Manly Madness - Country Fried Steak

Our last Manly Madness Meal is Country Fried Steak.
This is a fairly simple meal and is usually a favorite of all age and gendered people.

Country Fried Steak
(printable)

The basics of the recipe are to dredge the meat in an egg mixture and then flour and seasonings.

And to fry it until it's browned and the meat is cooked through.
Our favorite sides are mashed potatoes and corn.
Simple and satisfying.

Manly Maddness - Pressed Cubano Sandwiches

Our manly meal today features a thick, meaty sandwich on some crusty bread. Throw in a bag of chips and some coleslaw and your man will love this. And if there's no man, you'll love it anyway.

Pressed Cubano Sandwiches
(printable)
Serves 4
8 slices of bread (regular bread, sliced french bread, anything goes)
butter
yellow mustard
1/2 lb deli sliced ham
1/2 lb deli sliced roasted pork or smoked turkey
sandwich sliced dill pickles (the long ones)
sliced swiss cheese
oil

Heat a skillet or griddle to medium heat while assembling the sandwiches. Butter insides of bread and layer to taste with mustard, ham, pork or turkey (and you want lots of meat, make that puppy thick), pickles and cheese. Add a little oil to skillet or griddle and allow to heat for a minute. Gently place sandwiches in skillet or on griddle. Cook low and slow checking after about three minutes. Flip and weight down with a cast iron skillet or something heavy.

If you squint just right you can see the sandwich in there somewhere.

When both sides are nicely browned, make sure ingredients are warm and cheese is melted. Slice in half and serve immediately.



The sandwich pictured was made with American cheese and smoked turkey, so don't be afraid to use whatever you have on hand. This one isn't terribly thick but seriously, the more meat the better! We buttered the outside of the bread more like a grilled cheese sandwich. For a traditional Cuban the butter goes on the inside of the bread and the oil is what browns the outside.

Manly Madness - Blue Pocket Burgers

Is there March Madness going on at your house?  Basketball or just spring fever?

Whatever the case, this meal will get you feeling like warm weather and grilling season have arrived.

Manly Madness continues with Blue Pocket Burgers.

Start with ground beef and split the meat into an even number of thin patties.

Then put some crumbled blue cheese on half of them:

Cover the blue cheese covered patties with the other patties and press the edges together to seal:

Sprinkle a little salt and pepper (and anything else you like) on them:

Grill them to desired doneness and put them on a bun.

We like to add bacon:

An onion ring:

Some lettuce:

Dijon mustard and ketchup:

And at our house, they get a little extra leftover blue cheese crumbles:

And serve them with the rest of the onion rings:

It's recommended to cut into this burger before you take a bite.
So the delicious hot melted cheese doesn't squirt out and burn your mouth...
ENJOY!