The Birth of a Recipe

frustrating is the day that has no significance other than to be a connection to the next. Communal as our home may be, I have very little to keep me busy beyond my writing. My kid wants to eat and she mostly gets it herself, only today was the whine and scene and the wanting to get momma to do parlor tricks at her whim. Yes, I complied because we ate poorly over the weekend with the home repairs keeping me out of the kitchen. All the dinner plans I had had are long forgotten and even the lemon cake wasn't to be made. What am I supposed to do.

Well I cooked yesterday evening and made pizzas and today cooked again to find she wouldn't eat claiming she was ill. I am a fabulous cook and know she wanted to eat but she only ate her veggies and got sick. She never eats her veggies first so I know something is up with her and lacking in her diet. I wanted tacos and had her convinced she did to as they are quite healthy when I make them. Shredded seasoned beef (I usually do pork) and lettuce and cheese and we'd have some "baked" nachos and sliced fresh vegetables. But then the communal nature of our home took hold of my senses and drove me to change my "car's" direction. My brother's girlfriend, baby-mama, is a gem and sweet and even funny. Her and I get along and it isn't always harmoniously but we do love one another like sisters. She's from Louisiana and her idea of a vegetable is heavily buttered corn(a grain damn it!)and ketchup. Like most southern cooks if it ain't fried to a crisp it ain't done! So today she fried some frozen chicken tenders for lunch for their family and dinner my brother made country-fried pork chops. Simvastatin stat! Lipitor on the double!

I have been a good girl and been trying to get Lobo on track too as the holidays always leave the waistline expanding as the wallet depletes. After the weekend I made some lite english muffin pizzas and they came out spectacular and I have another meal's worth but felt pizza twice in a row would be, blah. Tacos was a good switch but the oil was there calling me. Calling my culinary skills to step up and see if I still "got it." I mean like any fool can boil meat until it shreds and add seasoning to taste and a little tomato sauce to bind it together to stuff in a damn tortilla shell! Frying is a whole other ball game. Batter or bread? Crumbs or flour? So many options to choose and the oil has to be perfect and the right temp. The "taco" beef was chosen as such because it was an inferior piece of meat that I bought and found dry and difficult to swallow when last cooked. It's a fucking eye round too!(I won't buy meat there again!) But I had to use it and thought if I can make chicken tenders(fingers) then why not make them with another meat? Now my brain was drooling long before my hands started grabbing bowls. Think country fried steak...in fingers! I sliced the frozen beef and pounded my meat (hahahaha no pun intended but funny nonetheless) with a mallet until it resembled cubed steak. They were cut into elongated triangles only 1/4in thick. I figured if the meat was so dry I needed to "wet" it with a buttermilk soak, but we had none. So I made some with a half cup of sour cream and some skim milk and garlic paste and salt, pepper and seasonings. That meat soaked all of it up and now I was all in and couldn't stop. I took the floured approach and the double-dip to get a good crust. Seasoned with cumin, salt, pepper, garlic, onion and turmeric I dredged the fingers in the flour then an egg wash (2eggs + water + buttermilk I could pour off of meat so the wash is thin) then again for a second pass in the flour and into the hot oil. They came out beautiful, tender, flavorful and unusually yummy. I feel bad for my kid. I do, and hope she is better tomorrow to enjoy my invention. Even the "house" enjoyed it though they weren't too fond of the smell of beef frying. I'm not fond of it either but the end result is worth the try...so if you're a home cook and make your own CFS (country fried steak to a waitress) then try it in smaller pieces. You won't be disappointed! (we will make those tacos later in the week, I promised her that!)~mobe's love to her all and her all to her loves.