Steak and Cheese Eggrolls

Steak and Cheese Eggrolls came into my life completely by accident. One night the Asian takeout  order was messed up. I sunk my teeth into what I thought was a normal eggroll, and to my surprise and ultimately to my delight there it was - steak and cheese.  And there it began, a new guilty pleasure.   It's not the type of food one brags about, yet it is the type of food shared amongst close friends and the occasional pub/bar mate.

Ingredients

2 frozen beefsteaks Or 4 oz fresh shaved round beefsteaks
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup minced onions
1/2 cup shredded cheese (provolone, coby, cheddar, or Mexican blend)
6 eggroll wrappers
2 tablespoons water
2/3 cup cooking oil

Step One:

Heat a skillet over medium heat and add the beefsteaks. Season with the salt and the pepper and cook thoroughly done.  Reserve the beefsteaks to a cutting board, and add the onions to the skillet and cook until soft. Bowl the onions and remove the skillet from heat.  Back at the cutting board chop the beefsteaks.











Step Two:


Pour 1 tablespoon of water into a small shallow bowl. Retrieve the eggroll wrappers from the package. Please note they can dry out quickly.  Turn the wrapper such that one of the corners faces you as if you are south and the opposite corner is north. Place 1/4ths of the beefsteak, onion, and cheese on the corner closest to you.

Dip your fingers in to the water and moisten the east and west corners. Roll the wrapper from south to north, making sure to tuck in the east and west corners as you go. At the vest end moisten the north corner with a bit of water.  Repeat for the remaining three wrappers.





Step Three:

Add 2/3 cups of cooking oil to a skillet. If you own a home deep fryer, then by all means feel free to use it for this preparation. Heat the oil to 350 degrees (it should shimmer).   Using tongs add the eggrolls to the skillet. After 1 1/2 minutes rotate the eggrolls until all sides are crispy and golden.


Step Four:

Place the eggrolls on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb any excess oil. After about a minute serve them and enjoy.

Baby Fried Green Tomatoes

Fried green tomatoes are a perennial favorite dish through our the south eastern United States. The dish rose to national and international fame following the movie Fried Green Tomatoes. Tomatoes are a berry that normally turn red as they ripen. Green tomatoes are tough and  a bit tart.  Most tomatoes found at your supermarket are actually shipped green; they bruise less because they are tougher, and then exposed to chemical to trigger them to turn red.  Green tomatoes will not be carried in most supermarkets. They are, however, found at many farmer's markets usually during the months of June and July depending on the region.  This preparation uses small or baby green tomatoes sliced thin  and fried crispy.  They are great as an appetizer, or just a fun snack.

Ingredients:
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup yellow corn meal
1/2 teaspoon cajun seasoning
1 1/2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 1/2 cups thin sliced small green tomatoes


Step One:
Combine the first three ingredients well in a bowl.  Add the oil to a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Divide into three batches. Toss tomatoes in the corn meal mixture in preparation for frying one batch at a time.

Step Two:
Add one batch of the tomatoes to the skillet in a single layer and cook for 1 minute.  Turn them over and cook for another minute. Remove the cooked tomatoes to a paper towel lined plate, and repeat until all the batches are fried.