Chicken Fried Steak

Anytime I think of chicken fried steak I always think of my dad. Is it weird that I have a lot of memories associated to food and my dad? On Sundays, after church, we'd always go to Chili's for lunch. Well my dad always got chicken fried steak. I was never sure of what chicken fried steak really was. Was it chicken? Was it steak? All I knew was that it was not the healthiest dish.

For some reason I had the desire to try this meal out. Never had it in a restaurant, but I decided to give Rachael Ray's version a go:

Chicken Fried Steaks and Creamed Pan Gravy with Biscuits

1 1/2 lbs (1/2" thick) round steak - I got the thin cut kind
1 cup + 2 Tb. flour
1/3 cup cornmeal
1 tsp. sweet paprika
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
2 eggs beaten - Could probably get away with using only 1 egg
2 Tb. water
4 Tb. vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups of beef broth or stock
1/4 cup half and half or cream
1 package back-off biscuits, prepared according to package directions
Wax paper

Preheat large, heavy skillet over medium high heat.

Pound steaks to 1/4" thick between two pieces of wax paper. Pull steaks off work surface and set aside. Pour 1/2 cup of flour into two different piles or dishes. Add cornmeal, paprika, salt and pepper to 1 pile of flour. Beat eggs and water in a pie plate or shallow dish.

Cut steaks into four portions and coat in flour, then eggs, then seasoned flour and cornmeal.

Add 2 Tb. oil to hot pan and cook two steaks at a time. Brown steaks about two minutes per side or until cooked. Remove from pan. Add 2 more Tb. of oil to the pan and repeat with remaining steaks. I heated my oven to 200 degrees and put the finished steaks on a pan in the oven to keep warm.

When the second batch is finished, pour off all but 2 to 3 Tb. of the drippings. Add 2 Tb. of flour to drippings and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Whisk in broth and season with salt and pepper. Whisk half and half or cream into gravy. When gravy bubbles, remove from heat.

Serve steaks and warm biscuits with gravy on top.

Mmmm.... Golden crust with creamy gravy.

The first time I made this dish, I over cooked the meat and it was tough. This time, I bought thin cut meat and even though I didn't pound it to 1/4" thickness, I didn't over cook it this time. I figured the more important thing was to get the breading nice and crispy. If the meat was a little pink on the inside, it'd be ok.

Luckily the meat was nice and tender this time around. The crust, while it wasn't crunchy like a fried chicken breading, still had a good texture. I really like the cornmeal mixed in because it gives it a grittier feeling. Of course, the gravy made the dish. I used cream instead of half and half, which gave it a smoother and thicker consistency. It also packed a lot of flavor with the pan drippings.

Wes couldn't get over this dish. He had this meal twice for leftovers and even asked if there was more a few days later. I think it ranks pretty high on the list of meals I've made. I served this with mashed potatoes and corn on the cob. No biscuits. Pretty southern meal if you ask me.

I told my dad about this meal with Wes raving about it and my dad got pretty excited about it. Now if only my mom would make it for him. It's an easy recipe to make with few ingredients and steps. The most difficult part is knowing when to take the meat out so it doesn't over cook. Since the meat is thin, it doesn't take long to cook either. It's actually a pretty quick meal. I think the mashed potatoes took the longest to cook.

If you're craving some Southern comfort food, give this quick and easy meal a try. Happy cooking!

Asian Steak with Stir Fried Noodles

This is the extent of my Chinese cooking. And I don't know that it even counts as real Chinese food. Don't hold that against me.

Asian Steak

One 3" piece of ginger
2 garlic cloves minced
2 tsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon (optional)
1 small skirt steak or flank steak, about 1 1/2 to 2 lbs.
1/4 cup dry sherry
3 Tb. soy sauce
2 Tb. olive oil
Salt & pepper

Peel half the ginger; finely grate to make 1 Tb. Thinly slice the remaining half. Scatter grated and sliced ginger, garlic, brown sugar, cinnamon in a non-reactive baking dish. Cut steak against the grain into three 6" pieces, place in dish. Pour sherry, soy sauce, and olive oil over the steak. Marinate, turning several times for 30 minutes or refrigerate for several hours. Can probably mix all ingredients together and marinate meat in a zip lock bag.

Heat broiler. Season steak with salt and pepper; transfer to a broiler pan. Broil until brown and just charred, about 4 minutes. 5-6 minutes if using flank steak. Turn, broil another 3 minutes for medium rare. 4-5 minute if using flank. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for five minutes. Cut into thin strips.


Chinese Fried Noodles

2 packages of flavored ramen noodles
3 eggs, beaten
vegetable oil
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 small carrot, peeled & grated
1/2 cup green peas
1/4 cup red bell pepper, minced
2 Tb. sesame oil
soy sauce

Boil ramen noodles until softened, without flavor packets. Drain noodles and set aside.

Heat 1 Tb. oil in a small skillet. Scramble the eggs and cook until firm. Set aside.

In a separate skillet (or same skillet as the eggs), cook the vegetables until just tender. Set aside.

Combine 2 Tb. sesame oil with 1 Tb. of vegetable oil in a skillet. Fry noodles in oil for 3 to 5 minutes over medium heat, turning regularly. Sprinkle soy sauce, sesame oil and desired amount of flavor packets over noodles and toss to coat. I use less than half a packet for the noodles. Add vegetables and egg and continue cooking, turning frequently for another 5 minutes. If you want to get the noodles crispy, let the noodles sit for a few minutes.

My "authentic" Chinese food.

I use different vegetables each time I make the noodles. Typically I'll use carrots and the red bell pepper, but this time I added snap peas. Other times I've used broccoli. It's whatever kind of veggies you feel like using. And I usually change up the protein. I've used shrimp a lot in the past.

The steak with this dish went really well together. It has a sweetness to it from the brown sugar that I really like. The prominent flavors are probably the ginger and brown sugar. Of course, adjust seasonings to your taste. I would let it sit overnight if I could just to intensify the flavor even more. I did use flank steak for this since I couldn't find skirt steak and it was very tender. So yummy.

Growing up, I loved pan fried noodles at Chinese restaurants. And I get my fix through this dish. It is a bit weird using ramen noodles, but it's so easy. And the flavor packets give it a little something extra without the fuss. I accidentally let the noodles sit a little too long on one side this time and it made some of the noodles nice and crunchy. It's a happy mistake and one that I'll repeat next time. After adding a bit of the sesame oil, soy sauce, and flavor packets at the end, try the noodles to make sure you don't over season.

Such an easy meal and I love it. It's the only close to authentic Chinese food I know how to make. Give it a try! Happy cooking!