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Nana's Famous Fried Chicken
Jan. 1st, 2008 08:46 pmWell, the Mom Food Project is off to a marvelous start. I told mom yesterday that the last time I tried to duplicate her fried chicken, it didn't taste right, and the breading fell off. She told me that the chicken has to rest for a half hour for the breading to adhere. Okey-doke, check.
Then, "And how much Parmesan did you put in the breading?"
"Um, Parmesan? In fried chicken?"
Oh, yeah, there's parmesan in there. And lots of it. Anyway, she was right. The breading stuck, and it tasted just exactly as it did when I was a kid. Yay! Even the Munchkin, who has had mom's lots more recently than I have, approved.
Recipes in the next post.
( I'm gonna put the picture behind a cut tag for the folks who don't want to see pics of meat. )
Then, "And how much Parmesan did you put in the breading?"
"Um, Parmesan? In fried chicken?"
Oh, yeah, there's parmesan in there. And lots of it. Anyway, she was right. The breading stuck, and it tasted just exactly as it did when I was a kid. Yay! Even the Munchkin, who has had mom's lots more recently than I have, approved.
Recipes in the next post.
( I'm gonna put the picture behind a cut tag for the folks who don't want to see pics of meat. )
Let the mocking begin
Oct. 9th, 2007 03:30 pmI have been on a sort of a crusade lately to make all the foods my mom made for us when we were kids. None of my siblings has any interest in cooking, and I don't want my mom's recipes to die out when she dies. She's been having a blast teaching me over the phone to make knaedlach (matzoh-ball) soup, lasagna, pot roast, and on and on.
There's one dish, though, that was one of my very favorites when I was a child that I haven't asked her about: Chicken and rice.
The reason I haven't asked her is that I knew the recipe involved at least one can of Campbell's cream of mushroom soup. Oy.
It's worse than that, as it turns out: One can EACH of cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, and cream of celery.
I bit the bullet and bought the stuff. I will certainly find the resulting casserole too salty, but I'm eager to see if I can recreate my mom's one really trashy offering. Mostly, she cooked delicious foods from scratch, and still does. Tomorrow night, though, we're having chicken and rice, and I don't care who knows it. :-)
(Baking dish. Six chicken thighs. Garlic powder. A layer of sliced onions. Pour a mixture of the soup, some pepper, 3 cans of water, 3 cans of milk, and 2 cups of uncooked white rice on top. Sprinkle paprika on top. Bake at 350F for 45-60 minutes, until the chicken doesn't bleed when you pierce it.)
There's one dish, though, that was one of my very favorites when I was a child that I haven't asked her about: Chicken and rice.
The reason I haven't asked her is that I knew the recipe involved at least one can of Campbell's cream of mushroom soup. Oy.
It's worse than that, as it turns out: One can EACH of cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, and cream of celery.
I bit the bullet and bought the stuff. I will certainly find the resulting casserole too salty, but I'm eager to see if I can recreate my mom's one really trashy offering. Mostly, she cooked delicious foods from scratch, and still does. Tomorrow night, though, we're having chicken and rice, and I don't care who knows it. :-)
(Baking dish. Six chicken thighs. Garlic powder. A layer of sliced onions. Pour a mixture of the soup, some pepper, 3 cans of water, 3 cans of milk, and 2 cups of uncooked white rice on top. Sprinkle paprika on top. Bake at 350F for 45-60 minutes, until the chicken doesn't bleed when you pierce it.)
It's been a good-food week.
First,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
stonebender took me to Angeline's in Berkeley for literally the best meal I've had in months, and the best pie I've had in EVER.
Then, Thai food withjwermont. Yummy papaya salad. Yummy yellow curry and pad thai, and YUMMY thai iced tea. Yay!
Yesterday and the day before, of course, were consumed (as it were) by the great big batch of knaedlach soup I made (it ended up being just simply delicious, and I had leftovers for breakfast).
Tonight, for dinner, caesar salad and bean soup made with many kinds of beans and a whole ham hock. It sure smells like my mother's place in here.
And now, I'm sitting here eating cheap Ikea caviar on crackers while I listen to Sarah Harmer and reflect on how just simply RICH I am. I have barely any money, but I always have good food. Life is good.
First,
stonebender took me to Angeline's in Berkeley for literally the best meal I've had in months, and the best pie I've had in EVER.Then, Thai food with
jwermont. Yummy papaya salad. Yummy yellow curry and pad thai, and YUMMY thai iced tea. Yay!Yesterday and the day before, of course, were consumed (as it were) by the great big batch of knaedlach soup I made (it ended up being just simply delicious, and I had leftovers for breakfast).
