Monday Munchies ~ Chicken Fried Steak

Last week I shared my altered French Breakfast Puff recipe from The Pioneer Woman Cooks, today I am going to share a savory recipe with my changes.  Again, this entire cookbook is offered by Google, HERE, but I will reiterate that this book is gorgeous and would make a great coffee table book.

Chicken Fried Steak

Rating

Mr. Glitter Tart gave this one 4 sprinkles of glitter

Mini Me's both ate it all!

I am going to give it a 3, but the next time I make it there will be changes that I know will make it better.

 

Ease?

There is nothing tricky in this one, but it does make a mess, lots of dishes and splattered grease.

From The Pioneer Woman Web site

Ingredients:

3 pounds cube steak

2 eggs

1 1/2 cup milk and 2 cups milk for gravy

3 cups all purpose flour, plus 1/3 cup for gravy

2 teaspoons seasoned salt (I used Lawry's)

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika (we love paprika, if you don't only use 1/2 teasp.)

1/4 teaspoon red pepper

1 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup vegetable oil for frying (1/4 butter for roux if desired)

 

Instructions:

1.  Beat eggs and 1 cup of milk with a fork in a container you can dredge in.

2.  Combine flour, salt, paprika, red pepper and black pepper, place in a separate container.

3.  Create an assembly line, meat, milk mixture and flour mixture, and a plate to put the floured meat on.

4.  Season meat with salt and pepper

5.  Dip meat into milk mixture, coat completely.  Now drop it into the flour, flip, pat the flour on, possible add some more, just get a good coating.

6.  Do it all over again, milk and then flour and place piece on plate.

7.  Heat the oil

8.  Cook on one side until golden brown about 2 1/2 minutes

9.  Turn them over and cook 2 to 3 minutes

10.  Removed and place on paper towels, or something else to absorb excess grease.

 

Gravy

This is where I made the big changes.

 

Ree makes her gravy with the oil, I say use butter, 1/4 cup.

Sprinkle 1/3 cup of flour over the butter

Whisk until you create a golden brown paste.

My Roux using oil, but I am going to use butter next time.

 Whisking constantly, pour in 2 cups of milk

Bring it to a low boil

Continue whisking until you get the desired consistency

Salt and Pepper the mess out of it.

 

Serve meat, cover it with gravy and enjoy!

So what are you eating?



Monday Munchies ~ French Breakfast Puffs

 Today I am sharing one of my all time favorite breakfast treats, French Breakfast Puffs by The Pioneer Woman. 

When I went to look up the recipe I realized that I have made them so many times that I've totally changed the recipe.  So what follows is how I make them.  Google offers The Pioneer Woman Cooks online! But for those of you who love good food and eye candy, this is one of the prettiest cookbooks ever.  She peppers photographs of life on the ranch throughout the book.  It makes a great coffee table book. 

Ingredients:

Muffins

3 cups all purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup butter

1 egg

1/4 cup applesauce

1 cup milk

 

Coating

1/4 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoon cinnamon

 

Instructions:

French Puff Muffins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

 

Line muffin tin with aluminum cupcake wrappers.  It may sound strange but something about the aluminum cupcake wrappers makes these muffins really puff.

 

1.  In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, slat and nutmeg.

2.  Mix (I use a stand mixer) sugar and butter.

3.  Add egg and applesauce to sugar and butter and mix.

4.  Alternate adding flour and milk

5.  Fill the muffin cups 2/3 full

6.  Bake 20 - 25 minutes

 

Coating

1.  Melt butter in a bowl

2.  combine sugar and cinnamon in another bowl

3.  Dip the top of the muffins first in the butter then in the sugar

 

Enjoy!

What are you cooking?

Monday Munchies: French Onion Steaks and An Old-fashioned Chocolate Cake

Welcome to Monday Munchies where I share my experiences with various cookbooks and magazines.

If you are visiting from the Grow you Blog hop, welcome!  My Grow Your blog hop with a giveaway is HERE.

Today I am going to share a success and well, a not so pretty success out of my Cuisine at Home magazine.  This is their free sample issue, which did it's job, I have now re-subscribed.

