Scalloped Potatoes with Ham

Sunday was hot outside, nearly 90 degrees.  But  I was hungry for food that would be more appropriate for a much cooler day.  I decided Scalloped Potatoes sounded perfect, but I didn't have a recipe. Jeffrey thought scalloped potatoes would make a nice side dish, but I wanted it as the main course, so I decided to add ham.

I didn't have a recipe.  I've tried several over the years, and have been disappointed by all of them. I think it's the onions used in so many of the versions that I just don't care for.  I decided to work up my own recipe without even a trace of onion!  I may have gone a little overboard on the quantities, because usually if I go to the trouble to cook, I want to have lots of leftovers to freeze for work lunches.  Feel free to cut the recipe in half if you like.

Juli's Scalloped Potatoes with Ham

Makes (2) 9 x 13 casseroles

5 pounds potatoes
4 cups cooked ham, diced (about 2 pounds)
1 tablespoon ready to use minced garlic
4 cups shredded extra-sharp cheese- don't buy pre-shredded!
1 1/2 cups butter
1 cup flour
3 cups skim milk
3 cups heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1.  Peel the potatoes and slice as thinly as possible.  This is super-easy (and quick!) to do with a food processor, using a slicing blade.  Just peel the potatoes and cut lengthwise to fit your machine's feed tube.  I used our smaller processor and did two batches.

2.  For the ham, I bought a 2 1/2 pound unsliced packaged ham.  I cut about 3/4 of it into thick slices, and cubed the slices.  I have at least 1/2 a pound left, which I will leave in one big chunk until I decide how I'm going to use it.  Or, if I can't decide, I could cube it and freeze it and use it later for a fall or winter soup.

3.  In a very large mixing bowl mix all the potato slices, 4 cups of cubed ham, and garlic.  Mix well, using a big spoon, and making sure the potato slices are mostly separated.  Place the mixture in (2) 9 x 13 glass baking dishes.

4.  Grate 4 cups of sharp cheddar cheese.  I used Cabots Extra Sharp cheese.  We buy the 2 pound packages and try to always keep them on hand.  You could use a food processor for this, but Jeffrey was helping me out, and he likes to use a box grater.Set grated cheese aside.

4.  In a Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat.  Stir in flour until mixture is smooth.  Gradually add milk and cream, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and bubbles- a silicone whisk is perfect for this.  Add cheese, salt and pepper;  stir until the cheese is fully melted.

5.  Pour about 4 cups of the cheese sauce over each casserole dish.  Stir gently to mix in.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-60 minutes.  The potatoes on the top of the casserole will have started to brown very slightly.

For a zippier version, consider adding 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, or a hot sauce, such as Cholula.  I served the scalloped potatoes with cooked green beans from the Knoxville Farmer's market.  The plain boiled green beans, garnished with just a little butter, made a nice contrast to the rich, cheesy potatoes.

Grilled Baking Potatoes with Chives

When I grilled Garlic Rosemary Lamb Chops last weekend, I wanted to serve them with baked potatoes, to take advantage of our fresh chives (I love baked potatoes with sour cream, minced chives and a bit of freshly-ground black pepper), but I didn't really want to heat up the kitchen to bake the potatoes.    I could have wrapped the potatoes in foil and baked them on the grill, but from experience I knew that took a long time, so I decided to try something new.

I knew from making Grilled Potato Kebabs that sliced potatoes can cook up great on the grill.  The Kebabs had a slightly crisped exterior but were soft and moist on the inside.   I figured I could do something similar with large russet potatoes, but without having to use skewers, by slicing large baking potatoes lengthwise into planks.  Since I was going for more of a baked potato flavor this time around, I didn't use the same mix of seasonings as I used with the Kebabs.  I was going to go with just salt, pepper and chives, then got the idea to toss on some dill as well.  That turned out to be a good choice, as the dill added another pleasant flavor element without overwhelming the chives.   Unfortunately, the high heat we'd been having did in my dill plant, so I had to go with dried dill.

