Some Real Stick-to-Your-Ribs Cookin'

Tomorrow, yeah I mean Easter Sunday, Nate is leaving to a college visit at NC State in Raleigh and then he's going to a conference at Texas A&M. It sucks. I'll be husband-less. 

Sorry for that aside, anyway, so since my husband is leaving and I know he'll be on a steady diet of Kirkland Light beer and maybe peanuts or Corn Nuts (are those still around?), I decided tonight to make him something extra special for his last home cooked meal for a week! 

Chicken Fried Steak with Gravy 

This recipe is courtesy of my favorite published home cook, Ree Drummond aka the Pioneer Woman. 

The steak:

1 C whole milk

1 large egg

1 C flour

2 tbsp seasoned salt 

1 Tbsp Black pepper

3/4 tbsp paprika 

1/4 tbsp cayenne 

1 lb tenderized round steak 

Kosher salt 

1/4 C canola or vegetable oil 

1 Tbsp butter 

Sure up an assembly line of dishes; mix the egg and milk in one dish, the flour with the seasoned salt, pepper, cayenne and paprika in another. 

Sprinkle both sides of meat with salt and pepper, coat with flour mixture, dredge in milk and egg and then back in flour mixture. 

Heat oil and butter in skillet over medium-high heat. To test the heat of the oil, sprinkle a little flour in the oil and if it brown too quickly turn the heat down to medium. Fry the steaks for 2-4 minutes on each side (depending on how rare you  want your steaks and move to a paper towel to drain. I fried my steaks for about 3 minutes each side and one was rare/medium rare and the other was medium so I guess just make sure you pay attention to your steaks.

The Gravy: 

1/4 C reserved grease

1/3 C flour

3-4 C whole milk 

1/2 tbsp seasoned salt

Freshly ground black pepper

After pouring the grease out of the skillet (other than the 1/4 C) pour the reserve grease back into the skillet and heat it through. Sprinkle the flour evenly over the grease and wisk until golden, if the mixture is too clumpy just add a little more grease. 

Pour in the milk, whisking constantly. Add in the seasoned salt and pepper to taste and cook until gravy is smooth, thick, and creamy. If gravy is too thick add more milk. 

So as you can see in the picture, my gravy was a tad more golden than the typical white pepper gravy served with chicken fried steak, while the flavor was the same the cause was the oil being a little too hot and all the delicious crusty bits left in the skillet after the steaks were fried. 

Mashed Potatoes 

3-4 Idaho potatoes, washed and quartered 

1 quart water, for boiling 

3 Tbsp butter 

Salt and pepper, to taste 

1/2 C heavy cream 

Boil potatoes over medium-high heat in water until tender, should take roughly 30-45 minutes. Drain off water and mash with a potato masher to desired lumpiness. Personally, I like semi-lumpy potatoes, don't know why they just are a pleasant texture I guess but this is totally up to you. 

Add in cream, butter and spices and mix to combine. 

This meal is very stick-to-your-ribs, comforting (hopefully) and will (with any luck) make my husband miss me and more importantly the delicious food his wife prepares.