The later years of Little House were an odd time for me and for the rest of the cast. We were all young in real life, yet we were getting hitched and having babies on screen. Laura married Almanzo, Mary married Adam, and even Nellie and Willie managed to tie the knot (not to each other! Ew!) in some pretty classic episodes. But I have to be perfectly honest: Once I turned seventeen in real life and had my first boyfriend, prairie life began to lose its charm. I wanted to be cool, cut my hair so I looked like everybody else, and hang out with my friends. You know, do teenager stuff. Instead, I was stuck with my hair parted in the middle and all one length, and I spent the majority of my time in pantaloons and lace-up granny boots.
Looking back now, and having performed in the Little House on the Prairie musical as an adult, I totally get the charm of the pantaloons, boots, and petticoats. The “prairie naked” look can be very appealing on a woman of a certain age! (Yes, I mean me!) That said, when I was seventeen, in 1981, prairie wear was just not cool—unless it was designed by Ralph Lauren, and even then, there was no way I’d wear that stuff in public. I was trying to have a private life, which was already impossible. So I rebelled a bit: tight jeans, cut-up T-shirts. And I even started sneaking a little Sun-In in my hair. If you’re old enough to remember that stuff, welcome to my generation. My hair was naturally aubern-y red, and the Sun-In turned it a lovely shade of orange. Looking back, this rebellion seems really mild. The part that was really hard was that I really didn’t want to go to work every single day. I wanted playtime, freedom with my boyfriend (what’s-his-name), and my car.
Still, I showed up, suited up, and managed to have some amazing times. It never failed to amaze me that no matter how much I didn’t want to go, once I got to work I was completely at home. That set was my happy place. It’s where I felt safe and loved, even in the heated emotional and brutal heart of adolescence.
It seemed as if Little House would never end—that it would go on like that forever. When season nine came, Mike left the show as an actor. I was bumped up to number one on our call sheet, and the title was changed to Little House: A New Beginning. For all intents and purposes, the show felt as if it were mine. I felt responsible for its success or failure, and at the same time it seemed like a perfectly natural progression. Not much had really changed. New cast mates came in, but our set life remained the same.
But I’ll never, ever forget one day that Victor French called me to ask if I would do a talk show with him to protest the cancellation. I said, “Sure, what cancellation?” I hadn’t gotten the official word from NBC, so I had no idea. It turned out that no one did. Not even Mike and Kent. We were all basically handed our pink slips, told to pack up our dressing rooms, and say good-bye. Fortunately, someone had the good sense to slow things down and film the three “farewell” movies. Each of those movies was emotional and cathartic in its own way. The final one, called “Little House: The Last Farewell,” was, for me, more than a movie. That film marks the beginning of another major turning point in my life: the end of my childhood. It was time for me to leave the nest and try my wings.
These photos are all from the very last day of filming. If you look close enough, you can see the tears … if you look even closer you can see the joy and the gratitude.
We ate a lot of fried chicken on Little House. Seems like it was a part of nearly every picnic or dinner scene we did. The creative team wanted everything on our show to be authentic. It was up to the men in the prop department to keep everything looking right, and so they served us buckets full of Kentucky Fried Chicken! Huh? Cross my heart, it’s true: The fried chicken we ate on Little House on the Prairie was from KFC.
My fried chicken, however, is the real deal. Whenever I ask friends or family what they want me to make for dinner, nine times out of ten it’s my fried chicken. No offense to Colonel Sanders, but General Gilbert’s recipe is better. And it’s not a secret. Eleven herbs and spices, my lily-white Irish butt!
Serves 4 to 6, with enough for cold leftovers!
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (270 g) all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons (45 g) Old Bay Seasoning
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
2 (4- to 5-pound/1.8- to 2.3-g) fryer chickens, cut into pieces, rinsed, and patted dry
• Mix 2 cups (250 g) of the flour, the Old Bay, salt, and pepper in a large zip-top bag. Drop in the chicken pieces (you will probably have to do this in batches) and shake to coat.
