Copied By: LEHEY_GREG @ESSG SENT: 89-07-12 18:17 FROM: SCHMIDT_DORIS @SNAX TO: LEHEY_GREG.COSIG @ESSG SUBJECT: COSIG: Chicken fried steak & country gravy?? Hi Folks, I need a good recipe (or any for that matter) for chicken fried steak and country gravy. I promised to cook this for dinner tomorrow night so any and all QUICK replies are welcome!! thanks! Doris Copied By: LEHEY_GREG @ESSG SENT: 89-07-13 02:47 FROM: SCOTT_RALPH @MELBORN TO: SCHMIDT_DORIS @SNAX CC. DL.COSIG @ESSG SUBJECT: COSIG: Chicken fried steak & country gravy?? In Reply to: 89-07-12 18:17 FROM SCHMIDT_DORIS @SNAX COSIG: Chicken fried steak & country gravy?? Doris, I don't have the country gravy recipe here in the office, but the chicken fried steak is easy: Heat vegetable oil (or preferably Crisco vegetable shortening, or to be really authentic, lard) in a large cast iron frying pan: about 1/2 inch deep, medium to high heat. Take the appropriate number of cube steaks and coat well in seasoned flour (flour, salt, pepper, and optionally a pinch or two of paprika). Be sure to press the flour well into the meat. Wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour (makes the flour stick). After dipping in flour, some people then dip in beaten egg and cover in bread crumbs, but this is not really authentic. Fry steaks in hot oil or fat until golden brown. Turn ONLY ONCE. Meat should be well done, but breading shouldn't be too dark and hard. Being a lazy type, I normally bought powdered country-style gravy and just made it up using the package directions. Not quite perfect, but passable and easy. Other accompaniments: Creamed corn (do it with canned corn crushed up a bit, mix with milk or cream and a little butter, sugar, and salt/pepper to taste. DO NOT use the canned creamed stuff. It's just thickened with corn starch or something. Green beans - french style with a bit of bacon grease or salt pork or fatback. Black-eyed peas - follow package directions, but do much as you do with the green beans Mashed Potatoes - get ambitious & do them yourself with a ricer or get lazy and go for instant. Again, not perfect, but passable. Gravy OK on the potatoes. Butter optional. Corn Bread - yellow corn muffin mix works fine, but to be authentic, heat a cast iron skillet in the oven until very hot--check the package directions. Pour the mix into the hot skillet and bake per package. Iced Tea - The only possible accompaniement. Strong. Cold. Add way too much sugar. Lemon optional. Only other drink alternative is VERY cold and foamy milk or buttermilk (yuck!) Peach (or Apple Cobbler) with Vanilla Ice Cream for dessert. The packaged mixes work just fine. Have a great meal, but don't check your cholosterol for at least one month afterwards! Your doctor will really yell at you! Regards, Ralph Scott (ex-Atlanta, now Australia) Copied By: LEHEY_GREG @ESSG SENT: 89-07-13 03:24 FROM: FERRIER_BRONWYN @MELBORN TO: SCOTT_RALPH @MELBORN SUBJECT: Chicken whatsit.... In Reply to: 89-07-13 02:47 FROM SCOTT_RALPH @MELBORN COSIG: Chicken fried steak & country gravy?? Ralph, that sounds the most extraordinary dinner I've ever heard. Apart from using pre-mixed packet stuff, (I've never had a packet mix in my house yet!!) I guess I'd be game to try it. However, what is cubed steak - is that chicken pieces? cheers, Bron. Copied By: LEHEY_GREG @ESSG SENT: 89-07-13 03:51 FROM: SCOTT_RALPH @MELBORN TO: FERRIER_BRONWYN @MELBORN CC. DL.COSIG @ESSG SUBJECT: Chicken whatsit.... In Reply to: 89-07-13 03:24 FROM FERRIER_BRONWYN @MELBORN Chicken whatsit.... Bron, Oops. Forgot about American vs. Australian terminology differences. Can't remember just exactly what it's called here. I see it in the store and buy it, but I've never looked at the label. For the uninitiated, Chicken Fried Steak is beef (cheap beef) that is prepared much like one would fry chicken. It's a style unique to the Southern U.S. Cube steak goes under several names here depending on the butcher or supermarket, so let me describe it: I've just checked with Alice and Joan, and they describe it as a small thin cut of beef (often silverside) referred to here as either barbeque or sandwich steak that has been