Giving
Kay Way, owner and chef of Our Best Restaurant in Smithfield, founded the business with her late husband, Kenneth, “to showcase the great Our Best flour and Smithfield Milling Company cornmeal that was once produced in the mill” at the site, she says.
“I also wanted to create the great made-from-scratch recipes I learned from my mom and grandmother,” she says. “Good wholesome food is what I expected when they rang the dinner bell.”
Our Best features a full breakfast menu (Saturday and Sunday only), lunch and dinner menu (Tuesday through Sunday), and an array of appetizers, mouth-watering pies, and light choices. Entrees include Our Best chicken livers ($8.99), country ham dinner ($9.99), and Alaskan whitefish ($8.49). All dinners come with two country sides and choice of fried cornbread or yeast rolls. Sides include fried green tomatoes, chilled pickled beets, and Great Northern and pinto beans.
The fried chicken deserves special mention. I go at least once or twice a month to get the chicken dinner. As hard as I’ve tried, I can’t make chicken the way Kay Way taught the restaurants to make it. And don’t pass up the coconut meringue pie. If you forgot to leave room for dessert, order a piece to take home.
Visit Our Best, at 5728 Smithfield Road, (502) 845-7682, or any of three other Our Best locations—two in Louisville and one in southern Indiana. Our Best has kids’ menu items, and catering is available.
Our Best Chilled Pickled Beets
2 (15 oz) cans whole beets
1 1â„2 C vinegar
2 C sugar
Dash of ground cloves
Drain beets, reserving liquid from one can. Mix reserved liquid, vinegar, and sugar in saucepan. Sprinkle cloves on top. Heat on top of stove for 10 minutes, or until sugar is well-dissolved. Stir and pour over drained beets. Chill until thoroughly cooled. Very nice served in a cut glass bowl with a slotted spoon. Serves 4-6.
READER RECIPES
Fruit and Nut Drops
3 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 1/4 C light brown sugar
2 eggs
1/4 C sour cream
1/4 C milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 C green candied cherries, chopped
1 C red candied cherries, chopped
2 C chopped dates
1/2 C currants or chopped candied pineapple
1 1/2 C chopped walnuts, plus walnut halves for garnish
Preheat oven to 350 °. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt and set aside. Cream butter and brown sugar in a large bowl. Beat in eggs, sour cream, milk, and vanilla. Mix well. Stir in dry ingredients, fruits, and nuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls on lightly greased cookie sheets, rounding mounds. Garnish with walnut halves. Bake 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on board, paper, or foil. Freezes well. Makes 7 dozen.
Submitted by Andrea Hardcorn, Perry Park, Owen Electric Cooperative, who writes: “This recipe was given to me by a friend, Sandy Riggs, over 25 years ago. It is a wonderful holiday cookie because it is like a little bite of fruitcake, makes enough to share with friends, and freezes well. It is one cookie that I make every year.”
