Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, and Peas

Ask Victor what his favorite meal is, and he will invariably say "meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and peas."   Not even Italian meatloaf.  Just plain ol' basic meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and peas.  And basic is the key.  Nothing fancy.  No exotic herbs and spices.  Just meatloaf.  That's not to say that an exotic meatloaf would go unappreciated.  We've made them and they've gone over quite well.

But basic works.

There's no real recipe or set amount of anything.

  • ground beef
  • chopped onion
  • garlic powder
  • bread crumbs
  • catsup
  • mustard
  • an egg or two
  • worcestershire sauce
  • salt and pepper

Form into a loaf and bake.

It really is the most basic a meatloaf can be.

I've probably told this story a bazillion times, but the "Bayshore Diner Blue Plate Special" plates came from the Westin San Francisco Airport.  They were a going away gift when I transferred to Indianapolis to open that hotel.  The Bayshore Diner was the main hotel restaurant set up as a '50s Diner with jukeboxes, hostess in poodle skirts and roller skates.  Typical over-the-top hotel stuff.  (That restaurant is long gone and a stylish bistro is currently the main hotel restaurant.)

As we were developing the menu, meatloaf was an automatic.  Problem was, our extremely talented German Executive Chef couldn't make a basic American meatloaf to save his soul.  They kept coming out looking like perfect pâtés, terrines, or forcemeats.  Definitely not what one would expect paired with mashed potatoes and peas.  It took a while but we finally brought him around.  And in the meantime, we had some great meals!

But back to tonight's dinner...

It's great that we both like basic meatloaf and it's equally great that we both like lumpy unpeeled mashed potatoes.  No muss, no fuss, and all the good potato-peel nutrition balances the butter and fat in the gravy!  Well...  in my mind, it does.  Have I ever mentioned that I am not a dietitian?!?

At least we don't have a clean-your-plate rule.

We need to save room for dessert.


Malloreddus with Victor's Homemade Sauce

Tonight's Monday Pasta comes half-way from La Cucina Italiana magazine.  The pasta is from the magazine, but the sauce is pure Victor.

He was looking in the magazine for recipes when I asked in my most-pleading voice if he would make his red sauce tonight.  The pasta was almost secondary.  I was craving the red sauce.

And to make it even better, we had pork ribs in the freezer that would become fall-off-the-bone-tender after simmering in the sauce all day.  And they did.

There's no recipe** for the sauce.  It just is.  There are as many variations of this simple sauce as there are Italian households out there.  Everyone's is the best - except Victor's really is!

**EDITED TO ADD** Victor's Spaghetti Sauce.  He finally wrote it down.

The semolina pasta has substance to it.  It works well shaped into the malloreddus, but would work equally well as a linguine or papardelle.

This was perfect.  Exactly what I was hoping for.

My stomach is smiling.

Malloreddus

  • Sea Salt
  • 1 ¼ cups semolina flour
  • ¾ cup unbleached all purpose flour
  • Extra virgin olive oil

Gnocchi board or a table fork

Dissolve 1 tsp salt in ¾ cup warm water. In a large bowl whisk together semolina and all purpose flour; mound and form a well in the center.

Add water mixture and 2 tsp olive oil to the well. Using your hand or a fork, slowly incorporate flour from inside the rim of the well. Continue until liquid is absorbed, then knead in bowl until dough forms a complete mass (dough will be slightly sticky).

Transfer dough to a well floured work surface and knead, dusting with a bit more flour as needed just to keep dough from sticking to your hands, for 5 minutes. Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.

Break off about 1/8 of the dough; tightly rewrap remaining dough. Roll dough into ½ inch cylinder, and cut into ¼ inch thick pieces. Pressing with your thumb, roll each piece on a gnocchi board (or down the back of a fork) to give it the characteristic ridges, and put on a floured baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough.

To cook fresh Malloreddus, bring a large pot of salted water to a bill. Add pasta and cook until tender, about 6 minutes after water returns to a boil. Drain, transfer to a large serving bowl and immediately toss with sauce and serve.


Springerle Cookies

I am one happy baker today!  Really happy!

The springerle cookies came out fantastic!  Better than fantastic!  They're really, really good!

For those not in the know (and that would have been me until a few weeks ago) a springerle cookie is a German cookie that is stamped with a design and then allowed to dry overnight.  This sets the design so it doesn't "melt" during baking.  They're baked at a low temperature until the bottom is barely browned.  The cookie itself stays pretty white.  They are also leavened with bakers ammonia - a leavening agent that only reacts with heat - not liquid.

