Recipes for Easter week

Chicken Fried Steak – serves 4 (if you’re lucky)

1 lb cube steak

1 egg

½ cup milk

Saltine crackers

½ cup flour

Pepper to taste

Vegetable oil

Cast iron skilled – 12.5 inch

Flatten out the cube steak – we use plastic wrap to cove the meat top and bottom and a small heavy skillet to beat it.  Cut the flattened pieces into manageable servings.  Crush up the saltine crackers to cornmeal consistency.  Coat the bottom of the skillet with about ½ inch of oil and place on med/high heat.  Pull out 3 wide bowls, place flour in one, mix the egg and milk in one and add the crackers and pepper to the last.  Once the oil starts to shimmer start coating the meat – One dip through the flour, one dip through the mild and last dip through the crackers.  Cook about 3 minutes on each side – paying attention not to burn the coating.   Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.

Fried Pickles – serves about 20

1 cup buttermilk

2 cups cornmeal

1 qt pickles

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

½ tsp chili pepper

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Oil

Purchase sliced pickles or slice whole ones to ½ inch thickness, add buttermilk to a bowl, mix cornmeal and spices to another bowl.  Heat the oil to 350, dip pickles into buttermilk then coat with cornmeal/spice mixture, fry until coating is browned, let drain on paper towels and serve hot. (Make sure to pre-warn the eaters that the center is really really hot)

Tri-tip marinade – for 4 lbs

1 cup lemon juice

1 cup vegetable oil

½ cup dried onion

3 tbsp fresh diced garlic

1/4 cup salt

3 tbsp fresh pepper

½ cup white vinegar

½ cup soy sauce

Mix all of the ingredients together in a large container, trim the meat and let sit in the fridge at least overnight.  Grill and enjoy

If all else fails ham –

½ cup brown sugar

1/3 cup white vinegar

3 tbsp grainy mustard (Dijon)

Cloves

Mix brown sugar with white vinegar, and Dijon.  Score the outside of the ham to make a diamond pattern, add cloves to the outside, coat with brown sugar mixture and cook at 350 for 1-2 hours or until the internal temp of the ham reaches 145 degrees.