• Pour the oil into a deep 12-inch (30.5-cm) cast-iron skillet to a depth of 1 inch (2.5 cm). Heat it over high heat until a drop of water bubbles. Shake any excess seasoning mix off the chicken and put it skin-side down in the pan, cooking in batches, if necessary, to avoid overcrowding. Cook on one side for 15 minutes, then turn the chicken pieces over and fry uncovered for another 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Drain the chicken on paper towels. Keep it warm in a low oven while you finish frying all of the chicken.
• Pour off the oil from the skillet, leaving approximately 3 tablespoons in the skillet, and turn the heat to medium. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons flour to the skillet while whisking, mixing in the crunchy bits and cooking for 5 minutes. Pour in the milk and bring it to a low boil, whisking constantly and cooking for another 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with the fried chicken.
This dish is really simple, but the flavors are so vivid—especially if you can use a good-quality Spanish sherry vinegar. If you wish, halve the recipe for a great main dish for a romantic dinner for two. Not long after I made this meal for my husband, Tim, he proposed. After all of the crying and jumping up and down, I asked him what made him decide to propose. “It was the chicken,” he joked. They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. This recipe proves that to be true.
4 skin-on, bone-in chicken breast halves (about 2 pounds/910 g total)
1 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
⅓ cup (75 ml) reduced-sodium chicken broth
• Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Pat the chicken dry and sprinkle it evenly with 1 teaspoon of salt and the pepper.
• Heat the oil in a 12-inch (30.5-cm) heavy skillet over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking, then sear the chicken, skin-side down, until golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer the chicken, skin-side up, with tongs to a large shallow baking pan (reserve the skillet) and roast it until the chicken is just cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook the garlic in the reserved skillet over medium-high heat, stirring, until pale golden, 15 to 30 seconds. Add the paprika, then immediately add the vinegar, stirring and scraping up any brown bits, and boil it for 1 minute. Add the broth and honey and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced to about ½ cup (120 ml), about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, until incorporated. Season the sauce with salt if desired and serve over the chicken.
The definitive prairie food, this is rich and rib-sticking. I think that whenever we weren’t eating fried chicken in food scenes, we were eating chicken and dumplings! My recipe adds a little zing to the traditional version. Don’t be freaked out by the amount of butter listed in the ingredients. I know it’s a lot, but you’ll be very happy when you taste the end result—incredibly light and buttery dumplings.
1 (4-pound/1.8-kg) whole chicken
4 ounces (115 g) slab bacon, cut into slivers
2 yellow onions, cut into 1-inch (2.5-cm) chunks
2⅔ cups (330 g) all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons salt, plus more for seasoning
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
5½ cups (11 sticks/1.25 kg) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly (I know!)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
• Remove and halve the chicken legs, separating the thighs from the drumsticks; season with salt and pepper and set aside. Put the remaining chicken into a large pot; cover it with salted water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the breast is just cooked, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot. Cut the breasts and wings from the carcass. Discard any skin and bones from the breast and wing meat; cut it into 1-inch (2.5-cm) chunks and refrigerate.
• Return the carcass to the pot, and simmer it for 1 hour. Strain the broth, reserving 1 quart (960 ml) of the broth.
• Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large wide pot over medium heat until crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a plate; leave the fat in the pot. Add and heat the oil, then brown the drumsticks and thighs, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer them to a plate.
• Add the carrots, celery, onions, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf to the pot; cook until they are light brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Add ⅔ cup (80 g) of the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the wine and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the reserved broth and salt and pepper to taste. Nestle in the drumsticks, thighs, and bacon pieces. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 cups (250 g) of flour, the baking powder, baking soda, 1½ teaspoons of salt, and ¼ teaspoon of pepper. Combine the butter, buttermilk, and parsley in a separate bowl; pour them into the flour mixture and stir to make a thick batter.
• Uncover the pot and add the breast and wing meat. Drop the batter in 8 large spoonfuls over the top. Simmer, covered, until the dumplings are cooked, 20 to 25 minutes. Discard the dried bay leaf (if using) and serve immediately.
