Dee's Fried Chicken and Slaw

Last week a very dear member of my extended family passed away and in my sadness at her loss I felt that cooking her food would be the best way to honor her.  I had the chance to spend some time with her last August and while we knew it was likely our goodbye it was a great joy to see her and learn from her.  She has been one of the family's best cooks for years and I only learned last summer that she also had published a cookbook. Titled "An Angel in the Kitchen" it was a tribute to her own mother and friends who love cooking.  It's a classic community-compiled book, a real treasure in plastic-spiral-bound nostalgia.  Her signature dish is fried chicken, and no one makes it better.  Even last summer, at a family reunion with more than 12 people, while she was tired and unwell, she cranked out her chicken and we devoured it.  I discovered the recipe in her book and decided that my tribute to her would be to make her famous chicken and accompanying coleslaw.  This is "Dee's Fried Chicken and Slaw" and it's classic home-style American cooking from my grandparents' generation.  Simple, unfussy and completely soul-satisfying.

 

Here are her recipes, written the same way they are in her cookbook.

"My Best Fried Chicken"

Remove skin from chicken parts.  Place in a large bowl.  For one chicken, sprinkle 1/4 c. salt over the chicken; pour milk over chicken, enough to completely cover.  Leave set for 1 hour.  Pour off and rinse and dry.  Roll in flour.  Heat Crisco oil in heavy skillet to fry chicken.  (Stephanie's Note: I must admit -- I used canola oil, not Crisco.  Otherwise, true to the recipe.)

"My Slaw"

1 sm. head cabbage, shredded

1 red apple

1 sm. onion, chopped

1/2 carrot, shredded

1 c. mayonnaise

1/3 c. vinegar

1/2 tsp. salt

2/3 c. sugar

1/4 c. milk

Place cabbage, onion and carrot in medium bowl.  Mix mayonnaise, vinegar, salt, sugar and milk.  Pour over cabbage; don't mix.  Cover with plastic wrap for an hour.  When ready to use, chop an apple in small pieces, add to the cabbage and stir until well mixed. (Stephanie's Note: the raw onion is very, very strong.  I used less and shredded it, but it's still very strong.  Your choice whether to use or omit but I wanted to re-create it her way.)

Though I tried my best, I simply could not re-create her chicken.  Mine was nowhere near as perfect and delicious as hers.  It is definitely her lifetime of making that chicken and the extra dash of her own love she put in when no one was watching, that made it her own special recipe. She was the perfect example of a cook who makes spectacular food by cooking with love.  We'll miss you, Dee.  You too, just like your Mother, were "An Angel in the Kitchen".

Comments

[Louise at Livin Local]

Such a lovely tribute! Clearly, she was known and will continue to be known by these dishes. Oh, that we would each remembered with such warm satisfying sentiments!

Her voice sure comes out, even in the quick instructions. "Leave set for 1 hour." Priceless!

[Stephanie Beack]

Louise, thanks so much for reaching out! She was an amazing woman and you're exactly right. Her personality comes out in that exact phrase. I was tempted to edit it, but left it pure. A Midwest farming community product, that's the way she said it. Thanks!