pound cake at a work function. My co-worker, Cheryl Pandrea, really has the magic touch when it comes to making this recipe. The cake is rich, moist, and delicious. It’s perfect served with the cocoa recipe on my blog.

Cheryl’s Pound Cake

2 sticks of butter

3 cups of sugar

¼ teaspoon baking soda

6 eggs

16 ounces sour cream

3 cups flour

Preheat the oven to 325°

In a large bowl, cream the butter and the sugar. Add the baking soda and mix. Add the eggs two at a time and mix thoroughly after each. Add the sour cream and mix thoroughly. Gradually add the flour a half cup at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Grease and flour a bunt pan, be sure to get all the fluted edges. Bake the cake for 1 – 1 ½ hours or until golden brown. A tester inserted should come out clean.

Turn the cake out on a cooling rack. Let it cool until just warm or room temperature, then serve.

A Special Christmas Breakfast

A Special Christmas Breakfast

You Haven’t Been Cooking Again, Have You Prudence?

March 11, 2015 By in Edible Fiction, Food From The Secrets of Dr. John Welles Tags: , , , 1 Comment

1424624185921October 1925 is the start of a very exciting time for John Welles; he’s beginning his pre-med studies at the University of Maryland. John’s deepest personal secret to date, the fact that he wants to study medicine, is becoming a reality.

Unfortunately, his first day is overshadowed by the rift that still exists between him and his stepmother, Collie. For three months, John hasn’t received a letter or telephone call from her. As much as he misses her presence in his life, he doesn’t know how to repair the damage.

His Aunt Prudence discerns that he’s still upset by the harsh words he exchanged with Collie, so she surprises him with a special breakfast consisting of the dishes he enjoyed as a child on the farm. John teases his aunt about her terrible cooking skills to which Prudence replies that her cook, Lucia, actually made the breakfast.

One of the breakfast menu items Prudence and Lucia serve John is fried apples. They’re delicious over biscuits, cornbread, ice cream, pancakes, or served in a bowl as a side dish. The great thing about fried apples is that you really don’t need a recipe. I’m sure recipes exist, but you’ll end up tweaking them to your tastes anyhow so just wing it from the start.1424622543744

I suggest at least two apples per person and keep in mind that people will want seconds and leftovers.  Just to be safe, make it three apples per person; they really do reheat well. We like a combination of sweet and tart apples. Any of the cooking varieties will do.

Apples

Unsalted Butter

Brown Sugar

Cinnamon

Salt, optional – add when seasoning

Slice each unpeeled apple in eight pieces and place in a large mixing bowl. Toss the apples with approximately a ¼ cup of brown sugar, several hearty shakes of cinnamon, and salt if using. Heat at least half a stick of butter in a very large skillet because this is one of those recipes that seem to grow as you make it. More butter means more syrup.

Transfer the spiced apple mixture to the skillet, cover, and cook the apples until they are tender but not falling apart, stirring occasionally. As they cook, the apple juice mixes with the brown sugar and cinnamon to make sticky syrup. This is where you’ll decide if you want more or less sugar, butter, and cinnamon or to add another flavor like honey or ginger. You really can’t go wrong with fried apples. Be adventurous and make the recipe your own; your family will love you for it!

Enjoy!

So easy the hubby can do it!

So easy the hubby can do it!

Crossing the Road with the Chicken

March 2, 2015 By in Edible Fiction, Food From The Secrets of Dr. John Welles Tags: , , , , 1 Comment
Buttermilk Fried Chicken with Mounds of Smashed Potatoes and a hungry child in the background.

Buttermilk Fried Chicken with Mounds of Smashed Potatoes and a hungry child in the background.

In June of 1920, John Welles travels with his Aunt Prudence to her house in Baltimore. It is the first time he has been away from his home on the farm. As much as he loves his family, John is desperate to escape the two tragedies that haunt him, leaving him with a painful secret.

John’s stepmother, Collie, packs a picnic lunch for him and Prudence. Buttermilk fried chicken is sure to ease the sadness John feels at his departure. Her gesture will also soften the heartbreak she experiences when her youngest child leaves home for good.

The fried chicken I imagined when I wrote this scene tastes like what my mother made during my childhood. Unfortunately, by the time I became a homemaker, frying had long since been replaced with baked or grilled skinless chicken. To make matters worse, Mom didn’t really remember how she prepared the chicken.

I called my sister-in-law because her parents host fish fries, but I discovered that she, too, possessed no talent for frying. After a good laugh, we collaborated on the following recipe. I took responsibility for the marinade, and she handled the coating. Together we monitored the frying process like a new mother watching over a sleeping baby. What we created was juicy, delicious, and not too bad for a couple of chicks learning to fry!

I hope you enjoy our recipe.

Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Chicken – 2 breasts, 2 thighs, 2 legs, 2 wings

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cups buttermilk

2 teaspoons hot sauce

3 cloves garlic, crushed

½ teaspoons dried thyme

House of Autry Chicken Breader (I highly recommend this product; it is seasoned perfectly and deliciously)

32 oz. bottle peanut oil

Vegetable shortening

Rinse and trim the chicken pieces for excess fat, pat dry with a paper towel. Place the pieces in a baking dish and season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate about an hour.

Mix the buttermilk, hot sauce, garlic, and thyme in a gallon-sized, re-sealable plastic bag. Add the chicken pieces, making sure all pieces are submerged, seal and refrigerate 2 to 4 hours, turning the bag every hour.

Remove chicken from the bag and gently shake off excess marinade. Place half of the chicken in another gallon-sized, re-sealable bag with two cups of chicken breading. Seal and shake thoroughly to coat the pieces. Remove from the bag and shake off any excess breading, set aside. Repeat with remaining pieces, adding more breading if necessary.

Fill an electric skillet with all of the peanut oil and two large spoonsful of vegetable shortening. Heat to 350° F, making sure the shortening melts completely. When the skillet reaches desired temperature, a bead of water dropped in the oil should dance across the surface.

I suggest cooking the thickest pieces first (breasts and thighs). Use tongs to carefully lower the coated chicken into the hot oil. The temperature will drop, so adjust the skillet heat as needed to maintain the correct cooking temperature.

The following indicates the number of minutes per side for each piece, with flipping in between, to ensure doneness without burning. The first five minutes per side sets the breading:

Breasts – 5, 5, 3, 3, 3

Thighs – 5, 5, 3, 3

Legs & Wings – 5, 5, 2, 2

Remove the chicken to a cooling rack lined with paper towels to drain, sprinkle with salt, and let rest a few minutes. Repeat with the remaining chicken. Serve with favorite side dishes.