I had never heard of them until our friend Luigi said she was making them.  I've made her Oma's stollen for the past few years and love it.

They take a bit of time, but really not a lot of effort.  The dough is velvety-smooth and easy to work.

Even a novice baker could make an acceptable cookie with this.  The trick - and it's one I am learning - is the pressing and cutting.  These cookies came out okay, but I can see where a couple of really good springerele molds would really make a lot of difference.

They really are works of art and while anything will taste good, the artistry is in the pressing and cutting.  I shall enjoy practicing!

I did not have a wood-carved traditional springerle mold.  I had three ceramic molds that did the trick this year, but I'm going to get a few real ones for next Christmas now that I know how wonderful the cookies are!

I made two shapes with the molds - round where I used a cookie cutter around the imprint and square where I just cut the dough sheet into blocks after pressing.

Both worked well, and while probably not exactly traditional, it does show that just about anyone cold make them at home without having to buy a lot of special equipment.

Luigi doesn't have her Oma's original recipe, but she said the recipe at House on the Hill was pretty close to what she used to make.  And they have a ton of springerele molds of every shape, size, and design.  Check them out!

This is Nini's Perfection Springerle Cookie Recipe from House on the Hill:

Nini's Perfection Springerle Cookie Recipe

These whisked-egg holiday cookies date back to at least the 1600′s and are made in Bavaria, Switzerland and the Alsace area of France. For eating quality, ease and quality of prints this recipe is just perfection!
What you’ll need:

  • 1/2 teaspoon baker’s ammonia (Hartshorn) or baking powder
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 6 large eggs, room temperature
  • 6 cups powdered sugar (1 – 1 1/2 #)
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened but not melted
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon of anise (if substituting fruit flavored oils, use 3 teaspoons)
  • 2 lb. box sifted cake flour (Swansdown or Softasilk)
  • grated rind of orange or lemon – optional (enhances flavor of the traditional anise or the citrus flavors)
  • more flour as needed

Dissolve hartshorn in milk and set aside. Beat eggs till thick and lemon-colored (10-20 minutes). Slowly beat in the powdered sugar, then the softened butter.
Add the hartshorn and milk, salt, preferred flavoring, and grated rind of lemon or orange, if desired. Gradually beat in as much flour as you can with the mixer, then stir in the remainder of the 2 lbs. of flour to make stiff dough. Turn onto floured surface and knead in enough flour to make a good print without sticking.
Follow general directions for imprinting and drying cookies.

Printing Cookies

Method #1 – For most cookies…
Dough will be rolled approximately 1/4″ to 3/8″ thick, like pie crust (deeper molds need thicker dough). Brush confectioner’s sugar or flour on the mold image, then imprint with your press (mold), cut out shape with knife or pastry wheel, dry and bake. Remember to “press and cut, press and cut” so that adjacent images are not distorted.

Method #2 – For very deep or large cookies…
Roll out dough to desired thickness and, using a dry, clean pastry brush, apply flour or sugar and cut a piece of dough the approximate size needed for the mold. Press dough into the mold with fingers, working from center outward. You may lightly roll the back side of the cookie to smooth before turning out of the mold. Trim, dry and bake. To check your print, use light from the side – daylight or light from a floor lamp – so the shadows let you see if your prints are good.

Drying

Most printed cookies are dried 2-24 hours before baking (depending on your schedule, humidity, etc.) Drying preserves the image during baking.

Baking

Bake on greased or baker’s parchment-lined cookie sheets at 255° to 325° till barely golden on the bottom, 10-15 minutes or more, depending on size of cookie.

Store in airtight containers or in zipper bags in the freezer. They keep for months, and improve with age. Yield 3 to 12 dozen.

The the drying and baking instructions are extremely vague.  In one respect they have to be, because there are so many different sizes and shapes of molds and cookies.  That didn't help this first-time springerle baker, however.

I preheated the oven to 255° and baked the smaller round cookies for about 22 minutes.  I baked the larger squares almost 30 minutes.

As with any baking, a bit of close watching definitely doesn't hurt.  Just keep a close eye and pull them when they're "barely golden on the bottom" and you'll have a perfect cookie!

I definitely want to thank the folks at House on the Hill for sharing their recipe!  I can see myself making these for many years to come!


