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Saturday, November 17, 2012

Druid's Chicken Fried Steak

This is a country classic recipe, but updated to fit a more modern taste. The classic Country Fried Steak has been around for many, many years. It's delicious and it's an American classic.

Meat:

3-4 Cube Steaks
Garlic Powder
Season Salt
Black Pepper

Dust the steaks lightly with the seasonings, set aside.

Wet Batter:

1 Cup Flour
1/4 Cup Corn Starch
2 Eggs
1 TBSP Worcestershire Sauce
1 TSP Ground Sage
1 TSP Ground Oregano
1 TSP Paprika
1/2 TSP Salt
1/2 TSP Black Pepper
2 1/2 Cups Milk

Combine all dry ingredients and mix thoroughly in a deep mixing bowl. Add in milk and Worcestershire sauce and whisk the ingredients together until they are well blended. Should be fairly runny with the consistency similar to thickened milk, add more or less milk if needed. Place steaks in this wet batter and allow to soak while preparing the dry batter mixture.

Dry Batter:

1 1/2 Cup Flour
1 Cup Panko Bread Crumbs
1 TBSP Creole Seasoning
1 TSP Paprika
1 TSP Herbs De Provence

Pour all ingredients into a deep mixing bowl and stir together thoroughly until everything is well blended. Take the cube steaks and coat them well with this dry batter mixture before placing in a 360 degree deep fryer or into the oil of a hot fry pan. Either deep fry or pan fry the battered steaks until batter turns golden brown and steaks are cooked through.

Serve as either a breakfast with hashbrowns and eggs, or as a dinner with mashed potatoes and corn. Smother with a thick country gravy and enjoy this take on a classic American dish. By cutting the cube steaks (or you could use skirt steaks) into thin strips you could use the above method to make delicious finger steaks to be dipped in your favorite steak sauce or BBQ sauce.

Enjoy this recipe and make it your own through your own experimentation.

~Bon Appétit~

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Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Pierogi Dough and Filling

This is a tasty stuffed dumpling recipe that is easy to make, and even easier to customize.

Pierogi Dough:

2 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 TSP Salt
1 TSP Olive Oil
1 Egg
2/3 Cup Water

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl, and mix together thoroughly. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead dough for 10-15 minutes. Place the dough under a bowl and allow it to rest for 20-30 minutes. Roll the dough out as thin as possible then cut into 2-inch diameter circles, continue rolling out dough and cutting circles until as much dough is used as possible. Using a pasta-roller will make this part much simpler.

Spicy Cheese Filling:

2-3 Large Russet Potatoes, washed, peeled, and shredded
1/2 Cup Yellow Onion, finely diced
1 TBSP Diced Garlic
2 Jalapeno Peppers, finely diced with seeds removed
2 Cups Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
2 TBSP Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Water

In a large skillet, combine the potatoes, jalapenos, garlic, onions, and oil, and cook until onions turn soft and potatoes begin to brown. Add in water and cover for 5-10 minutes, or until water is all absorbed. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese, mixing together until cheese is melted and ingredients are combined thoroughly.

Using a small spoon, place a small amount of filling mixture onto the pierogi dough circles. Wrap and fold the dough around the filling, making sure to seal the edges together. Doing this, they should look similar to ravioli or mini-calzones. Drop the filled pierogi into boiling water for 10-15 minutes, or until the dough is cooked through and the dumplings float.

At this point, the dumplings are cooked and finished, but from here you can decide to pan fry or deep fry them for a different type of texture. You could also make a sauce to drizzle over these, a light, but savory sauce will make these dumplings a complete meal, or even a game-day snack.

Try making your own fillings using your favorite ingredients. Or if you want, make a dessert pierogi by using sweet ingredients and fruit and taking the salt out of the dough, and adding brown sugar. Also, for dessert-style pierogi dough, replace the olive oil with melted butter.

Dessert Filling:

1 Granny Smith Apple, Shredded
1 Fuji Apple, Shredded
1 Braeburn Apple, Shredded
1 Cup Cream Cheese
1 TBSP Honey
1 TBSP Brown Sugar
1 TSP Cinnamon

Heat the honey with the cinnamon and brown sugar until the honey is heated and easy to work with, combine the ingredients with the shredded apples and stir together until everything is well mixed. Add in the cream cheese and blend the ingredients until evenly worked in. Fill the pierogi dough and cook as suggested above.

So come up with your own unique pierogi experience and enjoy!

~Bon Appétit~

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