MadCookery

I have always heard about Chicken (Southern) Fried Steak and frankly the idea always sounded disgusting, but I recently decided to give it a try and it was incredible.  I should have never doubted Southern United States country cooking; it is always delicious, even if it is likely to give you a heart-attack.  This is a very traditional recipe, with a slight deviation, that I recommend you serve with Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans.  This recipe makes 2 servings, but to increase to more just add 4oz of cube steak per serving up to around 6 servings for the amount of gravy made.  Do not make this in a non-stick skillet.  For best results I recommend you use a cast iron skillet, but any skillet that is not non-stick will work.

Ingredients:

• 8oz of Cube Steak cut into two pieces (4 oz per serving)
• cup + 4 Tlbs flour
• 1 egg
• 1 ½ cups + 1 Tbls milk
• 1 tsp + pinch Cayenne Pepper
• Salt
• Pepper
• Enough Canola or Vegetable oil to cover the bottom of your pan ¼ inch thick

Instructions:

1. Preheat Oven to Warm or 200 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Salt and Pepper the Steaks liberally on each side
3. Sprinkle a pinch of Cayenne pepper over steaks
4. Dredge steaks in flour, shaking off excess
5. Whisk egg and 1 Tbls of milk together until well blended and almost frothy
6. Dredge steaks in egg & milk mixture
7. Dredge steaks a second time in flour
8. Heat Oil in a pan large enough to hold all steaks over medium high until a drop of water immediately dissolves (approximately 350 degrees)
9. Add steaks to pan and cook until the bottom side is golden brown (3-4 minutes)
10. Flip steaks and cook until other side is golden brown (3 minutes)
11. Remove steaks and let drain on a thick stack of paper towels.  Once drain moved to oven to keep warm
12. Pour out all but about 1/8 cup of the oil from the pan
13. Add 4 Tbls of flour and whisk until well blended.
14. Cook for 3 minutes over medium high heat, whisking often.
15. Add milk about ¼ a cup at a time whisking constantly
16. After all milk is added add 1 tsp of Cayenne Pepper and whisk until it begins to boil over high heat
17. Low heat to medium/medium low and continue to whisk very often or constantly for 8-10 minutes.  If it’s too thick add more milk 1 tsp at a time.  If too thin add 1 tsp of flour and increase cooking time by 5 minutes to cook the flour.  Gravy should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
18. Salt and pepper gravy to taste.
19. Place friend steaks on plates and liberally coat with gravy.  Use leftover gravy mashed potatoes or save it to pour over biscuits for breakfast the next morning.

Serve immediately

My favorite salad dressings are ones that are Balsamic Vinegar based, but I have found very few commercially available once that have the deep rich flavor that I like.  Fortunately, making your own is quick and very easy.  There are two main ingredients in a Balsamic dressing and their quality greatly affects the final product.  The first is Balsamic Vinegar and the second is Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  I highly recommend purchasing high quality bottles of both for any of the following methods.  The ones available for a low cost at the local grocery store will produce a low quality result, but for a small investment in a small bottle of high quality versions of both and you will still come out cheaper by volume than any commercial bottle and with a much better flavor.There are four methods I commonly use to create Balsamic dressings:  a pure balsamic, a fruit or berry flavored, a reduced balsamic, and an herb infused.  Below are basic instructions for each to be used as a base.  Experiment with each and you will find an almost unlimited selection of dressing flavors. 

I. Basic Balsamic Dressing

This is a basic balsamic dressing.  Any quantity can be made as long as equal parts vinegar and olive oil are used.

Ingredients:

• 1 oz Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 oz Balsamic Vinegar

Instructions:

1. Add the Olive Oil to a bowl
2. Whisk as you slowly drizzle in the Balsamic Vinegar.  Continue whisking until all vinegar is added and dressing is well mixed.
3. Serve immediately, or if holding for a later serving whisk again right before serving.

II. Raspberry Balsamic Dressing

This is a variation on the basic balsamic dressing that adds a fresh fruit or berry flavor.  Any berry or fruit can be used as long as it can be finely crushed to a pulp.  The most well known version of this is a raspberry balsamic dressing.