Turkey Soup

This has to be the best part of Thanksgiving... well...  besides all the other best parts, that is...  It's hard to top a turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce and stuffing on squishy white bread, but the turkey soup is something I look forward to the minute I start thinking about a turkey.

It's a childhood-memory-thing.  Soups were definitely a mainstay growing up and I can see that big oval pot my mother used to cook down the carcass and make her soup.  Everything went in it.  Just as I make it, today...

I started by simmering the carcass all day yesterday.  I threw in a couple of bay leaves, a quartered onion, skin and all (the onion skins help make a nice, deep-colored broth) and the ends of celery and carrots, and a bit of sage.  Those trimmings you'd probably toss make for great soup stock.

After straining it, it went into the 'fridge.  Today, I scraped off the thin layer of fat and started heating it.

To the pot I added about 3 cups of turkey gravy and then chopped carrots, celery, potatoes, a lot of turkey meat, and all those partial bags of frozen vegetables... peas, corn, green beans, and spinach.

A bit of salt and pepper was the only seasoning it needed.

Soup really may be the easiest food to make - and in our house, at least - the perfect comfort-food when the weather starts turning cold.

I froze half the broth for another soup, another day.  I haven't made Mulligatawny in quite a while.....


Sweet Potato Casserole

This is a perfect example of how thought-process-to-meal actually works, sometimes...

I was going to make a cassoulet of sorts for dinner.  A quick version.  We were decorating and I just wanted to get something in the oven I didn't have to think about.  I had a pork tenderloin and a couple of Hungarian sausages that were thawing, pulled down the beans, crumbs at the ready...

And then I opened the 'fridge for butter.  And saw the leftover dressing.

The cassoulet started morphing into something completely different. ::: insert Monty Python tagline here :::

There were two big sweet potatoes in the potato basket. I started thinking of layering things...

Into the casserole dish went a layer of stuffing.  A bit of gravy went on top just to keep it moist.  Atop that went the sliced Hungarian sausages.  The pork tenderloin went back into the 'fridge.

I peeled and sliced one of the sweet potatoes and layered it on top.  I drizzled it with about a quarter-cup of maple syrup, sprinkled it with salt and pepper, covered it, and put it in the oven at 350° for about an hour and fifteen minutes.

I purposely used the sausage instead of turkey (or the pork tenderloin) to make it seem less a Thanksgiving leftover and more a stand-alone casserole.  It had the flavors of fall - with just enough of a twist to make it unique.

I can see a lot of variations on this theme.....


The Day After

The upside of not hosting a holiday dinner is the chaos, confusion, and dirty dishes are all at someone else's home.  The downside is all the leftovers are there, too.  I like holiday leftovers.  So, today, we created our own.

The day after Thanksgiving...  Black Friday.  Shoppers frenzy.  We don't leave the house.

This is Christmas Decorating Day!

We're definitely a couple of Santa's Elves when it comes to decorating.  It's just a lot of fun.  We have so many decorations it's frightening.  There's a dozen huge plastic bins in the basement, plus all the stuff that doesn't fit in bins- the wreaths, and all that stuff...  It's a lot of work just getting the bins up the stairs.

And then the fun starts as we open each one and go through every Santa, every ornament, and figure out where they're going to go this year.

This year is especially different because we rearranged the whole living room after finally getting drapes for the front window.  Everything needs a new home.

We're crazy, I know, but it's a fun sort of crazy.

So...  in-between hauling bins upstairs, emptying them and bringing them back down, I had to deal with our lack of leftovers.

I cooked a turkey.  And dressing.  And gravy.  And mashed potatoes...

A feast.

I had made cranberry sauce on Wednesday and pumpkin rolls yesterday.

A feast, indeed.

The turkey came out great.  I broke the whole carcass down, packaged the meat, and have the carcass simmering away right now for a big Sunday Soup - my favorite part of Thanksgiving - other than the sandwiches tomorrow...

There's also pumpkin pie in the 'fridge for later.

But not too much later...  I'm ready for bed.


Strascinati ai Broccoli

We made a change in the recipe tonight.  I know, I know...  we're supposed to follow the recipe exactly, but Victor made homemade pasta yesterday for his niece's birthday, so we had the leftover already made.  And I'll take leftover homemade pasta over any packaged pasta.  Any time.

