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By James Garder

Clark County Public Library

July 4 is when we celebrate our nation’s independence, and July 6 is when we celebrate one quintessentially American food made famous by a Kentucky colonel. National Fried Chicken Day is upon us, and many people immediately think of the Colonel’s fried chicken with eleven herbs and spices (for more on how Colonel Harlan Sanders made chicken for the masses, check out Josh Ozersky’s “Colonel Sanders and the American Dream” with the call number KB Sand). However, the fried chicken that is my true comfort food doesn’t come in a paper bucket but was the staple of many Sunday dinners. 

By Sunday dinner, I mean dinner with my extended family: aunts, uncles, cousins, and eventually those cousins’ children, which steadily increased the attendance numbers. The cooking duties were usually divided up among the aunts in my family. The aunts needed a main course that could feed a lot of people. And one could get some chicken parts, flour, and oil that could be readily fried up in a very large fryer. We ate at the dinner table, but eventually we spread out among the house when one table could not contain our numbers. Sometimes I had to grab a plate and a chair, possibly by someone with the latest family gossip. Like any good potluck or reunion dinner, it was more than just shoveling food into our mouths. These dinners were a chance to connect with everyone, especially in the days before Facebook and other ubiquitous social media. 

These days, the family doesn’t do the larger family dinners because my grandparents, the matriarch and patriarch of our family, have passed. However, my mom still makes amazing fried chicken, a recipe I can still share with my family when I visit. Fried chicken is considered a comfort food, as explored in Rick Rodgers’s book “Comfort Foods” (641.5973 Rodg). Sure, it’s salty, greasy, and savory, but it also evokes very comforting memories of family and spending time with loved ones. When I have dinner at my mom’s house, she usually offers to make fried chicken, and I usually accept because 1) her fried chicken is delicious and 2) it tastes like home. You can make your fried chicken the traditional way, or you can change it up. Fry it in an air fryer using the recipe in “175 Best Air Fryer Recipes” by Camilla V. Saulsbury (641.77 Saul). You can even make it healthier with the recipe in “Comfort Food Makeover: All Your Favorites Made Lighter from America’s Test Kitchen” (641.5635 Amer). 

No matter what kind of comfort food you enjoy, whether it’s from the Colonel or not, whether it’s poultry or not, try to share those comforting foods with people you love. And here’s some savory goings-on at the library this week. 

• This week’s Kentucky Picture Show, premiering on July 5 at 2 p.m., stars Everett Osborne and Cary Elwes. Hall of Famer Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton makes history as the first African American to sign an NBA contract, forever changing how the game of basketball is played. Rated PG-13. Popcorn and drinks will be provided. 
• On July at 6 p.m., CCPL’s Adult Dungeons & Dragons presents the Kraken Cruise, a one-shot adventure where players sail the high seas. Take control of some 20th level adventurers who have come out of retirement to help a friend kill a godlike monster terrorizing his island. Characters and dice will be provided. Space is limited, so please register by contacting the library at 859-744-5661 or through Evanced.