The results were really quite nice.  Although the russets didn't brown as easily as the small potatoes I used for the Kebabs, they had the same pleasant texture, and the seasonings tasted great.   As we ate our meal, I remembered to add some sour cream, which provided an extra baked potato touch, but if you aren't as fond of sour cream (or simply want to avoid the extra calories), these potatoes also taste great without it.

Grilled Baking Potatoes with Chives

yield = 2-3 servings

2                  large baking (russet) potatoes
1                  tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1                  tablespoon minced fresh chives
1                  teaspoon minced fresh or 1/3 teaspoon
                       dried dill
                    kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper,
                       to taste
2                  tablespoons sour cream (optional)

Scrub the potatoes thoroughly.  Slice lengthwise into thirds.

Lightly brush the potatoes on both sides with olive oil and sprinkle on both sides with chives, dill, pepper and salt.

Grill over direct medium heat until lightly browned on the bottom side (approximately 5-6 minutes) then turn and repeat on the other side.  Serve as is, or with sour cream if desired.

Grilled Potato Kebabs

Last weekend the local Hy-Vee store had a great deal on t-bone steaks, so I decided to buy some and grill them.   We often have baked potatoes with steak, but I was in a mood for something different.  Since I was planning to use the grill to cook the steaks, I decided I'd cook the potatoes on the grill also.  Considering my options, I decided to slice the potatoes, arrange them on skewers and cook them like kebabs.

From there, it was pretty easy to decide on the rest.   I'd brush the potato slices with some olive oil, then sprinkle them with seasonings.  The olive oil would provide a bit of flavor, but more importantly it would hold the seasonings to the potato slices and keep the potato skewers from sticking to the hot grill. 

I have to admit, when I tossed these together, I didn't give much thought to measuring the amounts of the various seasonings I used.  I just sprinkled on ample amounts and later tried to guess how much I used of what.  If you try out the recipe below, I'd encourage you to do the same, rather than worry too much about the amounts, as those listed are nothing but rough estimates.

I'm happy to say these potato kebabs turned out great.  They were nicely cooked - a bit crispy on the outside, tender on the inside - and they tasted great.   I served them with the steaks - which cooked up wonderfully using nothing but my Peppery Steak Seasoning - and some baked stuffed zucchini and summer squash (which I'll write more about another time).    In all, this made for a really satisfying summertime meal.

Grilled Potato Kebabs

yield = 4 servings

2             pounds red or yellow new potatoes, cut into slices
                   1/2 inch thick
2             tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2       teaspoon dried basil
1 1/2       teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/2       teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
1             teaspoon kosher salt

Prepare a grill for direct grilling over medium-high heat. 

Thread the potato slices onto skewers.   Brush both sides of the potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle liberally with basil, oregano, black pepper and kosher salt.  

When the grill is ready, arrange the potato skewers on the hot (direct heat) side of the grill.  Cook for 3-4 minutes per side or until browned on each side, then move the skewers to the cooler (indirect heat) side of the grill.   Cover and cook, covered, for 10 minutes, turning once. grill and cover it.   Transfer the potato skewers to a serving platter and serve immediately.

EASY Easter Dinner

Sometimes less-experienced cooks get in a panic over pulling off a big holiday dinner.  Those of us who have done it more than a time or two know that the cooking isn't the problem.  It's the cleaning!  I can't help you with that, but I thought I'd share a quick synopsis of what we're cooking for Easter this year.  It's easy, but still very festive.  We do pretty much the same menu every year, and that helps to simplify the planning. 

Having a simple menu is essential when you work on Easter Sunday. Don't get me wrong- Easter is a joyous, uplifting celebration. And it Wipes. Me. Out!  I definitely don't want to spend all day in the kitchen on Easter after I've spent the morning playing church services and directing several choirs.

 We'll be making our usual potato casserole (you might remember it from Christmas dinner 2010).  It has to be prepped the night before, which helps in meal preparation on the holiday. After the ham has baked about 45 minutes, we'll start assembling the pineapple side dish.

It takes about ten minutes tops to mix up the pineapple custard. 

