Chicken Fried Steak

Heat about a 1/2 inch of oil (I used peanut) until it shimmers. While it warms, sprinkle cubed beef steak with seasoned salt, and dredge in flour. Then dip in beaten eggs, and then dredge in flour again. Sprinkle with cracked pepper. Fry for 5-6 minutes on each side, and I checked to make sure these were done because they were a little thicker than I've dealt with previously. Cubed pork actually works better, I think.

Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes made from spuds dug up from a garden bed last night. Here's our recipe: boiled potatoes smashed with cream cheese and butter.

Homemade Gravy

A few days ago, I showed you this gravy-in-the-making when I roasted turkey thighs, onions, carrots and garlic. The pan drippings and ingredients were pushed through a sieve with the resulting "gravy base" refrigerated. I scraped the fat from the top and used it for this batch of gravy to with our late Thanksgiving turkey dinner this week. The base can also be frozen. For this gravy, whisk the base, flour, a little butter, a little white wine, and a dash of thyme over medium heat. Salt and pepper to taste after the gravy thickens. I like to make the gravy base ahead of time so I don't feel any gravy stress - because I've made some really awful gravy from turkey drippings while the bird is being carved. The make-ahead base also has a nice brown color.

Gravy-to-Be

This is turkey gravy-in-the-making. A couple of turkey thighs, carrots, water, minced garlic and onion. Bake this for an hour or so and filter the liquid through a sieve, pressing the solids to get more juice. This will be the base for the turkey gravy. We're doing a late Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.

Throwing Dinner on the Table

Fried chicken strips, mashed potatoes and gravy, and sauteed cabbage. First, the potatoes, they take the longest to prepare.

I scrubbed these Idaho spuds and cut them in big chunks. Sometimes, I put the whole potato in. No need to peel them. Boil until tender.
Drain them, and pile them on top of a big glob of cream cheese and butter and just let them sit for a while. I left them there ten minutes or so.I plugged in the deep-fryer and whisked together the cheater gravy out of a package. I used Knorr roasted chicken gravy.
I sliced some cabbage thin. The cabbage was a surprise in my organic box delivery this week.
Time to swirl the potatoes around in a stand mixer. Add a little milk if they're too thick. I don't whip them into a frosting-like frenzy, it's fine to leave a few big pieces.

These frozen chicken strips from Schwan's cook in 3 minutes.

Saute the cabbage in a little bit of butter, and salt and pepper it. This takes just a couple of minutes. And, everything is ready to serve!

Gravy All Done

Here is the finished product after making the base for our turkey gravy in advance. I scraped the fat off the top, which was easy because the base was cold. Then I put it in a pan over medium heat. Mixed about a quarter cup of flour in some water, and then whisked it in when the base got bubbly. I did add salt and pepper right before serving.
I did a bone-in turkey breast this Thanksgiving and I like the way it turned out. I always "turn" my turkey - rotating it every 25 minutes while it's cooking to make sure it's brown all over. I did rub this turkey with butter before cooking - that was the only seasoning.

Gravy-to-Be

Now that I look at this picture, it kind of looks like pumpkin pie filling. It's really "gravy-to-be." I roasted two turkey wings, chopped onions, celery and garlic for about an hour. Then, simmered it all in some white wine and chicken broth, adding a little chopped thyme (still had some in the yard that was usable). I let the liquids reduce by about one-third. Then I removed the wings, and chopped up the meat for my spoiled rotten kitties. I then strained everything, mushing it to get all the juice. I threw away the vegetables and this is what is left. This will stay in the refrigerator until Thursday. I'll show you then how to finish up the gravy. It will be quick!

Biscuits and Gravy

Homemade biscuits and gravy. I use the bulk breakfast sausage, milk, flour, water, some gravy seasoning I have on hand, and about a half of a cup of maple syrup stirred in at the end.
These biscuits are perfect for the gravy, or add a little more sugar and treat them like scones with tea. They are messy to make. They're buttermilk biscuits. I use a recipe I got from Cook's Illustrated a couple of years ago. The basic ingredients are:

2 cups flour - and more when shaping the biscuits

1 tablespoon of baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tablespoon of sugar

1 tsp of salt

4 tablespoons of butter

1 and 1/2 cups of low-fat buttermilk - cold (the powdered buttermilk or the regular milk and vinegar substitution does not work in this recipe)

Use cooking spray to coat the inside of a regular cake pan. Heat the oven to 500 degrees. Put the dry ingredients in a food processor and pulse a couple of times to mix. Then cut the butter into chunks and process with the dry ingredients a few times until it's crumbly. Pour the processed stuff into a big bowl. Mix in the buttermilk. Use cooking spray to liberally coat a 1/4 cup measuring scoop. Spread about a cup of flour on a cookie sheet (I use one with a lip around the edge to lessen the mess). Quickly scoop the 1/4 cup portions of the sticking, wet dough onto the flour. Just keep scooping until you've used it all. Then roll the blobs in the flour quickly, and snug them together in the cake pan. You can brush the tops with melted butter, if you want. Cook at 500 degrees for 5 minutes. Lower temp to 450 and cook for another 15-20 minutes, until the tops are slightly golden. Remove from oven and dump the biscuits onto a kitchen towel. Eat right away with butter, or jam, or drench them in gravy. They don't keep - you must eat them all!