pounded within an inch of it's little life. It has a distinctive cross-hatch pattern on it from the mallet used to pound it into submission. It's generally about 8 x 16 cm or so. If you have a meat tenderizing mallet with the little points on it, you can do it at home from any thin cheap cut of steak, but it does take a bit of effort to really do it right. In regard to the gravy, I'm sure I have a recipe at home and since the packaged stuff is surely not available here or in Europe, I'll try to remember to bring it in and send it out separately. It's a milk based gravy. Is gravy gravy here, or is it some variant on sauce? Regards, Ralph Copied By: LEHEY_GREG @ESSG SENT: 89-07-13 17:21 FROM: WILLIS_MARY-LOU @PLANO TO: SCOTT_RALPH @MELBORN CC. DL.COSIG @ESSG SUBJECT: Chicken whatsit.... In Reply to: 89-07-13 03:51 FROM SCOTT_RALPH @MELBORN : Chicken whatsit.... Being from the country, we cook country gravy quite a bit, but the only thing is, I've never known anyone to use a recipe. It's kind of a handed down (mother to daughter) kind of thing. It's fairly easy. Although it seems like the more you make it, the better you get at it. A lot of it is just trial and error. Basically, what you do is, after you have fried the chicken fried steak (cast iron skillets work the best), pour off most of the grease. Leave just enough to cover the bottom of your skillet. Keep stove on medium, you don't want it too high or the gravy will cook too fast and taste like burnt paste. Anyway, add 2-4 tablespoons of white flour, stirring constantly. Should make a fairly thick paste, but don't get it so thick that it doesn't stir easily. Add pepper and salt. Cook for about five minutes, stirring all the time. Pour milk (best if it's at room temperature). I don't use a recipe, so I'm not exactly sure how much milk I use, but pour about 3/4 of the skillet full. You have to stir this constantly or it will stick. Stir until it starts to bubble and get thick. Remove from stove and there you have it. Like I said, sometimes this takes a little practice and trial and error. The first time I made gravy, it didn't turn out real good, but the more I made it, the better it got. Good luck, Mary-Lou Copied By: LEHEY_GREG @ESSG SENT: 89-07-14 01:46 FROM: SCOTT_RALPH @MELBORN TO: NELSON_DON @PRUNE CC. DL.COSIG @ESSG SUBJECT: Chicken whatsit.... In Reply to: 89-07-13 18:27 FROM NELSON_DON @PRUNE : Chicken whatsit.... Don, You're right. How silly of me. Been out of the states too long. Unfortunately, here in Australia salad dressings are virtually unknown. French here is oil and vinegar with herbs. Italian here is oil and vinegar with herbs. That pretty much covers it. I have discovered, however, that the local Pizza Hut (god, they're everywhere) has good old awful orange american french dressing, so I go in for a fix every few months. For the rest I have to make my own. They generally come out OK, but it's just not the same. Australians are amazed when I tell them that I literally had to throw out 20+ different salad dressings when I cleaned out the fridge prior to moving here. Croutons, sunflower seeds, pepperocini: all of that stuff is NEVER served with a salad which, by the way, is always served WITH the main course. I thought California (where all salad dressings are white) was bad. I had no idea. Regards, Ralph ------------------------ REPLY ATTACHMENT --------------------------- SENT: 89-07-13 18:27 FROM: NELSON_DON @PRUNE TO: SCOTT_RALPH @MELBORN SUBJECT: Chicken whatsit.... Ralph- It is not unique to the South. It can be found in nearly any greasy spoon (cheap cafe) or truck stop all across the US of A. It is pretty much the same no matter where you see it. I was in a little town in Montana at the local cafe and had to try it. It was worth the try. Another part that is needed is salad. This consists of a quarter of a head of iceburg lettuce, with "french dressing" (the orange stuff) on it. Regards - Don Nelson ------------------------ REPLY ATTACHMENT --------------------------- SENT: 89-07-13 03:51 FROM: SCOTT_RALPH @MELBORN TO: FERRIER_BRONWYN @MELBORN CC. DL.COSIG @ESSG SUBJECT: Chicken whatsit.... Bron, Oops. Forgot about American