have a long talk with that boy

The good chicken is on sale this week at Food City. I told my wife that I would use it to cook dinner for a change. My mother had suggested an easy meal that I was ready to try. As soon as I finished lunch today, I chopped up an onion and put most of it in the bottom of the Rival Crock-Pot we had received as a wedding gift all those years ago. I put some water in with the onion, which was probably unnecessary. Then I trimmed off what little fat was left on the boneless, skinless chicken breasts from Sanderson Farms and dropped them into the Crock-Pot. All I really needed to do now, was pour in a bottle of barbecue sauce and let it cook.

The fine folks at Fischer & Wieser recently sent me samples of their Beverly Hillbillies sauces. I cracked open the bottle of Elly May's Wild Honey Mountain BBQ Sauce and put some in the pot. Before emptying the bottle, I decided to improvise a bit. I didn't have any Liquid Smoke, as some recipes suggest. I did add in a few of my favorite spices like garlic, oregano, crushed red pepper and some of Chef Paul Prudhomme's Magic Salt Free Seasoning. I also poured in a couple of dollops of Roasted Blackberry Chipotle Sauce for additional sweet and heat. With the Crock-Pot set on high, I went to bed. After my afternoon nap but before my swim, I looked in on it and realized it needed a stir since some of the spices were still sitting on top. For future reference, do not stir hot liquids without a shirt. Even a tiny splatter will hurt. The chicken cooked for about five hours until it broke apart easily, which is what I was hoping for. My wife and I both thought it tasted great. There are plenty of leftovers to enjoy over the next few days.

To get in the proper spirit before cooking, I flipped on the daily repeat of "The Beverly Hillbillies" on WBIR. It was the one where the guy who played Dr. Bellows on "I Dream of Jeannie" was a chauffeur to a rich kid who was Jethro's friend. Max Baer, Jr., who played Jethro, partnered with Fischer & Wieser to create the Beverly Hillbillies sauces. I recall once hearing Max give a sales pitch for another of his pet projects, Jethro's Beverly Hillbillies Mansion & Casino. He had tried to get it built in six different Nevada locations before finally getting approval from Douglas County.

I thought of Jethro while on our road trip last month. All the difficulty he's had trying to build his casino made me wonder if he could have altered his plans and opened a non-gambling resort in Branson. After all, weren't the Clampetts from the Ozarks? Except for Granny, who was from the Smokies.