You can never go wrong with roast chicken—its goodness is timeless. Save as much leftover meat as you can get off the bones and mix it up with a bit of mayo, chopped celery, chopped scallions, and some salt and pepper, and you’ll have a delicious chicken salad. Or use the bones and leftover meat to make broth.
1 (4-pound/1.8-kg) whole chicken
6 tablespoons (¾ stick/85 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
2 small yellow onions, quartered
2 carrots, cut into 2-inch (5-cm) pieces
• Preheat the oven to 475°F (240°C). Rinse the chicken under cold water; pat it dry with paper towels.
• Peel the lemon, then quarter it and set aside. Finely chop the lemon peel, sage, and garlic together, and place them in a small bowl. Add the butter and 1 teaspoon salt, and stir to combine.
• Loosen the skin of the chicken from the breasts and thighs. Slip the butter mixture between the skin and flesh, spreading it evenly. Rub the skin with the oil; season the skin and cavity with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with the quartered lemon, parsley, and 1 quartered onion. Tie the legs together with kitchen string.
• Put the remaining quartered onion and the carrots into the center of a roasting pan and place the chicken on top of them. Roast for 20 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 400°F (205°C) and continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165°F (75°C), about 1 hour more.
• Transfer the chicken to a platter, sprinkle it with sea salt, and let it rest for 10 minutes before carving.
We never did a Thanksgiving episode of Little House because it had been declared a national holiday only a few years before the show takes place! But Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of all, mainly because my favorite meal is served on that day. In fact, I like to make that meal a few times a year—usually when I’m feeling especially grateful. I also like to make a roast turkey meal and take it to friends with newborn babies. It’s the perfect meal because it’s plentiful and so much can be done with the leftovers.
1 (12-pound/5.4 kg) turkey (preferably organic)
1 cup (225 g) Herb Butter (recipe opposite)
4 cups (about 800 g) stuffing, homemade (see this page)
or store-bought prepared according to package instructions
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• About 5 hours before serving time, remove the giblets and neck from inside the turkey cavity. Rinse the bird inside and out with cold water; pat dry. Slide a rubber spatula between the skin and breast meat to separate them. Stuff half of the herb butter under the skin of both breasts, spreading it evenly over the entire breast area with your fingertips. Rub the remaining butter over the skin of the rest of the bird.
• Fill the cavity loosely with the stuffing. Truss the bird with kitchen string and season it with salt and pepper.
• Spread the celery, carrots, and onion over the bottom of a large roasting pan. Lay the turkey on top, breast-side up. Add 1 cup (240 ml) of the broth to the pan.
• About 4 hours before serving time, preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C); position a rack in the lower half of the oven. Roast the turkey for 1½ hours, turning the pan every 30 minutes or so to ensure that the turkey is browning evenly, and adding more of the broth if the liquid evaporates below ¼ inch (6 mm) in the pan. (If the turkey browns too rapidly, create a tent with aluminum foil and drape it over the turkey breast for the remainder of the roasting time.)
• Reduce the temperature to 325°F (165°C) and roast for 1½ to 2 hours more. Use a thermometer to test the internal temperature of a thigh—it’s cooked through when the stuffing and thigh meat reach 165°F (75°C).
• Let the turkey rest for 30 minutes before carving. When ready to serve, garnish the turkey with the orange slices.
½ cup (1 stick/115 g) unsalted butter, softened
¼ cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ cup (7 g) chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon
• Place all of the ingredients in a food processor and blend. Transfer the butter to a small bowl. Set it aside (or make it a day ahead and refrigerate).
When I was a girl, my food intake was somewhat restricted. Not overly so, but we ate very health-conscious foods. Fried foods were certainly a rare treat. While on location shooting Little House, though, we ate in restaurants quite a bit, and in those situations, all restrictions were off. One of my favorite things to order was pan-fried pork chops with a side of applesauce. I look back on those days with such fondness. Everything was an adventure, even mealtime. This recipe is an homage to that magical time in my life. Serve with a side of Best Stuffing Ever (this page), as I do here, for a delicious and comforting meal.
