The Crab Chronicles

Mayonnaise Recipes

My mother had a very strong faith in God and she passed that along to me, thanks be to God. She also had a strong faith in the power of mayonnaise to make whatever one is eating more tasty and it's that belief that I want to explain today.

She had a great influence on her grandson. The other day my son was fixing a beautiful steak for himself, and he mixed up mayo and horseradish to form a tasty sauce for the steak. He works in a restaurant. He is fearless in the kitchen, far more adventurous than me, which I applaud.

My son loves a good fried egg sandwich with Duke's mayo.

Duke's Mayonnaise is the only type of mayo allowed in my home. It's simply the best -- not just my opinion, but in the opinion of most southerners. 

When I was eight years old and we moved to Knoxville TN my mother discovered, much to her horror, that Duke's was not sold in K-town. Much sadness and gnashing of teeth and wailing... She bought Hellman's and it was okay. Not good. Not Duke's. It was better than nothing, though, put it that way.

Duke's is so superior to most mayo that one must simply feel pity for those without access to it.

Below are some ways to use mayo [it's quicker to type out "mayo" than "Duke's" or "Hellman's"] that you might not have thought about..

 

POTATOES

Butter, salt, and sour cream are the standard potato additions, but Mom used to peel and boil potatoes and toss them with some mayo, onion powder, and garlic salt. You can also add a dollop of mayo to mashed potatoes.

There is a trend now of making potato salad without mayo. I tasted some once. Then I had to go brush my tongue to get the taste out of my mouth.

 

SAUCES

Take mayo and add real parmesan cheese and onion powder or whatever seasoning you like, and it makes a great topping for potatoes, and/or a great dipping sauce.

 

FISH

1) Baked Fish: slather mayo on your fish, then sprinkle on dill weed, and top with slices of lemon or lime and bake

2) Sauce: mix up mayo, fresh lime juice, lots of dill weed, onion powder, and stir vigorously. We also add a sprinkle of Lawrey's seasoned salt. This works great slathered on most any kind of cooked fish or used as a dipping sauce.

 

CHICKEN

Unlike my mother, grandmother, and generations of fine cooks before me, I stink at fixing fried chicken. However, I have figured out a way to fry chicken tenders that is super easy and tasty.

Take your chicken pieces and salt and pepper both sides and let them sit in a pan or on paper towels on the kitchen counter for at least 30 minutes. Put 2-4 tablespoons of mayo in a dish, and add your chicken, and let it sit in there a few minutes. Pull out eat piece and roll it in seasoned breadcrumbs. The mayo helps the breadcrumbs stick to the meat. Saute in olive oil.

If you don't have seasoned breadcrumbs you can take Ritz crackers and crush them and add in Italian seasoning, and garlic and onion powders.

 

CORNBREAD

Don't laugh. Lewis Grizzard's mama added mayo to the cornbread and it makes it more moist and delicious.

For all cornbread, hoecakes, and corn muffins, we use Lewis Grizzard's mama's recipe:

1 1/2 cups White Lily self-rising cornmeal

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk

2 heaping spoonfulls of Duke's mayonnaise

pinch salt [no sugar!]

I would put this in a pan and bake it at 350 for about 20-40 minutes, depending on the size of the pan. I would also fix this like pancakes and add syrup or honey. Yum.

left, my mom in the kitchen of our lake house in Knoxville

 

right, me and some of my Hasty cousins in the kitchen of our Leslie Drive house

 

 

 

 

 

#mayorecipes, #mayochickenandfish, #dukesmayoisthebest, #mayodippingsauces

Thanksgiving Dinner for People Who Don't Cook

If you don't like to cook but you don't want to eat out on Thanksgiving, here are some tips.

 

1) Honeybaked Ham sells sliced turkey, and it's delicious

 

2) Stovetop Stuffing: replace the water with bought chicken broth and use twice as much as the box says, and throw on the butter

 

3) Bob Evans makes pre-made mashed potatoes and you add lots of butter and cheese and nobody cares that they are bought

 

4) Skip the green bean casserole. Take canned green beans and drain them, then throw them in a skillet with lots of balsamic vinegar, onion powder and garlic powder, or fresh garlic if you want to go to the trouble. Cook ten minutes.

 

5) Skip the cranberries. Most people don't like them. My mom bought canned sauce every year, ate a few bites, and then we threw it out.