 French Onion Steaks with Cheese Toasts

 

This is an updated version of Salisbury steak that was very simple and earned 4 stars from all family members.  The girls didn't eat the onions but that was fine with Mr. Glitter Tart and I, we loved them.

For the Steak-

1 1/4 lb. ground chuck

1/4 cup mined fresh parsley (I substituted dry)

2 Tbsp. minced scallions (I used regular onion chopped very small)

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

 

For the Sauce-

1 Tbsp. Olive oil

2 cups sliced onions

1 tsp. sugar

1Tbsp. minced garlic

1 Tbsp. tomato past (mine had Italian seasoning in it)

2 cups low-sodium beef broth

1/4 cup dry red wine (I used Cabernet sauvignon)

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

It also called for Minced Fresh parsley and Shredded parmesan as a garnish, I omitted these.

 

Combine ground chuck, parsley, scallions, salt and paper.  Divide evenly into four portions and shape each into a 1" thick oval patties.  Place 2 Tbsp. flour in a shallow dish, dredge each patty in the flour. (reserve 1 tsp. flour)

 

Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat.  Add patties and sauté 3 minute son each side or until browned.  Remove from pan.

 

Add onions and sugar to the pan and sauté 5 minutes.  Stir in garlic and tomato paste and sauté until paste begins to brown (about 1 minutes).  Sprinkle mixture with reserves 1 tsp. flour and cook 1 minutes.  Stir in broth, wine, salt and thyme.

 

Return meat to pan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer 10 minutes.

 

Serve steaks on cheese toast with onion sauce ladled over. 

 

Our favorite part was the Cheese Toasts.

 

you will need

4 slices baguette cut diagonally

2 Tbsp. butter at room temperature

1/2 tsp. minced garlic

Pinch of paprika

1/4 cup shredded Swiss cheese

1 Tbsp. shredded Parmesan

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Place bread on a baking sheet.  Combine butter, garlic and paprika and spread on the bread.  Sprinkle each cheese evenly over the butter and bake until bread is crisp and cheese is bubbly.  about 10-15 minutes.



 While the French Onion Steaks were a success the Old-Fashioned Cake had some serious issues.  I knew right away that there were a few things wrong with the recipe but decided to follow it to the t simply to share the final result here.

 

You will need:

3 cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Ghirardelli)

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. table salt

2 cups hot water

3/4 cup vegetable oil (I used butter)

2 Tbsp distilled white vinegar

1 Tbsp. instant coffee granules

1 Tbsp. Vanilla extract

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F with the rack in the center.  Spray two round cake pans with nonstick spray.

 

Combine together water, oil, vinegar, instant coffee and vanilla in a large measuring cup. Whisk together (I used a mixer) flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and alt.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until combined.  Divide the batter evenly and bake 30 -40 minutes.

 

Cool cakes on a rack for 15 minutes. (here is where things went south) Then invert them onto a rack.  Leave the cakes upside down (this supposedly flattens domed cakes (NOT) to cool completely.

 

As you can see from the image below the cakes cracked badly and then never got "flattened".  My suggestion is to cool then place on rack right side up and slice off the extra to make the cakes smooth.

 The next issue came with the frosting.

 

Glossy Chocolate Icing

1 Stick unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

pinch of salt

1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup sour cream (I was out so used Greek yogurt)

1 tsp. instant coffee granules

2 tsp. vanilla extract

 

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in sugar, cocoa and salt.  Combine heavy cream, sour cream and instant coffee in a large measuring cup, mixing until smooth.  Gradually add cream mixture to chocolate until blended and smooth.  Cook until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is smooth and hot to the touch, 6-8 minutes.  Do not boil.

 

The problem with the 6-8 minutes is that the frosting never gets thick enough. 

 

Off of the heat add the vanilla and cool icing to room temperature until spreadable 2-3 hours. 

 

After 3 hours my frosting was still in the pourable phase, so that's what I did, I poured it over my lumpy cake. 