vs. Australian terminology differences. Can't remember just exactly what it's called here. I see it in the store and buy it, but I've never looked at the label. For the uninitiated, Chicken Fried Steak is beef (cheap beef) that is prepared much like one would fry chicken. It's a style unique to the Southern U.S. Cube steak goes under several names here depending on the butcher or supermarket, so let me describe it: I've just checked with Alice and Joan, and they describe it as a small thin cut of beef (often silverside) referred to here as either barbeque or sandwich steak that has been pounded within an inch of it's little life. It has a distinctive cross-hatch pattern on it from the mallet used to pound it into submission. It's generally about 8 x 16 cm or so. If you have a meat tenderizing mallet with the little points on it, you can do it at home from any thin cheap cut of steak, but it does take a bit of effort to really do it right. In regard to the gravy, I'm sure I have a recipe at home and since the packaged stuff is surely not available here or in Europe, I'll try to remember to bring it in and send it out separately. It's a milk based gravy. Is gravy gravy here, or is it some variant on sauce? Regards, Ralph ------------------------ REPLY ATTACHMENT --------------------------- SENT: 89-07-13 03:24 FROM: FERRIER_BRONWYN @MELBORN TO: SCOTT_RALPH @MELBORN SUBJECT: Chicken whatsit.... Ralph, that sounds the most extraordinary dinner I've ever heard. Apart from using pre-mixed packet stuff, (I've never had a packet mix in my house yet!!) I guess I'd be game to try it. However, what is cubed steak - is that chicken pieces? cheers, Bron. ------------------------ REPLY ATTACHMENT --------------------------- SENT: 89-07-13 02:47 FROM: SCOTT_RALPH @MELBORN TO: SCHMIDT_DORIS @SNAX CC. DL.COSIG @ESSG SUBJECT: COSIG: Chicken fried steak & country gravy?? Doris, I don't have the country gravy recipe here in the office, but the chicken fried steak is easy: Heat vegetable oil (or preferably Crisco vegetable shortening, or to be really authentic, lard) in a large cast iron frying pan: about 1/2 inch deep, medium to high heat. Take the appropriate number of cube steaks and coat well in seasoned flour (flour, salt, pepper, and optionally a pinch or two of paprika). Be sure to press the flour well into the meat. Wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour (makes the flour stick). After dipping in flour, some people then dip in beaten egg and cover in bread crumbs, but this is not really authentic. Fry steaks in hot oil or fat until golden brown. Turn ONLY ONCE. Meat should be well done, but breading shouldn't be too dark and hard. Being a lazy type, I normally bought powdered country-style gravy and just made it up using the package directions. Not quite perfect, but passable and easy. Other accompaniments: Creamed corn (do it with canned corn crushed up a bit, mix with milk or cream and a little butter, sugar, and salt/pepper to taste. DO NOT use the canned creamed stuff. It's just thickened with corn starch or something. Green beans - french style with a bit of bacon grease or salt pork or fatback. Black-eyed peas - follow package directions, but do much as you do with the green beans Mashed Potatoes - get ambitious & do them yourself with a ricer or get lazy and go for instant. Again, not perfect, but passable. Gravy OK on the potatoes. Butter optional. Corn Bread - yellow corn muffin mix works fine, but to be authentic, heat a cast iron skillet in the oven until very hot--check the package directions. Pour the mix into the hot skillet and bake per package. Iced Tea - The only possible accompaniement. Strong. Cold. Add way too much sugar. Lemon optional. Only other drink alternative is VERY cold and foamy milk or buttermilk (yuck!) Peach (or Apple Cobbler) with Vanilla Ice Cream for dessert. The packaged mixes work just fine. Have a great meal, but don't check your cholosterol for at least one month afterwards! Your doctor will really yell at you! Regards, Ralph Scott (ex-Atlanta, now Australia) ------------------------ ORIGINAL ATTACHMENT ------------------------ SENT: 89-07-12 18:17 FROM: