Lobster Ravioli with Walnut Cream Sauce

I've been meaning to make this for a while, now.  Tonight, I finally  did - and my stomach is smiling!

It's a recipe not for the faint-of-heart - or those who fear fat - but it will definitely put a smile on the face of those who love to eat!

It's also quick.  The sauce takes less time to make than the water takes to boil to cook the ravioli!

I went with lobster ravioli tonight, but the sauce will go with anything...  I had a small piece of brie with mushrooms in the fridge, so I added that to the sauce instead of a more traditional cheese.  You don't need a lot of anything - maybe two ounces - but it adds a ton of flavor.  And the cheese you choose will definitely set the tone for the sauce.

Walnut Cream Sauce

  • 1 cup walnuts
  • 1 tsp butter
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 oz cheese
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Brown walnuts in butter.  Add cream and bring to boil.  Reduce heat and simmer  few minutes.  Stir in cheese and mix well until melted and sauce is creamy.  Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper, as desired.

It was filling.  Really filling  You really don't need as much when it's this rich.  Six ravioli and lots of walnuts.

The crunch of the nuts and the silky-smoothness of the sauce over the really flavorful ravioli was perfect - and some crusty Italian bread to sop up the sauce was a perfect accompanyment.

Yum.


Pork and Pears and Puff Pastry

I had a hankerin' for pears today and a bag of assorted red, bosc, and d'anjou pears was the perfect start to both dinner and dessert!

And both were no-brainer-simple!

I cut a small pork tenderloin into eight medallions and browned them in a hot skillet.  They came out and in went 4 shallots and 4 pears that had been cored, but not peeled.  (If you're using colored pears, it doesn't make any sense to peel them, does it?!?)

I then added about a cup of pear nectar, about a half-teaspoon of tarragon, and let it simmer a moment.  I added the pork, covered the pot, and simmered about 15 minutes - until everything was tender.  I thickened the sauce with a bit of cornstarch, and that was that!

It was served over a bed of wilted spinach with roasted sweet potatoes on the side.

Maybe 30 minutes start-to-finish.

Meanwhile, I took 2 pears, chopped them, sauteed them in butter, a bit of brown sugar, and a pinch of cinnamon and allspice - and a splash of vanilla.  I thickened it with a bit of cornstarch and put a dollop into the center of four squares of puff pastry.

12 minutes in a hot oven.

A good time was had by all...


An UnHappy Anniversary

Hard to believe that it's been 10 years since my Mom passed away.  Only 75.  She should still be around driving us crazy.  It would only be fair, considering we drove her crazy for so many years!

I don't know how she did it - six kids and married to a fireman who was gone for 24-hour shifts.  Actually, not true - I know exactly how she did it.

Mom Ruled The House.  Period.

She was loving, she was giving, she was fun and she was funny - and she was tough.  She laid down the rules and she followed through.  Every time.

As kids growing up we really didn't have a lot of rules but the ones we had were enforced.  One of - if not the - Cardinal Rule was Thou Shalt Not Embarrass Me In Public.  See those kids throwing temper tantrums in the grocery store or restaurant?  Had I - or any of my siblings - pulled such a stunt, I would not be here typing this, today.  Before we got out of the car, we were told what the expected behavior was.  Or else.  Until the day she died, she still had "The Look" that let us know we had crossed the line - again.

That is not to say we were angelic children - far from it, in fact.  But we knew what the limits were and when we had pushed them too far.  And there were always consequences.  Always.

Last week I started thinking about the upcoming date and decided I could either mope around and be depressed, or I could have a bit of fun and cook a "Mom Dinner" tonight.  Something quintessentially Mom.  I was emailing with the siblings and some of the comments were priceless. A favorite dessert memory was Mom deciding to bake a cake at 7pm and at 8pm all of us eating warm cake with the icing running down all over because she - and we - were too impatient to wait for it to cool.

The same thing would happen when she made fudge.  More than one time we would be eating fudge with spoons, giggling and loving every minute of it.  There were those big, thick homemade noodles in a brown gravy.  Her soups, her stews, her steak pie.  Her Chinese Casserole.  Her olive hors d'oeuvres...

We all have similar but also very different memories of our mother.  The interesting thing is that she actually raised us all a bit differently.  The rules were the rules across the board, but she helped us differently, encouraged us differently, according to our strengths and  needs.  She knew us, paid attention, and took her role very seriously.  She made her share of mistakes, but none of them sent us to therapy.  She was good.

