If cooking is an art, eating must be a pleasure? And what’s more pleasurable than Soul Food? This is good country eating!
When you visit relatives in the country, the words after hello are: can I get you something to eat? No one in the South wants a visitor to be hungry—not in their house.
There’s always a pot on the stove. And there’s something good in it. This is Southern Hospitality at its best!
An itching nose means company is coming; I better put on a pot of pintos or greens with plenty of ham hocks.
Country cooking is like a blossoming relationship—you take it slow. Everything is slowly cooked and seasoned well to satisfy the palate, body, and soul. But you don’t have to neglect your favorite soaps: All My Children, General Hospital, and the rest.
Country folks invented multi-tasking.
When was the last time you ate homemade food so good that you licked the spoon, fork, knife, napkin, plate, or your fingers? I’m not going to ask if you left a bone for Duke, who was snoozing on the porch.
You’ve heard the saying the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.
Generations of country mothers believed this saying and taught their daughters the art of cooking. And this translated to the art of catching a good eater or maybe even a good man.
So, why wouldn’t men want to marry a country girl? She knows at least two generations of homemade recipes, which includes how to whup or smash potatoes.
She knows how to cook the essentials: collard greens, blackeye peas, cornbread, mac and cheese, fried chicken, biscuits, and pound cake from scratch.
Don’t let the word scratch scare you. You don’t have the grow the wheat and process the flour.
But the pound cake got to have bounce to the ounce, the savor in the flavor, and be moist, of course.
The following is my recipe for fried chicken and gravy.
Fried Chicken – Mix 2 cups all-purpose flour, garlic powder, onion powder, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper in a heavy, resealable plastic bag. Whisk 1 egg with 2 tablespoons milk in a bowl; season with salt and black pepper.
Dip chicken into egg mixture, and place into plastic bag of seasoned flour. Close bag and shake to coat chicken. Fry chicken in desired amount of oil.
Gravy – Drain oil, leaving 1/4 cup oil in skillet. Reduce heat to medium. Whisk flour into hot oil until combined and browned. Add water and continue until desired thickness. Bring gravy to a simmer and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened and creamy, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and white pepper. Serve gravy with fried chicken.
Finger licking good eating!