everyone talks about the weather.... and food.

[lagilman]

Monday we had 6+ inches of snow. Saturday I sat in the local park in jeans and a long-sleeved tee, soaking in the mild temps while doing editing-ish things. Ah, March, you confuse us so.... Is it time to start making sun tea? Hrm.... no, not yet. But soon!

I thinkthinkthink I have now caught up to everyone and everything owed e-mail or comments. If you were expecting to hear from me, and haven't, please let out a yelp now! And just in time to lose an hour of sleep tonight. *sigh* Ready, set, spring!

And now, the foodie portion of this post.

Spurred by curiosity, and an article in the NYT, I picked up some cube steaks this week and gave them a test-cook. The first one I brushed with oil and vinegar (for a shortcut just use Italian salad dressing) and slid into a heated skillet until it browned lightly on both sides. Served plain, with a green salad. Conclusion: texture and taste were both satisfying, if nothing special. Second go-round I cooked the steak with a chopped peeled tomato, layered it on a crusty roll and added and a slice of provolone. It made a very tasty steak sandwich. Total cost of the meat for both meals? $6

I deem cube steak a very useful recession-busting staple. Next go-round I plan to attempt the dreaded Chicken Fried Steak. Eeek.

Another inexpensive and really tasty meal even a kitchen-klutz could handle was tonight's graham-cracker crusted chicken breasts. Dip chicken breasts in either canola oil or egg whites and let the excess drip off, then dredge in graham cracker crumbs. Yes, really. Melt butter in a frying pan and cook the chicken until golden brown on each side. Turn off the heat, cover the pan, and let the chicken finish cooking (how long this takes depends on the thickness of the breast. That's all. The crumbs give the chicken a crunchy sweetness that went well with a Rhone red.

Also: never let me near your box of Triscuits. Man, I swear. meerkat-crack. Om nom nom nom gone. Oops.

/food neep

Comments

[wolfsilveroak.livejournal.com]

Graham crackers, eh?

Huh.

*takes notes*

[lagilman]

tastier than bread crumbs, and only a few extra calories, all told...

[wolfsilveroak.livejournal.com]

Aww, who cares about calories}:P

[difrancis.livejournal.com]

cube steak makes for good swiss steak, too.

[lagilman]

I intend to try every variation I can -- except the "baked in a casserole" one. That sounds a little scary even to the food-adventurer....

(it helps, I suspect,to get a well-cubed steak. I can imagine that there are sub-prime offerings out there, depending on your butcher.)

[jslinder.livejournal.com]

For cube steak I do something similar, I use a lemongrass basalmic and olive oil drizzle and let it sit for a few mins, then toss in a little roasted garlic and a minced shallot.

[lagilman]

mmm, I do that with hanger steak. Yummmmmm...

(I just had dinner! How can I be hungry again?)

[jslinder.livejournal.com]

I'm going to the flower show tomm, they have Bittersweet farms flavored balsalmics. If you want me to pick up something, let me know, and I will relay via keith or something when I get to NYC.

http://www.bittersweetherbfarm.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=12

They usually have show specials.

You have till 10 AM sunday :)

[lagilman]

*flails* The maple syrup one OMG pleeeeese?

(I can't use straight maple syrup any more, due to sugar issues, but I think this would be amazing and doable....)

[jslinder.livejournal.com]

If they have in stock, will do..

[jslinder.livejournal.com]

Large bottle obtained. Now I just have to figure out how to get it to you.. Absolute fallback is I will give it to Keith at Shore Leave...

[severedscythe.livejournal.com]

I feel kinda bad, because I always make cheap food so my eating habits haven't changed.

Mmm, capsicum. I think you guys call them bell peppers? I use them a lot. Cheap, easy to stuff, tastes good in fried rice.

[lagilman]

*snort* I'm a freelancer. One week when payments were late I survived on brown rice and hot dogs [and I don't like hot dogs,as a rule, unless grilled to a crisp].

My feeling about food is that it's not the cost of the food but the preparation that matters. I'd just never really thought about cube steak before, and want to see how far I can go with it.

[severedscythe.livejournal.com]

Last time I used cube steak, it was to make a lemon lime and pumpkin salad. Its pretty versatile.

Hot dogs make me sad. :(

[wedschilde.livejournal.com]

might i suggest quiche?

[mevennen.livejournal.com]

With cube steak?? ;-)

We use it a lot for stews, obviously, but also in curries.

[lagilman]

I use regular chuck for making stew -- I like the way the fibers break down during the cooking -- but can see how it would take well to a curry.