She loved the Space Program and I'm sure would have been the first woman in space had women been allowed to be in space.  I remember many times my mom waking my older brother - and sometimes me if I would actually get out of bed - to see the Blast Offs from Cape Canaveral at 4am Pacific Time.

Or getting up after everyone else had gone to bed - and watch a late-night movie with her.  Just the two of us.  She was a movie buff and knew every actor, character actor, director...  I cannot tell you how many times I would call her up and ask "who was the actor who played in that movie with..." And she always knew.

She actually always knew a lot of things.  Typical of her generation, she didn't go to college and went to work right after high school.  WWII was still in full swing and she went to work for the Southern Pacific Railroad in San Francisco.  She met my father there in 1948 and had to quit when they got married.  It was a good thing - my brother was born nine months and three weeks after they were married.

But she never stopped learning.  She was a voracious reader and was a pro at crossword puzzles, and every word game imaginable.  And she was a tough opponent.  She made us work for our points.  Not that we won very often.  She would quiz me about things - from spelling to multiplication tables to current events, asking questions.  She was easy to talk to.  She took a Creative Writing course in the mid-'60s just to be able to express herself better - as if she needed help, there!  She could write - and she could make smoke rise from the paper if she wasn't happy about something.

She watched her soap operas every day.  The ones on CBS.  Secret Storm, Search For Tomorrow, Edge of Night, As The World Turns... I was in Jr High School - 9th grade - and decided I was sick and stayed home from school.  All of a sudden I hear this screaming and "NO!  DON'T DO IT!" coming from the living room.  I tear up the stairs, thinking my mother is being murdered, and she's standing in front of the television, with tears streaming down her face, because someone had just killed their husband, or some such garbage.  I think I said a couple of words that at a younger age would have gotten my mouth washed out with soap as I stomped back down the stairs.  And yes.  She really did wash my mouth out with soap.  More than once, and one time with a teaspoon of Tide - the little granules getting caught between my teeth.  I don't remember what word I used, but I made sure it was never uttered in her vicinity, again.

Did I mention she was tough?!?  But she was also a softy.  A woman of many contradictions.  Always interesting.

And she was a great cook.

She was an adventurous cook and loved trying new things.  Therefore, we were adventurous eaters and tried new things whether we really wanted to, or not.  Mom cooked one dinner and we ate as a family every single night.  I don't remember battles at the table about eating this or disliking that.  If you didn't eat you didn't get dessert.  End of discussion.  If you didn't like mushrooms, you could pick them out - but Mom liked mushrooms and she would put them in.  She let it be known from Day-One that she was not a short order cook.  You ate or you didn't but there was no getting something later.  I always ate.  I was an adventurous eater.  Still am.

So, tonight, with so many ideas, so many recipes, so many memories, I decided on Steak Pie.  I have her cook books - they're right here on the website - and thought it was the most fitting. And it had to be in a 9x13 pan.

It really came out good.  But, not quite as good as Moms.

The one recipe I should have made was her Veal Scallopini.  It was my Birthday Dinner and it was, by far, one of my favorite dishes.  She actually made it with pounded round steak.  Veal was not something a family of eight ate on a fireman's salary.

After growing up, moving out of the house, and all that, I asked her for the recipe so I could make it, myself.  She was happy to oblige.  Too happy. I made the dish several times and it was never quite as good as hers.  I played around with it a bit and realized she left out one ingredient.  Intentionally.  On purpose.  My own mother! One day I called her on it and she blushed, turned every shade of red imaginable - and denied it.  My own mother!  She stammered and said she had used a seasoning packet at one time but they didn't make it anymore...  Blah.  Blah.  Blah.  I would remind her about that every now and again.  My own mother.

Yeah.  My Own Mother.

Gone for ten years, now.  Not a day goes by that I don't wish I could pick up the phone and ask her what was going on.  I would love to discuss politics with her, again.  She was a political liberal who recognized her own prejudices and tried not to pass them on to her kids.  I can see her indignation at  everything going on in Washington, the Middle East - all of it.  I mentioned her letter-writing, earlier.  She would make mincemeat out of this current crop of Teabag Republicans and spineless Democrats.

Both of my parents were great at letting us grow and make our mistakes.  We never heard "If I were you..." or "You should..."  They bit their tongues a lot and a few times I know they wanted to stop one of us from doing something stupid - but they let us make our mistakes and learn from them.  They never hovered - but they were there to help pick up the pieces - without ever saying "I told you so..."

So Mom... Thank you.  For more things than I'll ever be able to express.  Thank you.