Pineapple Custard *
4 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup sugarSo here's the plan.  First of all, we opt for a spiral-sliced ham.  The one I bought weighs 8 1/2 pounds, and it will need to cook around 15 minutes per pound.  So- about two hours and fifteen minutes of time, but very little effort.  We got one with a brown sugar glaze this year.

4 beaten eggs

1/2 cup water

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 20-ounce cans crushed pineapple, undrained

3 tablespoons of butter

dusting of ground cinnamon

In a glass 8 x 8 baking dish, mix together the cornstarch and sugar.  Add the eggs, water, and vanilla.  Add the crushed pineapple, juice and all, and stir well.  Slice the 3 tablespoons of butter into about 5 pats and dot the pineapple mixture with them- don't mix in.  Dust lightly with a ground cinnamon.


 

Bake uncovered for one hour and fifteen minutes at 350 degrees.

Next, we'll get our potato casserole into the oven (it has to be prepped the night before the holiday).  It cooks for 45 minutes to an hour.  The oven will be crowded but everything should fit.

Overnight Cheesy Potato Casserole-start the night before!

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

1 teaspoon  minced garlic

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon coarse-ground black pepper

2 cups grated sharp Cheddar cheese

2 pound package Mr. Dell's frozen shredded hash browns

1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, melted

1 cup crushed cornflakes

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1.  In a large mixing bowl, combine sour cream, garlic, cream of mushroom soup, salt, and pepper.  Set aside.

2.  Melt 1 stick of butter, set aside.

3.  Arrange half the package of hash  browns in a large rectangular baking dish.  Pour half the melted butter over them.  Pour half the sour cream mixture over them.  Top with half the sharp cheddar cheese.  Repeat with the remaining potatoes, butter, sour cream mixture, and cheddar cheese.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

4.  Just before baking, sprinkle the crushed cornflakes over the top of the casserole and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of melted butter.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes.

An easy way to get crushed cornflakes:  Measure out about four times the crushed volume desired into a large sealable plastic storage bag.  Crush the cornflakes with a rolling pin- make sure the bag has been sealed tight first!

When the hot dishes are about 20 minutes from being done, you can prepare a fresh vegetable of your choice on the stove top.  We like asparagus or broccoli to add some color to our plates, or a mix of broccoli and carrots is great, too.  When the ham has finished cooking, remove it from the oven and let it "rest".  Same with the other two hot dishes, as everything should be done at about the same time.  If you're worried that they'll get overly cold sitting on the counter top for 10 minutes, cover with aluminum foil.  Now you can crank the heat up on the oven and cook either brown and serve rolls or a good frozen roll (we like Sister Schubert's dinner rolls from the freezer section of the grocery).

If you want dessert, I'd recommend making one of your choice the day before the holiday.  We don't usually have one, because the pineapple custard is sweet enough to double as a dessert of sorts.

There you go.  Easter dinner is served!

*Pineapple Custard was published previously, but I've doubled it and clarified the directions from the first time I posted the recipe.

Crab-Stuffed Baked Potatoes

For awhile now, Juli and I have thought about making twice-baked potatoes.  We both like them, but we hadn't had them in years, and had never made them.   Juli was particularly interested in having some that were stuffed with crab, as her parents had made in the past.  Unfortunately, her parents didn't have an actual recipe they'd used, and her mother was somewhat foggy on how they'd made them years earlier.  That being the case, we set about designing our own recipe.

As usual, we started by looking at some of the recipes available online and among our cookbooks.  We found a number of twice-baked potato recipes, but relatively fewer crab ones, and there were a fair number of differences between the various recipes.  We ended up using a recipe for Crab-Stuffed Potatoes submitted to Allrecipes.com by Ruby Williams as our starting point, then customized that recipe by incorporating some ideas from other Allrecipes member comments, then adding a few touches of our own.

We were really, really pleased with the results.   Our potatoes took a little while to make, but most of that was just baking time.  The prep was pretty easy.  In exchange for fairly minimal effort and a reasonable amount of time, we got rich, savory, cheesy potatoes stuffed with fresh chives and delicious bits of crab meat.   They were nicely browned on the outside and moist on the inside, and the skins and potato shells weren't the least bit tough or dried-out.   A definite keeper... we'll be making this again, for sure.   This recipe would be a great choice for company.