[wedschilde.livejournal.com]

:::nods::: minced nearly fine... not mince fine mind you but slivers. sautee with onions and mix in mushrooms. salt, pepper

use a white cheese (shredded) or a cheddar.

in pie crust, layer of cheese, layer the beef mixture on the pie crust. then a final layer of cheese.

beat four large eggs well with either a spot of milk or some water. make sure there's a bit of a froth.

now traditional quiche adds heavy cream... i've been using no cream but whipped well with a bit of milk or water. sure it's more eggy but it does taste better and you can avoid the dairy calories of a heavy cream. most people can't taste the difference.

pour eggs over meat and cheese. bake in oven at 350 for an hour.

i do add green chiles (canned) because we love a bit of spice with food but that's really optional. :::nods:::

i do admit to using mince/hamburger for japanese curry. i like the distribution. :D

[lagilman]

*makes an inquiring noise* I'm not much of a quiche-eater [I enjoy it, but the combined ingredients react badly with my digestive system] but hey, if a recipe sounds interesting, I'll try most anything once....

[wedschilde.livejournal.com]

ah, i just posted the recipe below.

for me, the quiche issue is the dairy which actually makes the dish kind of heavy. we just use eggs beaten into a bit of a froth.

ingredients of course can vary. anything can be used in a quiche.

hamburger, onions, mushrooms and green chiles with a cheese is great. so is chicken with spinach. if using spinach, squeeze as much water out as possible.

we also do a vegetarian one a lot. really anything you can find. it's a good leftover kind of pie. even corn, hamburger and pico de gallo if you want a mexican pie.

just need four eggs and pie crust. bake at 350 for about an hour. cheese is good. :D

i have made a chicken, parmesan cheese, olive and canned artichoke hearts quiche. that's a favourite.

oh - now I'm thinking about it

[romsfuulynn.livejournal.com]

I haven't made chicken fried steak for years.

(take cube steak & dredge in whatever coating you use for fried chicken - mine is flour, garlicsalt, black pepper, red cayenne pepper, poultry seasoning.)

Re: oh - now I'm thinking about it

[lagilman]

but what about the white gravy?!

Re: oh - now I'm thinking about it

[romsfuulynn.livejournal.com]

Ah - I'm not a white gravy fan - but white gravy is just a basic white sauce.

For each cup of gravy/sauce, 2 tablespoons of fat of your choice (butter - yum, bacon grease - double yum, or Crisco or canola oil or whatever)2 Tablespoons of flour, and 1 cup liquid (water/milk/broth)

Combine fat and flour on low heat, not browning for a minute or so, add liquid slowly, stirring fairly steadily - flour must cook for ten minutes - it will "thicken" fairly suddenly and you need to be stirring during the minute that that takes.

I'd do it with butter or Crisco and beef broth or milk if I was going to make it -

Re: oh - now I'm thinking about it

[lagilman]

Many years ago while at a Bouchercon in Omaha, we were confronted by a breakfast buffet of unabashed whiteness. White biscuits. White grits. White eggs (really -- palest scrambled eggs I've ever seen) and a lumpy white gravy that scared and scarred me for months. Ever since then anything more than a beurre blanc has made me shudder. Unfair, perhaps, but....

(other than that, I have surprisingly fond memories of Omaha. Nice people. Scary-flat land, though. I am uncomfortable anywhere that... unrelentingly flat.)

Re: oh - now I'm thinking about it

[romsfuulynn.livejournal.com]

This is the same process except reversed for GOOD creamed chipped beef, another cheap food.

For that you do use butter and milk and flour.

In the lunch meat sections of the grocery get some chipped beef - slice in strips/squares.

approx 8 oz beef

2 cups milk

3T butter, 3T flour
pinch cayenne pepper
pinch garlic salt/onion salt
black pepper

Re: oh - now I'm thinking about it

[lagilman]

I'm lactose-unfriendly, so rarely cook with milk (rarely even have it in the house!) but someone else may be able to use that recipe, thanks!

Re: oh - now I'm thinking about it

[e-booklover.livejournal.com]

Have you tried the lactose free milks? I know Lactaid is the brand I buy but there are others out there. They have the different fat percentages too.

[dianora2.livejournal.com]

Wow, I might have to try the graham cracker chicken.

[nycdeb.livejournal.com]

Chicken Fried Steak

oooooooooooooooooh, the ambrosia of my youth.

What? I lived in Texas...

[fakefrenchie.livejournal.com]

I loved creamed chipped beef and creamed tuna and peas when I was young. Now I'm a vegetarian so I can't eat that.