Tonight, for dinner, caesar salad and bean soup made with many kinds of beans and a whole ham hock. It sure smells like my mother's place in here.
And now, I'm sitting here eating cheap Ikea caviar on crackers while I listen to Sarah Harmer and reflect on how just simply RICH I am. I have barely any money, but I always have good food. Life is good.
Knaedlach soup
Sep. 20th, 2007 04:59 pmI have always found my mother's knaedlach soup (matzoh-ball soup) to be about the equivalent of manna from heaven if I believed in manna from heaven. For the first couple of years that I was a vegetarian, I took one day a year off, my birthday, to eat my mom's matzoh-ball soup. On the third or fourth birthday, she found a vegan "schmaltz" and made me a veg version, so I didn't have her real-deal soup for another 20 years or so.
Yesterday, I boiled a chicken for stock, rendered chicken skin for schmaltz, and bought the vegetables. Right now, there is matzoh-ball batter/dough in my fridge, resting, and I shall pull the chicken off the bones in a little bit (I don't care at all about the chicken part, but most people seem to expect it.
When it's almost time to make the knaedlachs, I will put a pot of chicken stock on the stove, add onions, celery, and carrots, and bring them to a boil. My mother says she's been boiling the knaedlachs in water lately to help them stay together better, but that's not how she did it when I was growing up, so that's not how I'm gonna do it. I'll drop them into simmering soup and do them the old way. If they fall apart, they fall apart. I'll live with it.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, souuuuuuuuuup.
Yesterday, I boiled a chicken for stock, rendered chicken skin for schmaltz, and bought the vegetables. Right now, there is matzoh-ball batter/dough in my fridge, resting, and I shall pull the chicken off the bones in a little bit (I don't care at all about the chicken part, but most people seem to expect it.
When it's almost time to make the knaedlachs, I will put a pot of chicken stock on the stove, add onions, celery, and carrots, and bring them to a boil. My mother says she's been boiling the knaedlachs in water lately to help them stay together better, but that's not how she did it when I was growing up, so that's not how I'm gonna do it. I'll drop them into simmering soup and do them the old way. If they fall apart, they fall apart. I'll live with it.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, souuuuuuuuuup.
Poultry galore
Sep. 7th, 2007 10:33 pmWent to Costco today. Mostly bought staples -- sugar, toilet paper, butter for toffee, that kind of thing. But chicken (whole or parts) was 99 cents a pound, so I went kind of nuts. Bought two whole chickens and a big pack of thighs (our favorite part). Here is its fate so far:
Chicken #1: Skinned (reserved skin for schmaltz), boiled, saved the resulting yummy liquid for soup. Made chicken salad from the white meat. Saved the dark meat for the soup. Saved the carcass for the next batch of stock. Added onion, garlic, carrot, bell pepper, mushrooms, the dark meat, fish sauce, curry paste, ginger, and some shrimp to the stock to make a lovely Thai-inspired soup.
Chicken #2: Frozen for future knaedlach soup (see chicken skin, below)
Thighs: Skinned (reserved skin for schmaltz), packed two-or-three at a time into bags, frozen. Six meals' worth of chicken for about six bucks.
Chicken skin: Frozen until I get ready to make knaedlach soup (chicken soup with matzoh balls). My mother will walk me through it -- I've really only made it alongside her before, but it's really my favorite soup, and for the first few years that I was a vegetarian, I took my birthday off to have some of her matzoh balls (I was never a fan of the chicken, and eventually, mom found a brand of vegan "schmaltz" and started making me a veg version of knaedlachs).
Maybe next weekend there will be knaedlach soup. I've been on a total soup kick lately.
Chicken #1: Skinned (reserved skin for schmaltz), boiled, saved the resulting yummy liquid for soup. Made chicken salad from the white meat. Saved the dark meat for the soup. Saved the carcass for the next batch of stock. Added onion, garlic, carrot, bell pepper, mushrooms, the dark meat, fish sauce, curry paste, ginger, and some shrimp to the stock to make a lovely Thai-inspired soup.
Chicken #2: Frozen for future knaedlach soup (see chicken skin, below)
Thighs: Skinned (reserved skin for schmaltz), packed two-or-three at a time into bags, frozen. Six meals' worth of chicken for about six bucks.
Chicken skin: Frozen until I get ready to make knaedlach soup (chicken soup with matzoh balls). My mother will walk me through it -- I've really only made it alongside her before, but it's really my favorite soup, and for the first few years that I was a vegetarian, I took my birthday off to have some of her matzoh balls (I was never a fan of the chicken, and eventually, mom found a brand of vegan "schmaltz" and started making me a veg version of knaedlachs).
Maybe next weekend there will be knaedlach soup. I've been on a total soup kick lately.