This is a definite winner and proves the beauty of following simple recipes.  If I had been in the kitchen, I would have looked at the recipe and then cleaned out the vegetable bin. And I'm sure it would have been a good pasta dish, but it wouldn't have had the crisp clean flavors this had.  And two little chiles added just the right amount of heat.  Not too much - just enough.

Another thing is the recipe calls for cooking the broccoli for 7 minutes.  That is a really long time.  Victor pulled it out of the water after 5 minutes and it was getting close to being overcooked for our way of thinking.  I definitely believe you don't want crunchy broccoli, but 7 minutes would probably result in mush.  Use your own judgment.

The recipe is written for the strascinati pasta.

Strascinati ai Broccoli

Ingredients

  • Fine sea salt
  • 1 1/4  pounds broccoli
  • 1 pound strascinati or other short pasta
  • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • 2 dried red arbol chiles, or red pepper flakes to taste
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • Freshly grated Pecorino Romano, Caciocavallo, or ricotta salata cheese for serving (optional)

Instructions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, cut broccoli into 1-inch florets; peel stems. Cut stems into 1-inch pieces, then cut pieces in half or quarters lengthwise, depending on size.

Cook broccoli florets and stems in the boiling water until tender, about 7 minutes. Reserving water, transfer broccoli to a colander to drain, then rinse under cold water to stop cooking.

Return water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Meanwhile, combine oil, parsley, chiles and garlic in a small skillet. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in 1½ teaspoons salt.

When pasta is al dente, drain pasta and return to pot. Immediately add broccoli and oil mixture. Heat over medium heat, stirring to combine, for 30 seconds; adjust seasoning, if necessary. Serve immediately, with cheese if desired.

We're getting close to the end of the pasta issue, but I have a feeling we will be continuing this for a while.


Torrone

I did it!

My first real candy-making attempt in years.  I did it!

I have cooked and baked all my life, but candy-making has always juuuust slightly eluded me.

Candy-making is an unforgiving science - and I am not a scientist.    The old adage that cooking is an art and baking a science is definitely true.  But I've been baking long enough to know where I can change or substitute things and get my desired result.  Bread-baking is totally touch and feel.  Yes, the science is getting the right ratios of leavening, flour, and liquid, but it is the feel of the dough that lets you know when that balance has been achieved.

Not so with candy.

It is exacting step-by-step, exact temperatures, exact, exact, exact.  I am so not an exact person.

But I was today - and it came out great!

The only hassle I had was blanching the almonds.  And that wasn't difficult - just time-consuming.  There is a suburban conspiracy going on around me.  None of the local stores had whole blanched almonds.  So...  I blanched a pound of them, myself.  It's not difficult.  Pour boiling water over them, let them sit for 2 minutes, drain, rinse under cold water.  Drain, again, and slip off the skins.

There's a lot of almonds in a pound,.  It took me about 45 minutes to do them.

The recipe comes from La Cucina Italiana Magazine and it was extremely straightforward and easy to follow.  The candy did exactly what it said it was going to do in the recipe at every step.  It was great.  The one caveat is this is  a sticky, sticky candy.  And I do mean sticky.  I broke a heavy-duty spatula stirring in the nuts.  It was old, granted, but it was my favorite.  Oh well.

The only change I made was to use edible rice paper instead of cornstarch and parchment paper.  I laid out the rice paper on a sheet pan, spread the torrone on it, topped it with rice paper, rolled it to the desired thickness, and then cut it after it had cooled and set.

Sticky.

Torrone

Ingredients

  • Cornstarch for dusting
  • 3 cups whole blanched almonds
  • 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 1 cup clover honey
  • 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Finely grated zest of 1 large orange

Special equipment: parchment paper; a candy thermometer

Instructions

Heat oven to 350º.  Lightly dust a clean work surface with cornstarch. Line a 9- x 13- inch baking dish with parchment paper, letting excess paper hang over edges.

Spread nuts on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake, stirring once halfway through, until fragrant and golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer pan to a rack; let nuts cool completely.

Put egg whites and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with whisk; set aside.

In a heavy 4-quart saucepan with candy thermometer attached, heat sugar and honey over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until mixture begins to simmer and sugar is mostly dissolved, 12 to 14 minutes (mixture will be very thick, then begin to loosen and turn cloudy). Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until candy thermometer reaches 280º degrees. Continue to cook mixture, stirring once or twice, until temperature reaches 315º. It will take the mixture about 15 minutes more to reach that temperature (the mixture will begin to foam and darken in color as temperature increases).