4 (½-inch/12-mm-thick) pork chops, with or without the bone (about 2 pounds/910 g total)
3 pounds (1.4 kg) mixed apples
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon apple-cider vinegar
• Marinate the pork chops: Stir together the milk and salt in a shallow 3-quart (2.8-L) dish, then add the pork chops. Marinate them, covered and refrigerated and turning over once, for at least 1 hour.
• Make the applesauce: While the chops marinate, peel, core, and chop the apples, then stir them together with the sugar, vinegar, bay leaf, and allspice in a heavy 3-quart (2.8-L) saucepan. Bring them to a simmer, stirring occasionally, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until the apples are falling apart, 15 to 20 minutes. Discard the bay leaf and mash the apples with a fork. Keep the applesauce warm.
3½ cups (190 g) fresh bread crumbs (from 10 slices firm white sandwich bread, ground in a food processor)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 to 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Fry the pork chops: Preheat the oven to 200°F (90°C).
• Stir together the bread crumbs, garlic, rosemary, thyme, and salt in a shallow bowl. Lift the pork chops from the milk one at a time, letting any excess drip off, and dredge them in the bread crumbs, lightly patting the crumbs on to help them adhere. Transfer the chops to a tray in a single layer.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a 12-inch (30.5-cm) heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the chops in 2 or 3 batches, without crowding, turning them over once, until golden brown and just cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes per batch. Transfer them to a platter and keep warm in the oven. Add more oil and butter to the skillet as needed.
• Serve the pork chops with the warm applesauce.
I’ve made this dish many times for friends and family. I love to watch everyone get covered in barbecue sauce. (Keep plenty of paper towels around.) It’s great at home or on a camping trip, at the beach, wherever. Serve with Mikey B’s Favorite Fried Corn (this page) and Cucumber-Dill Salad (this page). These ribs are also amazing served cold the next day. You can make your own barbecue sauce if you have a favorite recipe. I like to mix three or four different bottled barbecue sauces together to create my own signature sauce; it’s a lot of fun to blend different flavor combinations each time.
¼ cup (30 g) Old Bay Seasoning
¼ cup (30 g) ground celery seed
2 racks baby back ribs (about 2 pounds/910 g each), membrane on back of ribs removed
3 cups (720 ml) barbecue sauce
• Fill a large pot with cold water, stir in all of the spices, put the ribs in the pot, and weigh them down so they are submerged (I use a small stainless-steel frying pan that fits into the pot). Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat a gas or charcoal grill to high.
• Remove the ribs from the pot and discard the liquid. Grill the ribs for 20 minutes per side, basting with some of the barbecue sauce until they are sticky and coated. Serve them hot with more barbecue sauce on the side.
One of the real Laura Ingalls’s favorite things to do was to play catch with a blown-up pig’s bladder that her Pa would make for her when he was butchering hogs. I’ll do that the day pigs can fly. So, instead of instructions on how to make your own pig’s bladder ball, I’m including my recipe for baked ham. It’s just so much more . . . pleasant. This deceptively simple ham is absolutely delicious.
Serves 12, with plenty of leftovers
1 (14- to 16-pound/6.3- to 7.2-kg) fully cooked bone-in ham
½ cup (110 g) packed light brown sugar
• Take the ham out of the refrigerator about 1 hour before you are ready to bake it.
• Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
• Peel off the ham skin, but leave the fat. Make a crisscross pattern across the ham with a sharp knife, creating a diamond pattern. Place the ham in a shallow roasting pan, and stick 2 or 3 whole cloves into each diamond.
• Mix the brown sugar with the lemon zest in a small bowl. Rub it all over the ham. Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350°F (175°C) and bake for about 45 minutes more, until a knife inserted in the middle comes out hot. Let the ham cool slightly before carving.
This is possibly the ultimate stick-to-your-ribs prairie dinner. It’s also my all-time-favorite, most indulgent, “I don’t care in the least about my weight today” meal.
6 (½-inch/12-mm-thick) rib-eye steaks (6 ounces/170 g each)
2½ to 3 cups (315 g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Canola oil for frying
3 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Make the steaks: Trim any fat from the steaks and, using a mallet or rolling pin, pound out the steaks to ¼ inch (6 mm) thick.
