Slates New Mexico Steak Fingers Recipes

STEAK FINGERS AND GRAVY

Steps:

• For the steak fingers: Combine the flour, seasoned salt, pepper and cayenne in a dish. Whisk together the milk and eggs in a separate dish.
• To bread the meat, first dredge in the flour mixture, then dip quickly in the egg mixture and then put back into the flour mixture to coat on both sides. Continue until all the meat is breaded.
• Heat the butter and vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Fry the steak strips 4 or 5 at a time, turning midway through. When golden brown, remove from the skillet to a paper towel-lined plate. Continue with the remaining meat. Cover loosely with foil to keep warm.
• For the gravy: Pour off all the grease from the skillet, and then add 1/4 cup of the grease back in. Sprinkle on the flour. Whisk the mixture till it becomes a paste (add more flour if you need to) and cook the paste over medium-low heat until it's deep golden brown. Pour in about 3 cups of the milk, whisking constantly. Allow the gravy to cook and thicken, whisking regularly and adding more milk if it seems too thick right off the bat. Season the gravy with salt and pepper and pour into small dishes.
• Serve the steak fingers with the gravy. Yum!

SHORTBREAD "FINGERS"

Steps:

• Cream the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the flour and salt and work the mixture with your fingers or a pastry blender until all the flour is incorporated. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.
• When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, roll half the dough until it's 1/4-inch thick. Using a small knife, cut out finger-sized strips, about 3 inches tall, rounding each finger at the top as shown. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Roll and cut the second half of the dough, and place the baking sheets in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. You can gather together scraps and re-roll them.
• Bake for 15 minutes, until the shortbread is very lightly golden. Do not let the cookies brown. Remove to a wire rack and cool.
• When the cookies are completely cool, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in a heatproof bowl for 1 minutes. The chips may look unmelted, but stir them with a spoon to see if they have actually softened before putting them in for another minute, if necessary.
• Spoon the melted chocolate into a zipper-lock bag. Seal the bag, pressing out any air. Use a toothpick to make a very tiny hole in one corner of the bag to release a thin stream of chocolate for writing. Decorate the fingers by piping a fingernail at the rounded end, and three horizontal lines to mark the joint at mid-finger. Decorate tombstones with crosses and writing as desired. Allow the chocolate to set before stacking the cookies.

HOMEMADE LADY FINGERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 2 baking sheets with 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons of flour. Mark parallel lines in the flour across the width of the tray about 4 inches apart. Put the eggs and sugar in a large mixing bowl, and with an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk beat on medium-high speed until the mixture is pale yellow, thick, and has tripled in volume, about 8 minutes, using the mixer. Add the egg whites, remaining 3/4 cup flour, salt and vanilla, fold to mix thoroughly so the mixture is smooth. Fill a large pastry bag with a 3/4-inch plain tube with the mixture. Pipe fingers about 4 1/2-inches in length on to the baking sheet, using the lines as a guide. Dust the ladyfingers with powdered sugar. Bake until for 15 to 18 minutes, or until just firm on the outside and soft in the center.