Crab-Stuffed Baked Potatoes

yield = serves 4 (as a meal) or 8 (as a side or appetizer)

4                large baking potatoes
4                ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/4             cup unsalted butter
1/4             cup heavy cream
1/4             cup chopped, fresh chives
1                cup shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1                can (6 ounces) lump crab meat, drained
2                teaspoons minced garlic
1/2             teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
1/2             teaspoon table salt
1/4             teaspoon paprika, plus extra sprinkled on top
1                pinch cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Place potatoes directly on the oven rack and bake until a knife slides into the potato with almost no resistance (about 50 minute).   Transfer potatoes to a wire rack to cool, then halve potatoes lengthwise.  Carefully scoop out most of the potato pulp, leaving a thin (1/4 to 1/8 inch) shell of potato inside the skin.  Put the potato pulp in a medium bowl; set potato shells aside.

Add cream cheese, butter, cream, chives, cheddar cheese, crab meat, garlic, salt, pepper, 1/4 teaspoon paprika and cayenne to the bowl with the potato pulp.  Mash these ingredients together until semi-smooth. 

Stuff shells with the potato mixture, sprinkle with additional paprika and transfer to a broiler pan.  

Bake the potatoes at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, then switch on the broiler.  Broil the potatoes until they are lightly browned on top (about 4 minutes).  Remove from oven, let cool a couple minutes, and serve.

Another Steak Seasoning Taste-Test

 

As I noted when discussing our recent taste test, comparing a commercial steak seasoning blend with one of my own, we'd initially planned to test a different commercial seasoning, but we didn't have enough of that on hand to conduct the test.   My blend beat out the commercial seasoning blend (Penzey's Chicago Steak Seasoning) quite easily, but we still wanted to know how it would stack up against the one we'd originally had in mind... so we bought some, and did a second taste test.

The commercial spice blend this time around is the Hy-Vee Blue Ribbon Chef Seasoning.  This has long been a favorite of Juli's.   I used to use it all the time, but once I got back into cooking in a big way, I preferred to experiment with other seasonings, and to make up my own blends. 

Once again we bought two 8-ounce Amana New York strip steaks, seasoned them on both sides - one with the Blue Ribbon blend, one with my own - let them rest for a bit, then pan-seared them.  This time around we served the steaks with a Caesar salad and Crab-Stuffed Baked Potatoes (recipe to follow in another post). 

My seasoning mix came out on top once again, though it was a lot closer this time.  One of the better features to the Hy-Vee blend was the presence of a bit of paprika.   I might have to try mixing a pinch of that in next time I make my own blend.

The recipe for my home-brew seasoning blend can be found here.

Fast Baked Potatoes with Sour Cream and Chives

I'm kind of embarrassed even to post directions for these, because they're so simple.  For beginning cooks, this is a good thing to know how to make, though, so I'll forge ahead. 

If you're looking for a recipe that could also be used for an inexpensive, filling entree, you could do a lot worse.  These aren't maybe the healthiest potatoes, but they are great whether on their own or paired with a nice bit of steak.  You can top the baked potatoes with a variety of things, from broccoli and cheese to chili or taco meat.  They're a great Sunday night supper on their own, and because you're going to cook the potatoes in the microwave, making them won't heat up your kitchen.  

Today was almost 90 degrees out (in APRIL, so wrong!).  Spring was short-lived this year, sigh.  It was last Saturday, in case you're keeping track.   Although, this being Iowa, that could change at any time.

Fast Baked Potatoes

First, scrub the potatoes really well and rinse.  I've picked out the largest potatoes I could find at the market.

Then, since we're going to use the microwave, stick the potatoes all over with a fork.

Wrap up with some cling film, aka saran wrap.  Since it's just the two of us, I usually position the potatoes on the plate in a "T" shape.