• Beat together the milk and egg in a shallow dish and set aside. Place the flour in another shallow dish, season with the seasoned salt and pepper, and set aside.
• Cover the bottom of a large skillet, preferably cast iron, with enough oil to reach about ½ inch (12 mm).
• Coat the steaks in the egg mixture, then in the flour mixture, and add them to the pan (you will need to do this in batches). Cook until the bottom is nice and brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the steaks and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Be careful to not over-cook them. Continue this process until all the steaks are cooked, placing the finished steaks on a paper towel–lined baking sheet to drain.
• After frying the steaks, make the cream gravy: Pour off most of the oil, leaving about ¼ cup (60 ml) behind along with all the brown bits. Add the flour, whisking until it is well mixed. Place the skillet back over medium-high heat and slowly add the milk while stirring constantly. Cook until the gravy comes to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. Serve it hot over the chicken-fried steaks.
Southwestern settlers used dried beef for their chili. My (bean-free) chili is made with fresh beef chuck and is great on its own. But here’s a fun and contemporary way to serve it at a Super Bowl party, or any party for that matter: Get some individual-size bags of Fritos (the kind for school lunches), put a bag in a bowl, slice the bag open lengthwise, kind of like a baked potato, and spoon chili over the chips inside. Then top with cheese and all the other toppings. Voilà . . . Frito pie.
4 pounds (1.8 kg) well-trimmed boneless beef chuck (from about 5 pounds/2.3 kg total), cut into ½-inch (12-mm) cubes
1 head garlic (about 15 cloves), chopped
¼ cup (30 g) ground ancho chile powder
1 (12-ounce/360-ml) bottle dark beer
1 (28-ounce/800-g) can diced tomatoes, with juice
2 tablespoons salt, plus more for serving
Coarsely grated sharp Cheddar cheese, for serving (optional)
Chopped green and/or red onion, for serving (optional)
Chopped fresh cilantro, for serving (optional)
Diced fresh tomatoes, for serving (optional)
Sour cream, for serving (optional)
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add one-third of the beef; sprinkle it with salt. Cook until browned, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beef to a large bowl. Repeat two more times with 2 more tablespoons oil and the remaining two batches of beef.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and the onions. Sauté until soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add the ancho chile powder, cumin, all-spice, cinnamon, and cloves; cook and stir for about 1 minute. Add the beer; stir for 1 minute, scraping up the browned bits.
• Return the beef and any accumulated juices to the pot. Add the canned tomatoes with their juice, 2 cups (480 ml) of water, the oregano, and 2 teaspoons of salt. Bring the chili to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover it with the lid slightly ajar, and simmer gently until the beef is just tender, 1¾ to 2 hours.
• Let the chili cool for 1 hour, then refrigerate it uncovered until cold. Cover and refrigerate it overnight.
• The next day, spoon the fat from the top of the chili. Bring the chili to a simmer over medium heat. Stir in the tomato paste. Sprinkle the masa harina over the top; stir to blend. Simmer uncovered until thickened and the beef is very tender, stirring often and adding water by ¼ cup (60 ml) at a time if it is too thick, about 30 minutes.
• Divide the chili among bowls. Serve it hot with desired garnishes.
Everyone should have a family recipe for meat loaf, right? Well, here’s mine. You can substitute ground turkey for the beef and pork, if you like. As you would certainly expect with any venerable family meat loaf, this one is also great served cold the next day as a sandwich.
1 cup (55 g) finely ground fresh bread crumbs (from 2 slices firm white bread)
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon apple-cider vinegar
1½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1½ pounds (680 g) ground beef chuck
4 ounces (115 g) bacon (about 4 slices), finely chopped
⅓ cup (10 g) finely chopped fresh parsley
• Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) with a rack in middle.
• Soak the bread crumbs in the milk in a large bowl.
• Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat and cook the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Cover the skillet and reduce the heat to low, then cook until the carrot is tender, about 5 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, salt, pepper, and allspice. Add the onion mixture to the bread crumb mixture.