 

Despite the cracked cakes and runny frosting the flavor was there.  Next time I will cool my cakes my way and heat my frosting until it has thickened (then probably whip it a bit also).

 

So what have you been cooking?

Monday Munchies: Shrimp Gumbo

Mr. Glitter Tart had a hankering for Gumbo last week.  I've never made Gumbo so it was off to the internet to search out the best recipe. We decided on an Alton Brown, Mr. Glitter Tart's favorite food network chef.

 

But when I got into the cooking process I realized that I wasn't following his recipe at all.  I did however make my roux the way he suggested. I say make, not the same ingredients.

 

For my roux:

4 oz butter

4 oz flour

 

Place the butter and flour into a 5 to 6-quart cast iron Dutch oven and whisk together to combine. Place on the middle shelf of the oven, uncovered, and bake for 1 1/2 hours, whisking 2 to 3 times throughout the cooking process.

This is the color of my roux at the end of the cooking time.

 

Gumbo Ingredients:

• 2 pounds shrimp (I had to use frozen it's all that was available) 
• 2 quarts chicken broth
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1/2 cup diced green peppers
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1/2 cup peeled, seeded and chopped tomato
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt (I didn't need this because my chicken stock was homemade)
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 pound andouille sausage, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 pound okra cut into bite sized pieces



Once the roux is done, remove it from the oven and set over medium-high heat. Add the onions, celery, green peppers and garlic and cook, moving constantly for 7 to 8 minutes or until the onions begin to turn translucent. Add the tomatoes, salt, black pepper, thyme, cayenne pepper, and bay leaves and stir to combine. Gradually add the broth while whisking continually. Decrease the heat to low, cover and cook for 35 minutes. Add the shrimp and sausage and stir to combine.  Cover and let cook on low for a while, I did about 2 hours . Turn heat up and add the okra, cook for about 30 minutes. Serve over rice.

 

Mr. Glitter Tart 5 stars

Me 4 1/2 stars (a bit salty for me)

Kudzu 4 stars

Stinkabeth did not eat it, took one look at it and decided "ewww"

 

So what have you been cooking?

Monday Munchies: Beef Braciole from Slow Cooker: The Best Cookbook Ever

Cookbooks, we all have them, I seem to have an abundance of them.  This picture is only half of the shelf and I have lots more squirreled around the house.  So I thought I might try to whittle them down by actually trying the recipes inside.  Of course one recipe isn't going to determine the fate of the entire book but I have to start somewhere.  I hope for the next year to be able to offer you some insight into these books so you can decide if it is right for you.  And also some tips and hints that I use, along with my mess ups.

For Christmas my fabulous sister gave me Slow Cooker: The Best Cookbook Ever and I dove right into this one.  With two small girls crock pot meals are a god send.

The first recipe I tried was

Beef Braciole

My husband and I gave it 4 stars

Stinkabeth (4 yrs old) gave it 3

and Kudzo (7 yrs old) 1 (but she doesn't like tomatoes)

 

Ease:

This was not a throw it in the crock pot and hit go.  There was a lot of prep work (you can see some in the image above) but it was well worth it.  The filling had to be made, the meat had to be cut, then assembled and lastly seared.  Then the veggies and spices needed sautéing. After all that was done it finally went into the crock pot.

 

Outcome:

Some of my rolls fell apart and they were very difficult to get out of my crock pot so presentation was a complete failure. 

 

The recipe says it makes 8 servings.  For us it made more than that, we ate it for an entire week!

 

Notes:

I doubled the nutmeg for two reasons.  1.  We tend to like more flavorful dishes 2. My nutmeg was old.  The extra nutmeg did not over power the dish.

Broomsticks on the Bayou Beignets and Mocha Voodoo Coffee

Welcome to my Broomsticks on the Bayou post, a fabulous blog hop hosted by Frosted Petunias.

Please sit back, relax, grab some Voodoo Mocha Coffee and a Beignet or two.   

