Experimenting with the past

Today I tried to make a meal like my grandmother would make. As it was Easter I wanted to give my husband the option of what he wanted for dinner, ham, pasta, or fried chicken. He chose fried chicken and I started trying to remember how my Granny made the best chicken I have ever had. The meal was so-so, not the best, I will just have to try again. The chicken needed more salt and had a puffy crust, I forgot to make the green beans, the biscuits were a bit heavy, the gravy was bland, and the Red Velvet Cake needed less butter (I misread the recipe and added too much butter to the cake).

Menu:
Fried Chicken
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy
Green Beans
Biscuits
Red Velvet Cake

Fried chicken:
Soak chicken in buttermilk overnight.
Batter of flour, salt, pepper, cayene pepper.
Egg dip with buttermilk.

I dipped the chicken in flour, egg, then flour again. Next time I will try just dipping in egg then flour. Fry over medium-high or medium heat. I put chicken on a cooling rack over a biscuit pan in a warm (200F) oven until time to serve.

Biscuits
Recipe came from America's Test Kitchen

Red Velvet Cake
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon white vinegar
3 large eggs
1 (1-ounce) bottle liquid red food coloring
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
Cream Cheese Frosting

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy; gradually add sugar, vanilla, and vinegar, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Add food coloring, beating until combined.
Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; add to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed until blended after each addition. Pour into 2 greased and floured 9-inch cakepans.
Bake at 350° for 20 to 22 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 5 minutes; remove from pans, and cool on wire racks.
Spread Cream Cheese Frosting between layers and on tops and sides of cake.

Yield: Makes 1 (2-layer) cake

Southern Living, NOVEMBER 2001

Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 (16-ounce) package powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans

Beat cream cheese and butter until creamy; gradually add sugar and vanilla, beating well. Stir in pecans.
Yield: Makes 3 cups

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=521678 http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=258799