Category: MISC

COUNTRY FRIED STEAK

A favorite of ours is “chicken fried” anything.  Chicken-fried steak (also known as pan-fried steak country-fried steak or CFS) is a piece of steak (tenderized cube steak) coated with seasoned flour and pan-fried. It is generally associated with the South and their hospitality. Its name is thought to be likely due to chicken-fried steak’s similarity in preparation to fried chicken, though the dish is also similar to the classic Austrian dish,  Wiener Schnitzel, a tenderized veal or beef cutlet, coated with flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs and then pan fried.  It is truly a comfort food.

The precise origins of Chicken Fried Steak are unclear, but many sources attribute its development to Germans and Austrians who immigrated to Texas in the nineteenth century and brought recipes for Wiener Schnitzel from Europe to the USA. Lamesa, the seat of Dawson County on the Texas South Plains, claims to be the birthplace of chicken-fried steak, as does Bandera, Texas’ favorite son, John “White Gravy” Neutzling.

The Virginia Housewife, published in 1838 by Mary Randolph has a recipe for veal cutlets that is one of the earliest known recipes for a food like chicken-fried steak. The recipe for what we now know as chicken-fried steak was included in many regional cookbooks by the late nineteenth century. The actual term “chicken-fried steak” was probably developed in the 1930s. It is thought that the  name change was due to the war with Germany.  Chicken-fried steak is among numerous popular dishes which make up the official state meal of Oklahoma, added to the list in 1988.

All that said, even being a Texan, I grew up with it being called Country Fried Steak which makes so much more sense to me!  There is nothing chicken about this meal.  I have over the years played with the flavor and this is how we like it.
COUNTRY FRIED STEAK
1 cube steak or thin top sirloin steak per person
Marsala wine
green onions, thinly sliced
1 egg per 2 steak, beaten
flour
salt and pepper
butter
  • Generously salt and pepper the steaks.
  • Slice your onions and marinate the steaks in just enough Marsala wine to cover.  Layer the steaks and onions into a tupperware and refrigerate for several hours.
  • Drain steaks on paper towels.
  • Heat large skillet with enough butter to evenly coat the bottom.
  • Dipped drained steaks in beaten egg and then flour.
  • Lay each steak in sizzling butter and salt and pepper again.
  • Turn steaks and season again.
  • Serve with Parmesan Potatoes and Peppered Gravy.

aprons 3

BEER CHEESE DIP

 
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon favorite Dijon mustard
2½ cups shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons heavy cream
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ cup favorite beer
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (I substituted 2 teaspoons dried)
  • Combine the cream cheese, mustard, cheddar cheese, heavy cream and salt in a food processor.
  • Pulse until well blended.
  • Add the beer, and continue processing until very smooth. 
  • Enjoy!
  • Be sure to take it out an hour before serving if you refrigerate it first.
  Don’t forget to join us Sunday for 
Tailgating Time will be posted every Sunday at noon and open all week for you to add your football favorites. We’ll play each and every week until Superbowl Sunday. I can’t wait to see what you’ll be bringing!
It’s Tailgating Time!
HOSTED BY:
Martha at Seaside Simplicity 
Tamy at 3 sides of Crazy 
Lyndsey at Tiny Skillet

PUMPKIN WALNUT BREAD

Hi there! I am Emily Z. from EZ’s Recipes, where I blog about my adventures in the kitchen, as well as the occasional restaurant review. I have been blogging for almost a year now and have enjoyed every minute of it. I am flattered and thrilled to be able to be a contributor to OuR KrAzy kItChEn. I will be posting here the 4th Sunday of every month.
Fall is my favorite season. If you read my blog, you will see that clearly as I talk about it often. I feel that Fall offers so much… the pretty weather, the change in colors, the activities (football! Halloween!), and the foods. One of my favorite fall foods is pumpkin.
This time of year also brings out my desire to use my bread maker and my crock pot. I got this recipe out of the little cookbook that came with my bread maker. I love using my bread maker! It fills the house with such lovely smells and so far I have not been disappointed with a single loaf of bread that I have made! This one included; the addition of the walnuts and the cranberries in the pumpkin bread is fantastic.
Please also join me over at EZ’s Recipes for lots of fun and delicious recipes in between my posts here! I have some fun stuff up my sleeve for Halloween coming up, so please stay tuned!
Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin
  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon allspice
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 cup walnuts
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries

