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28 June 2009

Southern Cookin'


I find that when I'm depressed or have had a bad day, I crave my mom's cooking. I find myself craving the meals she would have made for me when I was growing up. Maybe she'd make me some spaghetti and meatballs or baked ziti or even just a grilled cheese sandwich. But to really make me feel better she'd make chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy.
I have a super secret recipe for chicken friend steak that is known only by me (and everyone else who calls the south home). So it's not very secret at all, but it really hits the spot. You probably already guessed that I used red potatoes for the mashed taters. I did try to change it up with the meat though by using some different spices mixed in with the flour.
I must have been having problems with my butterfingers today. I managed to crack two eggs as I was unloading my groceries. Luckily I had a bowl handy and was able to get them scrambled up before making a huge mess. This seems to be a common occurrence with me lately in the kitchen (I'm used to being covered in flour or cocoa powder, but this spilling of everything is getting ridiculous).
I hope everyone has a great week, but if you find yourself having a bad day, feel free to come here and vent, have a bite of chicken fried steak, and feel like you're home. Enjoy!
Chicken Fried Steak
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbl cayenne pepper
1 Tbl cilantro flakes
Dash of freshly ground pepper and sea salt
3 eggs
2 cups bread crumbs (I use the packaged kind, but feel free to use homemade)
1-2 lbs cube steak (the package I used had four)
2 Tbl oil (I used olive oil and only eyeballed the measurement, use more or less at your discretion)
  1. Mix the flour, cayenne, cilantro, salt and pepper together on a plate. Scramble the three eggs together in a bowl. On another plate, pour out the bread crumbs.
  2. Dredge the steaks in the flour followed by the egg. Be sure to let the excess egg drain off. Dredge the steaks through the bread crumbs to coat. Set aside until all of the steaks are covered.
  3. Pour the oil into a large pan and heat on medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, place one or two steaks in the pan (depending on how big the steaks are; I was able to fit two at a time, but you might only be able to fit one).
  4. Cook on the first side for roughly 5 minutes or until browned. Flip and cook the other side about 5 minutes or until browned. Repeat with each steak making sure to cook the steak all the way through. Serve with mashed potatoes and country gravy.

6 comments:

BonBon Rose Girls Kristin said...

I'm in vacation in the mountains in GA and have been eating like that all week. Yummmmmmmm. I'll be staying away from mys scale next week. Ah ha.

kadler said...

That sounds so amazing! What I wouldn't give for a good chicken fried steak right now :)

P.S. I'm hosting my first giveaway! Check it out if you get a chance :)

stephchows said...

Never had this before but it looks wicked good!

Sunshine said...

Kristin - I know what you mean! At least you're only doing it on your vacation. I live with this kind of food so it's pretty hard to avoid it.

K - Thanks for stopping by! I'm excited about your giveaway. I love that bag!

Stephchows - If you ever find yourself in Tulsa, OK I will make this just for you. It's like Heaven in your mouth.

Megs said...

Hey - about the yogurt. I wouldn't call the plain yogurt "bitter" per se, but it is tart. It can be a little shocking if you're not used to it. Try mixing with a little honey, maple syrup, or applesauce to take the edge off. I like having plain around because I can sweeten it to eat or use mix it unsweetened into spicy food. I've even put it on nachos when I've been out of sour cream and it's pretty tasty!

And I'm not familiar with Oikos brand yogurt, but any plain yogurt with milk and live, active cultures should work just fine. I checked my "starter" and the ingredients read: "Cultured pasteurized milk, pectin. Contains live active cultures: s. Thermophilus, L. Bulgaricus, L. Acidophilus, and Bifidus." Yummy.

I just made a batch last night and realized that if I stirred the milk into the starter, it's less MUCH messy than shaking the jar. Sometimes I wish things like this occurred to me sooner...

FEDERICA said...

I will try this!