Homemade peach and blackberry cobbler

I had to post about this one! Decided to try out a recipe for peach and blackberry cobbler with a biscuit-like topping. It was very good warm and topped with ice cream! Yum. I bet it is good with blueberries too ;)

3rd times the charm!

After having a craving for a good old country fried steak and seeing a recent show on Food Network, I decided it was time to try out this Southern classic! I have made attempts at gravy before (both have been unsucessful), so I was a little scared to try this. I even went ahead and bought packages of gravy mix.... not very confident in myself am I? Ha. But to my surprise the gravy turned out delicious and without lumps! yay. That is except for the diced potatoes which were included in this recipe. I cannot believe how good this menu was considering it was my first time to make anything like it. The gravy had a slightly different taste to it because the recipe called for it to include diced potatoes, minced garlic, and chopped red onions! Yum! The cream corn was DELICIOUS. Although, probably not very healthy...sorry! ;) It was a recipe, once again, from my Neely's cookbook. I did learn to save the steaks for last. The soaking in the egg and flour mixture takes about 20 minutes, but the actual frying time takes 5-7 minutes when the oil is hot and ready. Luckily I was able to wrap mine in foil and they remained warm while waiting on the gravy.
Ingredients
2 eggs
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds cube steak, cut into individual steaks
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
Vegetable oil, for frying (I used a Smart Balance oil with canola, soy, & olive)

Directions
In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, cumin, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper, to taste. Add the steaks, stir to coat, and let sit 10 minutes. In a paper bag, combine the flour, cornstarch, a few pinches of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Remove the steaks from egg mixture and put into the paper bag. Roll the top of the bag to close, and shake until the steaks are evenly coated. This may be done in batches. Let the coated steak rest on a sheet tray lined with a rack for 10 minutes.
In a deep, heavy-bottomed skillet add enough oil to reach 1/2-inch up the sides. Heat the oil over medium heat to 370 degrees F. (When a wooden spoon inserted into the oil creates tiny bubbles, the oil is ready.) Fry the steaks, in batches if necessary, flipping only once when color is golden and a poke releases no red juices, about 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Remove to a serving platter and serve with Diced Potato Gravy.

Diced Potato Gravy
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 bay leaf
2 1/2 cups beef broth
1 large russet potato, diced into 1/4-inch cubes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup roughly chopped parsley, for garnish
In a large straight-sided skillet heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Whisk in the flour, stirring to combine with the butter. Add the bay leaf and broth and bring to a simmer. Cook until slightly thickened, then add the potatoes. Cook until the potatoes are tender and the gravy has thickened, about 8 to 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and the parsley.
Recipe from Sunny Anderson's Cooking For Real

"Get Yo' Man Chicken" Gina Neely

The title of this recipe instantly made me want to try it out, after all the way to a man's heart is partly through his stomach.

This is one the recipes that Gina made for Pat when they were courting. She states, "The key to the dish is the scent it gives off while simmering on the stovetop. The minute your man walks in the house and gets a whiff, well, it's game over....We're not courting anymore, but I still turn to this recipe when I need to get Pat around to my way of thinking-- like when he discovers that shopping bag I've splurged on! Ladies, handle your business and rule the house. Your man will never look at you the same." Gina Neely in Down Home with the Neely's- A Southern Family Cookbook

When I scanned the ingredients I decided not to get my hopes up on "getting my man" with this one. He did not grow up on really packed-with-flavor food and I am still getting him used to it because you know I am going to be cooking with onions, tomatoes, garlic, wine, and all other kinds of ingredients that make flavor pop, whether he likes those ingredients or not! ;)This recipe called for celery, onions, crushed tomatoes, white cooking wine, red wine vinegar, thyme, parsley, etc. I caught him looking at the recipe with an expression less of enthusiasm for this meal(and he loves anything that calls for chicken and rice). But let me just tell you this meal left him saying "Mmmmm.... Mmm...Mmmmmm" the entire time he was eating it!


He decided to take this picture of his plate afterwards. This meal was definitely a hit and was not difficult to prepare.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 bone-in chicken thighs, skinless (or breasts)
1 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoons pepper
1 medium onion, sliced
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup white wine
1 teaspoon of red wine vinegar
1 (14.5-ounce) can crushed tomatoes in thick puree
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 tablespoon dried rosemary
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 tablespoon of honey
This serves 4-6. Obviously I only made this for two and 'eye balled' a lot of ingredients to scale. I left out the rosemary in mine... just because I am not a big fan of rosemary.
Directions
Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat.
Pat chicken dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken, meat-side down first, and turning once, about 4 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate to reserve.
Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of oil from the pan.
Add onion and celery to the pan and saute until tender, roughly 3 minutes. Add the stock and wine and stir, scrapping any brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Turn heat to high and reduce by half or about 3 minutes. Pour in the crushed tomatoes, honey, vinegar, and add the dried herbs. Return to a simmer. Add the chicken thighs back into the pan turning to coat. Cover and cook on medium-low heat for 40 minutes. Remove cover increase heat to med. and cook for another 10-15 minutes to reduce sauce. Serve over hot buttered rice with sauce ladled on top and garnish with fresh parsley.
from Down Home with the Neely's

Lately

Well my intentions for this blog were not that it be an exclusive "food blog" but rather a general blog. However, my attempts to consistently post general material have failed. Summer is flying by and so far we have only let Maggie & Gus goes swimming in the lake once. They deserve it because it is extremely hot out there. This was the first time Gus had been swimming since he was just a small puppy. He was still a little scared but went out on his own much farther this time.


Maggie quickly got tired and just swam to 'sit' in Wes' lap....

It was so cute! She just sat in the water in his lap. After this, they both got baths and were pretty much passed out the rest of the night. Love these kind of days! :)