I miss you.

 


Chicken Soup and Cornbread

How many ways can a person make Chicken Soup?!?

A lot.

I had planned on having roasted chicken for dinner last night.  Alas, I spent a few hours in the ER at Paoli Hospital getting poked, prodded, CT scanned and pharmaceutically comfortable.

I actually went to the Dr because I had a severe pain in my abdomen.  It felt like a classic diverticulitis.  On a scale of 1-10, pain was at a 12.  Even at that, it took a bit of convincing by Victor that it was a prudent thing to call the Dr.  I think he said something like "I'm only doing to mention this one more time, and if you don't call the Dr I'm going to make your life hell."  We're very subtle with one another.

I took the cue.

My primary care Dr poked and prodded and thought the same thing - the location, the symptoms...  But the degree of pain was worrisome.  I really couldn't even stand up straight.  In order to get the proper type of antibiotic, they would need more information.  He called the ER, gave them his thoughts, told them to expect us, and off we went.

I love Paoli Hospital.  Every single Employee/Dr/Nurse/Tech/Whatever I have dealt with over the years has been great.  Upbeat, positive, professional - my kind of place.  And the ER was textbook perfect.

Fortunately it was a slow afternoon - I was admitted in minutes, and within another few minutes I had an IV in my arm.  After taking my vitals, the most woooooooonderful little drug was introduced that made all the pain go away.  Gotta love modern pharmacopeia.

After a few hours of tests, the end result was NOT diverticulitis, but,"Undetermined Cause."  I was sent on my way with instructions to get back with my PC Dr next week and a prescription for Peroset.

Today, the cold is still with me but the pain has pretty much abated.  I only took one pill this morning.

So back to the chicken...

I needed to get the chicken cooked - it had been in the 'fridge long enough.  So last night after dinner - leftover chicken soup - I just threw it in the oven.  Salt & Pepper.  That was it.  Out of the oven, into the fridge.  Me into bed.

This afternoon, I pulled all the meat off the bird and cooked the carcass down.

I ended up with a really rich broth to which I added potatoes, brown rice, a few split peas, carrots, celery, peas, corn, white beans, a can of diced tomatoes, little scoops of a lot of different grains in the cupboard, and some of the chicken meat... I then let it simmer.

Perfection.

And to round out our perfect soup, I decided we needed cornbread.  Not just any cornbread, mind you, Adluh Cornbread!

It was great!  Light and cake-like, but not sweet!  Excellent texture and loads of corn flavor.  It's a just-add-water mix that makes a perfect 8x8 pan.

I had bacon grease in the fridge so I greased the pan with it but brushed to top with melted butter after it came out of the oven.

It was the perfect accompaniment to a big bowl of soup.  We weren't in the mood for too much food tonight, but I could just imagine this with honey or fresh jam.  And it would probably be perfect for a cornbread dressing.

Yumlicious!

Adluh is down in South Carolina but you can get their goodies sent right to your door!  Take a look and support small businesses!

 

 

 


Fagioli Neri con Ragù di Anatra

Did I mention I have a cold?  Did I mention Victor now has a cold?  UGH!  Let us just say that we are not amused.

This is not fun.

I'm looking for quick and easy meals right now.  I just don't feel like spending time in the kitchen.  The latest issue of La Cucina Italiana saved the day with a whole section on bean dishes.  I love beans.  This recipe fit the bill perfectly.  It's mostly cooking unattended.

The recipe caught my eye for a couple of reasons - one because I like beans, but even more important, I had a duck breast in the freezer.  I could make this without leaving the house.  Right now, that's an important consideration.

The duck breast had been in there for a while.  I'd just move it out of the way as I searched for other things or put more things in. When I finally took it out last night to thaw in the 'fridge overnight, I noticed the label said "Sell By Aug 13, 2009."  Did I mention it had been in the freezer for a while?!?  It was vacuum-sealed and came out perfect.

I don't normally think of duck breast and Italian, but it was a classic dish that really shows how a few simple flavors can taste so wonderful - even when ones taste buds are compromised.

My only change was I used red beans instead of black.  I had canned black beans but none dried and I really wanted to do it right.

Besides, beans are often interchangeable...

Fagioli Neri con Ragù di Anatra

Black Beans with Duck Ragù

  • 1 1/2 cups dried black beans
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 pound boneless duck breast, skin removed and meat cut into 1/2" cubes
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
  • 1 celery rib, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
  • 1 small rosemary sprig
  • fine sea salt
  • freshly-ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine

Rinse beans, then place in a large saucepan and cover with water by 3 inches.  Soak for 8 hours or overnight.