The tricky part comes next, because you need to know if you have a full-powered microwave or not.  If you don't, you'll need to follow your own manufacturer's directions for cooking time.  Once you have it down, though, you are pretty much guaranteed perfectly cooked potatoes as long as you keep the size fairly consistent.  I cooked our potatoes for 10 minutes at full power.  A good rule of thumb is that when you start to smell cooked potatoes, they are nearly done.  To test for doneness, insert a table knife into the cooked potato.  It should slide right in if the potatoes are fully cooked.

While the potatoes cooked, I went out the back door to my little herb patch.  Chives are a perennial herb, and VERY easy to grow.  They are one of the first plants to green up as the weather warms towards spring.  This is an overhead view, along with my metal garden pig.  Kind of hard to tell he's a pig from this angle, but you can see the curly tail on the upper right.  The blue part is his wings. 

Another picture of the chives, this time close up:  They look a bit like thick blades of grass.



The easiest way to harvest chives is just to use cooking shears and lop off a chunk.  Then you'll need to rinse the chives (you can hold them in a bunch as you do this).  Pat them dry on a paper towel.  The easiest way to chop them is to snip them into small bits with your kitchen shears.  Much faster than using a knife, and no cutting board to wash either!

I like to leave the potatoes resting in the microwave until we're ready to eat.  Then using a hot mitt, peel off the cling wrap and put one on each person's plate.  Mash, add butter, sprinkle with black pepper to taste, and add sour cream and chives (or whatever topping you want) in the quantities of your choice. Yum!

Potato Chowder and Easy Garlic Bread for a Blustery Day

It's gotten suddenly cold and blustery here in our little Iowa town, and that means comfort food is on the menu.  This is a pretty easy soup to put together, and if you have leftover ham from a holiday dinner, you can use some of it here.  Despite the milk, cream, and cheese, the soup heats up reasonably well even from a frozen state.  This is one of my son's favorite soups. 




Ian's Favorite Potato Chowder

1/4 cup butter
1 small onion, diced fine
8 cups diced potatoes
1 49-ounce can chicken broth
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 cups milk
2 cups half-and-half cream
4 cups grated cheddar cheese
2 cups diced ham
1 15-ounce can corn
1 15-ounce can creamed corn

1.  Melt 1/4 cup of butter in a large skillet.  Saute onions until cooked through.

2.  In a Dutch oven, boil potatoes in the chicken broth, adding cooked onions.

3.  When the potatoes are cooked, make a white sauce:  melt 1/2 cup of butter in the large skillet.  Blend in flour, salt, and pepper.  Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and starting to bubble.  Remove from heat, stir in milk and half-and-half.  Heat to boiling, stirring constantly.  Boil and stir for one minute.  Add the white sauce to the cooked potato mixture in the Dutch oven.

4.  Add the remaining ingredients and cook until cheese melts and all ingredients are heated through.

Cheater's Garlic Bread- this is so easy, it's not really even a recipe!  Buy a loaf of good Italian or French bread at the grocery.  Split in half, and spread generously with softened butter.  Sprinkle with a good quality garlic powder and dried parsley.  Close the two halves back together and wrap with foil.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, or until butter has melted.  Voila!  Garlic bread!  And you don't have to pay twice as much for the already-wrapped-in-foil loaves from the store!

Christmas Dinner with Hash Brown Casserole

Christmas dinner went pretty well this year.  Jeffrey made the ham, and we worked together on the side dishes.  It seems like every holiday meal we manage to forget one thing, and this year was no exception.  The lovely broccoli and carrots that I'd selected to add color to our plates and to add vegetables to the meal got forgotten at the back of the countertop as we assembled the rest of the casserole side dishes.  Our guests didn't care, and we greatly enjoyed everything anyway.  Good company is more important than having set up the "perfect" holiday table, anyway, to my way of thinking.  And we did have a wonderful meal with great conversation. 

My son requested a favorite potato casserole, which is very good with ham.  I always use a particular brand of frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, Mr. Dell's.  I can tell that I'm not the only one who prefers this brand, because every Christmas and Easter I usually end up reaching way back in the grocer's freezer case to get one of the last bags of potatoes!  Mr. Dell's has a very good recipe printed right on the package if you're rushed for time, but I prefer my own recipe, which is assembled the night before your big dinner.

