A great new cookbook showed up at the cardboard-box world headquarters the other day, “Cooking with Jack: The New Jack Daniel’s Cookbook” (Hill Street Press, 2006) by Lynne Tolley and Mindy Merrell.

 

That’s right! A cookbook in which Jack Daniel’s is one of the primary ingredients. That’s our kind of cooking.

 

The recipes actually come from Miss Mary Bobo’s Boarding House, a popular inn near the Jack Daniel’s Distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee. Tolley, one of the authors, is a descendant of Jack Daniel himself and owns the inn. Big communal lunches and dinners are one of the highlights of a stay at Miss Mary Bobo's, and the book is full of all kinds of southern specialties served at the inn. 

 

This is one recipe that you can easily whip up on the back of your pick-up truck before the game (provided you adhere to our belief in cast-iron cooking at tailgates). Of course, you can always make it at home, too. You might call it a perfect recipe: it's fried and it has alcohol in it. Those are two great tastes that taste great together.

 

Here's whatcha need:

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Pour the flour in a shallow bowl. Coat the chicken evenly with the flour and shake off the excess. Put 2 tablespoons of butter and the oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, place half the chicken pieces in the skillet. Cook 4 to 5 minutes. Flip and cook another 4 to 5 minutes. Remove to a platter and keep the chicken warm. Cook remaining chicken. When that's done, add the onion to the drippings in the skillet. Cook over medium heat until soft, about 3 minutes. Stir in the broth and the Jack Daniel’s. Increase heat to high and boil the liquid until thickened, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Stir in the mustard and remaining butter and mix well. Pour the sauce over the chicken. Serve immediately. Serves about 6 normal people, or 3 members of the 225 Club.