Tomorrow night Tyler & I are going to celebrate Valentine's Day. We decided that we would cook a meal together - something that we've never done. Surprised? Well, I love to cook. Tyler loves to eat what I cook. Anyhow, we thought we'd give it a try. See what happens. First I thought we could make a real gourmet meal that consists of ingredients that sound made-up, that take an insane amount of time to prepare, etc. But in the end we realized that we're not gourmet-type people. We're from Oklahoma, which I consider "down south." I may not be
a real pioneer woman, but I think this menu fits the bill for us country folk:
Chicken Fried Steak:
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon each salt, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder and pepper
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1-2/3 cups buttermilk, divided
4 beef cube steaks (1 pound)
Oil for deep-fat frying
1-1/2 cups milk
In a shallow bowl, combine 2 cups flour, baking powder and seasonings. In another shallow bowl, combine eggs and 1 cup buttermilk. Dip each cube steak in buttermilk mixture, then roll in flour mixture. Let stand for 5 minutes. In a large skillet, heat 1/2 in. of oil on medium-high. Fry steaks for 5-7 minutes. Turn carefully; cook 5 minutes longer or until coating is crisp and meat is no longer pink. Remove steaks and keep warm. Drain, reserving 1/3 cup drippings; stir remaining flour into drippings until smooth. Cook and stir over medium heat for 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in milk and remaining buttermilk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with steaks. Yield: 4 servings (2 cups gravy).
Mashed Potatoes (not
Holiday Mashed Potatoes)
3-4 potatoes
Butter
Sour cream
Milk (or whipping cream)
salt
pepper
Peel potatoes; cut into chunks. Boil in water until cooked (15-20 minutes). Drain. Use a hand mixer and blend potatoes. Add some REAL butter (4 tbsp or so), sour cream (1-2 tbsp), milk to desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Angel Biscuits - the best biscuit recipe ever. I'm not kidding. Try them - you'll see:
2 ½ cups flour
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
½ cup shortening
1 cup milk
1 tbsp yeast dissolved in ¼ cup warm water
Grease cookie sheet pan. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Add shortening and cut in until mixture is crumbly. In separate bowl whisk together milk & yeast. Pour over dry ingredients. Roll dough into ball and knead on floured surface 20-25 times. Pat into ½ inch thickness and cut until mixed well. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until browned. Oven 400 degrees. Eat them right out of the oven. YUM!
Salad:
Buy a bag of salad at the store. Dole seems to know how to make a salad. I'm not a salad maker. I think they are a pain to make. Sorry.
Andes Mint Cheesecake: It is as good as it sounds. No, even better! Try this one - you won't be disappointed. Don't be afraid of baking a cheesecake. It's easy. You can do it. I promise:
Crust:
1 cup chocolate wafer cookie crumbs (buy the cookies and put them in a food processor)
3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp butter, melted
Filling:
4 packages (8oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
2 squares
semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted
1 package (4.67 oz) andes mints, coarsely chopped
10 drops food coloring (it recommends green, but I did pink for Valentine's Day)
Crust:
Mix crumbs, sugar, and butter; press onto bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake at 300 degrees for 10 minutes. Once done, set on a cooling rack until ready to pour filling in.
Filling:
Mix cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and vanilla; mix until well blended. Add eggs, mixing on low speed just until blended. Spoon 1 1/2 cups batter into small bowl; blend in melted chocolate. Add mint candies and food coloring to remaining batter (not the batter with the melted chocolate). Pour 1/2 of the min batter over crust. Using a tablespoon, dollop 1/2 of the chocolate batter over the mint batter layer; repeat layers. Cut through batter with knife several times to create a marble effect.
Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour or until the very center is almost set (or it begins to brown OR there are cracks on the top). Let cool on the cooling rack. Once to room temperature - cover and put in the refrigerator overnight or for several hours. Makes 12 servings. Remember to make this in advance - the day
before you want to serve it. This is my hubby's favorite cheesecake recipe. Ever. Oh yeah.
What you are making for Valentine's Day?
