Comments (1) As I continue on my quest for the perfect fried chicken recipe I come across this one at Simply Recipes. It’s pretty damn good. I tweaked things around a bit, but not by much. I used parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme for the fresh herbs in the buttermilk marinade and I added paprika to the coating flour as well. and a tad more cayenne pepper.
Simply Recipes is a wonderful site and an excellent source for a variety of recipes. Enjoy!
Yankees suck!
And I mean GARLIC! Sometimes I just have to brag. This rules. Too easy. TOOOOO EASY! I whipped this up tonight before I packed for my trip. I always pack my bags way too late. This time I’m early. I usually pack them in a rush before the cab gets here. Hopefully, I’ll have it all done tonight. Have fun with this while I’m gone. Sayonucci!
Toss chicken in flour till each piece is coated well. Flash fry garlic in olive oil over high heat until it’s just turned brown (not burnt), remove. Use a wok or stir fry pan if you have one. In remaining olive oil fry chicken until cooked and a bit crispy. Add red pepper flakes, oyster sauce, wine, sesame vinegar, green onions, soy sauce, salt, pepper, water, and remaining garlic and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often. Serve over a bed of steamed jasmine rice.
You can take this in a million different directions. Try another vegetable instead of green onions. Like carrots, celery or okra. Maybe baby corn. Try a combination of whatever you can think of. But make it something that will compliment the garlic and the tangy hint of vinegar. Next time I’ll sprinkle freshly chopped flat leaf parsley over the top just before serving. Yankees suck!
So I’ve been pretty sick the past few days. I’ve been suffering from pertussis (whooping cough) since before Thanksgiving. My doctor calls it the 100-day cough. She totally wasn’t kidding. Last Wednesday a friend’s cats made my allergies go ape shit. Asthma was killing me, nose was blocked up, eyes were red, swollen, watery and itchy. Tons-o-fun! Allergies kept going through Friday. After work Friday I hung out with some friends, but I ducked out of that early and went home to chill out.
Since I wasn’t feeling well, a friend came by to keep me company. We chilled out, gossiped, played rummy, listened to music and drank hot-buttered rum. I’m totally going to write about that recipe soon. Flu-like symptoms all day Saturday. Draggin’ ass all day. I read, watched some movies and went to bed around 10pm. Woke up at 2pm Sunday. Overnight I was achy and had cold sweats. You know me though, I’m not one to complain.
Anywhoo … Sunday came and I needed some serious home cooked food. I’m big on southern food when I’m sick. I was feeling a lot better and decided on a nice southern meal. I whipped up some country fried steak, fresh green beans and whipped potatoes.
Now country fried steak is different than chicken fried steak. I posted a recipe for chicken fried steak here. Chicken fried steak comes from Texas and is typically a tenderized beef steak dredged through an egg wash and flour and then fried like, well, chicken, and topped with a white pepper gravy. On the other hand, country fried steak isn’t typically dredged through an egg wash, just dredged through flour. Instead of serving it topped with gravy, you cook it in with the gravy. I didn’t feel like making any gravy so I used a can of cream of mushroom soup. It worked! No pictures this time. Camera battery was dead and I left it’s charger at my office.
¼ cup vegetable oil, or more
½ medium white onion, sliced
4 top round beef steak, about 6 ounces each
½ cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 10-oz can condensed cream of mushroom soup
½ cup water
I like to use my cast iron skillet for stuff like this. To tenderize the steaks, pound them out with a meat mallet. Combine flour, salt, pepper and cayenne in a mixing bowl. Over medium heat, add the oil to a hot skillet and sauté the onion until it’s slightly tender. Remove the onion and set aside. Dredge the meat through the seasoned flour. Pat in as much flour as you can. Fry each side of the steak in the oil for 4-5 minutes. If the skillet starts to get dry, ad a little more oil. When done, remove the steaks and drain them on paper towels. Mix the cream of mushroom soup and water in a bowl then add the mixture to the skillet. Cook over medium heat, whisking often.
Return the steaks to the skillet cover them with the gravy and place the onions on top. To finish it off, place the skillet in a 350° oven for 15-20 minutes.
I’m feeling much better. Peace out! Yankees suck!
Since half of my heritage is southern, what better time to reminisce about home cooked southern food than on a cold day in New England?
It ain’t steak and it ain’t chicken. So what is it? Chicken fried steak is a slice of tenderized beef round that is dipped in egg and flour, then fried and smothered in a creamy, peppery pan gravy. Like grits, if it’s made right, it’s heaven. If it’s not, it’s awful. This is THE dish that cast iron skillets were invented for. No matter where my travels take me, I’m on a never ending quest for delicious chicken fried steak. Four out of five times I’ll order it somewhere, it’s not all that great. Three out of five, it’s downright awful. But that one in five, or sometimes, one in ten, it’s magical!!!
