The Life & Times of The Three Frankies... I Told Y'all Growing Up Was Fun........Chicken w/ Asian Slaw Sandwich

1973??

Growing up was fun for me. Of course it had its' ups and downs but overall I laughed and smiled my way through the first 25 years of my life. Grade school and high school had me in "find my way" mode but by the time I hit college I thought I knew everything. While my DeMatha H.S. days were great, by far my most comical years were those during college.

Back In The Day 

My Peeps

In the late 80's life for me was all about having a good time, part of that meant laughing through struggle. When me and my boys were young part of that fun was listening to Richard Pryor. Sure there was Eddie Murphy but his stint on SNL ended in 83 and by 87 when he recorded RAW it was just too mean spirited for me to find all that funny. Rich was the type of comedian that used himself as the punchline! After all in one bit he  personified snot, made it relatable and had you laughing at his expense through your memory of a similar situation.  Brilliant..... We would sneak to our parents basement and listen to every line hoping and praying to drop one of his gems at the opportune time just so we could all fall out in laughter. At any rate, there was one skit in particular that we made a life style of, Frankie..... In the skit Richard is telling the story of a dude (Rich himself) that get's paid on a Friday, goes to the bar, gets drunk, talks trash to everyone in the bar, gets thrown out of said bar and then dropped off by his friend and as the friend pulls off Rich screams one thing to him: "Frankie, Thank you Pahtnah!!!"

Frankie Story Go to the 3.55 mark and listen, hilarious.........

"Thank you Frankie Pahtnah", This is a phrase that floored us. It created a whole new world for the story to us. Did any of you ever read Hamlet? Of course many of you did, it was required reading for us old heads. Here's a better more relatable question to help you get my point. Did any of you ever read Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead ? If you did then you should get the point. We started a new life for both Rich and Frankie. By the time we were done creating different scenarios we realized that they had many more misadventures. We surmised Rich just never bothered to share them with us. We also decided that the real character in the story was Rich's boy Frankie. After all who continues to go out with a brutha that get's drunk, embarrasses the hell out of you and himself, gets thrown out and then has you drop his drunk azz home????? Allow me to answer that, US.... LOL. We all decided that Frankie was in each of  us.

The Frankies consisted of me, my boy Rick & best friend Steve. Three drunks that were "libel to" belly up to anyone's bar and act a damn fool all night long. Ask any of our friends...... The three of us were completely different though. I was the quiet type, that played the wall but always had something to say. I guess I was kind of the "around the way" Frankie and as a result I was dubbed Frankie Evans (pronounced with a southern drawl Ebb-Ins). Frankie Evans was all about fun but stayed cool in all situations. Evans had no soul and more importantly NO FILTER. What you saw is exactly what you got and then some. He would never approach women his standoffishness would draw the ladies to him eventually and if they didn't come then he didn't need them anyway. Rick was loud and obnoxious "drank" in hand or not. He was also flashy when he wanted attention so we took to calling him Frankie Owens. F.O. was the type of brutha that rolled up on your girl as soon as you went to the bathroom after he locked you in it. He also had the ability to make you laugh about it once you got out and found out what he was up to. Steve was always the quietest one of us all but he was a pretty boy. Pretty hair and a full beard since 2nd grade, this cat looked like the regal type inebriate (see even calling him a drunkard requires fancy talk)! We gave our diminutive Frankie the appropriate name Frankie Fauntleroy. This dude would have the women fighting over him to buy him drinks and because he was a drunk he took them up on it. Frankie Fauntleroy slummed more Mu's than either of us cares to recall or talk about but that's another story. 