 

6) Buy a frozen pie. Edwards pies are awesome, ditto for Mrs. Smith's pies.

It will just be me and Michael this year so frankly, this is likely what we will do. Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Now, if you want to make a pie that is super easy and takes 5 minutes, here you go:

 

Myrtle’s Pecan Pie

3 eggs                         1 cup Karo syrup

¾ cup sugar              1 cup pecans

Dash salt                    ½ teaspoon vanilla

Beat eggs with a whisk but don’t get them foamy. Add all other ingredients. You can use light or dark Karo syrup.

Many people use whole pecan halves but we usually give them a rough chop.

Pour into a 9 inch pie crust and start in a cold oven. Turn oven to 350 and bake 1 hour.

 

#thanksgivingeasydinner, #easypecanpie, #dinnerfornoncooks, #nostressthanksgivingideas, #noncookingthanksgivingideas, #easystuffing, #supereasythanksgivingdinner

Not Mama's Meatloaf

As a child, you couldn't pay me to eat meatloaf. My mother loved green peppers and onions and every bite of her meatloaf was full of both. I wouldn't touch it. I would eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich instead.

When I became a mom and had to start cooking real dinners every night I figured out how to make meatloaf I liked, and my kids would eat. Below is that recipe. It's included in the little cookbook I published, What's for Dinner, Mom? -- which came out just a few months before Mom died. She had been after me to publish my own cookbook for several years and I'm so glad she got to see that done.

 

Meatloaf, Baby!

1 lb. ground sirloin                1 large egg

tablespoon Soy sauce             1/4 cup red wine or Sherry

1 cup breadcrumbs              tablespoon olive oil

Onion powder                         Garlic powder

1 Tbsp. Ketchup                    teaspoon baking powder

 

One of the keys is to NOT use cheap meat, like ground chuck. Use ground sirloin. Yes, it's a tiny bit more pricey, but it's worth it. One of the criticisms of beef is that animal fat is bad for your heart. I like to buy the leanest ground beef possible, and add some heart-healthy olive oil to my meat mixture.

Another key is if possible, let the beef sit out on the counter and warm up before you start making the meatloaf. I don't know why, but all beef should be room temp before cooking. Makes it more tender.

I like to get a mixing bowl and put my meat in it and leave it under a towel for a while to warm up, then I add my eggs and baking powder first, to be sure those ingredients are in there.

My mother's trick for making meatloaf great is to add in lots of flavorful liquids, until the meat is pretty soggy. You don't want dry meatloaf.

I recently started adding Italian seasoning to my meatloaf. Gives it more flavor.

Once the meat mixture is ready, I just dump it into the pan and form a roughly rectangular shape in the middle of the pan. I then cover the top with either ketchup, or toothpick in some slices of bacon. I bake at 350 for about 30-45 minutes. 

 

Last night I made a version of meatloaf that used that same basic recipe, but improved on it a great deal.

I saw a recipe yesterday for a chicken breast stuffed with bacon and spinach and I thought yum, what a great idea, except I HATE handling raw chicken so we don't eat it that often.

So I made my usual meatloaf recipe, but then I set aside the meat mixture and started in on my filling. I cooked about 5 pieces of bacon in a skillet, then took the pieces out and put them aside. I took about 3 cups of spinach and sauteed it in the bacon grease, and added about 2 tablespoons of butter, lots of garlic and onion powders, and about 2 tablespoons of fresh Parmesan. (I should have chopped up some actual onion, but I was too hungry...)  I then chopped up my pieces of bacon and added them back in, stirring everything together. I took half my meat mixture and formed it as I normally would, and put the  filling on top. I then took the rest of the meat, formed it into what looked like hamburger patties, and carefully placed it on top of the spinach and bacon and kind of pinched the "burgers" together to form the top layer. The photo below on the right shows the meatloaf before it went into the oven.

I cooked it on 350 for about 40 minutes.

WOW was it delicious! I had some pre-made Bob Evans mashed potatoes and I ate a serving of 'taters, I must confess, but meatloaf just needs mashed 'taters on the side. I have been sick with pneumonia for a while so it was great to eat something that wasn't soup out of a can.

Here's a photo of the cooked meatloaf, and I must confess I had eaten a couple of pieces before I took the photo. I also included a funny photo of fresh spinach. I had left the bowl [piled high] on the back of the stove, forgetting how hot my stove top gets, and the spinach totally wilted. No biggie. I thought it was funny. I will still eat it.