2 cups plus 3 tablespoons of flour
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
3 eggs
½ cup heavy cream
2 cups milk
1 cup vegetable shortening
4 8-oz pieces trimmed beef top round, pounded to ¼ inch thickness
Pinch of ground cayenne pepper
Put 2 cups of flour into a wide, shallow dish and generously season with salt and pepper. Put eggs, cream and ½ cup of the milk into another wide, shallow dish and beat well.
Heat oven to 200°. Melt shortening in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat until hot or about 360° on a candy thermometer. Meanwhile, working with one piece of meat at a time, lightly season both sides with salt & pepper. Dredge beef in seasoned flour, shaking off excess, then dip each side into egg mixture, then dredge in flour again, shaking off excess. Fry meat, turning only once, until dark golden brown on each side, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a wire rack set over a baking sheet and keep warm in oven. Repeat seasoning and cooking process with remaining meat and flour and egg mixtures, transferring meat to oven to keep warm.
Discard all but about 3 tablespoons of the oil from the skillet and heat over medium heat. Add remaining flour and cook, whisking constantly, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually add remaining milk, whisking constantly. Season gravy with cayenne and ½ teaspoon of black pepper and cook, whisking constantly, until consistency is slightly thicker than that of heavy cream, about 1 minute. Season to your liking with salt. Divide chicken fried steak between four plates and spoon plenty of gravy over each.
Serve this with buttered corn, green beans, biscuits and mashed potatoes … wash it down with some lemonade or a Southern Cherry and you’ll be in heaven.
Go away or I shall I taunt you a second time-ah!
Most Monty Python purists should catch that one. Recently a friend and I were loosely discussing planning a trip to Paris. Living in Europe for many years I got to visit Paris several times. I’d love to go back and I think we’re serious about it this time. I dusted out my trusty old French Provisional cookbook and sliced and diced through it to find some great recipes that I’ve tried in the past. The ones that follow are simple and awesome. For the record, I love French cooking! I don’t speak French, however, I do kiss that way.
The steak:
1 pound of top sirloin (one large piece preferably)
Salt and crushed black peppercorns
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons brandy, warmed (zap it in the micro for 10-15 seconds)
Season the steak with the salt and peppercorns and brush it with a little oil. Heat the butter and olive oil in a heavy pan. When it’s very hot add the steak. Cook the steak, turning only once, to your desired doneness. Remove the pan from the heat, pour the warmed brandy over it and ignite. When the flames have died down, transfer the steak to a serving dish and keep warm.
The sauce:
6 tablespoons white wine
2 tablespoon butter
1 large clove garlic, crushed and minced
4 teaspoons fresh tarragon or dill, finely chopped
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
6 tablespoons heavy cream
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
Pour off the liquid from the steak into a small saucepan. Add the garlic, herbs and mustard to the saucepan, whisking well. Add the cream, and heat over very low heat, whisking all the time until the sauce is very hot, but not boiling. Season with salt and pepper. Slice the steak, against the grain, into ¼ inch slices. Pour the sauce over the steak and serve with Lyonnaise potatoes and leeks in white wine sauce.
I must thank the great Paula Deen for this yummy southern treat.
2 tablespoons butter
4 McIntosh apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 (8-piece) container refrigerated flaky biscuit dough
For the filling: add the butter to a large sauté pan and melt. Add the apples, sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice and cook over medium heat until the apples are soft, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool.
When the filling is cool, roll the biscuits out on a lightly floured surface so that each biscuit forms a 7 to 8-inch circle. Place 2 to 3 tablespoons of the filling on ½ of each circle. Brush the edges of the circle with water. Fold the circle over the filling to make a half-moon shape. Seal by pressing the edges with the tines of a fork.
Heat a deep fryer or a deep pot halfway filled with oil to 350°. Carefully add the pies to the oil, one at a time, and fry until golden brown, turning the pies as necessary for even browning, about 5 to 8 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with powdered sugar immediately.
Jeez-Louise — this is one of the bestest dishes I’ve ever had the pleasure of cooking. I love pork. Let me say that again. I LOVE PORK !!! Pork barrel projects, no so much. That’s Ted Kennedy’s department. Thanks Tyler!
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 porterhouse pork chops, ¾-inch thick, bone-in
¼ cup olive oil + one more tablespoon
1 cup chicken broth
½ cup buttermilk
1 medium white onion, peeled, halved and sliced thin
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
Put the flour in a shallow platter and add the onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper; mix with a fork to distribute evenly. Pat the pork chops dry with paper towels to remove any moisture and then dredge them in the seasoned flour; shaking off the excess.
Heat a large sauté pan or cast iron skillet over medium heat and coat with the ¼ of the oil. When the oil is nice and hot, lay the pork chops in the pan in a single layer and fry for 3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove the pork chops from the pan and add a little sprinkle of seasoned flour to the pan drippings.
Add the onions and another tablespoon of oil to the pan and sauté for 5 minutes stirring frequently. Mix the flour into the fat to dissolve and then pour in the chicken broth in. Let the liquid cook down for 5 minutes to reduce and thicken slightly. Stir in the buttermilk to make a creamy gravy and return the pork chops to the pan, covering them with the sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes until the pork is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper.
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