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Dear Reader,
I'm on vacation (hopefully sitting on Siesta Key Beach), so today's column is penned by book club reader Becky Haase. Becky's Chicken and Noodles (yum, yum, one of my favorite things to eat) was chosen as a Runner-up entry in this year's Write a Dear Reader contest. It's a sweet story that took me back to my Grandma Hale's kitchen.
Congratulations Becky!
Talk to you soon, the vacationing...Suzanne Beecher
Sunday dinner (and all the holidays) at Gramma's house was a command performance when I was growing up. Gramma was a great cook and her repertoire included sturdy German dishes. My favorite was Chicken and Noodles--homemade of course. I asked her to show me how to make those fat, yummy noodles bathed in tasty broth and swimming with the tender chunks of chicken.
We set aside a day and the lesson started.
"Get some carrots and celery out of the garden. As long as you are in the garden, you might as well pick the beans and tomatoes, too."
Hmmm, maybe we should have started earlier.
"Wash them well and chop up the carrots and celery."
How many carrots? How much celery?
"Enough for us to eat for dinner."
"Now that job is done, fry up the carrots and celery in some butter. Remember your Grampa likes his vegetables soft."
I remember!
"Get out the extra leftover chicken and broth from yesterday's dinner and any chicken gravy still in the refrigerator. Put it all in the kettle and heat enough to make the chicken easy to pull apart."
This sounds easy enough--except for the "extra" chicken.
"Get the chicken out of the warm broth and pull all the skin off the chicken and give it to Rusty (the dog). Pull the meat off the bones and pull into bite sized pieces."
Rusty was VERY happy and waited patiently for the bits that accidentally fell to the floor.
"Put the chicken back in the kettle and add the carrots and celery. Put that on the back of the stove to simmer. Wrap up the bones in newspaper and take out to the garbage pit so Rusty doesn't get into them."
Now--finally--we are ready for the noodles.
"First, take out the bread board and mound up enough flour to make a good sized heap."
How much flour, Gramma?
"Enough to fill the bread board."
"Next, make a hole in the center of the flour and fill it with beaten eggs."
How many eggs, Gramma?
"Enough to fill the hole."
By this time Gramma was sure I was a complete dunce and I was sure this was NOT going to work.
"Now, stir the eggs into the flour with your hands until it feels just right."
Silence on my part.
"When it feels right, roll it out until you can read the newspaper through the dough."
I hope the print is REAL big!
"Use a sharp knife to cut into long strips and let dry 3 or 4 hours. Drop them in to the broth and boil until done. Easy as pie."
Oh NO! Not another recipe!
Gramma continued to make Chicken and Noodles and I ate it with relish. Although I inherited her bread board, her recipe never quite tasted right after her death. Then I went to college and learned to make Chicken and Noodles in my Preparation Techniques class as part of my Home Economics curriculum. This recipe works!
To see Becky's "Chicken and Noodles" recipe, go to: http://www.muffinsandmayhem.com/node/5559
You can create your own "Cookbook of Memories" when you visit my website: www.MuffinsandMayhem.com Collect your favorite recipes, enter them at your own pace, then jot down the story behind them. Create an entire book, print it out, and have it inexpensively bound at an office supply store. Or type in just one recipe and story to share with other readers.--Suzanne Beecher
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