#bestmeatloafever, #stuffedmeatloaf, #spinachandmeatloaf

Delicious and Easy Salmon

I used to hate salmon because so often when I had it, it was dry and/or bland. A few years ago I discovered a way to cook it that's neither dry or bland, and is super easy.

Publix makes a bourbon salmon that is very yummy. I must admit I hate bourbon. Never drink it.

However, the bourbon salmon filet is delicious. The flavor is not overwhelming. A teetotaller would not find it too "alcoholic" tasting, I guarantee. I don't drink.

The easiest way to prepare it, in my view, is this: take the filets out of the wrapping paper and put them in a shallow dish. Fill the bottom of the dish with good orange juice. I like Simply Orange. Cover the top tightly, either with a lid or with foil. Pop it into a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes. The orange juice steams into the fish, keeping it moist, and the flavors complement each other.

You can also just put plain salmon filets into the orange juice and bake. In that instance, I would recommend making Elva's Sauce, recipe below. I didn't put measurements because I always just shake in what looks right, and taste.

Elva's Fish Sauce

1/4 - 1/2 cup Mayonnaise [we like Duke's]

fresh lime juice [we love lime because it's sweet and has no seeds]

dill weed

onion powder

Lawrey's seasoning salt

Mix everything together in a small bowl. Go heavy with the dill weed. Taste and adjust seasonings to your taster.

Side Dishes

If you're like me and you live alone, you have no interest in spending a lot of time preparing meals, but of course healthful meals take some preparation. I love yellow squash and zucchini but I hate washing and peeling and chopping it. (I quit eating peel years ago when I had a bout of colitis).

My trick is to buy fresh spinach or coleslaw cabbage, heat up some olive oil and garlic, and saute away. Adding in a splash of balsamic vinegar or low sodium soy sauce and onion or onion powder enhances the flavor as well.

I know fresh spinach is disappointing -- it shrinks to nothing in a hot skillet. When I am watching TV at night after dinner I often sit and de-stem the spinach and pull out any weird looking leaves, and stick the perfect spinach leaves into a bag. The next day it's easy to grab a hand full of leaves, saute them for a moment, and pull them off the stove.

I am trying not to eat carbs but if you eat carbs, I suggest picking up a tub of pre-made mashed potatoes. I like Bob Evans mashed potatoes. Microwave with some butter and garlic and yum.

#easysamonrecipes, #easysidedishes, #freshspinach

Recipes from Yesteryear

My grandmother Memaw Hasty [Wilma Butler Hasty] majored in Home Economics at Bessie Tift College and was a wonderful cook. She was always happy to try new foods, new methods of cooking, etc. -- except for things she didn't like, like garlic. (Her idea of "Italian" was actually canned spaghetti from Chef Boyardee. LOL) She was a "modern" cook for her day -- she used Crisco instead of lard, for instance. 

Mom found the recipes below and I wanted to share them. 

The Pear Salad recipe has an interesting history. My aunt Jane Hasty made it when Mamaw was visiting, probably sometime in the late 1960's, and Mamaw liked it and wrote down the recipe. She sent it in a letter to my mother. My mother made it and liked it. Mom gave the recipe to her sister in law, Diddy. Diddy liked it and gave it to her other Thompson sister in law, Evalyn. Now, my aunt Evalyn was a gourmet cook, and if she liked a recipe we considered it high praise indeed. Evalyn made the recipe for years, on many occasions. [See below for Evalyn's version of this, which Diddy said is not quite as sweet.]

I left the image large, to be easier to read. 

One of these days I'm going to make some pear salad, in honor of Mamaw and of my Aunt Evalyn. [Thankfully, Diddy and Jane are still with us.]

right - Evalyn

I remember Mom making the frozen salad recipe and it was very tasty. Mom froze little one cup servings of that once, in our big freezer, and when we were hungry for something sweet and there were no cookies or ice cream available we would eat a frozen salad. 

When I look at these photos of my grandparents it makes me kind of sad. Rarely does a day go by that I don't think of them and miss them. I loved to sit on my grandmother's lap and play with her necklaces. She loved good costume jewelry and almost always wore necklaces. I have some of them now.

