Fried Chicken

Decorations good enough to eatThose colorful winter squash in the market are more than pretty fall decorations. They're sweetly flavored, can be cooked easily in a variety of ways and are a good source of healthful substances, such as beta carotene, vitamin C, folate and dietary fiber, according to the American Institute for Cancer Research. Look for smooth, dry rinds, free of cracks or soft spots.Recipes worth rememberingTake a tasty trip down memory lane with "Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book," which celebrates its 70th anniversary with a chapter of 50 all-time favorite recipes.

For weeks, Columbia resident Diane Taylor yearned for the taste of fried chicken, homemade macaroni and cheese, seasoned collard greens and peach cobbler.But she couldn't find the ideal place offering the food that would nourish her soul. Then came a recommendation from a friend.A small soul food restaurant on U.S. 1 in Jessup near Route 175, the Log Cabin, prepares the cuisine just the way Taylor likes it."I was in heaven," she said, recalling her first visit. "For so long I had to go into Washington or Baltimore to get some soul food, just because I didn't know that this place existed in Howard County."

Did somebody say, "Cluck"?When Herbert Hoover promised a chicken in every pot in 1928, he probably had no idea how prophetic the pledge would be. Today, Americans are gobbling up an increasing amount of the versatile bird -- and not just in the proverbial pot.Since 1968 when we consumed 37 pounds of chicken per person per year, we have broiled, roasted, grilled, fried, sauteed, poached, microwaved, stir-fried and stewed our way through an additional 37...

The White Haven ferry saves me. The sun is sinking, and so am I. I am beginning to feel weighed down by my eating adventure across the state.When the boat comes into view, my spirits soar. The dull-gray ferry, which links Routes 352 and 362 at the border of Somerset and Wicomico counties, is not an impressive-looking craft. But finding a boat in the middle of farmland is so unexpected, such a scenic surprise, that it gives me a thrill.Instead of plodding along another highway, I am floating on a vessel across the gleaming Wicomico River.

1998 Simi Rose of Cabernet Sauvignon ($10).This dry, crisp, fresh and flowery pink wine is perennially one of the best of its kind, and it's good to see that Simi is shipping it in time for summer -- the season it was made for. It offers flavors of cherry and strawberry and a hint of the typical black currant flavor of grown-up cabernet. Its finish is long, clean and refreshing. Serve with ham, salmon or fried chicken -- or by itself, just for the fun of it.Pub Date: 06/23/99

New positionsTerminal Corp. appoints Russell distribution chiefThe Terminal Corp. appointed W. Curtis Russell president of its distribution services. Formerly a vice president with Anchor Fence Inc., he has been with the Baltimore-based regional warehousing and distribution firm since 1997.Russell is a graduate of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and has received several awards and a patent. He is a member of the Warehousing Education and Research Council.Ilex Woodworking promotes Alt to presidentIlex Woodworking Inc. promoted Michael F. Alt Jr. to president of the architectural millwork shop based in Hampden.

Each day of the week offers a menu aimed at a different aspect of meal planning. There's a family meal, a kids' menu aimed at younger tastes, a heat-and-eat meal that recycles leftovers, a budget meal that employs a cost- cutting strategy, a meatless or "less meat" dish for people who may not be strict vegetarians but are trying to cut down on meat, an express meal that requires little or no preparation, and an entertaining menu that's quick.Sunday/FamilyNothing brings the family to the table faster than Oven Fried Chicken (see recipe)

In a kitchen at Carroll County Agriculture Center yesterday, Nona Schwarzbeck hollered orders like a general, commanding volunteers preparing fried chicken, side dishes, desserts and drinks for hungry crowds at the annual Carroll County 4-H/Future Farmers of America Fair.Schwarzbeck, her husband, Joe, and a team of volunteers cook enough food to feed an army during the eight-day event, which started Thursday. Hundreds of 4-H youths and their parents, plus countless visitors, pass daily through the dining room at Burns Hall to get a home-cooked meal.

LEFTOVERS ARE LIKE old friends. They aren't new and exciting, and that is why you like to have them around. They are the stuff comfortable evenings are made of.Recently I was encouraged by a report on the state of the nation's leftovers. According to the 1998 Old Farmer's Almanac, the practice of cooking extra food, thereby guaranteeing that there will be leftovers, has increased 30 percent in America during the last 10 years.I am not sure what survey method was used to come up with this finding.

You've had a long, hard day at work and stopped off at the gym before you made your way home. You're too tired to cook, too tired even to eat out. You're the ideal candidate for the hottest new trend in the food industry, "home meal replacement" - which happens to be as old as a 1950s' frozen dinner.The difference is that the '90s version of the fried chicken, mashed potatoes and peas in the little aluminum tray is something like this: boneless chicken breast marinated with fajita spices and grilled, pasta salad with sun-dried tomatoes and capers, and haricots verts - all sold by the pound under the label "gourmet to go."