SCHMIDT_DORIS @SNAX TO: LEHEY_GREG.COSIG @ESSG SUBJECT: COSIG: Chicken fried steak & country gravy?? Hi Folks, I need a good recipe (or any for that matter) for chicken fried steak and country gravy. I promised to cook this for dinner tomorrow night so any and all QUICK replies are welcome!! thanks! Doris Copied By: LEHEY_GREG @ESSG SENT: 89-07-14 16:21 FROM: WHEATLEY_DIANE @SCREG TO: SCOTT_RALPH @MELBORN CC. DL.COSIG @ESSG SUBJECT: COSIG:FRIED STEAK!!!! Ralph, When I first moved to Texas from New Jersey I tried "Chicken Fried Steak" at the hotel restaurant where I was staying. It took several months of getting acquainted with the Texas culture to understand that it was steak I had been eating, not chicken. I thought it was a dark meat chicken patty that had been fried like a piece of "southern fried" chicken, thus the name Chicken Fried Steak. I still don't understand why it isn't merely called Fried Steak, but I like it just the same! Diane ------------------------ REPLY ATTACHMENT --------------------------- SENT: 89-07-14 01:46 FROM: SCOTT_RALPH @MELBORN TO: NELSON_DON @PRUNE CC. DL.COSIG @ESSG SUBJECT: Chicken whatsit.... Don, You're right. How silly of me. Been out of the states too long. Unfortunately, here in Australia salad dressings are virtually unknown. French here is oil and vinegar with herbs. Italian here is oil and vinegar with herbs. That pretty much covers it. I have discovered, however, that the local Pizza Hut (god, they're everywhere) has good old awful orange american french dressing, so I go in for a fix every few months. For the rest I have to make my own. They generally come out OK, but it's just not the same. Australians are amazed when I tell them that I literally had to throw out 20+ different salad dressings when I cleaned out the fridge prior to moving here. Croutons, sunflower seeds, pepperocini: all of that stuff is NEVER served with a salad which, by the way, is always served WITH the main course. I thought California (where all salad dressings are white) was bad. I had no idea. Regards, Ralph ------------------------ REPLY ATTACHMENT --------------------------- SENT: 89-07-13 18:27 FROM: NELSON_DON @PRUNE TO: SCOTT_RALPH @MELBORN SUBJECT: Chicken whatsit.... Ralph- It is not unique to the South. It can be found in nearly any greasy spoon (cheap cafe) or truck stop all across the US of A. It is pretty much the same no matter where you see it. I was in a little town in Montana at the local cafe and had to try it. It was worth the try. Another part that is needed is salad. This consists of a quarter of a head of iceburg lettuce, with "french dressing" (the orange stuff) on it. Regards - Don Nelson ------------------------ REPLY ATTACHMENT --------------------------- SENT: 89-07-13 03:51 FROM: SCOTT_RALPH @MELBORN TO: FERRIER_BRONWYN @MELBORN CC. DL.COSIG @ESSG SUBJECT: Chicken whatsit.... Bron, Oops. Forgot about American vs. Australian terminology differences. Can't remember just exactly what it's called here. I see it in the store and buy it, but I've never looked at the label. For the uninitiated, Chicken Fried Steak is beef (cheap beef) that is prepared much like one would fry chicken. It's a style unique to the Southern U.S. Cube steak goes under several names here depending on the butcher or supermarket, so let me describe it: I've just checked with Alice and Joan, and they describe it as a small thin cut of beef (often silverside) referred to here as either barbeque or sandwich steak that has been pounded within an inch of it's little life. It has a distinctive cross-hatch pattern on it from the mallet used to pound it into submission. It's generally about 8 x 16 cm or so. If you have a meat tenderizing mallet with the little points on it, you can do it at home from any thin cheap cut of steak, but it does take a bit of effort to really do it right. In regard to the gravy, I'm sure I have a recipe at home and since the packaged stuff is surely not available here or in Europe, I'll try to remember to bring it in and send it out separately. It's a milk based gravy. Is gravy gravy here, or is it some variant on sauce? Regards, Ralph ------------------------ REPLY