Soul in the Kitchen; Paris: When the Food Reminds You of Back Home, Part 1

Summary

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[Nancy Holloway] and I went our separate ways, and I walked along, my mind now on Leroy Haynes, the legendary Paris restaurateur who once told me that the soulful food of France reminded him of fine Southern cuisine. He said France's chicken with brown sauce, even coq au vin, wasn't really so different from smothered chicken in finger-lickin' brown gravy. He added that a down-South lemon chess pie was a close match for a lemon tart, and a Georgia-style onion tart laced with cheddar cheese was a dead ringer for a quiche.

I turned my attention back to the restaurant's frayed menu, which was imprinted with dishes I grew up on: Ma Sutton's Southern Fried Chicken, New Orleans Red Beans, Uncle Jason's Bar-B-Q, Ham Hocks with Cabbage, and Haynes' fabled Kentucky Oysters, a euphemistic name for plain-old chitlins.

Trim away any excess fat and skin from the chicken and discard. Rinse the chicken well under cold running water and pat very dry with paper toweling. Sprinkle the chicken with the salt and pepper. Heat 2 or 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet that has a cover or a heavy pot. Add several pieces of the chicken at a time and cook over medium high heat for about 5 minutes, turning to brown evenly. Don't crowd the pan. Remove the chicken to a platter when browned and remove the remaining pieces the same way.

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Soul in the Kitchen; Paris: When the Food Reminds You of Back Home, Part 1

Once, in Paris, my old expatriate friend Nancy Holloway and I ventured to a Left Bank restaurant and splurged on a plate of andouillettes, or chitlins back home, which were laced with expensive truffles. And since we were in a reflective mood, we ordered a bottle of champagne with the dish, engaging in a ritual that years ago was a New Year's Eve tradition at chic urban African-Ameri...

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