Goin’ to the Country

Gonna eat a lot of peaches… (Presidents of the U.S.A. anyone?? Am I just that old?)

Tonight’s dinner was a direct result of watching far foo much Food Network again. Adam and I caught an episode of Good Eats the other day where Alton Brown discussed the type of steak known as “cube steak”. We watched him make multiple varieties of similar dishes, all of which involved dredging said cube steak in flour, cooking it in a small amount of oil, making a gravy using a variety of ingredients, and then serving with some sort of starch.

Adam requested soon after seeing that episode that I make something similar. Being the health-conscious cook that I am, I couldn’t bring myself to make the country fried steak with cream-pepper gravy, but I could easily make a less oil-heavy dish. I found a recipe on Allrecipes.com and decided to give it a try.

Not too pretty, but SO GOOD

Country-Style Steak

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound cube steak, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 cup all-purpose flour for coating
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix
2 cups water, or as needed
salt and pepper to taste
garlic salt to taste

Directions

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat cube steak pieces with flour, and shake off the excess. Fry steak pieces in the hot oil just until browned on each side and there are some juices in the pan. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Stir together the onion soup mix and 1 tablespoon of flour; sprinkle into the skillet. Cook and stir over medium heat until it starts to brown. Gradually mix in the water to make a gravy. Return the cube steak to the pan, and season with salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Cover, and simmer over low heat for about 1 hour.

I was still in the kitchen making up my plate and taking pictures when Adam took his first bite. It’s one of the first times in a long time where he said “Whoa!” when he took the first bite, and proudly exclaimed “You don’t need to bring in a knife for yourself!” The meat was just THAT tender after cooking for an hour.

Oh, and that stuff you see on the side? You thought it was mashed potatoes, didn’t you. It’s ok, that was the point! It was mashed cauliflower!!! I steamed a head of cauliflower until it was super soft, then pureed it with my stick blender. I stirred in 1 Tbsp. light sour cream and 1 tsp. Smart Balance. It didn’t taste like mashed potatoes, but it certainly made an excellent side dish!

TOMORROW IS THE BIG DAY!!!

What big day? Meghann‘s Blogger Bake Sale! I’ve donated 4 loaves of my delicious challah to the bake sale, and each of them will go to the highest bidder!! You even get to choose your seed topping (though traditional is poppy seed, sesame seed, or plain) or an add-in (like dried cranberries or raisins). All the proceeds go towards Meghann’s Team in Training mission to eliminate Leukemia and Lymphoma. BID TOMORROW!!!!

In other blogger news, my good friend Bobby has a relatively new running blog, and he’s prepping to run the Illinois Marathon! Check him out and show him your support!

We have a super-busy week this week, with Adam’s birthday on Wednesday and a dinner at Wildfire to celebrate (Jealous Bender????) Then, we have our family’s Passover seder Thursday night, complete with tons of traditional Jewish foodie favorites, and, for the first time, I’m bringing someone to seder who has NEVER been to one! Usually, I bring people who have been to dozens. I’m so excited! Friday brings my much-anticipated foodie date with the amazing EatingBender, which will include trips to Whole Foods, Fresh Market, a tour of the ginormous Chicagoland mansions, and sushi! I’m so excited for that too! PHEW!

Since tonight is simply a relaxing night, I’m off to do just that: coconut milk ice cream, Shrek, and chillin’. PLEASE bid on my challah tomorrow! You won’t regret it! Just ask Hallie! Goodnight!

Tagged as: fundraiser, meat, side dish, simple recipe