Add bay leaf and 1 tbsp oil to the saucepan with the beans, then place pan over medium heat and bring liquid to a simmer.  Reduce to a bare simmer and cook until beans are very tender, adding water as necessary to keep beans covered by about 1/2 inch, 30 minutes to 1 hour (depending on freshness of beans).

Reserving 1/2 cup of bean cooking liquid, drain beans.

In a large saucepan, heat butter and remaining tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat.  Add duck and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes.  Add onion, carrot, celery, garlic, rosemary, and generous pinch of salt and pepper.  Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, about 6 minutes.  Remove and discard rosemary, then add wine.  Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until wine is evaporated, about 10 minutes.  Add reserved cooking liquid, reduce heat to low, and cook, covered, until duck is tender, about 45 minutes.

Add beans to ragù and cook, covered, until warmed through, about 10 minutes.

Serve warm, drizzled with oil.

I can't get over how flavorful these were. - especially since neither of us have our full taste-facilities.  For lunch we had leftover chicken soup from last night.   It was quite spicy but I added a few generous splashes of Tabasco sauce to it just for flavor.  This had it all with just a couple of ingredients.

I'm down for the count for at least a couple of days.

I see a roast chicken and even more chicken soup in my future.

 


Feed A Cold... Part Deux

The cold is in full swing.  Time to bring out the heavy guns - Chicken Soup.

I didn't have a whole chicken, but I did have two chicken breasts and a couple of quarts of broth.  And a bunch of other good stuff...

  • Onions
  • LOTS of Garlic
  • Carrots
  • Celery
  • Andouille Sausage
  • Peas
  • Diced Tomatoes with chiles
  • Small Red Beans
  • Extra-Wide Egg Noodles
  • Green Beans

I started of by cooking the onions and garlic, added the celery and carrots, added the chicken, and then the andouille.  When it looked like it was getting cooked, I added the broth, diced tomatoes, and beans.  It came to a boil and I then let it simmer.  I stirred in the peas and green beans.

I cooked the noodles on the side because I didn't want to thicken the soup very much.  Often, I will cook them right in the broth.

I added a bit of salt and pepper, and that was it.

The spicy andouille and the tomatoes with chilis took care of the spices.  I didn't need to add anything else.

We had the bread Victor baked yesterday and lots of Irish butter.

And Victor baked a Pumpkin Pie.

The cold isn't any better but I'm feeling pretty good...

 

 


Feed A Cold...

I have a cold.

I felt it coming yesterday.  I tried to fight it but I was too late.  It's here.

I usually get two colds a year - one right about now - the changing of the seasons - and one in mid-winter...  February-ish.  They last a full two weeks no matter what.  Oh joy.

So what is a body to do when said body feels like doo-doo?  Eat, of course!

Feed a cold, feed a fever, I always say!

And since it is Sunday Morning, that means Sunday Breakfast!

It was the perfect excuse to open up my Adluh Pancake and Waffle Mix!

And yes, ladies and gentlemen, we have another winner!

I followed the instructions on the label, mixing 1 cup of milk to 1 2/3 cup of mix - and I added the optional 1 tsp oil.  Fat and sugar = tenderness in baking.

And tender, they were.  And light as a feather!  You can see by the picture how high they rose!

I used a #16 scoop (2 ounce) to dish them out and they were they perfect size.

These were by-far better than any other mix I have ever used!  They beat Krusteaz by a mile - and Krusteaz is good!

We topped them with the requisite butter and pure maple syrup (no "maple-flavored" high-fructose corn syrup in this house!) and also spread them with orange marmalade and fig butter.

Every bite was heaven!

So time to rest a bit before starting the chicken soup.

Feed a cold...

You can feed your cold - or try and preempt it - by visiting the Adluh Store, here.  You'll be glad you did!


Tagliatelle Fresche and Fresh-Baked Bread

It's another Saturday and I came home to another feast!  Homemade pasta and homemade bread.  It just doesn't get any better!

The pasta was Victor's famous tagliatelle.  The bread was from James Beard.

The pasta is so light but so full of flavor and texture.  It can withstand any type of sauce, but I just love it when Victor grabs whatever out of the 'fridge and creates!  Tonight he took olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes in oil, oyster mushrooms, bell pepper, peas, and prosciutto, sauteed it all and then stirred in the cooked pasta and sprinkled some freshly-grated cheese on top.

Did I mention perfection?!?

Perfection.