I loved to sit on my grandfather's lap and he would read to me. Bible stories, Heidi, Swiss Family Robinson -- those were our favorites. Even now, if I catch a whiff of Old Spice it brings back those memories and I want to cry. 

My grandparents always wore aprons when they cooked. My friend Stacy at Down South House & Home has a lot of really unique and creative products, from tea towels to tote bags, to tee shirts, but my favorite is her new line of aprons. This one is just adorable -- and in the South it's very important to be raised right. If you're looking for a unique and delightful Christmas gift, check out the aprons and other wares at Down South House & Home. I know my memaw would have loved everything Stacy makes.

Asian Green Beans the Southern Way

When I was a kid, I love my Memaw's green beans. So did my daddy. We would eat the tender, delicious "snap beans" flavored with fatback and cooked until they fell apart. Heavenly.

I was in New York City many years ago, a senior in college, and a friend my of dad's had invited me to eat lunch with her at a very chi chi restaurant. I wore pantyhose to the lunch date -- that tells you how long ago it was. I ordered some chicken or fish and it came with green beans on the plate. The beans were just slightly warm, and I tried to eat one and nearly spit it out, in horror. It was barely cooked. It was crunchy. I called the waiter over and told him to please take the beans back to the kitchen and cook them. He looked very puzzled.

It's not my fault that chef had no idea how to cook green beans.

This year I planted a TON of green bean seeds, Blue Lake variety. I didn't realize any were ready to pick until day before yesterday, and then I picked what you see above. Hallelujah!

My brother and I love the green beans we get at Asian restaurants. So he set out to re-create their green beans and I took his ideas and added my own twist. I posted on Facebook about it and I think everyone was sort of amused that me, a born and bred southerner, would go nuts over green beans cooked a very non-southern way. Tasty is tasty, though.

My green beans were not crunchy. Lord no. However, they weren't cooked until they fell apart, like Memaw cooked them. There IS a happy medium

I cleaned these, boiled them for about 15 minutes to soften them up, then in a skillet sauteed two cloves of fresh minced garlic in olive oil. I then threw in the beans, and liberally added soy sauce, sesame oil, a little bit of balsamic vinegar, a pat of Plugra butter, and salt and pepper. You will need to taste and adjust seasonings to your taster. That's the best way to cook.

My brother would have added some hot chili oil. I did not.

I had to restrain myself from eating the entire skillet full of beans.

We've had a lot of rain the last few days so I am hoping my bean plants will continue to keep me in fresh beans all summer. There is no comparison -- fresh from the garden just taste 100% better!

Elva's Cornbread Dressing - the Best in the World

The tradition in my family has always been that on Thanksgiving morning, instead of my usual breakfast, I would eat a piece of cornbread spread with butter and crumbled up in a bowl with some warm milk. YUM.

Guess what Michael had for breakfast this morning?!

The first thing I made today was the cornbread.

It's important to make the cornbread so it can cool off before the dressing is made. Here in the south we make dressing, not "stuffing" and we put it in a pan, usually Pyrex or Corning Ware, not inside the turkey. [We don't even eat turkey at my house, we prefer pork roast.]

My mother's favorite food is her own dressing. Most people who have ever tried it understand why immediately. Nobody makes dressing better than Elva. Nobody. My friend Bronwyn said recently on Facebook that Elva's dressing was her favorite food! High compliment. She's from Louisiana and a good cook and gourmand.

This year, we let Michael do most of the work making the dressing. The whole process went a lot faster. My brother couldn't come over so it's just the three of us. We are trying to get Michael helping more in the kitchen.

The fact he has only one hand is irrelevant. He has a sharp knife he likes, and he has a method of chopping which is fast and accurate and involves no bloodletting. He breaks eggs easily. He loves to use the hand blender. He does make a big mess in the kitchen, but what man doesn't?!

The other aspect is that with his granny sitting at the table telling him what to do, he is learning valuable kitchen skills and he will eat a boatload of whatever is cooked, which is good. (He actually forgets to eat sometimes and he's skinny as a stick.)

the recipe is below - click on it to make it bigger

This year, Mom wrote down the recipe, and it occurred to me that it would be a good idea to scan it into the computer. She left out a few things. For instance, cornbread is much better if you add a big dollop of mayonnaise -- Duke's, of course. It's great to make it in a cast iron skillet, unless you're a small woman with arthritis and/or you don't have a strong person around to get the skillet in and out of the oven. [I actually wrote a blog a few years ago about how to make cornbread.]

