Kissing the Blarney Stone

My Grandson Braden has red hair, just like my brother Jack had when he was the same age. Last night, we took my Dad to Bennigan's. He is eight-eight and loves children. Since Braden has red hair, just like he and my Brother had, he has taken a particular shine to the lad. Last night, my daughter-in-law Taffy asked if we were Irish. Well, my Dad's grandfather was named O'Rear, about as Irish as you can get. It made me think about my other grandparents and my Grandfather Pittman.

Grandpa Pitt had some Irish blood but was probably more English. One thing is sure, he liked potatoes as much as any Irishman. He and Grandma Pitt lived in a tiny wood-framed house that sat about a foot off the ground on cinder blocks. Grandpa Pitt always raised potatoes under the house and never failed to have a good crop. When I was quite young, I asked him how he got under the house to harvest the potatoes.

"Well, boy," he answered in his best deadpan voice. "It's all in how you do it. I plant them all in a straight line, toward the center of the house. When I dig out the first spud, the rest roll into the basket after it."

Grandpa never cracked a smile but even at my very young age, I knew that he was pulling my leg. My Dad's side of the family was definitely Irish. I'm not sure about my Mom's but I can positively say that my Grandpa Pitt must have kissed the Blarney Stone some time during his life because he could tell a story as well as any Irishman I've ever met.

http://www.ericwilder.com/

Crop Circles and Cattle Mutilations

Download at BN.com

I wrote a story called Chicken Fries. The story is largely true and recounts one summer when my then wife Anne and I, and our friend Ray, watched a drilling well in Grant County, Oklahoma from the interior of a rented former motor home of Country singer Wanda Jackson, a one-time girlfriend of Elvis Presley.

The story includes details of Satanism and cattle mutilations. In the summer that Chicken Fries occurred, such stories dominated the headlines in newspapers throughout the country. During this period, most Oklahoma newspapers and news stations considered a sheriff in Grant County the expert of choice on Satanism and he was always consulted when a mutilated cow found or newly formed crop circle was found. Pundits were torn between pointing the finger of guilt at Satanists, or extra-terrestrials. In my story, the Satanists were actually pagans, members of the Southern Death Cult.

It was an interesting time that seems behind us now. Maybe, but in my novel in progress, Panther Stalking, Buck McDivit encounters an all-female sect of the Southern Death Cult at a compound in Logan County, Oklahoma, and more than cattle mutilations and crop circles are involved.

Eric'sWeb

Mama's Yeast Rolls

Here is another recipe from my Aunt Dot's wonderful new cookbook All the Foods We've Loved Before. The recipe is a classic recipe from my grandmother Lela, also a great cook.

1 package yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup milk, scalded
1 each egg, beaten
4 cups flour

Moisten yeast in 1/4 cup warm water. Add 1/2 teaspoon sugar. Let stand. Add shortening, rest of sugar and salt to hot milk. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Cook, then add egg. Stir in softened yeast. Next add flour into liquid until will mixed. Turn dough onto lightly floured board; knead quickly until smooth and elastic. Form into a smooth ball.

Place ball in a well greased bowl and turn over once or twice to grease entire surface. Cover and let rise in warm place until double in bulk. Knead well again and shape as desired. Place in greased pan, cover and let rise for one hour more. Bake at 400 degrees for fifteen to twenty minutes.

http://www.ericwilder.com

Bertrand's Chicken Gumbo

My Aunt Dot Pourteau recently published her second cookbook titled All the Foods We’ve Loved Before and I was happy to see recipes from my uncles, aunts, cousins, grandmother, and yes, even my own mother. Dot is a wonderful person as well as a wonderful cook. She was married to my Uncle Bertrand for many years before his untimely passing. Bertrand grew up in Oil City, Louisiana. He was of French extraction and his parents owned a cafe in the fabled oil town of Oil City.

To say that the Pourteau’s could cook is like saying the sky is blue. Here is a recipe from Aunt Dot’s wonderful cookbook. This is a very rare recipe that I don’t believe you will find anywhere else. It was perfected by a family of French descent that catered to the ravenous appetites of the oil patch. Try it if you get a chance and I’ll give you my Oklahoma guaranty that you won’t be disappointed.

1 large fryer (or equivalent in breast and thighs), cut up
1 1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped fine
4 cubes chicken bouillon
3/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
3 tablespoons cornstarch
rice
file
olive or canola oil

Clean chicken and remove skin. I use a Dutch oven to cook this dish in, spray bottom of pan with Pam to avoid sticking, put in the chicken skin and cook the fat out until skin is crisp. (This fat that is rendered out of the skin helps give it a little bit mor chicken flavor). Besides, Penny, our son Steven’s dog that is making a home with us at the time, loves chicken cracklings.

Salt and pepper chicken pieces. Fry chicken pieces until they are light brown. Take out the chicken and set aside. Add onion, celery, bell pepper and garlic. Add olive oil, if needed, to saute vegetables until they are limp. Sprinkle vegetables with a small amount of salt and pepper. They will smell soooo good. Add 1/32 cup flour and make a roux. Do not let the flour get very brown, just a light tan color. Add approximately 2 1/2 quarts boiling water slowly to roux and four cubes of chicken bouillion. Taste broth, as it may need to be reseasoned at this time.

Return browned chicken to broth, cook on low heat until tender (DO NOT OVERCOOK CHICKEN!). Remove chicken from broth. When ready to serve thicken the broth with about 3 tablespoons cornstarch in about 1/3 cup cold water. Slowly stir the slurry of cornstarch into broth. Let broth come back to a slight boil, then you can tell if the broth is as thick as you wish, if so return chicken to liquid and cook, very slowly to avoid scorching, about ten minutes.

TO SERVE: Put steamed rice in individual serving bowl and sprinkle with file, as desired. DO NOT put file in gumbo while cooking. Put chicken pieces over rice and ladle gumbo over all. May serve with a side order of salad. Lettuce, tomatoes, celery, carrots, and anything else you like. Garlic bread is also good with this meal.

http://www.ericwilder.com

Old Penn Theatre, Oklahoma City

Here are a couple of pics of the Penn Theatre located in a strip center near 12th and Pennsylvania in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Today, the theatre houses a junk store. Check out the story at http://www.ericwilder.com/ .