1. Place ingredients, in order listed, in bread pan fitted with kneading paddle. Place in bread maker and select Quick Bread/Cake. Press Crust and select Medium (or to taste). Press Loaf and select dough size (I generally go with 2 pound loafs myself).
2. After batter has mixed for about 4 minutes, stir sides and bottom of bread pan with rubber spatula to ensure complete mixing. Allow to continue mixing.
3. When cycle is completed, remove bread from machine and transfer to wire rack to cool. Bread slices best when allowed to cool. If not serving after cooling, wrap in foil to maintain freshness when completely cooled.

The Perfect Bean Dip!

I love bean dip and this recipe happens to be a staple for any party that I may be throwing or attending. It’s a great alternative to hummus… even though hummus is equally awesome.

Italian White Bean Dip

What you’ll need:
1x 15 oz can of Cannellini beans
1/4 cup olive oil, 1 tsp for topping
1/2 cup basil leaves
1/4 cup italian parsley
1 lemon juiced
1 garlic clove, chopped before puree
1 tsp red pepper flakes for a kick!
salt and freshly cracked red pepper to taste

What you’ll do:
Chop the garlic and herbs before putting in blender. Rinse the beans. Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth. Serve in a cute bowl and garnish with a little olive oil and some leftover herbs. Serve with pita chips. This is a crowd pleaser!

Visit me any time at Behold the Metatron , and on Tuesday at The Motivation Station!

OATMEAL NUT MUFFINS

OATMEAL NUT MUFFINS
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 cup buttermilk
1 stick butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 Jumbo eggs
1 cup flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped pecans

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  • In a large bowl layer the oats.
  • Pour the buttermilk over the oats and let them soak for an hour.
  • Cream the butter.
  • Add the sugar and cream until smooth.
  • Add the eggs one at a time beating after each addition.
  • Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  • Gradually add dry ingredients to the wet until well blended.
  • Fill muffin tins 2/3 full.
  • Sprinkle nuts on top.
  • Bake for 18-20 minutes.

aprons 3

Grilled Garlic Chicken with Sherry Butter Sauce

Noooooooooooooooooooo!

Did you just hear that?

Fall just fell.

Don’t get me wrong, one of the benefits of moving to East Tennessee from Florida was finally getting to enjoy a real Fall. You don’t get them in Florida. I love watching the leaves turn colors across the Great Smoky Mountains and feeling a crisp Autumn breeze. But since I like to do my cooking outdoors, I already miss having sun light until 8 or 9 in the evening.

That just means I have to start taking steps to make cooking quicker. For example, using chicken tenderloins in this recipe for a quick grill. They are also inexpensive.


Grilled Garlic Chicken with Sherry Butter Sauce
Inspired by The Fresh Market & Friends Cookbook

6 ea chicken tenderloins

Dry rub
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon turbinado sugar

Sherry Butter Sauce
1/4 cup butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup sherry
3 Tbsp water
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon coarse ground Dijon mustard

Set up your grill for direct heat at 350f (or you could do this on the stove top over medium heat).

Season the chicken tenderloins on both sides with the dry rub. Set aside.

Put a sauce pan on the grill and after it is warm, melt the butter. Add the garlic and simmer for about 5 minutes. Whisk in the remaining ingredients and reduce to half. Remove and set aside.

Turn your grill up to 450 degrees. Place the chicken on the grill and cook for 3 minutes.

Flip and cook another 3 minutes.

Flip, brush with some of the sauce and cook 1 minute.

Flip, brush with some of the sauce and cook 1 last minute or until 165f internal temp.

Plate and drizzle some of the sauce on the chicken. We served ours with a side of angel hair and sun-dried tomatoes and some of Alexis’ home made bread that I toasted.

