FRENCH BLOODLINES

Chicken Francaise might sound really fancy, but it’s French Chicken.  My Great-Grandfather Noe (John Chapman Noe, who everyone called Papa Noe) was French and he really looked like it.  My brother is so much like him!  You look at the face; it’s familiar.  You’ve seen it – but a long time ago, or maybe even in a picture.  A couple years ago, Jim and his wife Anita, Mom, Linda, Steve & I all loaded up in our and took a trip back in time.  We went to Lebanon and Bradfordsville, Kentucky, visiting all those old familiar sites, including the graves of Papa & Mama Noe and Papa & Mama Young.  Seeing my brother at Papa Noe’s grave was sort of eerie because Jim looks so much like him.  When we compare photos, they’re nearly identical.  They have the same built, the same features and Mom said even the same temperament!  What makes it even more strange is that Jim’s youngest son, Jason, was born on Papa Noe’s birthday (April 8, 1975 – 110 years to the day after Papa Noe was born!).

Being French has  always gave me and my sister Linda a love for France and it’s people.  Oh you should have seen us when Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy was the First Lady!!!  We just KNEW that if we did our family tree back far enough, WE would be Bouviers!  We still love all things French and I’m beginning to dabble a little into French cooking.  Hope you’ll enjoy this, too.  Bon Appétit!

Chicken Francaise Over Spaghetti

2 lb thin sliced chicken breasts (about 6-8 fillets)

2 eggs, beaten

1-1/2 c flour, seasoned

1/2 c cooking oil for frying

HOW TO MAKE THE SAUCE

1 stick butter, melted

1 c white wine

1/2 c lemon juice

1/4 c capers

1/3 c olive oil, extra virgin

salt and pepper to taste

1 lb thin spaghetti

 Create a workstation with the egg, flour and chicken cutlets and begin by dipping chicken slices individually into the egg and then flour and begin to fry gently in a frying pan, (salt and pepper if desired).  Set aside until all are done. Begin mixing  the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and place on low heat.

 If serving over or with pasta, begin a boiling pot of salted water and place spaghetti in water when it begins to boil and cook for about 12 minutes or to you taste. Drain in a colander.  Place pasta in a casserole, top and mix with a little sauce and then arrange chicken pieces on top. Pour the remaining sauce over the chicken and pasta.

Put this in a 350 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes, then remove to serve. Before serving, place lemon slices and chopped parsley on top for presentation. Another great one-dish meal or serve with a salad or green vegetable.

MY BLUE RIBBON HUSBAND

My husband Steve is quite a pastry master.  His specialty is cheesecakes.  He’s so good, in fact, that he was a Best-in-Show winner for several years at the County Fair.  He does vanilla, chocolate, marble, key lime and one of my personal picks, this heavenly orange cheesecake.  It’s smooth and wonderful.  Come to think of it, Steve is a Blue Ribbon Husband all around!

ORANGE CHEESECAKE

Crust:

1-1/2 cup Chocolate Wafer Crumbs

4 tb Unsalted Butter – melted

Filling:

1 Envelope Unflavored Gelatin

1/2 c Orange Juice

24 oz Cream Cheese -- softened

3/4 c Sugar

1 c Whipping Cream -- whipped

2 tsp Grated Orange Peel

Combine crumbs and butter. Press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan and bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Cool.

Soften gelatin in juice; stir over low heat until dissolved.

Combine cream cheese and sugar. Gradually add gelatin mixture. Fold in whipped cream and peel. Pour into pie sell; Chill until firm.

KENTUCKY GOODNESS

Nothing beats fresh green beans right out of the garden cooked with new red potatoes.   My Aunt Ressie (wife of my Dad’s brother Stanley) called this a mess, as in, "I picked me a mess of greens"   In my Mom’s family, a mess referred to when my Papaw Noe and Uncle Pete went fishing, Aunt Ruth would say “They got a mess of  fish”.  But either way, it meant a great dinner was on the way!  As a kid, green beans didn’t mean those things from a can.  It was pole beans or Kentucky Wonders from the garden, and that still holds true for me today.  In fact, just writing this blog today makes me want to put on “a mess” for tonight!!!

 My Aunts:  Ressie (left)

and Toylia, who died in 1939, so I never met.

With them, Toylia's children (Christine, Dexter & Smith)

KENTUCKY-STYLE GREEN BEANS WITH NEW POTATOES

2-3 lbs. fresh green beans, washed and broken with strings removed.

3-4 slices bacon

1 medium Vidalia onion

1 Tbs. chopped garlic

2-3 cups chicken broth

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

9-10 small red potatoes

With your kitchen shears or a knife cut your bacon in pieces and brown in a dutch oven. I like to use my cast iron dutch oven for this. 

Once the bacon is crisp, remove it to a paper towel lined plate.

Chop the onion and put the chopped onion and the Tbs. of garlic in the bacon drippings.  There won't be a lot of drippings from that much bacon and that's fine, you want just enough to season the beans, not have them swimming in it.  Saute until just soft.

Add the green beans to the hot bacon drippings and sauteed onion/garlic mixture and stir to coat them.  Add the salt and black pepper.

Add 2-3 cups of chicken broth or just enough to cover the beans.  You can use canned or the chicken bouillon cubes.   Bring to a boil and then turn down to low,  cook on low and covered for about 30 to 40 minutes.  Don't cook on heat set too high or they will scorch.

Wash the potatoes and if they are really small, just peel a strip right around the center.  If they are  little bigger, like mine were, halve them or quarter them and place them on top of the beans.  Sprinkle the potatoes with a little salt and pepper.  Cover and cook for about 30-40 more minutes or until fork tender.  It's important to not overcook the green beans.  They should still be 'green' at the end of the cooking time, but it's also important to not under cook them. Fresh green beans need time to cook on low heat,  remember that unlike canned beans, they haven't been processed at all.

Once the potatoes are cooked, give the whole pot a stir to mix the potatoes, beans and cooking liquid.  Taste for seasoning.  You might need to sprinkle with a dash more salt and pepper depending on how many beans you cooked. Sprinkle with the reserved bacon.  You have 'Southern Green Beans with New Potatoes and Bacon"!

COOKING TIP:   If you don't have fresh green beans and want to use canned, there’s a great brant called Allens Beans that taste al,ost as good as thje garden variety.  If  you want them to taste more like fresh, drain all of the canning liquid off of the beans and rinse them.