ATTACHMENT --------------------------- SENT: 89-07-13 03:24 FROM: FERRIER_BRONWYN @MELBORN TO: SCOTT_RALPH @MELBORN SUBJECT: Chicken whatsit.... Ralph, that sounds the most extraordinary dinner I've ever heard. Apart from using pre-mixed packet stuff, (I've never had a packet mix in my house yet!!) I guess I'd be game to try it. However, what is cubed steak - is that chicken pieces? cheers, Bron. ------------------------ REPLY ATTACHMENT --------------------------- SENT: 89-07-13 02:47 FROM: SCOTT_RALPH @MELBORN TO: SCHMIDT_DORIS @SNAX CC. DL.COSIG @ESSG SUBJECT: COSIG: Chicken fried steak & country gravy?? Doris, I don't have the country gravy recipe here in the office, but the chicken fried steak is easy: Heat vegetable oil (or preferably Crisco vegetable shortening, or to be really authentic, lard) in a large cast iron frying pan: about 1/2 inch deep, medium to high heat. Take the appropriate number of cube steaks and coat well in seasoned flour (flour, salt, pepper, and optionally a pinch or two of paprika). Be sure to press the flour well into the meat. Wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour (makes the flour stick). After dipping in flour, some people then dip in beaten egg and cover in bread crumbs, but this is not really authentic. Fry steaks in hot oil or fat until golden brown. Turn ONLY ONCE. Meat should be well done, but breading shouldn't be too dark and hard. Being a lazy type, I normally bought powdered country-style gravy and just made it up using the package directions. Not quite perfect, but passable and easy. Other accompaniments: Creamed corn (do it with canned corn crushed up a bit, mix with milk or cream and a little butter, sugar, and salt/pepper to taste. DO NOT use the canned creamed stuff. It's just thickened with corn starch or something. Green beans - french style with a bit of bacon grease or salt pork or fatback. Black-eyed peas - follow package directions, but do much as you do with the green beans Mashed Potatoes - get ambitious & do them yourself with a ricer or get lazy and go for instant. Again, not perfect, but passable. Gravy OK on the potatoes. Butter optional. Corn Bread - yellow corn muffin mix works fine, but to be authentic, heat a cast iron skillet in the oven until very hot--check the package directions. Pour the mix into the hot skillet and bake per package. Iced Tea - The only possible accompaniement. Strong. Cold. Add way too much sugar. Lemon optional. Only other drink alternative is VERY cold and foamy milk or buttermilk (yuck!) Peach (or Apple Cobbler) with Vanilla Ice Cream for dessert. The packaged mixes work just fine. Have a great meal, but don't check your cholosterol for at least one month afterwards! Your doctor will really yell at you! Regards, Ralph Scott (ex-Atlanta, now Australia) ------------------------ ORIGINAL ATTACHMENT ------------------------ SENT: 89-07-12 18:17 FROM: SCHMIDT_DORIS @SNAX TO: LEHEY_GREG.COSIG @ESSG SUBJECT: COSIG: Chicken fried steak & country gravy?? Hi Folks, I need a good recipe (or any for that matter) for chicken fried steak and country gravy. I promised to cook this for dinner tomorrow night so any and all QUICK replies are welcome!! thanks! Doris Copied By: LEHEY_GREG @ESSG SENT: 89-07-14 19:12 FROM: DUGAN_MARIA @JOGGER TO: WHEATLEY_DIANE @SCREG CC. DL.COSIG @ESSG SUBJECT: COSIG:FRIED STEAK!!!! In Reply to: 89-07-14 16:21 FROM WHEATLEY_DIANE @SCREG COSIG:FRIED STEAK!!!! Diane, I have been reading the messages back and forth on this and I'm starting to feel like a displaced person! I'm a born and raised Californian but, my Mom is from Texas. I have ALWAYS had sugar in my ice tea and the name Chicken Fried Steak makes perfect sense to me because it is not just plain old fried steak - chicken fried steak is fried like a chicken - you apply a batter or coating to the steak (usually flour and some spices) before you fry it. Maria --- Jeez, we always ate cornbread and blackeyed peas too. And how about GRITS! Nobody has mentioned them. Somehow I don't feel very "Californian" anymore. Copied By: LEHEY_GREG @ESSG SENT: 89-07-14 22:22 FROM: DELASHMUTT_SABRA @D100 TO: DUGAN_MARIA @JOGGER CC. DL.COSIG @ESSG