National Fried Chicken Day

Today is National Fried Chicken Day! Now, I don't know who thought of such a brilliant holiday, but they're 100% correct. Fried chicken sounds wonderful for dinner tonight.

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I've never had a lot of success re-creating my granny's signature recipe. It looks so easy; you just dredge the chicken pieces in flour and fry in a skillet. No matter how hard I try, the breading winds up coming off. I have the skillet temperature down pat, and I make a tasty breading. It just doesn't stick. My own fried chicken recipe is fairly simple. I let the pieces soak in buttermilk for half an hour or so. I prepare a mixture of flour, salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and a little cayenne pepper. I dredge the chicken in the flour mixture, then deep-fry it in vegetable oil in a dutch oven. This process is quick and ensures a moist, perfect piece.

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Of course, here in Kentucky, there are more than a few places to go for chicken. Ramsey's and Merrick Inn are my go-to spots in Lexington. And, of course, there's always KFC! How do you like your fried chicken?

A Kentuckian in California

I mean they have these in the BACKYARD!

I went abroad last week, y'all. Or at least it felt like another country.

I went to California.

Now, first let me say, it is not Californians with which I have a problem. Everyone was super sweet and accommodating and generous. Got nothing but love for all the fabulous people I met in California. However...let me share a rundown of observations from the Sunshine State that left me longing for the the bluegrass of Kentucky after only a couple of days.

* The June gloom was a real bummer, even if it did burn off by the afternoon.
* Everything is SO. SO. SO. expensive.
* There is an excessive amount of door locking that had me pretty paranoid by the end of the trip.
* I do not ever in my life want to spend that much time and energy thinking about (much less sitting in) traffic.
* Seriously, $4.15 for a *&%# gallon of gas!
* I'm not sure I want kale to be that large of a part of my diet.
* I do not miss living in an one industry town.
* A plethora of options is at the same time exciting and exhausting.
* Turns out being around a bunch of skinny tan people is not so great for the old self-image.
* Lunch should never cost $30 for ONE person. (Noticing a theme here?)

In full disclosure, there were some nice things. They have SIDEWALKS - a novel concept I know but one Paducah hasn't quite got on to yet. Despite the annoying and pervasive presence of skinny people, it was nice to always have fresh, healthy food options close by. The Coffee Bean is in fact delicious and I got to go to an H&M (Hallelujah!).

But...

My first full day back home I had to go to baby shower. It was about five minutes away (in fairness, everything in Paducah is about five minutes away) and as I rounded a corner and turned onto a highway surrounded by green fields and topped by big, wide open blue sky I found myself taking a deep, slow exhale.


~ Sarah Stewart Holland 

On Kentucky Girls and Basketball

State College Gymnasium

When I was freshly out of graduate school, I found myself working in a small office.  My co-workers were a couple of women transplanted from far-away places like Grosse Pointe and Long Island.  When March rolled around, my office had the oddest custom: they did nothing. Nothing out of the ordinary. No brackets. No surreptitious use of the office television. No bending of the dress code to accommodate school colors. No smack talk. It was like spending the spring in an odd alternate universe that had somehow planted itself in Lexington's South Side.  It sure wasn't how we do it in Kentucky.  Even when it's just us girls.

We take basketball quite seriously in the Commonwealth.  It's a perfectly justifiable position, because our teams are really, really good at the game. Tonight, as the Men's NCAA Basketball Tournament kicked off, four Kentucky schools were among the competitors. Two of those schools will also send teams to the Women's Tournament.  For most Kentuckians, that translates to a very personal stake.  Everybody knows at least one person who went to UK, Western, Louisville, or Murray State.  A lot of us went to at least one of those schools ourselves.     We  raise our kids to be fans of our alma maters and the closest regional university.  We teach them to take sides in the huge in-state rivalry. When we hear of enterprising Nebraska fifth-grader Max Kohll, who made national headlines for being sent to the principal's office after starting a $5 bracket pool among his classmates, we don't know what all the fuss is about.  Even the most conservative church-goers among us think "there's nothing wrong with filling out a bracket; little Max is just learning his math and earning some spending money."