Overnight Cheesy Potato Casserole

1 cup (8 ounces)                sour cream

1 teaspoon                         minced garlic

1 can                                   cream of mushroom soup

1 teaspoon                         salt

1 teaspoon                         coarse-ground black pepper

2 cups                                  grated sharp Cheddar cheese

2 pound package              Mr. Dell's frozen shredded hash browns

1 stick (8 tablespoons)     butter, melted

1 cup                                    crushed cornflakes

2 tablespoons                    butter, melted

1.  In a large mixing bowl, combine sour cream, garlic, cream of mushroom soup, salt, and pepper.  Set aside.

2.  Melt 1 stick of butter, set aside.

3.  Arrange half the package of hash  browns in a large rectangular baking dish.  Pour half the melted butter over them.  Pour half the sour cream mixture over them.  Top with half the sharp cheddar cheese.  Repeat with the remaining potatoes, butter, sour cream mixture, and cheddar cheese.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

4.  Just before baking, sprinkle the crushed cornflakes over the top of the casserole and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of melted butter.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes.

An easy way to get crushed cornflakes:  Measure out about four times the crushed volume desired into a large sealable plastic storage bag.  Crush the cornflakes with a rolling pin- make sure the bag has been sealed tight first!

Red Potatoes with Rosemary Butter

This is the second of the three new recipes I designed recently.  In fact, this one was not so much designed and improvised.   I knew I wanted to have potatoes with a light, creamy texture without putting in much work, and I also knew I wanted some butter, garlic and rosemary flavors to go along with the other two dishes.  Boiled potatoes and a quick, simple sauce seemed the best bet for getting what I wanted without a lot of effort, and since I was going with some richer flavors in the other two dishes, I decided that instead of a sauce per se, I'd just toss the potatoes with some seasoned butter.

Since I wanted something of a soft, creamy texture, but to still have the potatoes hold together pretty well, I chose Red Bliss potatoes for this recipe.  They're less starchy than my default favorite potatoes, Yukon Gold, and much less so than russet or Idaho potatoes, so I knew a short boiling period would result in pieces of potato that were tender and creamy, but not mushy.  If you want an even creamier version, go with Yukon Gold. 

The resulting potatoes are creamy and flavorful, with a pleasant mix of flavors, none of them overwhelming.   Juli liked this the best of all three dishes. 

Red Potatoes with Rosemary Butter

yield = 4 servings
2 1/2      pounds small red bliss potatoes, quartered
3            tablespoons unsalted butter
1            teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1            teaspoon minced garlic
              salt and pepper to taste

Place the cut potatoes in a Dutch oven and cover with water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low boil for 20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, add butter, rosemary and garlic to a small bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for about 60 seconds or until the butter is melted and steaming.   Stir, cover again with plastic wrap and set aside.

Check the potatoes with a fork; when the tines penetrate without effort, the potatoes are done.   Drain the potatoes in a colander, then transfer them to a serving bowl.  Toss with the melted butter mixture, season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Chicken Fried Steak and Crisp-Fried Potatoes

When planning my cooking for this weekend, I decided to make something different for Saturday's breakfast, so with that in mind I picked up some cube steaks and made sure I was stocked up on onions and potatoes, because I was going to try my hand at Chicken Fried Steak with Cream Gravy and Fried Potatoes.

In both cases I started out with a variety of recipes from Cook's Illustrated, Cook's Country, allrecipes.com and a couple of my more basic cookbooks, and in both cases I ended up taking a little bit from one source, combining it with a bit from another and tossing in a few of my own touches.  

The results as I cooked them were pretty good overall, though I was more pleased with them than Juli was.   She thought the amounts of onion  used were a bit excessive, especially given that both dishes had onions, and she would have preferred to have a more simple Cream Gravy and skip the onions entirely.   The recipes below differ a bit from what I cooked on Saturday morning, reflecting adjustments based on the obtained results.