SUBJECT: COSIG:FRIED STEAK!!!! In Reply to: 89-07-14 19:12 FROM DUGAN_MARIA @JOGGER : COSIG:FRIED STEAK!!!! Maria, I'm from Iowa, and the last 3 generations of my family were all born and raised there, but we always had chicken fried steak (it was my Dad's favorite). Grits and fried mush for breakfast. Sugar in the tea was definitly a no no though, my mom was before her time as far as the "sugar scare" is concerned. ------------------------ REPLY ATTACHMENT --------------------------- SENT: 89-07-14 19:12 FROM: DUGAN_MARIA @JOGGER TO: WHEATLEY_DIANE @SCREG CC. DL.COSIG @ESSG SUBJECT: COSIG:FRIED STEAK!!!! Diane, I have been reading the messages back and forth on this and I'm starting to feel like a displaced person! I'm a born and raised Californian but, my Mom is from Texas. I have ALWAYS had sugar in my ice tea and the name Chicken Fried Steak makes perfect sense to me because it is not just plain old fried steak - chicken fried steak is fried like a chicken - you apply a batter or coating to the steak (usually flour and some spices) before you fry it. Maria --- Jeez, we always ate cornbread and blackeyed peas too. And how about GRITS! Nobody has mentioned them. Somehow I don't feel very "Californian" anymore. ------------------------ ORIGINAL ATTACHMENT ------------------------ SENT: 89-07-14 16:21 FROM: WHEATLEY_DIANE @SCREG TO: SCOTT_RALPH @MELBORN CC. DL.COSIG @ESSG SUBJECT: COSIG:FRIED STEAK!!!! Ralph, When I first moved to Texas from New Jersey I tried "Chicken Fried Steak" at the hotel restaurant where I was staying. It took several months of getting acquainted with the Texas culture to understand that it was steak I had been eating, not chicken. I thought it was a dark meat chicken patty that had been fried like a piece of "southern fried" chicken, thus the name Chicken Fried Steak. I still don't understand why it isn't merely called Fried Steak, but I like it just the same! Diane ------------------------ REPLY ATTACHMENT --------------------------- SENT: 89-07-14 01:46 FROM: SCOTT_RALPH @MELBORN TO: NELSON_DON @PRUNE CC. DL.COSIG @ESSG SUBJECT: Chicken whatsit.... Don, You're right. How silly of me. Been out of the states too long. Unfortunately, here in Australia salad dressings are virtually unknown. French here is oil and vinegar with herbs. Italian here is oil and vinegar with herbs. That pretty much covers it. I have discovered, however, that the local Pizza Hut (god, they're everywhere) has good old awful orange american french dressing, so I go in for a fix every few months. For the rest I have to make my own. They generally come out OK, but it's just not the same. Australians are amazed when I tell them that I literally had to throw out 20+ different salad dressings when I cleaned out the fridge prior to moving here. Croutons, sunflower seeds, pepperocini: all of that stuff is NEVER served with a salad which, by the way, is always served WITH the main course. I thought California (where all salad dressings are white) was bad. I had no idea. Regards, Ralph ------------------------ REPLY ATTACHMENT --------------------------- SENT: 89-07-13 18:27 FROM: NELSON_DON @PRUNE TO: SCOTT_RALPH @MELBORN SUBJECT: Chicken whatsit.... Ralph- It is not unique to the South. It can be found in nearly any greasy spoon (cheap cafe) or truck stop all across the US of A. It is pretty much the same no matter where you see it. I was in a little town in Montana at the local cafe and had to try it. It was worth the try. Another part that is needed is salad. This consists of a quarter of a head of iceburg lettuce, with "french dressing" (the orange stuff) on it. Regards - Don Nelson ------------------------ REPLY ATTACHMENT --------------------------- SENT: 89-07-13 03:51 FROM: SCOTT_RALPH @MELBORN TO: FERRIER_BRONWYN @MELBORN CC. DL.COSIG @ESSG SUBJECT: Chicken whatsit.... Bron, Oops. Forgot about American vs. Australian terminology differences. Can't remember just exactly what it's called here. I see it in the store and buy it, but I've never looked at the label. For the uninitiated, Chicken Fried Steak is beef (cheap beef) that is prepared much like one would fry chicken. It's a style unique to the Southern