Meanwhile, beat egg whites on medium speed until firm peaks form. Add confectioners sugar and continue to beat until fully incorporated, about 1 minute more. Turn off mixer, leaving bowl in place.

When sugar mixture reaches 315º, remove from heat; stir until temperature reduces to 300º, 1 to 2 minutes, then carefully remove candy thermometer. With mixer on medium speed, slowly pour sugar mixture down the side of the bowl (egg mixture will double in volume, then decrease); continue to beat until mixture is cooled to warm and begins to lighten in color, about 5 minutes. Add vanilla and zest; beat for 1 minute more, then, using a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula, fold in nuts (mixture will be very sticky).

Turn out candy onto prepared work surface; dust hands with cornstarch. Knead for 5 to 6 turns, then transfer to prepared baking dish. Dust hands with more cornstarch, then press candy to flatten and fill pan. Put pan on wire rack and let candy cool completely, about 1 hour.

Using parchment paper overhang, lift out candy from pan; cut candy into pieces. Layer in a sealed container, between sheets of parchment paper and let stand overnight, with container sealed and at room temperature, to dry, at least 8 hours or overnight. Candy can be kept, layered between sheets of parchment paper, in a sealed container at room temperature, for up to 3 weeks.

The recipe makes about 2 1/2 pounds of candy.

There's a recipe for Chocolate Torrone that I'm going to try next...  I just have to watch myself.   I tend to get a bit cocky after a success like this and not pay attention the second time around.

I really need to pay attention!


Au Gratin Potatoes

When Victor first took these out of the oven, my first thought was the immortal words of Oliver Twist... "Please, sir, I want some more."

Without having tasted them, I knew they were going to be wonderful.  And, of course, I was right!

Soft, buttery potatoes with a crunchy-cheesy topping...  They were perfection in a pie-plate.

He started out with a buttered pie plate and thick slices of yukon gold potatoes.  A layer of potatoes, a drizzle of melted butter and grated parmesan cheese, more potatoes, butter, and cheese, and more potatoes, butter, and cheese until all the potatoes were used.  And then about a 1/2-cup of milk went in.   He covered the plate with foil and into a 350° for 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, he made a crumb topping of panko bread crumbs, more cheese, garlic powder, and butter.  This went on top and back into the oven they went - uncovered this time - for 20 minutes to get crunchy.

There are no set amounts of anything.  It's merely building layers.  Low-and-wide gives the best crunchy-topping and tall and narrow will give more silky potato.

Simple and simply wonderful.


Jerk Pork Chops

Tonight's dinner was definitely one of those to there and back again meals.  I really wasn't sure what I was going to cook.    I hadn't taken anything out of the freezer and I wasn't going to be home right away after work.

I needed to stop by Victor's mom's house and pick up her prescriptions to drop off at the Acme pharmacy.  Acme.  Usually my least-favorite store.

I dropped off the prescriptions and started aimlessly wandering the store.  I had the sweet potatoes at home, but that was it.  Pork goes with sweet potatoes, so I wandered over to the meat department and picked up a couple of boneless pork chops.  I then headed to the produce section.  I was standing in the middle of the produce section, totally lost in thought when one of the employees asked me if I needed any help.  I laughed and said I was just lost in thought.  I wandered around a bit more and standing there, another employee asked me if I needed any help.  If you ever need to go into the Witness Protection Program, don't go grocery shopping with me.  People either ask me if I need something or ask me if I work there.  Anonymity and grocery shopping do not go together.

I finally decided on an apple and some broccoli.

Armed with my goodies and a crossword book for Nonna, I headed to the self-check where I ran into a friend from work.  Small-talk and small purchases and we were on our merry ways.

When I finally got home and started dinner, I decided that sweet potatoes called for jerk pork chops.  I like the spicy blends of island fare, but don't often make it.  No particular reason...  I have all the various herbs and spices at hand.  I just don't often blend them together.

I would imagine there are any number of jerk seasoning recipes out there, but I tend to lean towards thyme, allspice, cayenne, and onion. The recipe is an approximation.  It's teaspoon/teaspoon/half-teaspoon measurements that can be translated to tablespoon/tablespoon or cut to less.

Jerk Seasoning

Mix together:

  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • 1 tsp allspice
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (more or less, to taste)

It's pretty simple to pull together with spices most folks probably already have in the kitchen.  And it does invoke that island taste!

I rubbed it liberally on the chops and seared them on the stove top and then put them into a 350° oven for about 15 minutes.

