The holidays are the best time to order our favorite, and the most coveted, cut of beef- the tenderloin. A few years ago, a friend sent us a smoked tenderloin in the mail. It was meant to be sliced thin and served as an appetizer with baguette or crackers and maybe a little soft cheese or horseradish sauce. Well, wow. It was so rich and just feels like a nice touch for the family gathering.
We now make it for our family every holiday and suspect your family would love it,too.
Bone broth is easy to make and extremely nutritious. It's so much better than the stuff in the carton! Extremely rich, full of essential amino acids and healing collagen, bone broth is a no brainer at our house!
Amino acids in bone broth have been shown to boost immunity and reduce inflammation (especially in the gut). The ample amounts of gelatin help to heal the gut and nutrients in broth including magnesium and calcium are easily digestible. Other nutrients including chondroitin, collagen and glucosamine are power house nutrients for healing your joints. By now, you have probably heard of the benefits of collagen for your skin, as well.
We've loved chicken fried steak since our days eating at Luby's Cafeteria after church on Sundays. A good chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and green beans with gravy is probably the perfect meal as defined by John. Even better, because we dry age our beef for an extended period, our cubed steak turns out even more tender.
During the last few years, we've learned a bit about making the perfect chicken fried steak. Three changes I've made that have made a huge difference:
1. Hot Sauce...adding a few shakes of hot sauce- i.e. Franks or Cholula brand to your egg and buttermilk (or regular milk) mixture. This just adds a richness to the flavor. Yum!
2. Buttermilk... I've started using buttermilk in my milk and egg (plus hot sauce) mixture.
3. Don't crowd your pan! This one I just learned at age 40 but two steaks at a time max in our 10 inch cast iron. It's magic how much better everything works. Just trust me on this.
Anyhow, sometimes the guys want steak fingers. I use the exact same recipe and method but cut the steaks into strips before we get started. Perfection.
We love to have "Guiso" as we call it. Carne Guisada is a popular Mexican dish that our whole family loves. This recipe is truly mild enough for everyone with a great flavor. As a busy mom, I love that I dump it all in together and it comes out perfectly. Its a great alternative use of stew meat. Our sassy and smart Aunt Jessie shared this recipe and I promise your family will love it.