U.S. Cube steak goes under several names here depending on the butcher or supermarket, so let me describe it: I've just checked with Alice and Joan, and they describe it as a small thin cut of beef (often silverside) referred to here as either barbeque or sandwich steak that has been pounded within an inch of it's little life. It has a distinctive cross-hatch pattern on it from the mallet used to pound it into submission. It's generally about 8 x 16 cm or so. If you have a meat tenderizing mallet with the little points on it, you can do it at home from any thin cheap cut of steak, but it does take a bit of effort to really do it right. In regard to the gravy, I'm sure I have a recipe at home and since the packaged stuff is surely not available here or in Europe, I'll try to remember to bring it in and send it out separately. It's a milk based gravy. Is gravy gravy here, or is it some variant on sauce? Regards, Ralph ------------------------ REPLY ATTACHMENT --------------------------- SENT: 89-07-13 03:24 FROM: FERRIER_BRONWYN @MELBORN TO: SCOTT_RALPH @MELBORN SUBJECT: Chicken whatsit.... Ralph, that sounds the most extraordinary dinner I've ever heard. Apart from using pre-mixed packet stuff, (I've never had a packet mix in my house yet!!) I guess I'd be game to try it. However, what is cubed steak - is that chicken pieces? cheers, Bron. ------------------------ REPLY ATTACHMENT --------------------------- SENT: 89-07-13 02:47 FROM: SCOTT_RALPH @MELBORN TO: SCHMIDT_DORIS @SNAX CC. DL.COSIG @ESSG SUBJECT: COSIG: Chicken fried steak & country gravy?? Doris, I don't have the country gravy recipe here in the office, but the chicken fried steak is easy: Heat vegetable oil (or preferably Crisco vegetable shortening, or to be really authentic, lard) in a large cast iron frying pan: about 1/2 inch deep, medium to high heat. Take the appropriate number of cube steaks and coat well in seasoned flour (flour, salt, pepper, and optionally a pinch or two of paprika). Be sure to press the flour well into the meat. Wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour (makes the flour stick). After dipping in flour, some people then dip in beaten egg and cover in bread crumbs, but this is not really authentic. Fry steaks in hot oil or fat until golden brown. Turn ONLY ONCE. Meat should be well done, but breading shouldn't be too dark and hard. Being a lazy type, I normally bought powdered country-style gravy and just made it up using the package directions. Not quite perfect, but passable and easy. Other accompaniments: Creamed corn (do it with canned corn crushed up a bit, mix with milk or cream and a little butter, sugar, and salt/pepper to taste. DO NOT use the canned creamed stuff. It's just thickened with corn starch or something. Green beans - french style with a bit of bacon grease or salt pork or fatback. Black-eyed peas - follow package directions, but do much as you do with the green beans Mashed Potatoes - get ambitious & do them yourself with a ricer or get lazy and go for instant. Again, not perfect, but passable. Gravy OK on the potatoes. Butter optional. Corn Bread - yellow corn muffin mix works fine, but to be authentic, heat a cast iron skillet in the oven until very hot--check the package directions. Pour the mix into the hot skillet and bake per package. Iced Tea - The only possible accompaniement. Strong. Cold. Add way too much sugar. Lemon optional. Only other drink alternative is VERY cold and foamy milk or buttermilk (yuck!) Peach (or Apple Cobbler) with Vanilla Ice Cream for dessert. The packaged mixes work just fine. Have a great meal, but don't check your cholosterol for at least one month afterwards! Your doctor will really yell at you! Regards, Ralph Scott (ex-Atlanta, now Australia) ------------------------ ORIGINAL ATTACHMENT ------------------------ SENT: 89-07-12 18:17 FROM: SCHMIDT_DORIS @SNAX TO: LEHEY_GREG.COSIG @ESSG SUBJECT: COSIG: Chicken fried steak & country gravy?? Hi Folks, I need a good recipe (or any for that matter) for chicken fried steak and country gravy. I promised to cook this for dinner tomorrow night so any and all QUICK replies are welcome!! thanks! Doris