They say that, in some parts of the country, women don't follow basketball all that closely.  Apparently, sports are often construed as a "guy thing."   In Kentucky, being a basketball fan knows no gender line.  You'll never hear any "guys watch sports while the girls go shopping" nonsense around here.  You can walk into any gym in the Commonwealth-- from grade school to D-I --and  find little old grandmothers decked out head-to-toe in team colors, actively following the game and uttering the only curse words they ever allow themselves in reaction to bad officiating.   All across Kentucky this weekend, wives and girlfriends will be planning elaborate game day spreads. As we prepare our hot wing dips and cheese balls, we make sure that we won't get stuck in the kitchen at game time.  Our love of basketball is as much our birthright as wearing elaborate hats to the Derby or inheriting our grandmothers' perfectly seasoned cast iron skillets.

Every March, the nation is treated to stories of fandom and sports mania.  Some are heart-warming, some are ridiculous, and some are just insane  There are the Cinderella stories that are so beloved by the national media.  There are the guys who travel thousands of miles, never miss a game, and saddle their kids with ridiculous names.  Here in Kentucky, one of the great storylines of our obsessive love of basketball is our female fans.  There's the elderly lady whom I recently saw in my hometown Wal-Mart -- her long grey ponytail and ankle-length skirt identified her as a member of a particularly conservative Baptist sect, while her "Legacy of Kentucky Basketball" t-shirt identified her as a member of the Big Blue Nation.  There's my sorority sister Alexia, who's teaching her Baltimore-raised children about Murray State basketball through the power of cable TV and internet feeds.  There's my dear friend Jenksie, sister to a  Mr. Basketball and Wildcat alumnus, who has forgotten more inside scoop than Pat Forde ever uncovered.   There's my Mama Cindy -- mother to two of my dearest friends -- who dreamily recalls that Pat Riley was her first Wildcat crush.  There are innumerable stories of other Kentucky women who can break down a defense better than any TruTV analyst I've seen this week.  Unlike the most famous UK alumna/basketball fan, most of us even remember to put on pants with our jerseys.

My Kentucky–Downtown Frankfort

I live in our Commonwealth’s capital city, only about four blocks from the Capitol. (That’s the first lesson you learn in my town – the difference between “capital” and “capitol.”)

Y’all. My town is beautiful. Your capital city is beautiful! I love it more than any place in the world. I hope you like it, too. Here are some of my favorite places in the old parts of town – South Frankfort and Downtown Frankfort.

I sat on the wall along the South Frankfort Presbyterian Church’s and ate lunch nearly everyday when I was a Freshman in high school. My alma mater didn’t have a cafeteria back then.

This building housed the first YMCA in town. It’s been vacant for as long as I can remember. I’ve never thought it was a very beautiful building, but a group of preservationists are working to turn it into our town’s first boutique hotel. It sits right on the Kentucky river next to what we affectionately name The Singing Bridge. This bridge, now the site of an open-grate roadbed steel bridge originally had an old-fashioned covered bridge to serve folks coming from Louisville to the Old Capitol Building.

This building was originally a post office. I know it best as the library. It’s currently owned by Kentucky State University and is being remodeled. I’d love to go up into that turret.

There is always a renovation or restoration project in progress in our downtown. I’d not noticed that this one was in the midst of one until I shot this photo and realized that the column is only partially painted. I’m not sure if this is an active renovation or if it got stalled along the way and the plans have been abandoned for exterior work. The building houses businesses and apartments.

This portion of St. Clair street used to be a pedestrian-only mall paved with bricks and lined with trees. About 10 years ago, the city revamped the mall to allow for mixed traffic use. I was devastated at the thought of it, but I have to admit that they did it well. The bars and restaurants have ample room for outdoor seating. Pedestrians have room to walk. People have room to gather and traffic flows in a single-lane, one-way pattern. The jeweler’s clock has been standing sentry over this part of town for many years (the jeweler’s been in business since 1872).

This little guy was tied to a lamp post outside the coffee shop while his owners ordered their coffee. That’s one of the great things about my town – no one will bother this dog unless it’s with scratches behind the ear. If it were a hot day, the shop owner would offer up a bowl of water for him. People care around here.