This is a half-batch of the pasta recipe.

Tagliatelle Fresche

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • Coarse sea salt

Instructions

On a clean work surface, mound flour and form a well in the center. Add egg and egg yolk to the well. Using a fork, gently break up yolks and slowly incorporate flour from inside rim of well. Continue until liquid is absorbed, then knead for 10 minutes. Wrap dough tightly in plastic and let rest for 30 minutes.

Divide dough into 3 pieces. Cover 2 pieces with plastic wrap. Flatten remaining dough piece so that it will fit through the rollers of a pasta machine.

Set rollers of pasta machine at the widest setting, then feed pasta through rollers 3 or 4 times, folding and turning pasta until it is smooth and the width of the machine.

Roll pasta through machine, decreasing the setting, one notch at a time (do not fold or turn pasta), until pasta sheet is scant 1/16 inch thick.

Cut sheet in half widthwise; dust both sides of sheets with flour. Layer sheets between floured pieces of parchment or wax paper. Cover with paper and repeat with remaining dough.

With the short end of 1 pasta sheet facing you, loosely fold up sheet, folding sheet over two or three times from short ends toward the center. With a large chefs knife, cut folded sheet into ribbons, a scant 1/4 inch wide. Unroll strips and lightly dust with flour; spread on a lightly floured baking sheet. Repeat with remaining pasta sheets.

To cook the tagliatelle, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain pasta, transfer to a large serving bowl and toss with sauce.

And then, just because perfect pasta wasn't enough, he made a loaf of one of my favoriote breads!

This comes from the Beard on Bread cook book by James Beard.  It's quick and reasonably difficult to screw up!

James Beard French-Style Bread

  • 1 1/2 pk active dry yeast
  • 1  tbsp  sugar
  • 2 cups  warm water (100-115 deg.)
  • 1 tbsp  salt
  • 5-6 cups all-purpose or hard wheat flour
  • 3 tbsp  Yellow cornmeal
  • 1 egg white mixed with 1 tbsp cold water

Combine the yeast with sugar and warm water in a large bowl and allow to proof. Mix the salt with the flour and add to the yeast mixture, a cup at a time, until you have a stiff dough.

Remove to a lightly floured board and knead until no longer sticky, about 10 minutes, adding flour as necessary.

Place in a buttered bowl and turn to coat the surface with butter.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk..1 1/2-2 hrs.

Punch down the dough. Turn out on a floured board and shape into two long, French bread-style loaves. Place on a baking sheet that has been sprinkled with the cornmeal, but NOT buttered.

Slash the tops of the loaves diagonally in two or three places with a single edge razor blade or sharp knife, brush the loaves with the egg white wash.

Place in a COLD oven, set the temperature at 400° and bake 35 minutes, or until well browned and hollow sounding when the tops are tapped.

The meal was perfection all the way.

 

 


A Happy 1st Anniversary

One year ago we were in New Hampshire getting married.  It was the wedding that should have taken place in San Francisco in November of 2008.

Actually, it was the wedding that should have taken place 16 or so years ago when all of our parents were alive to be there with us, but that was not to be.  Instead, it was a tiny gathering of fabulous friends officiated by the best damned JP in the state of New Hampshire, our dear friend, Marlene.

It was a great day.  We had forgotten our dress clothes and got married in blue jeans.  A much more fitting ceremony than fancy clothes.  Definitely a Tim and Victor Event.

After a few days on Cape Cod with our friend, Dana, it was back home.  A few days later another friend, Jessica, had a party and surprised us with a fabulously-delicious wedding cake!  And a 1st Anniversary Cupcake!

I froze and vacuum-packed the cupcake and last night brought it to the refrigerator to thaw.

For dinner, we had strip steaks with grilled onions, baked sweet potatoes, and roasted corn.  I considered doing burgers, but decided a steak really was more fitting for a First Anniversary - we can have burgers on our 17th Anniversary next month!

And just in time for our Anniversary, our new iPhones arrived today.

Fortunate doesn't begin to describe us.


Cheesy Chicken Sandwiches

I love sandwiches.

Anything-and-bread.  My kind of meal.

Sandwiches really can run the gamut from simple to extravagant - and it doesn't really take a lot to go from simple to way over the top.  A couple of ingredients and a little imagination.