Before the chops went into the oven,  I peeled and cut up a sweet potato, mixed it with a cut up apple and into the oven it all went.  When they came out I drizzled it all with a bit of maple syrup.

Steamed broccoli finished the plate.

It definitely worked.  The chops were juicy and really flavorful, the apples worked perfectly with the sweet potatoes, and maple syrup...  well...  maple syrup makes everything better.


The Pumpkin That Keeps On Giving

Not quite 4 weeks ago I roasted and pureed a fairytale pumpkin.  A big fairytale pumpkin.  After making pumpkin pies, pumpkin cupcakes, chicken with pumpkin, pumpkin butter, and pork with pumpkin, I decided pasta with pumpkin needed to be done.  Pumpkin is just so versatile.  You can do anything with it.

So I started out with the rest of the sage sausage I bought yesterday for the sausage gravy.  I browned it off, added a couple of cups of pumpkin puree, maybe a quarter-cup of heavy cream (clean out the refrigerator) and about a half-teaspoon of dried sage, and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Served over butternut squash ravioli.

Creamy goodness.

I'm lovin' that pumpkin, which is a good thing... I have pumpkin for days in the freezer...  More pies, pumpkin rolls... and I really need to do a pumpkin soup...

Yeah...  definitely lovin' it!


Chicken-Fried Steak

Ever since that deep fryer walked into this house, I've wanted to make Chicken-Fried Steak.

Chicken-Fried Steak and I have a long history.  My mom used to make a variation, but I think she made a brown gravy.  And I definitely had it in Uncle Sam's Yacht Club.  Frozen, pre-portioned steaks, deep-fried to a shoe-leather consistency and then held on a steam table.  With a white paste called country gravy.  We lost that war.  In no small part due to the food, I'm sure.

But the chicken-fried steaks I remember the best were at Lyon's in Daly City - with my parents.

Back in the day, Victor and I had dinner with my parents probably once a week.  We'd have them over to the house for a quick meal on any given day of the week.  They were always the perfect guests - 90 minutes tops from walking in the door to dinner to saying good-bye.  They liked to take us out, and the restaurant of choice was always Lyon's.  Actually, it was often the default restaurant after the first choice - Joe's of Westlake.  My father was of the opinion that there was no reason on earth that he should have to call a restaurant and make a reservation.  He would show up and expect to be seated.  Having worked in the business for more years than I care to count, I'd gently explain that every person of his age and generation within a 25-mile radius was descending upon Joe's at the exact same time.  A little advance notice wouldn't hurt.

Alas, he chose not to listen to his Number Two Son.  When we were inevitably informed that it would be a 40 minute wait, we were back in the cars and up the road to Lyon's.  No wait.

We had grown up with Lyons.  I knew the menu backwards and forwards.  And 9 times out of 10, I would order the Chicken-Fried Steak.  Looking back, I don't remember it as being all that overly-delicious.  It was good, but I think ordering it became more of a tradition than a desire.  Pop would ask if I was having the Chicken-Fried Steak and I'd say Yeah.  Once in a while I'd throw a curve-ball and order a burger or a French Dip, but the Chicken-Fried Steak was my mainstay.

The secret to a good restaurant-style Chicken-Fried Steak is that they're deep-fried, not pan-fried.  It makes all the difference.  I've pan-fried them in the past but they're just not the same.  So tonight, the deep-fryer came out.

Chicken-Fried Steak with Sausage Gravy

  • tenderized steaks
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 eggs

Season flour with salt, pepper, onion, and garlic powders.  Dredge steaks in seasoned flour, milk, back into flour, into the egg, and back into the flour.  Let set for about 30 minutes.

Deep-fry and smother in:

Sausage Gravy

  • 4 oz bulk sausage (I used a sausage seasoned with sage and garlic)
  • 2 tbsp flour (from flouring steaks)
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream

Brown sausage in skillet.  Add flour and mix well.  Cook slightly.  Add milk and cook until thickening.  Add heavy cream and cook until thick and creamy.

It was everything I wanted it to be - and more.  And just like at Lyon's, it was more than I could eat.  Cybil had her share and there's lunch tomorrow.

And OMG this is so not good for you!  Even in small doses this is a heart attack waiting to happen.

So I have had my Chicken-Fried Steak fix.  Lyon's is gone and so are Mom and Pop.  This is one meal that will serve me better as memories.  Really fun, very special memories.