B10 South turned out to be an ace bistro, attached to a really popular (at least this month) big nightclub named LuX. It's not easy to pull off a nightclub/restaurant combo - there's always the danger of one dragging down or overwhelming the other, and this Calvert Street address has seen more than its share of comings and goings. Things might work out better here, for several reasons. One is that there's a real effort to keep the restaurant and nightclub operations separate, both physically - B10 South is on the bottom level, LuX is above it - and thematically.

Once again, in his role as public servant, Mr. Flip advises you on how to fill out your NCAA tournament bracket, making you the envy of everyone in your office pool. (As opposed to a regular pool, where Mr. Flip's appearance elicits not envy, but pity for Mrs. Flip.) * Cornell: Ann Coulter and Keith Olbermann are alumni, but Mr. Flip wouldn't expect them to attend the same NCAA tournament viewing party. Such bad vibes have to carry over to the Big Red, eliminating it in the first round.

Stereotypes based on ignorance, bigotry Ron Smith wrote an otherwise wonderful and warm commentary but ruined it with the statement that "all stereotypes are more or less true or they wouldn't endure" ("Holiday binds families, brings to mind blessings," Commentary, Nov. 26). So, I guess that it's "more or less true," in Mr. Smith's view, that Jews are miserly, that African-Americans love to feast on fried chicken and watermelon and are great dancers, that Muslims are radical anti-American terrorists, etc. No, Mr. Smith, the reason for stereotypes in the first place is ignorance and bigotry.

SAMBUCA FRIEND SQUASH The more casual side at Cinghiale - the enoteca - keeps getting more accessible. So get a plate of late-summer bliss - firm yellow squash enveloped in a crispy batter, pleasingly salty with just the faintest whiff of anise. Better yet, have them as an accompaniment to executive chef Julian Marucci's Roman fried chicken (R.F.C.), where the tempura-like batter seems to be suspended in air over the juicy skin beneath ($16). Eat it outside, with a glass of Frascati. Try the Sambuca Fried Squash at Cinghiale, 822 Lancaster St. 410-547-8282.

Bette Thomas of Lawrenceville, N.J., was searching for a recipe for sour cream fried chicken. After some Web research, I located a recipe on the HP Hood products Web site, hood.com. This recipe uses boneless chicken breasts, which makes it fairly fast and easy to prepare. I made the marinade in the morning and let the breasts soak all day, although the recipe says one hour is enough time. It's important to pound the breasts thin and to be sure you press the bread-crumb mixture into the chicken; otherwise, it may fall off as it fries.

This week's hot spell made me think of some of the hot-weather culinary customs my family observed. On a brutal Baltimore afternoon in July, my mother would roast a turkey or pork loin in a nonair-conditioned kitchen. She would say, "Don't think about the heat." After all, she'd probably been shopping earlier in the day on Howard Street, on foot, and carrying her shopping bags home. Her mother, my grandmother Lily Rose, who grew up with a wood-fired stove, did not like to light her Oriole gas oven after this time of the year.

Rain Pryor was getting divorced and looking for change nearly two years ago, when she left LA for Baltimore, home to two good friends. "Best move I ever made," the Charles Village resident and daughter of the late comedian Richard Pryor says today. Why is Charm City such a good fit for the actress, comedian, author and singer (who, by the way, will give a jazz cabaret performance to benefit the Maryland Center for Multiple Sclerosis at the Hippodrome on Friday)? Demographics? Pryor also does a one-woman show, Fried Chicken and Latkes, that's all about being Jewish and black, and Baltimore has lots of both cultures, if not lots of double dippers.

Finally, an answer for that age-old question: What part of the chicken does the nugget come from? Answer: maybe not from a chicken at all. The animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is offering a $1 million prize for laboratory-produced meat that tastes like fried chicken. Of course, there's a lot of fried stuff that tastes like chicken, but PETA is quite firm on the laboratory bit. They expect scientists to grow the meat in vitro - without killing any animals.

Baltimore magazine has just come out with a list of 20 "Top Singles." Among them: Del. Jill P. Carter, who is billed as a 40-year-old lawyer and legislator whose worst habit is "avoiding the inevitable." I'd say the habit's working for her. Carter has managed to avoid the passage of time - at least in the magazine. Carter's date of birth, according to the Baltimore City voter registration form she filed in 1982, is June 18, 1963. That makes her 44. Asked why the magazine was under the impression that she'd just hit the big 4-0, Carter said: "Well, it's what I said.

My grandparents had a simple recipe for family cookouts: Serve lots of food mixed with lots of laughter, with as many family members and friends around the table as possible. I can never recall a time when we ran out of food, or things to laugh about, or when family or friends were not welcomed with open arms. If you polled my family about those golden days, Granddaddy's Cameen chicken would top the favorite foods list -- a crispy, succulent, bursting-with-flavor fried chicken that smelled as good as it tasted.