Tour of fifty states: Wyoming's meal

Last week's state meal was from Wyoming.  We knew it had to be something with beef -- and what better "Western" style meal than Country Fried Steak? 

For dessert, I found a recipe that uses sugar beets, which is an important crop in the Wyoming/Colorado area.  Last year they were able to harvest 30 TONS per acre of beets, a record-setting high.  

So sorry about the quality of the pictures...I had left my good camera ON last time I used it and the battery was dead so these are cell phone pictures! 

Menu:  Country Fried Steak, Mashed Potatoes with Pepper Gravy, Chocolate Beet Cake
Outcome: I haven't had homemade country fried steak in years, and it sure was good with the pan gravy.  Cube steak is quite inexpensive, and I do believe we'll be having this again soon!  The cake was really rich and chocolatey, and didn't taste at all of beets!  We served it with homemade Peanut Butter/Chocolate goat's milk ice cream on the side.  Delicious! 
Next up:  Ben's turn!  He chose New Mexico!

Wyoming's meal

Country Fried Steak and Pepper Gravy

Total time:  20 min.

Ingredients:

• 6 (4 oz.) cube steaks
• 1 tsp. salt, plus more to taste
•  2 tsp. ground black pepper, plus more to taste
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• ½  cup oil
• 1 ½ cups milk

Directions:

1.    Season meat with ½ tsp. salt and ½ tsp. pepper; set aside. In a shallow dish, mix flour with remaining pepper. Dredge each steak in flour. Dip in beaten egg then dredge in flour again.

2.     Heat oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Fry steaks 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

3.      Pour off all but 2 Tbsp. of the fat. Sprinkle 2 Tbsp. of the dredging flour into oil. Cook over medium heat for 1 minute, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of skillet with a whisk.

4.      Gradually whisk in milk. Cook, stirring frequently, 3 to 4 minutes, or until thickened and bubbly. Add salt and pepper to taste; gravy should be quite peppery.

Serves 6. 

Mashed Potatoes

Total time:  30 min.

Ingredients

• 4 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and quartered length-wise
• 1 tsp. salt
• 4 Tbsp. heavy cream
• 4 Tbsp. butter
• 1 Tbsp. milk
• Salt and Pepper

Directions

1.       Put potatoes into a saucepan. Add ½ tsp. salt. Add water until potatoes are covered. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, 15-20 minutes, or until done - a fork can easily be poked through them.

2.     Warm cream and melt butter, together, either in microwave or in a pan on the stove. Drain water from potatoes. Put hot potatoes into a bowl.

 3.     Add cream and melted butter. Use potato masher to mash potatoes until well mashed. Use a strong spoon to beat further, adding milk to achieve the consistency you desire. (Do not over-beat or your potatoes will get gluey.) Salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 6.

Chocolate Beet Cake 

Don't be turned off by the beets! You won't taste them at all, and they make the cake very moist.

Ingredients:

• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ tsp. baking soda
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1 can (15 oz.) whole or quartered beets (not pickled), drained (reserve liquid)
• 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• ½ cup juice from beets
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 squares (1 oz. each) unsweetened chocolate, melted
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

1.     Preheat oven to 350 º F. Arrange rack in the center of the oven. Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with non-stick foil.

2.       In a medium bowl, measure flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine. Set aside.

3.   Puree drained beets in a food processor or heavy-duty blender. Scrape into a large bowl. Add sugar, vegetable oil, and ½ cup reserved beet juice to the pureed beets and mix on medium speed until combined. Add eggs and vanilla extract, blending until completely incorporated.

4.     Add flour mixture to the beet mixture. Using medium speed, mix until combined, at least two minutes, scraping down sides often. Add melted unsweetened chocolate and mix until combined.

5.     Pour into baking pan. Distribute chocolate chips evenly over the top of the batter. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Do not over-bake or it will become dry. Let cool to room temperature.

 6.     This cake is moist and delicious without any topping. However, if you would like to dress it up, you may sift powdered sugar over the top or frost with your favorite icing.

Makes 16 to 24 servings, depending on cut size (serves about 8).