Cubed Steak Dishes

After my meal at Apple Annie’s, when we got back to TN, Bev decided she wanted chicken fried steak so we got a couple of packages of cubed steak out of the freezer to make it.  If the site I read on the web knows there stuff, the difference between chicken fried and country fried steak is the color of the gravy – white and brown respectively.  Since I wanted the chicken fried version, I made the gravy with a blond roux using this recipe:

CREAM GRAVY FROM HOMESICK TEXAN

Ingredients:

Two tablespoons of pan drippings, bacon grease or vegetable oil

Two tablespoons of flour

1 1/2 cups of milk

1/2 teaspoon of cracked black pepper (original was 1 tsp)

Salt to taste.

Method:

1. Combine fat with flour in a hot skillet, continuously stirring, cook on medium for a couple of minutes until a dark roux is formed.

2. Add milk slowly to skillet, and mix with roux using either a whisk or wooden spoon (be sure and press out any lumps).

3. Turn heat to low and continue stirring until mixture is thickened, a couple more minutes.

4. Add pepper and salt to taste.

5. If gravy is too thick for your taste, you can thin it by adding either more milk or water a tablespoon at a time.

Apple Annie’s in Pt. Marion

Point Marion, PA sets on a point at the junction of the Monongahela and Cheat Rivers in southwestern PA and is just over the border from WV – I didn’t know until today why it was called Pt. Marion, even though I’ve heard of the town my entire life.  Other than sitting at the river confluence, I’m not sure why Pt. Marion exists and it is obviously not a highly prosperous community of about 1000 residents.

But it does have Apple Annie's and while visiting relatives in WV, my cousins suggested we make the 30 minute drive for lunch.  This is Bev and my cousin (his wife hide) before we entered the restaurant and a shot of the inside (from the web), which is larger than I thought it would be.

Grouper Sandwich And A Mouser

We had three nice grouper filet pieces in the freezer that needed to be used so we invited our neighbors down and made fish sandwiches.  We first thought fried but opted for a healthier grilled fish and selected a recipe from Emeril Lagasse that sounded very good.  I made double the recipe below for our three fillets and it was just the right amount.  Not sure which Paul he’s referring to but suspect Prudhomme.

RIP Sweetie Pie

My second best friend and perhaps the best dog ever died suddenly on Tuesday after 13 years.  She lived a good life, was a great companion and gave us unconditional love - we will miss her so.  She seemed to enjoy the things we did, whether it be playing at the lake, playing in the snow, traveling, or just hanging around the house, but mostly I think she just like being with us.

Oysters Rockefeller Topping As Leftovers

We had had some friends over for grilled oysters Rockefeller recently and I made too much of the spinach topping even for the five dozen oysters we scarfed down.  We used our normal recipe for the topping and with spinach, bacon, garlic and parmesan, it has to be good for other things – but first I mixed in a good bit more crumbled bacon.

We had recently bought a whole pork loin so I carved off five one inch thick chops, cut a deep pocket in them and stuffed lightly with the oyster topping – it had lots of flavor so I didn’t want it too thick.  I seasoned the outside with Lawrey’s as I thought I’d would go with the spinach flavors then grilled them to 140F on each side.

These shots are when they first went on the grill and after flipping.  

Leftovers from Pan-Seared Catfish With Brown Butter On Black Olive Toast

I posted about this catfish dish back in July, 2013 and I’m not sure if we’ve made it since but Bev had been wanting it so we made it the other night and used a triple so we’d have leftovers.

And what is my favorite thing to do with leftovers – why turn them into breakfast of course.  First I added some of the sauce to a skillet then added the beaten eggs.

RVing To River Plantation - Days 12-15

On Tuesday we swapped coach tours with another couple who own a 2016 Tuscany as they wanted to see the changes from our 2013 model and so did we.  Our coach is nice inside but I considered it the low end of the 45’ models when compared to some of the others we looked at.  However, when we walked into the 2016 model, I was shocked at the difference as it was more like walking into one of the high end Tiffin’s or Newmar’s.

OURS  (All shots from the web)