I love the paint scheme on these buildings on Broadway – the only street in town divided by railroad tracks. If I had a wide-angle lens you’d see that the buildings continue on to the left of this picture. The entire city block is filled with locally-owned businesses including a specialty wine and liquor shop, an antique store, a book store owned by a former Kentucky Poet Laureate, a café, a Kentucky artisan shop and an upscale dining spot.

Directly across from those shops stands the Old State Capitol building. It’s surrounded by a walled park featuring brick-laid walkways and a fountain and is a beautiful spot. While it was once the site of political machinations and even a gubernatorial assassination in 1900, today, the building serves as part of the state’s Historical Society and the grounds are the site of summer concerts and many picnics and playdates.

Our town, like any small town you’ll find in the South is home to a great number of churches. The ones downtown are the oldest and, to me, most beautiful. These two, in particular, remind me of England and cottage gardens (not that I’ve ever been there!). Fittingly, one of them is the Anglican church!

As a town first settled in the 1780s, Frankfort has its fair share of historic homes. These are two of my favorites.

I found this front gate decoration in front of the historic Liberty Hall. Legend has it that the house is haunted and that you can sometimes see The Gray Lady at one of the upstairs windows.

The grounds of the historic homes are open to the public. In elementary school, we would often walk to them in the spring time and spend an afternoon reading or exploring. Can’t you just imagine a garden party in this spot?

Finally, crossing back over to my side of the river, you can see where the painter Paul Sawyier was so inspired by the area.

It won’t be long until the Capitol grounds crew has these guys out and ready for photographing, again. The tulips in bloom signal spring’s arrival and prompt lots of family photo opportunities.

Just a few short weeks after the tulips, it’s Derby time!

Hey y'all.

As you know, so many of our friends and neighbors across Kentucky and Southern Indiana have lost their lives, their homes, and their possessions in the wake of last night's storms.  We ask that everyone please consider donating to the Bluegrass chapter of the American Red Cross.  Many churches, schools, and businesses are conducting drives for food, clothing, and essential items.  Your collection of hotel shampoos could mean a bath to someone who hasn't bathed in a day or two; your never-worn yoga pants could mean clean, dry pants for someone who lost her home. Please consider "paying it forward" by helping out our fellow Kentuckians.

Here at HerKentucky, we're sending our many thoughts and prayers for everyone affected by these horrible storms.  It won't take a day or a week to rebuild the homes, businesses, and lives that were torn apart this weekend. Our help will be needed for the foreseeable future.  A little help goes a long way.

Soda Pop

When I moved to Kentucky at the age of twelve, I remember there being such a big shock to my system. No, it wasn't a different accent or slightly colder weather. It was first hearing someone offer me a "pop."

Was this some slang term for beating me up? No, they were offering me a coke. (Not Coke with the capital C, because it could have been a Coke or Pepsi, or heavens forbid, a RC).  Never in my Georgian life had I heard the word "pop" to refer to the fizzy, calorie-laden carbonated beverage.

(image source)

I think I assimilated by calling it pop moving forward, however I still find myself wanting to refer it to Coke. Occasionally I'll get confused at call it soda. Now, when in doubt I just offer people bourbon. 

I noticed in this map of pop vs. soda, the state of Kentucky is divided. It seems like eastern Kentucky and Lexington are more likely to call it "pop," while Louisville and western kentucky call it "coke." 

Perhaps it makes no difference at all, unless you forget your manners and fail to offer anyone a frosty bevvy. That, my friends, is just plain rude.

What do you call it?

Kentucky Weather

Growing up in Kentucky, you were likely to see a thunderstorm one week followed by snow the next. I think these last few weeks of weather have proven to keep up with that wacky standard.

Here in Tennessee we've been seeing similar weather, but my parents keep me informed of the crazy Kentucky happenings, including a tornado warning last week following by a chance of snow the next.
I think there was an old saying that if you didn't like predictable weather, then you should probably move to Kentucky.

I know those of you who have been to Keeneland can attest to this as well. You truly never know what the weather is going to be like for the opening of the spring meet. One year it will be sunny and 78 and the next year it will be 38 degrees and snowing.

For example- me at Keeneland opening weekend in 2007:

Bright! Sunny! Beautiful!

And in 2007 a week later:

Huddled in the back of a car with a coat on because it's so cold!

Do you have any wacky weather stories to share from Kentucky?