Full House

Our oldest son, daughter in-law, and grandson arrived Friday afternoon and are spending a couple of days with us before going to our daughter in-law’s parents. On Saturday our second son came for the weekend. Our third son lives in this area so he is always stopping be to pass the time of day. And our daughter was home last week on spring break from college.

I asked the boys if they would make Fried Chicken using a buttermilk double dipped Fried Chicken recipe from the Food Network. To help with the process, I purchased a 5-quart Lodge Cast Iron Dutch Oven and a couple of splatter screens. After talking to the two oldest boys about the timing issues with frying the chicken, C decided to bring his deep cast iron frying pan with when they came for the weekend. I asked P to buy some chicken legs and thighs and youngest son K, who works at a dairy bottling plant, to bring the buttermilk.

Sunday afternoon daughter K made dark chocolate brownies. She improved them by adding two symphony candy bars to the brownies before baking. After baking the brownies, K baked a pecan pie.

Once the desserts were made and set aside, the real business began. As the boys heated the two cast iron pans of oil and prepared the chicken, daughter in-law K and grandson L made the buttermilk biscuits and mashed potatoes. I sat by the kitchen table soaking up the atmosphere and supervising.

At the end of the day, everyone was full. The chicken was tender and juicy, the mashed potatoes were oh so creamy, the buttermilk biscuits were light and fluffy, and the coleslaw, made earlier in the day, was cool and creamy. Amazingly everyone saved room for either a piece of pecan pie or a piece of rich dark chocolate brownie.

Last night I couldn’t help but remember times when all 7 of us siblings, with our spouses and children, would descend on my parents. However, those stories are for another time.