Well, duh, the poor tired woman doesn’t even have a dish drainer! Sheesch!

I got to thinking about 1950’s housewives and decided to do a post about my grandmother Rose (who I called Nana). She was really a 1930’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s housewife. She took it seriously, did it well, and I respected her. She died in 1987 in her mid-eighties. She was the consummate housewife and cook. Here is a photo I saved from Architectural Digest taken in the early 1950’s of her kitchen and family dining area. Look pretty 1950’s to you? Ozzie and Harriet could walk right in the door. (If you are too young….gooogle it).

I still have my grandmother’s handmade aprons and can attest to the fact that they were worn always in the kitchen. She had everyday aprons and fancy, for party-aprons, that were made  out of taffeta. I kid you not! I swear this lady stole Nana’s taffeta apron and I want it back!

I would SO wear it for parties.

Here is one of her everyday aprons that I kept.

This is a recipe from Nana. She would make it for family dinners and picnics. I especially remember eating it on a picnic in Borrego Springs when I was a child, around fifty years ago! My grandmother was of Polish and German descent and she was an incredible cook. This is a sticky fingers chicken dish, hence it’s name!  I haven’t seen a recipe like it and it is still a hit in my family.

So here is my tribute to Nana and her:

STICKY CHICKEN

1 package chicken thighs with bone and skin

1 package split chicken breast with bone and skin

4 T flour

2 heaping T bacon fat (for best flavor or canola oil for health)

1 large chopped yellow onion

1 heaping cup chopped celery

1 package Far Eat Rice Chicken Flavored Rice with spice packet (Nana used long grain white rice)

1/3 cup wild rice

1 t salt

½ t pepper

1 T fresh chopped parsley

1t fresh thyme

1t fresh minced sage

½ t nutmeg

1 cup hot chicken broth

¼ cup dry vermouth

Shake chicken pieces in flour in large zip lock bag. Brown in bacon fat until well browned. Remove chicken from pan. Add onion and celery and sauté until soft and slightly brown scrapping the brown bits into the veggies.

Remove from heat.

Add two rices to bottom of a large roasting pan with seasoning packet. Stir in ½ cup of hot broth. Place chicken on top of rice. Season with salt, pepper, parsley, thyme, sage, and nutmeg. Pour remaining broth and vermouth over herbs, seasoning, and chicken. Cover pan tightly with lid or foil.

Bake for 1 hour at 350-degree oven.

Serve with your choice of vegetables.  And, don’t forget your apron!

I’ll leave you with a 50’s ad if you need a brush up on the era.

I love this 50’s theme so my next post is going to be, “I Live Near Betty’s Crocker’s House,” which I do, and I will prove in my next post. So stay tuned!