Mom says "string" the celery. My memaw used to do that. I am a bit lazy. I use the tender inner stalks and don't fool with stringing the celery.

You don't have to dry out the bread. It's optional.

We like to take the chopped celery and onion and cook it in a small glass bowl in some chicken broth in the microwave for about 3 minutes, then macerate it with a hand blender. (Mom's teeth are bad and she can't eat anything chewy. Don't ever use the word "dentures" around her either, unless you want to get slapped.)

She didn't put precise measurements on the seasoning. We season HEAVILY. The more the merrier. Onions plus onion powder means extra onion flavor, which is always good.

We like to use Campbell's Cream of Chicken soup with herbs. Old-fashioned cream of chicken is fine too.

You mix the celery and onions into about 3-4 cups of crumbled cornbread and about 3-4 cups of bread torn into little pieces. Then you throw in your soups, melted butter, eggs, seasonings, baking powder (about a tablespoon) and chicken broth. The mixture should be pretty wet, not stiff.

A lot of times, we make 2 small pans of dressing instead of one big one, and freeze one. Then we've got dressing already made for Christmas dinner.

If I were a professional blogger I'd post a photo of the dressing but we aren't eating until tonight and it's not cooked yet.

I did take a photo of the pecan pie Michael and I made this morning. YUM.

One day in the future, when my mom is in heaven I will find this recipe, assemble the ingredients, and Michael and I will make the dressing, and think of Mom/Granny/Miss Elva, and hopefully we will smile. Hope that's a long ways away, though..

 

 

The World's Best Meatloaf

My cousin and BFF Lesleigh came to dinner last night and I made meatloaf, pasta salad, and sauteed spinach. I didn't feel awkward about serving her meatloaf, for several reasons. One, she's family, and has eaten many meals at our house. Two, I make

The World's Best Meatloaf

I know what you're thinking. MEATLOAF. YUCK. I always think of the scene in A Christmas Story when Ralphie's Mom is dishing out meatloaf from a loaf pan and it looks revolting.

I remember my mother making it when I was a kid, and the shudder of revulsion when I found bits of chopped up green peppers in my meatloaf.

I've also tasted meatloaf that had bits of chopped onion that weren't really cooked fully. [IMHO onions should only be ingested if they are either cooked down to a softness that's just a step above butter, or cooked into a crispy yumminess like an onion ring. I aim for one of those two states when I add onions to food.]

But back to my topic - meatloaf, for most people, means

MAJOR YUCKO.

My mother loves meatloaf. She says she can eat it every day. We don't get that crazy, but we do have it fairly often. She's 82, so she needs soft foods that are easy to chew.

So in the interest of public service, and to help busy moms throw together a great meal from scratch that kids will love, I give you my tips to make great meatloaf.

One of the keys is to NOT use cheap meat, like ground chuck. Use ground sirloin. Yes, it's a tiny bit more pricey, but it's worth it. One of the criticisms of beef is that animal fat is bad for your heart. I like to buy the leanest ground beef possible, and add some heart-healthy olive oil to my meat mixture.

Another key is if possible, let the beef sit out on the counter and warm up before you start making the meatloaf. I don't know why, but all beef should be room temp before cooking. Makes it more tender.

My grandmother was a Home Economics major and she taught mother that one of the keys to great meatloaf is to put 1-2 tablespoons of baking powder in the meat. This keeps it from being so heavy.

You also want to use 1 or 2 eggs.

I like to get a mixing bowl and put my meat in it and leave it under a towel for a while to warm up, then I add my eggs and baking powder first, to be sure those ingredients are in there.

I like to buy breadcrumbs that are seasoned and add them to the meat.

I throw in a handfull - about 2-4 tablespoons of crumbs. Now, you can also just put a piece of ordinary bread, and that's OK. If you are going to do that, soak the bread in water [or Sherry or soy sauce] first, for a minute. That makes it easier to break up and incorporate into the meat.

My mother's trick for making meatloaf great is to add in lots of flavorful liquids, until the meat is pretty soggy. You don't want dry meatloaf. For depth of flavor, add one or all of these, about 1/4th of a cup:

Sherry or red wine

soy sauce

balsamic vinegar

You can find this at most major grocery stores - Kroger and Publix for sure. Not sure about other chains in other parts of the USA. I don't add a lot; usually a teaspoon or so for each lb. of meat.