• Add the beef to the onion mixture along with the pork, bacon, eggs, and parsley and mix together with your hands.
• Pack the mixture into a 9-by-5-inch (23-by-12-cm) oval loaf or a 9-by-13-inch (23-by-33-cm) shallow baking dish. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the meat loaf registers 155°F (70°C), 1 to 1¼ hours. Let it cool for about 5 minutes before serving.
This special-occasion dish is pretty, elegant, and delightful. Garnish with a few thyme and rosemary sprigs before you take it to the table. It makes a wonderful Easter meal, served with Potatoes au Gratin (this page) and Minty Peas and Carrots (this page).
1 (1¾-pound/800-g) rack of lamb
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
Fresh sprigs thyme and/or rosemary, for serving (optional)
• Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C).
• Season the lamb with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a 12-inch (30.50-cm) cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the lamb, fat-side down, and cook, searing the bottom and sides of the rack, until browned, about 10 minutes. Turn the lamb fat-side up in the skillet and scatter the rosemary and thyme over the top. Add the garlic to the skillet and transfer it to the oven.
• Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the meat reads 130°F (55°C) for medium-rare, about 10 minutes. Let it cool for 5 minutes before slicing the rack into portions and serving. Garnish with a few sprigs of thyme and/or rosemary, if desired.
This is a prairie dish and it’s also a bayou dish. I shot a movie in New Orleans a long time ago. One day we were shooting in the middle of a bayou somewhere when there was a knock on my dressing room door. I opened it, and there was the man on whose property we were filming. He was carrying a huge baking sheet piled high with catfish he’d just caught, cleaned, and fried. I took one bite, and it was so good that I started to cry. I never learned his name, but he was very sweet and gave me his recipe. Here it is.
½ cup (60 g) all-purpose flour
3½ pounds (1.6 kg) catfish fillets, cut into 8 equal pieces
• Preheat the oven to 200°F (95°C). Pour the oil into a large, deep cast-iron or heavy skillet to a depth of 3 inches (7.5 cm) and heat over medium-high heat until hot, but not smoking.
• Meanwhile, combine the cornmeal, flour, seasoned salt, garlic salt, lemon pepper, cayenne, and black pepper to taste in a large shallow dish. Thoroughly dredge the catfish fillets in the mixture, gently shaking off the excess.
• Working in batches to avoid crowding, fry the catfish in the hot oil, without turning, until golden and crisp, 5 to 6 minutes. Keep the finished pieces warm in the oven while you fry the remaining catfish.
• Transfer the fillets with a slotted spatula to paper towels to drain. Season to taste with salt and serve immediately.
I sure did a lot of fishing on Little House. I also love to fish for real—only if someone else will actually clean the fish, though. I’m fine with baiting hooks and so forth. I’m just not very good at handling fish innards. I actually created this recipe after a productive day of fishing with my boys.
½ cup (1 stick/115 g) unsalted butter
4 (8-ounce/225-g) whole brook, rainbow, or brown trout, cleaned, head and tail intact
¾ cup (90 g) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Preheat the oven to 200°F (90°C).
• Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a 12-inch (30.5-cm) heavy skillet (preferably oval) over low heat, and then remove it from the heat.
• Rinse the trout and pat them dry. Brush with the melted butter inside and out and season with ¾ teaspoon of the salt. Mound the flour on a sheet of wax paper, then dredge each fish in the flour to coat completely, shaking off any excess.
• Add the oil and 2 more tablespoons of the butter to the skillet over medium-high heat until the foam subsides, then sauté the trout (in two batches if necessary), gently turning them over once using spatulas, until golden brown and almost cooked through, about 7 minutes total (the fish will continue to cook as it stands). Transfer each trout to a plate and keep it warm in the oven.
• Pour off the fat from the skillet and wipe the skillet clean. Melt the remaining ¼ cup (½ stick/55 g) of butter over medium-low heat. Add the parsley, pepper, and remaining ¼ teaspoon of salt, swirling the skillet to combine, and remove it from the heat. Add the lemon juice, swirling the skillet to incorporate. Spoon the sauce over the trout and serve them immediately with lemon wedges.