Ingredients:

• 1 oz Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 oz Balsamic Vinegar
• 8 fresh raspberries
• 1 pinch of salt

Instructions:

1. Crush berries in a bowl until a fine pulp
2. Add Olive Oil
3. Add salt
4. Whisk as you slowly drizzle in the Balsamic Vinegar.  Continue whisking until all vinegar is added and dressing is well mixed.
5. Serve immediately, or if holding for a later serving whisk again right before serving.

III. Balsamic and Fig Reduction Dressing   

This version requires reducing the balsamic vinegar before adding it to the oil.  You can infuse the vinegar flavor with just about anything you desire during the reduction.  My favorite flavor for this recipe is dried figs.

Ingredients:

• 3 oz Balsamic Vinegar
• 4 dried figs, finely diced
• 1 oz Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Instructions:

1. Add balsamic vinegar and diced figs to a small sauce pan over medium-high heat
2. Stir occasionally until mixture is reduced by 1/3 (approximately 10 minutes)
3. Add Olive Oil to a bowl
4. Whisk as you slowly drizzle in the Balsamic Vinegar and fig reduction.  Continue whisking until all vinegar is added and dressing is well mixed.
5. Serve immediately, or if holding for a later serving whisk again right before serving.

IV. Rosemary Infused Balsamic Vinegar Dressing

A herb flavor can be achieved by using an infused Olive Oil.  You can either purchase an infused bottle of Olive Oil or infuse it yourself by adding the herbs to olive oil in an air tight jar and letting it sit for a few weeks.

Ingredients:

• 1 oz Rosemary infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 oz Balsamic Vinegar

Instructions:

1. Add the Olive Oil to a bowl
2.  Whisk as you slowly drizzle in the Balsamic Vinegar.  Continue whisking until all vinegar is added and dressing is well mixed.
3. Serve immediately, or if holding for a later serving whisk again right before serving.

V. Balsamic Blue Cheese Dressing

As a bonus here is a simple recipe for a simple balsamic blue cheese dressing that is one of my favorites.

Ingredients:

• 1 oz Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 oz Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 oz finely crumbled blue cheese
• 1 pinch of salt

Instructions:

1. Add the Olive Oil to a bowl
2. Whisk as you slowly drizzle in the Balsamic Vinegar.  Continue whisking until all vinegar is added and dressing is well mixed.
3. Add crumbled blue cheese and salt and whisky until well blended
4. Serve immediately, or if holding for a later serving whisk again right before serving.

These should give you some ideas of the wide range of flavors available from this simple dressing.  So use these techniques and experiment to create your own.  If you find one you love, I would love to hear it so please add it to the comments or send it to me and I will feature it (with credit to you of course) on this page.

Hummus is one of my favorite dishes.  It’s quick, easy, and delicious.  Here is my favorite basic hummus recipe that can be made with ingredients that you should have in any well stocked kitchen.

Ingredients

• 1 16oz can of Chick Peas including 1/4 of the juice
• 2 tsps Tahini
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 tbls fresh lime juice (or lemon fresh juice)
• 1.5 tsps salt
• 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• Paprika

Instructions

1. Add all ingredients, except Paprika, to a bowl or blender
2. blend well on high until blended to a paste (stopping to scrape down ingredients as needed) or crush to a paste with a fork, mortar, or potatoe masher
3. Sprinkle with Paprika and serve

This is one of my favorite sweet salsas that is great with chips and even better served with seafood.  Try it with either a meaty white fish Halibut, Salmon, Trout, Tilapia, or even shrimp or scallops.  It works great with almost any type of seafood.  For more heat to the mix substitute a Habanero for the Jalapeno.

 Ingredients

• 1 Papaya
• 1 Ripe Asian Pear
• 1 Jalapeno Pepper
• ½ Red Pepper
• ½ a medium Red Onion
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tsp honey
• Salt
• Pepper 

Instructions

1. Dice the Papaya, Asian Pear, Red Pepper, and Red Onion to a small equal size dice.
2. Finely dice the Jalapeno or Habanero
3. Mix the Papaya, Pear, Red Pepper, Red Onion, and Jalapeno
4. Whisk together the juice of the lemon and the honey
5. Stir in the lemon/honey mixture to the diced fruits and vegetables
6. Salt and Pepper to taste
7. Let sit for at least 1 hour covered in a refrigerator