Now, if you have time, it's great to chop up an onion and mince a clove of garlic, and saute those in some olive oil until they are soft, and add them to the meat. If you're in a hurry, use granulated garlic and onion powder.

I recently started adding Italian seasoning to my meatloaf. Gives it more flavor.

In terms of seasonings, most people are too timid. My rule is, the more the better.

And by the way, salt and pepper are not seasonings. Don't even cook food without them. They are basic. Most meat needs a good bit of salt to be edible. We use Sea Salt.

I also add a couple of good squirts of ketchup to the meat mixture. You can use tomato sauce.

We don't cook our meatloaf in a loaf pan. Typically, I use a small tin pan that was my great grandmother's for a 1 lb. meatloaf, and a 9x13 pan for a 2 lb. meatloaf. Once the meat mixture is ready, I just dump it into the pan and form a roughly rectangular shape in the middle of the pan. I then cover the top with either ketchup, or toothpick in some slices of bacon. I bake at 350 for about 30-45 minutes. 

If you want to be more "company" then saute some mushrooms, and put them around your meat, swimming in beef broth. I buy boxed broth or stock. You can also chop up mushrooms and add them to your meat mixture, which is tasty.

SANDWICHES

One of our favorite ways to use leftover meatloaf is to take slices and fry them in a skillet, then pile on the grated cheese.Put it atop a piece of bread covered in butter and garlic powder, for a very yummy open-face sandwich.

Mother likes a cold meatloaf sandwich on white bread with Duke's mayo and tomato slices.

 

So next time you are stumped for a dinner idea, try meatloaf and use my tricks/tips. I guarantee you that you will love it.

Amazing Chicken Salad

My son likes cold salads. This is a very Russian thing, where cold vegetable salads are an integral part of Russian diets.

In America we are accustomed now to being able to buy fresh vegetables year round. Of course, in January they have likely been shipped from California, but they are on the shelves. Russia, despite being a vast country, has traditionally not been able to get fresh veggies so easily in winter - unless you are very wealthy and have access to pricey imports.

Now, to be fair, I last visited Russia in 2004 so maybe things have changed radically and normal folks can get fresh veggies year round. I don't know.

I do know the Russian tradition has been to can or pickle veggies in summer, to see folks through the long winters. Nothing wrong with that. Both my kids were happy to eat vegetables when I adopted them, because fresh veggies were considered a big treat. They would pick onions and tomatoes from the garden and just eat them raw, right then and there. Of course, I was delighted by that, after admonishing them to rinse the veggies off with a hose, at least.

So a few years ago my friend LeeAnn gave us some chicken salad she had made. I am not a big fan of cold salads, but Michael LOVED it. He inhaled it.I didn't even get to try a bite. I put it in the fridge, and the next time I checked it was GONE.

LeeAnn puts chopped celery, chopped pecans, and grapes, in her chicken salad, so it's fairly healthy.

Last week I went to Honeybaked Ham for my lb. of turkey I like to keep in the fridge for a snack. Great low-carb high-protein snack, smoked turkey. They had some small containers of chicken salad in the cooler, and the salad looked like it had grapes in it, which is how LeeAnn makes hers. 

I got home and looked at it and that tiny container was $8! Michael ate it all in less than 24 hours.

I decided yesterday to just find LeeAnn's recipe and make my own chicken salad, to keep in the fridge for Mike. He is never home for dinner these days, always out with friends, but he often comes in at midnight hungry. I'd rather he eat chicken salad than just a granola bar.

So I found the original email from LeeAnn where I had asked how she made her chicken salad.

"I just salt/pepper/boil boneless chicken breasts, shred in food processor, add mayo, pecan bits, a little bit of diced red onions and celery, and a pinch of pepper and salt and a bigger pinch of sugar.  At the end I add celery salt until I like the taste.Then I add the grapes last so they don't get smooshed."

I used rotisserie chicken because it's easier to pull chicken off the bone - and Lola was happy to eat the skin and gristley bits, of course. I went right by LeeAnn's instructions, but I also added some squeezes of fresh lemon juice to the chicken, and some onion powder and Lawrey's seasoned salt. I made Mom taste it. She said it was good. (I couldn't taste-test it because my stomach won't tolerate raw onion, no matter how finely chopped.) The grapes were rather large and I asked Mom if I should halve them. NO. Of course, Michael said I should have chopped the grapes. He ate a big fat sandwich when he got home, though, so it was a win-win situation for me.