One of my favorite tricks is to use tapenades as sandwich spreads.  Roasted red pepper and artichoke tapenade on a roast beef sandwich?!?  Excellent.  Add cheeses, something green and crunchy like lettuce, pickles, sprouts, pea shoots... And then put it on focaccia or ciabatta, or another rustic-type bread and it's over-the-top.  Grilled cheese sandwiches with Happy Hal's Jalapeno Relish... Turkey with lingonberry sauce, onions, and spicy mustard...   So many concepts, so few meals...

Tonights sandwich was cheesy chicken with mushrooms and bell peppers on a french roll.

I chopped up a couple of small chicken breasts and sauteed them with bell peppers and mushrooms.  When all was cooked, I stirred in a Welsh cheddar with chives and shallots.  Creamy goodness!  The cheese just coated everything and every bite was crusty bread, cheesy chicken, and crunchy peppers with little bits of mushroom.

Really good.  And really simple.

It doesn't take a lot of effort to change the ordinary to extraordinary.

Use your imagination next time you're making a sandwich and take it over the top!

 


Spice Cake Fail

Take a look into that pan.  That's not a beautiful dome.  No, it's a big indentation.  It fell like there's no tomorrow.  Both layers.

Bummer.

Cakes can fall for any number of reasons, but this is my go-to-never-fail recipe I've used for years.  I've played with it, tweaked it here and there, and have never had a problem with it - until tonight.  And the only thing I can think of that was radically different this time from all the other times I've made this cake is I used cake flour instead of all-purpose.  I wanted to see how the Daisy flour worked in a pretty standard cake.  It didn't in this one.

I thought I had compensated by adding some additional flour, but I guess it just wast enough.  Or something.

Whatever it was, it didn't affect the flavor - which was excellent.  The texture was more crumbly than normal, but fortunately it was a moist and tender crumbly.

The cake was good.

There was no way the sides were going to get iced - it just wasn't happening.  And it may have looked like hell, but I'll be damned if I wasn't going to eat it, anyway!  I made a nutmeg buttercream frosting and put apple butter between the layers.

What it lacked in looks was made up for by the taste.

And a big note to self:  Use all-purpose flour next time.

BH&G Yellow Cake

  • 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1-3/4 cups sugar
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • 1-1/4 cups milk

directions

1. Grease and lightly flour two 8",  9" round baking pans or grease one 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set pan(s) aside. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl beat butter or margarine with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating 1 minute after each. Add dry mixture and milk alternately to beaten mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just till combined. Pour batter into the prepared pan(s).

3. Bake in a 375° oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool layer cakes in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove layer cakes from pans. Cool thoroughly on racks. Or, place 13x9-inch cake in pan on a wire rack; cool thoroughly. Frost with desired frosting.

 

 


Chicken-Fried Steak - Adluh-Style!

Back when my parents were still with us, we'd often go to a restaurant in Daly City called Lyons.  Actually, whenever we'd go out to dinner with them we always went to Lyons.  And my father would always ask me if I was getting the Chicken-Fried Steak - and I almost always did.

Lyons was a bit of an upscale diner that had been around as long as I could remember.  At their peak, they probably had 65 or 70 restaurants.  The food was typical of a diner-type chain...  Glossy menu with  a dozen types of burgers, salads, and a host of standard dinner entrees - of which the aforementioned Chicken-Fried Steak was one. They went bankrupt right around the turn of the century. I don't think any of them are around anymore.

Their CFS was served with the requisite Country Gravy - a cream sausage gravy - and almost always with either peas or green beans.  My parents liked the predictability.  I just found it amusing.  While the food was adequate, one didn't go there for the grand cuisine.  We went for the company.

Fast-forward a few years and I have in my kitchen, a bag of Adluh Carolina Breader.  Just the thing I need to make a Chicken-Fried Steak at home!  I make CFS at home a coupe of times a year - and made it last year after we got the deep fryer - but I was really looking forward to seeing what "Carolina Breader" would do.

What it did, was make a most-excellent Chicken-Fried Steak!

I was quite pleased with the end result.  Knowing that it was a fully-seasoned mix, I didn't add a thing.  I dredged the tenderized steaks in the breader, dipped them in egg, and then dredges again.

Just for grins and giggles I fried them in a combination of grapeseed oil and bacon fat.

After they were cooked, I pulled them out of the pan, added some mushrooms, and make a quick pan gravy.  I used the dredging flour as thickner.

The Carolina Breader has a great crunch and an excellent white pepper kick.  That was the one thing that really reminded me of all those dinners with mom and pop!  Pronounced but not overpowering.  Great balance.

I'm glad there's still plenty left.  I see a fish-fry in my future.

You can buy Adluh products online at Adluh.com.