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Everyone must have a favorite fried chicken recipe. Here’s mine. I’ll throw in the country gravy recipe for free. Serves four.

One chicken, cut into four pieces (two breasts, two leg and thigh pieces. You can also do any combination of pieces you want)

1 ½ cups – flour
1 tbsp each – granulated garlic, black pepper and either seasoning salt or regular salt
Paprika
Olive oil
Milk

Wash and dry the chicken pieces. Put the flour, garlic, pepper and salt into a paper bag or a one gallon plastic zipper bag. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture and brown over high heat in olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan big enough to hold all the pieces. When the pieces are well browned, turn the heat down to low and cover the pan with either a lid or aluminum foil. Let this cook for about 20 minutes, turning the chicken a couple of times. Just before the chicken is done (when the juices run clear), sprinkle well with paprika. Remove the chicken to a plate and make the gravy.

Country gravy – Make a roux with the flour mixture and the pan drippings. Add some more olive oil if you need to. Scrape up the brown bits while you’re cooking the roux. Whisk in two cups of milk until the lumps are pretty much gone. Let the gravy bubble briefly, you made need to add more milk if it gets too thick. Adjust the seasoning and serve. Be aware that this stuff thickens as it cools.

Although you can do the chicken ahead of time for a picnic, I like it best served hot for dinner with Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes with Roasted Garlic, plenty of gravy and whatever veggie you feel you need.

As for wine, this is good old ‘merican food and deserves a good old ‘merican wine. Zinfandel works for me.

Click to print this recipe as a PDF.

Sigh, flank steak used to be a cheap piece of meat. Then “fajitas” came along and it all went to hell. Good flank steak can now cost as much as $6 a pound. When it’s on sale though, it’s worth buying for the grill.

As with most red meat, a simple marinade, if anything at all, is all that is really needed. The following has worked quite well for me.

½ cup – olive oil
1 cup – red wine
¼ cup – balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp – fresh ground black pepper
1 tbsp – granulated garlic
1 tbsp – dried herbs
2 tsp – dried mustard

Mix all of the above ingredients in a bowl or in a 1 gallon plastic zip lock bag. Add the meat and marinate for several hours.

Grill over hot coals, 8 minutes per side, seasoning with salt on both sides. Let stand for a few minutes and then carve across the grain in thin slices.

Serve with Oven Roasted Yukon Gold Potatoes and the veggie of your choice. This is zinfandel food folks.

A good dish for a group, it can go in before they get there and be ready just before it’s time to serve the main course. Recipe serves four to six, depending on the number of courses and appetites.

1 – ~ 2lb center cut pork loin
2 – medium yellow onions, peeled cut in half and sliced ¼” thick
1 – red bell pepper, cored, seeded and sliced ¼” thick
1lb Crimini mushrooms, washed and sliced ¼” thick
6 – Garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
2 oz dried Porcini mushrooms, soaked in hot water until soft and chopped medium fine
1 ½ lb Roma tomatoes, chopped (blanch and peel them, if you like)
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
2 tsp fresh chopped thyme
2 bay leaves
2/3 cup red wine
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Trim the visible silver skin from the pork loin. Season with salt and pepper. Brown in a heavy bottomed skillet or Dutch oven with plenty of olive oil. Set aside.

Clean the pan and saute the onions in more olive oil. When they start to brown, add the bell pepper, mushrooms (including the Porcini) and garlic. Saute for another five minutes. Deglaze the pan with the wine and stir in the tomatoes and herbs. Adjust the seasoning and nestle the pork loin in the pot. Cover and turn down to a simmer. Let this simmer for about 1 ½ hours, or until the pork is very tender. Turn it once or twice during the cooking process. Make sure there isn’t too much or not enough liquid. Remove liquid or add a little more wine depending on what you need.

When the pork is done, remove it to a cutting board and let it rest. Bring the sauce to a boil and reduce until it thickens. You can use a little arrowroot and water if you need to.

Slice the pork ¼” thick and give several slices to each person. Top with the sauce. The “Cannelini Beans with Swiss Chard” is a good side dish.

This dish calls for red, red, red. Cabernet and Bordeaux would have a tough time matching the richness and complexity of the dish but just about anything else will work.

Click to print this recipe as a PDF.