On one occasion the three of us went to a house party down the street from Fauntleroy's house at another friend's house. There we are, the Frankies at our first official outing each of us in character. All knowing our lines and just as importantly knowing not to step on each other's. We were good friends with the hostess so we decided to show "what they call" the fuch out. In I come as usual understated and playing the wall, next is Fauntleroy heading straight for the ladies and of course the liquor and finally Frankie Owens, this train wreck came in shirt unbuttoned, gold chain entwined in the taco meat he played off as chest hair, cutting every bit the fool. Problem was when we got in we found out that it was a party for the youngsters. I think we were Juniors by now and inside the party were all freshman from Norfolk State. (As if). It was like the scene in I'm Gonna Get You Sucka, when Antonio Fargas gets out of jail with his 70's rags on trying to rock the same joints in the 90's. By the time we reached the basement our act was old and not flying at this daycare. We cracked jokes, ate the food and rolled out with all of the liquor unnoticed or so I had thought. When I reached the door one of the dudes dropped the dime on us. Me, in all of my Frankie glory, cursed him the hell out and kept it moving. Just as I was leaving and walking down the driveway talking about fighting this youngster, who do I see but another group of my friends coming up the other side of the driveway wondering what the heck is going on. I stop for a second, dude comes out of the party still yelling "they stealing the liquor!" Now all of the fine (and I do mean FINE) women come out of the party to see the ruckus. As soon as they come out and lay eyes on me I slip and fall all the way down the driveway and under the parked car. I get up, dust myself off but notice that I have sacrificed the bottles in my fall and I am dripping wet with snow, ice and alcohol. Being the Frankie that I was I looked at my boys, the girl throwing the party, the other 2 Frankies, the crowd and offered this one liner, "Frankie, Thank you Patnah!" The three of us fell out laughing cracked a bottle right there and passed it around to the crowd outside of the party. Did we leave??? Please the Frankies always overstayed their welcome. We got put out by our friend's mama at 6 in the morning when she came home. At least we had an epic story to share over drinks later that day..... 

I'm sure that some of you are asking yourself or at least thinking, "What in the hell does this have to do with cooking or recipes?" I offer only this! My recipes are a collection of memories, there are smells that trigger a childhood flashback and away I go. There are times when I'm sad and cooking is my only rescue. There are certain foods that remind me of periods in my life when a chuckle was what made the struggle not only tolerable but laughable. When you are young and trying to figure things out it's often times the simple things that carry you through, after all normally all you can afford are the simple things. Besides that I have stories to share and this is my damn blog so I'll do what I want. All joking aside, I really do appreciate every thing that I have been through and just want to relive it through stories shared and if I can give you a recipe while doing so win win right??????

  On the Menu today: OPC's Asian Chicken Sandwich

This Gone Be Good!!!

For Chicken you will need the following:

• Chicken Breast (4 each cut in Half lengthwise) 
• Butter Milk (2 cups)
• Garlic (1 Tbs) 
• Flour (2 Cups)
• Paprika (1 tsp)
• Season Salt (1 Tbs)
• Powdered Garlic (1/2 tsp)
• Deep Fryer 
• Oil 
• Soft French Bread (1-2 loaves)

Asian Slaw

For the Asian Slaw:

• Cabbage (1 head) 
• Red Cabbage (1 head)
• Red Onions (1-2 med) 
• Carrots (5-6 med)
• Cilantro (2 cups)
• Thai Chilies (10 each)
• Rice Vinegar (1/2 Cup)
• Singha Beer (1/3 Cup)
• Soy Sauce (1 Tbs)
• Sugar (1 tsp) 
• Olive Oil (2 Tbs)

Start off by cutting the chicken breast in half and then add the minced garlic to the buttermilk, allowing the chicken to marinate in the mixture for 12-24 hours in a refrigerator. To make the slaw julienne the cabbage, carrots, and onions then coin the thai chillies and chop the cilantro coarsely. Take the olive oil, rice vinegar, sugar and soy sauce and combine to make a dressing. Dress the slaw with this and allow to sit for at least 18 hours sealed tightly. When ready to cook the chicken preheat the deep fryer to high. Meanwhile, add the dry ingredients together and coat the chicken breast in it. The best method is to use a paper bag to do so. Deep fry until golden brown and cooked thoroughly to hold an internal temperature of 165 degrees for 15 seconds. Take out and allow to pat dry on a rack or paper towel then assemble the sandwich. Add the slaw to the bottom of the sandwich then place the chicken on it, slice and enjoy with a crisp beer....... Singha Beer is best for this........