So tell me….
1) What is the one summer dish that you are sorry to see sneaking out of the door and/or
2) What Fall dish are glad to welcome?

PLANTAIN FUFU FRIED CHICKEN

I found a recipe recently for Japanese Fried Chicken that I was going to try for dinner tonight.  Then I tried to accumulate all the ingredients.  Long story short, I rewrote the recipe to work around the ingredients I did find.  The first change I made was the potato starch the recipe called for.  I did do research and found that you could substitute corn starch, but that seemed too plain so I went to a local market that has several aisles of international foods and started searching.  I found two things of interest: Fufu Flour and Corn Flour.  Fufu flour is from Africa and this particular one is made from Plantains so I guess I could call this Banana Fried Chicken.  Both of these flours are very fine and resemble regular corn starch in texture and coat very well.

PLANTAIN  FUFU FRIED CHICKEN  aka BANANA FRIED CHICKEN
1 1/2 pound chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Marsala wine
1 large green onion, sliced thin
salt and pepper
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup FUFU flour
1/2 cup corn flour
Chinese hot mustard for dipping

  • In a large bowl combine the soy sauce, Marsala wine and green onions.
  • Place chicken in bowl and toss to coat.  Refrigerate for several hours.
  • Drain chicken pieces.
  • In a large bag combine the FUFU flour, corn flour, salt and pepper.
  • In a large skillet melt butter.
  • Place chicken pieces in bag and shake to coat.
  • Add chicken pieces to  hot butter.  When brown and crusty, turn the pieces.
  • Drain on paper towels.
  • Serve with hot Chinese hot mustard and lemon slices.
By the way, it was really good!
aprons 3

Mushroom/Tomato Goat Cheese Pizza and a dough recipe

I love pizza! 
Here’s a funny little stat… I make @8 pizzas every two weeks.  I always use a fresh baked from scratch dough.  That sounds like a lot, and it sounds like a lot of work, but nope.
Easy as pie (pizza pie) to make your own dough.  I actually use a modified flatbread recipe (it has a small amount of yeast, but no rising time) for my dough.  I make it in a large batch, divide the batch into 4ths.  That is the perfect size to make 2 personal size pizzas.  One with my wife’s favorite toppings and one with the better toppings for me.
Once I have the dough, I store the divides in separate ziplock bags in the fridge.  If I don’t plan to make the za’s within the two weeks, these freeze just fine.  With the aid of my kitchenaid, it takes 15 minutes to make the dough; just a little longer back when I kneaded everything by hand.  That’s a small investment in time for 8 pizzas.
This was my lunch yesterday…
Leftover Mushrooms sliced, 
Leftover Tomatoes, 
Leftover Goat Cheese 
A sprinkling of Balsamic Vinegar
and a sprinkling of my “Not your grandmother’s Herbes de Provence” spicemix!
___________________________
If you are a novice bread maker, this pizza dough recipe is about as easy as it gets.  Just enough yeast to make the insides of the crust sweet and soft.  But crisps up nicely on the outside.  The dough goes right from the kneading process to the fridge.  So, there is no rise time to complicate the process.

The flour and water used in the mix should be as cold as possible.  That’s what allows the yeast to flavor the bread, but keeps the flatbread… flat. 

But I digress away from the recipe…

4 1/2 cups chilled Flour
1 3/4 teaspoon Salt
1 tsp instant Yeast
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1 3/4 cups COLD Water (40 degrees)

OK, did you read the 2 cold ingredients. Takes an extra hour or two of planning, I measure the water and the flour and pop them in the fridge for a couple hours to get cold. The small amount of yeast, relative to the amount of flour and the cold will make for a flat bread, almost no fermentation (rise). Just enough to soften the taste, but not make a big rise. In my pre Kitchenaid days, I mixed and kneaded this recipe in a gallon size ziplock bag. Worked great, largely I believe because of the oil in the recipe. Without that, the dough would be too sticky to mix in a bag. But this sure made clean up easy.