I should note also that if one isn't too concerned about cholesterol, my Sausage Gravy Recipe would also work fine with the Chicken Fried Steak.  As often as not, that's probably what you'd get if you ordered it in a restaurant, as places that have Chicken Fried Steak on the menu usually also serve Biscuits and Gravy, and they end up using the same gravy for both dishes.

A bit over-cooked, but still tasty.

Chicken Fried Steak with Cream Gravy

yield = 4 servings

Steak
2        cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
2        teaspoons salt,
1        teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
1/4     teaspoon cayenne pepper
1        cup buttermilk
1        large egg
1        teaspoon baking powder
1/2     teaspoon baking soda
4        cube steaks, about 5 ounces each, pounded thin
1 1/2  cups peanut oil

Cream Gravy
1        tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2     small onion, finely chopped (about 1/3 cup)
1/8     teaspoon dried thyme
2        teaspoons minced garlic
1/2     cup chicken broth
2        cups whole milk
1/2     teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
1/4     teaspoon salt
1        pinch cayenne pepper

Preparing the Steak
Add the flour, salt, black pepper and cayenne to a large, shallow dish and whisk to combine.  In another large, shallow dish, beat the egg, baking powder and baking soda together, then stir in the buttermilk.

Set a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet.  Pat the steaks dry with paper towels and season both sides with salt and pepper to taste.  Place one steak in the bowl with the flour mixture, press it into the flour, turn the steak over and press the other side into the flour.  Shake off excess flour, then use tongs to dip the steak into the egg mixture, turning it to coat both sides.  Allow the excess egg mixture to drop off, then return the steak to the flour mixture, again coating both sides and shaking off any excess before placing the steak onto the wire rack.  Repeat the procedure with the other steaks.  Reserve three tablespoons of the flour mixture for use in the gravy.

Line a large plate or baking sheet with paper towels.  Heat the oil in a conventional or electric skillet until heated to 375 degrees.   Prepare a second wire rack atop a foil-lined baking sheet, place the sheet into the oven and preheat oven to 200 degrees. 

Place as many steaks as can comfortably fit into the skillet and fry, turning once, until deep, golden brown on both sides (5-6 minutes).  Transfer the steaks to the plate or baking sheet lined with the paper towels, then transfer the steaks to the wire rack in the oven to keep them warm.  Pour the oil through a fine-mesh strainer.  Discard the oil, but save any browned bits caught in the strainer.

Preparing the Cream Gravy
Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and thyme and cook untilt he onion has softened and is beginning to brown, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook one minute, then add two tablespoons of the reserved flour mixture to the pan and stir until the flour is combined with the onion and garlic and any large clumps are dissoled.  Whisk in the chicken broth, using the whisk to scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  Whisk in the milk, salt, pepper, cayenne and browned bits reserved from the cooking oil, then bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.  Cook until thickened, sprinkling in a bit at a time of the reserved flour mixture if necessary. 

Transfer the steaks to a serving platter and the gravy to a gravy boat or measuring cup.  Pour or spoon a generous amount of gravy over individually-served steaks. 

Option:
If you would prefer, omit the onions.  Simply melt the butter, add two tablespoons of the reserved flour mixture to make a roux, and continue as written above.


Crisp-Fried Potatoes

yield = 4 servings

1 1/2    pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
4          tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1          small onion, minced
1/2       teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
1/2       teaspoon garlic powder
1/2       teaspoon salt

Put the potatoes in a large, microwave-safe bowl, top with 1 tablespoon of butter and cover tightly with plastic wrap.  Microwave on high for about 6 minutes, shaking the bowl (without removing the plastic) to stir up the potatoes halfway through cooking.

While the potatoes are in the microvave, heat one tablespoon of butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until golden-brown (approx. 8 minutes).  Transfer the onion to a small bowl.

Add the remaining two tablespoons of butter to the skillet over medium heat.  Add the potatoes to the melted butter and cook the potatoes without stirring for about 5 minutes or until browned on one side.  Turn the potatoes and continue to cook, stirring them occasionally, until they are well-browned and crisp on most sides (about 15 minutes) then stir in the onion, pepper, garlic powder and salt.  Serve.