If Fried Chicken Could Fly (32 page)

My dad has often told me about how, when he was dating my mother, her mother would fry up some chicken and leave it warming in the oven just for him. He claims it was the best fried chicken he’s ever eaten. Of course, I remember my grandmother’s delicious chocolate chip cookies and her delicious Thanksgiving dinners. Sadly, those were the days when things like amazing fried chicken and chocolate chip cookie recipes didn’t get written down. My grandmother cooked and baked by adding a little of this and a little of that. My mother had no interest in such things, so she never paid attention, and my grandmother died when I was nine, long before I had any cooking or baking interest myself.

I would love to have her fried chicken recipe, all of her
recipes. I would love to share it with the world. But I don’t. And it seems no one else does either.

So I went in search of the “best fried chicken recipe ever” to include in this book. What I found was something beyond ingredients and directions; I found tradition, family, and lots of love. A fried chicken recipe is one of those things that brings families together, puts future generations in touch with something that was theirs even before their time.

I think the following recipe is pretty darn good. I’m not done searching, though. Maybe I’ll find something better, maybe I won’t. If you have a fried chicken recipe in your family, I’ll bet you think it’s the best—and it is. And if you’re lucky enough to have someone in your family who knows the recipe well, do me a favor: write it down and keep it close.

In a large shallow bowl or pie plate, mix together the flour, salt, pepper, and paprika. Rinse the chicken pieces and pat them dry with a paper towel. Dip the chicken pieces in milk, and then dredge through your flour mixture. Let the chicken stand for 20 minutes, and then dredge again.

Fill a cast-iron skillet with about ½ inch vegetable oil, and heat it on medium high to 375 degrees F. Maintain
this temperature throughout this first frying process. Make sure the skin browns, not burns.

Dip the chicken pieces, one or two pieces at a time, into the oil. Brown both sides. Remove to a platter until all the pieces have been browned.

Return all of the chicken pieces to the skillet. Reduce heat to low or medium low, and cover. Cook slowly and gently for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken is done all the way through and is fork tender.

Remove the cover. Turn up the heat to medium high, and recrisp the chicken, about 5 minutes, turning once, after the skillet is hot again.

Serve!

I can’t say the following recipe is healthy—flour is involved. It isn’t fried but tastes almost like it is. This has turned into one of my son’s favorite dishes. When I first made it, he couldn’t get enough so I doubled it. This is the doubled version. It’ll work if you have a large group or a teenage son or two. Not only does this make a satisfying dish for a meal, it’s also a great appetizer to serve for a TV sporting event.

Wash and dry the chicken.

Place the chicken and milk in a gallon-size storage bag. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Spread the vegetable oil on the bottom of a 13 × 9-inch baking dish until coated.

Place the flour, salt, and pepper in another gallon-size storage bag, seal, and shake until all ingredients are blended.

Remove the chicken from first storage bag, drain, and then place it into the bag filled with the seasoned flour. I put in a few strips at a time. Shake to coat the chicken well.

Place the chicken in the prepared baking dish.

Coat the top of the chicken with a generous coat of vegetable spray—this is pretty important. Try to get a little spray on all exposed parts of the chicken. This gives it a great texture.

Bake in center of oven for 20–25 minutes, or until the chicken is browned on the outside and cooked through on the inside.

To this day, I crave Barbara’s Bake Shop champagne cake. I lived in Des Moines, Iowa, for a number of years when I was a kid. Barbara’s was only a few blocks from our house, but once I discovered the shop’s champagne cake, I was a convert. When I got to choose the cake, it was always champagne and it was always from Barbara’s. Sadly, Barbara’s closed a number of years ago.

I created this recipe with the champagne cake flavor in mind. I had some help with the frosting. Thank you, Heidi Baschnagel!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In large bowl mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together.

In another large bowl cream together the butter, sugar, and cream cheese.

Add the eggs, vanilla, food coloring, and champagne. Blend to incorporate.

Add the flour mixture and mix until combined.

Chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

On floured surface roll out the dough ¼–½ inch thick. Cut into desired shapes, and place shapes about two inches apart on a cookie sheet.

Bake for about 12 minutes or until edges are slightly browned. Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for about 1 minute and then remove them to a cooling rack. While the cookies cool, make the frosting (recipe follows).

Makes about 24 two-inch-wide cookies.

In a large bowl, mix the sugar, butter, champagne, and food coloring. Add a little bit of water at a time to achieve the desired frosting consistency—I think thicker is better. Spread the frosting over the cooled cookies, and sprinkle with glitter (if desired).

Peanut butter frosting is a wicked creation. Because I love peanut butter, I’ve tried a number of different recipes over the years. Peanut butter frosting can be too thick, too crunchy, even too peanut buttery. I think I found a great balance of texture and taste with the following recipe. I recommend it on chocolate cake. While no Missouri Anna I know would ever do anything but make a cake from scratch, I’ll admit to using this frosting on a box mix.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Slowly beat in half of the sugar. Mix in the milk. Beat in the remaining sugar. If you find it necessary, add a little more milk to give it a spreading consistency.

Makes enough to frost one 2-layer 9-inch cake or one 9 × 13-inch cake.

I think I’ve tried dozens of red velvet cake recipes. Most of the time, I’ve been terribly disappointed. They’ve been too dense, too dark, or just not flavorful enough. Then last year some friends of my son’s made him a red velvet cake for his birthday. It was delicious. I was on the phone the next day, asking if I could include the recipe in this book. Thankfully, they agreed. So, thank you, Michael Kennedy-Yoon and Katherine Kennedy, for the best red velvet cake ever!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and lightly flour two 9-inch round cake pans or line a 24-cup pan with paper liners.

In a medium bowl cream together the shortening, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. In another medium bowl mix the cocoa and food coloring together with a spoon until pastelike consistency. Add it to the shortening mixture.

Add and mix the salt and flour alternately with the buttermilk into the shortening mixture.

In a small bowl mix the baking soda and vinegar, and add it to the batter. Mix until all ingredients are well blended and form a smooth batter.

Pour the batter into two greased and floured cake pans. Bake for 25–30 minutes.* While the cake cools, make the frosting (recipe follows).

Makes 1 cake or about 24 cupcakes. *Only bake for 17–21 minutes if making cupcakes.

In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, cream, and sugar until smooth. Spread the frosting over the cooled cake or cupcakes, and top with sprinkles. Makes enough to generously frost one 2-layer 9-inch cake or 24 cupcakes.

Gram’s secret ingredient is vinegar. When I was experimenting with recipes, none of them had vinegar, so I thought I’d found the magic. I have found vinegar in a number of recipes since then.