ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI: SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN THE ALL-TIME COMFORT FOOD

Mother and Daddy were like two peas in a pod except on very rare occasions. One of these occasions came to my mind as I pondered how much I wanted pruned from my front yard shrubs this spring.

In the spring of 1969 Daddy was getting his master's degree, and he was doing his thesis on the benefits of pruning shrubs for landscaping purposes (how much or how little seeming to be the question). The main point to remember is that their front yard shrubs were my mother's pride and joy. There were the eight-foot unique purple ornamental plum trees, nice round tall holly bushes, lovely English lilac bushes, huge snowball bushes and baby white birch trees that had shot into adolescence.

Mother was away on the fateful day that Daddy decided to do the spring pruning. His pruning got a little out of hand -- actually there was nothing left standing except trunks when he finished. His explanation was that this would give them a new start and in two years they would be twice as big. What he really needed when my Mother got home was a much better explanation than this. She took one look at the trunks and started crying and stopped talking. Both of these things were unusual for her.

Daddy promised never again to do anything but nip the limbs of anything living in their front yard. But, sure enough, in about two years the front yard ugly duck trunks turned into lovely swans.

Oh, Mother and Daddy were speaking by the time they sat down to eat a supper of fried chicken. Crispy Southern fried chicken is the all-time comfort food. Mother passed her recipe on to me. This recipe is featured in the Southern Culture Cookbook printed in association with the Southern Culture Center at the University of Mississippi in Oxford.

Crispy Southern Fried Chicken

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

2 cups buttermilk

1 cut-up chicken, 2 1/2 to 3 pounds

cooking oil to depth of 1 1/2 inches in heavy 10-inch skillet

1. Combine flour, salt, garlic salt, pepper, paprika.

2. Pour buttermilk in bowl.

3. Dip chicken pieces in buttermilk, then roll in seasoned flour until well coated. Let stand 10 minutes to dry coating.

4. Start with first piece; dip again in buttermilk and roll again in seasoned flour until all pieces have been dipped and rolled twice.

5. Let stand 10 minutes to dry coating.

6. Heat oil to 360 degrees in skillet; place chicken in hot oil, thicker pieces near center.

7. Brown all sides over medium-high heat (be careful not to burn).

8. Turn heat down to slow simmer and cook about 25 minutes or until tender, turning occasionally.

9. Drain well on absorbent paper.

Yield: 4 servings.

Visit Angie at her Web site, www.cookingwithangie.com.

Angie Holtzhouser is author of Drop Dumplin's and Pan-Fried Memories ... Along the Mississippi. Her cookbook is available at local bookstores. In addition, it can be purchased through the mail at: Drop Dumplin's, P.O. Box 10, Lilbourn, Mo. 63862. The price is $19.95, including tax and shipping.