I used up a good bit of mayonnaise, and Lola had a great time using her incredibly long tongue to lick the jar...

Elva's Country Fried Steak

Years ago my mother figured out a way to make a delicious dish involving cubed beef and gravy. We call it "country fried steak" although it might better be described as "smothered steak" or simply cube steak and gravy. It's my mother's favorite food [well, besides fried scallops and prime rib, neither of which I can cook]. I try to make her country fried steak every couple of weeks.

My blogging this recipe is really an attempt to think through the process and have a historical record. I could make it in my sleep. One day, I imagine, years from now, I will think of this and want Michael to make it for me. I will also want rice or biscuits, to put the gravy on. There's really no point in making it unless there is a lot of gravy and in the south, that calls for rice or biscuits or possibly mashed potatoes.

Michael watched me make this tonight. I wanted him to watch and learn, even though he has now gone out with friends and likely won't be home for dinner. When I had finished making the gravy and poured most of it over the meat, he asked for the small amount left in the pan. He got a piece of bread and poured the gravy over the bread and ate it. (I used to love "gravy bread" as a kid. Tickled me to see him doing that.)

I will share with you another secret. I cannot make biscuits that are worth a damn. I know, I know, my Mamaw and Granny Butler and on and on back, they are all flipping around in their graves, horrified that their descendant cannot make a decent biscuit. My biscuits are either hard enough to be used as a construction material or the consistency of chewing gum. Mama TRIED to teach me how to make scrumptious biscuits but I failed miserably at it. I accept that. Pillsbury frozen biscuits ROCK - about 90% as good as what my mother could make from scratch. 

 Now, if I am feeling energetic, I will chop up an onion and maybe even some fresh mushrooms and saute them in some olive oil and/or butter, and let them get soft. Then I will take them out of the pan and put them aside. I don't always feel that energetic.

Elva's Country Fried Steak

4 pieces of cubed steak, each piece about the size of the palm of your hand

1 onion, diced

1-2 cups mushrooms, chopped

1-2 cans Campbell's beef consomme or 2-4 cups beef stock

1 cup soy sauce

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

sherry

1-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

onion powder

garlic powder

Lawrey's seasoned salt

salt and pepper

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

 

About an hour before you plan to cook, take the cubed steaks out of the package and salt and pepper them on both sides. Then let them sit on the kitchen counter for 30-45 minutes. Preheat the oven to either 250 [if you can let the dish cook at least 4 hours] or 275-300 [if you have 2-3 hours before dinner]. Take a large shallow bowl, like a soap bowl, and put into it the flour, and a few shakes of onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, and seasoned salt. Take a spoon and mix it up well. About 5 minutes before you're ready to cook the steak, heat up olive oil or canola oil in a large skillet, to between medium and high. Take each piece of beef and dredge it in the seasoned flour mixture. I usually use my fingers to pat the flour into the meat. Place each piece into the oil. It should fry up and be crispy, about 1-2 minutes on each side. As you finish cooking each piece, put it in a 9x13 pan. Take your onions and mushrooms and put them in between each piece of meat, or wait and add them to the gravy.

Now for the fun part: making the gravy. You should have a couple of tablespoons of oil left in your skillet. I like to also add about 2-4 pats of real butter. Then dump what's left of your flour into the skillet, and stir it around. This is your roux. Cook it on low for a minute or two. Now add in your beef consomme or stock, soy sauce, Sherry, and balsamic vinegar. Keep it on low and keep stirring. Add water and stir it in. Add in extra onion powder and garlic powder. (I like to be heavy-handed with seasonings.) You have to stand there and keep stirring a bit until the gravy looks right.

Pour the gravy over the meat, and try to cover it. Or you can add in the onions and mushrooms to the gravy and then pour the gravy over the steak.

Cover the dish tightly with tinfoil and put it in the oven. Cooking low and slow is best and really brings out the flavors. I made this recipe tonight and mine will cook for 2.5 hours at 275. You can also put it in the crock pot for 4-6 hours on low. The meat should be fork tender when it's done cooking.

Serve with biscuits or rice.