Here’s what I did…

  • Mix the dry ingredients first
  • add the water and oil about a fourth of each at a time
  • mix well until all the flour is hydrated and you form a large dough ball in your bag 
  • continue kneading for about 10 minutes, or if you use your kitchenaid, use the dough hook attachment, and allow the machine to knead for 7 minutes
  • And now, time to divide… Generously sprinkle a work surface with flour. Also, prepare 4 ziplock sandwich size bags (bigger works fine as well) by spraying the insides of them with spray canola oil.
  • Plop the dough ball into the flour and coat well. Divide into 4 equal parts (or fewer if you know you are making larger pizzas). Put each dough ball into a prepared ziplock bag and refrigerate at least 6 hours, and preferably overnight. When it comes cooking time, allow the dough to reach room temp.

When it comes cooking time, allow the dough to reach room temp.
If you are making one big one, just roll out round and flat (actually, any shape you like).  Add your toppings and bake in a preheated 500 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.
Not a bad lunch!
Dave here from MY YEAR ON THE GRILL. It really is just this easy!  

 … I CAN COOK THAT! 

And so can you!

75 cent KITCHEN MAKEOVER

Do you want to make something pretty for really cheap too? I had this plain, small and kinda ugly dish on the sink edge for the sponge and scrubbers.  Living with 2 men, I have to tell you they don’t keep it very neat.  Now get your head out of that gutter, one of them is my uncle.
At my house I have a small cake stand that I use, but they are pretty hard to find so I decided to make my own.  So I went to my local thrift store and found these 2 things a mismatched candle holder for 50 cents and pretty salad plate also 50 cents, but on 75% clearance that day.  Then I picked up some of the new Gorilla glue, the clear kind, but still strong as a gorilla, go figure.  I washed both pieces and dried them well.  I put the gorilla glue on the candle holder and then applied it to the back of the salad plate and allowed it to dry well.

And voile’ a new pretty stand that has room for everything!

aprons 3

REDNECK CUPCAKE WARS~BBQ CHICKEN CHILE CORNBREAD REDNECK CUPCAKES

Recently my buddy Dave over at My Year on the Grill “invented” the Redneck Cupcake.  Pure genius I tell you!  He is also trying to win Project food blog.  Go check it out and vote for him.
I do like the “cake” part on the bottom – so much easier to eat!  The “cake” envelops the meat and the cheese oozes and goozes down into the meat.   It was also my birthday last week and my mom sent me a box full of “goodies”.  Among those goodies were these awesome muffin tart baking cups that require no muffin tin and are larger and flatter than the average so once again they are easier to eat. I may try those next time, but this time I think in order to qualify as a “redneck” cupcake they must be made in leftover birthday wrappers.
Dave and I are both believers in using all your leftovers as he demonstrates with his Redneck Cupcakes.   My recipe uses all the small tidbits from when you skin your Rotisserie chicken.  I use absolutely everything from my rotisserie chickens including the bones!

BBQ CHICKEN CHILE CORNBREAD REDNECK CUPCAKES makes 15-18 cupcakes

2-3 cups Rotisserie Chicken pieces
1/4 cup favorite BBQ sauce
Havarti cheese slices or Vermont White Cheddar, quartered
  • Toss chicken pieces with BBQ sauce and set aside for an hour before preparing muffins.
  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  • Prepare the cornbread and fill baking cups 2/3 full.
  • Drain chicken pieces of excess sauce.
  • Top with a layer of meat.
  • Top with a very thin slice of cheese.
  •  Bake 20 minutes or until cornbread tests JUST done with a toothpick or until cheese oozes and goozes into the chicken pieces.
Wouldn’t these make awesome football food?  Don’t forget to join us Sunday for 
Tailgating Time will be posted every Sunday at noon and open all week for you to add your football favorites. We’ll play each and every week until Superbowl Sunday. I can’t wait to see what you’ll be bringing!
It’s Tailgating Time!
HOSTED BY:
Martha at Seaside Simplicity 
Tamy at 3 sides of Crazy 
Lyndsey at Tiny Skillet

aprons 3