 I'll start with the Beignets.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water

1/2 cup turabian Sugar

1 envelope active dry yeast

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 cup evaporated milk

7 cups bread flour

1/4 cup crisco

Nonstick spray

Oil, I used vegetable 

3 cups confectioners' sugar

Tools:

Mixing bowls

Stand Mixer with bread hook

fryer (not necessary but much easier)

paper bag

Rolling pin

 I will put the complete recipe at the end of this post.

 Start by pouring your yeast and sugar into the warm water.

This need to sit for 10 minutes.

Measure out your flour into a bowl.

Beat your egg, salt and evaporated milk together.

Add egg mixture to yeast mixture.

Transfer to stand mixer and add 3 cups of the bread flour.

 Add the shortening.

 Continue to mix.

Add remaining flour slowly.

 Mix, mix, mix (aren't you glad your using a stand mixer).

 Prepare a surface to pour dough out onto, sprinkled with flour.

 Remove dough from the mixer and knead until smooth.

 keep kneading.

 and a bit more.

 Okay that's good.

 Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray. Place dough in bowl and cover. 

 Let stand for 2 hours.



 Looky looky...so pretty.

Now it's time to start heating up that oil. 

You want it to reach 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  

If using a fryer follow the manufacturers instructions.  If frying in a pan put about five inches of oil in and attach a thermometer (make sure it isn't touching the bottom of the pan).

 Pour dough out onto clean surface.

 Start rolling it out.

 Try to keep it in a square/rectangle.

 Keep rolling until it is about 1/4 inch thick.

 Cut 1" square pieces.

 Deep fry flipping once until they are golden.

Make sure you let your oil temperature to come back up before placing the next batch in.

 Oh yum...fried dough!

 Put some confectioners sugar into your paper bag.

Drop in a few Beignets and toss them around.

Continue until done.

Now it's time to make some Mocha Voodoo Coffee to go with the Beignets.

 Ingredients:

2 cups heavy cream

6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup spiced rum

2 tablespoons sugar

2 cups strong brewed coffee with chicory, or espresso

Basic Whipped Cream

 Warm the heavy cream until steaming.

Mix spiced rum and coffee together.

Once cream is steaming add chocolate and sugar.

Reduce the heat to low.

 Now add the coffee and rum.

Stir until smooth. 

Mix up some whip cream to top the coffee with.

 Okay now it's time to enjoy.



 

 

Beignets

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water

1/2 cup turabian Sugar

1 envelope active dry yeast

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 cup evaporated milk

7 cups bread flour

1/4 cup crisco

Nonstick spray

Oil, I used vegetable 

3 cups confectioners' sugar
 

Tools:

Mixing bowls

Stand Mixer with bread hook

fryer (not necessary but much easier)

paper bag

Rolling pin

Mix warm water, sugar, and yeast in a bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.

In another bowl, beat eggs, salt and evaporated milk together.

 Mix egg mixture into the yeast mixture and transfer to a stand mixer.

In a separate bowl, measure out the bread flour.

Add 3 cups of the flour to the yeast mixture and stir to combine. Add the shortening and continue to stir while adding the remaining flour.

 Remove dough from the bowl, place onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.

Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray.

Put dough into the bowl and cover with a towel. Let rise in a warm place for at least 2 hours. (Have a cup of Mocha Voodoo Coffee to pass the time.)

Preheat oil in a deep-fryer to 350 degrees F.

Add the confectioners' sugar to a paper bag and set aside.

Roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness and cut into 1-inch squares.

Deep-fry, flipping constantly, until they become a golden color. After beignets are fried, drain them for a few seconds on paper towels, and then toss them into the bag of confectioners' sugar. Hold bag closed and shake to coat evenly.


Mocha Voodoo Coffee

 Ingredients:

2 cups heavy cream

6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup spiced rum

2 tablespoons sugar

2 cups strong brewed coffee with chicory, or espresso

Basic Whipped Cream
 

Warm the heavy cream in a saucepan (on the stove, not in the microwave) until steaming hot but not boiling.

Reduce the heat to low and add the chocolate, rum, sugar, and coffee. Stir until all ingredients are incorporated.

Pour into warm mugs, top with softly whipped cream,