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Brooklyn girl cooking in her Brooklyn world...
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Showing posts with label Latoya S. Snell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Latoya S. Snell. Show all posts

Monday, July 11, 2011

Sh!t I'm Late & Salisbury Steak

Listen...


At the end of the day, I am a mother of a three year old, a wife, a student and extremely exhausted from the day to day motions and at times, I slip up.  Okay, so I slip up a lot.  I came home from a meeting with numerous school counselors about going back to school from my leave of absence and picked up my son 45 minutes earlier than usual.  


The kiddo, Mr. EJ as I affectionately call him, wanted an Ice Popsicle from the store and being that my 3 1/2 year old was pretty good today, I figured what the hell.  We walked into the sun:  my toasted almond ice cream with the sun dressed yellow wrapper and my son walking with his 2 minute melting fire engine and sky blue twisted ice pop.  Of course, he is extremely messy and we both took a bath as we talked about his day.  I pulled out some ground beef, not knowing what the hell I was going to make and after a few hours of lolligagging, I came across the "oh sh!t" moment.  It's 7pm...my son goes to sleep in two hours and my husband is walking in the door...what the hell can I make before it hits 8pm? Salisbury Steak of course!  


Tonight's special meal is my 1, 2, 3 Salisbury Steak w/ Caramelized Onions & Mushroom Pan Gravy.  Since I was short on time, I paired it with some sauteed red and green peppers, onions and fusilli, lightly dressed with oregano and basil.  Ideally, traditional mashed potatoes with sour cream and chives and some sort of steamed or blanched green veggie would have been perfect but I'm a woman on a mission.  Hope this recipe serves you well in your 30 minute pursuit to happiness...45 minutes tops.


1, 2, 3 Salisbury Steak with Onion & Mushroom Pan Gravy


  • 2 1/2 lbs. ground beef (or turkey!)
  • 1 medium onion, halved and julienned
  • 1 small onion (or half med. onion), brunoise or small dice
  • 4 cleaned mushrooms (I prefer baby portabella), bottom discarded and julienned
  • up to 3 T of all purpose flour
  • 1/3 c. pan drippings or vegetable/canola oil
  • up to 1/4 c. soy sauce
  • 2 T Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 t onion powder
  • 1 t garlic powder
  • 1 T ketchup
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 c bread crumbs
  • TT salt and pepper



Set oven to broil (500 - 525 degrees).  In the meantime, season thawed ground beef with onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Incorporate eggs, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, bread crumbs and diced/brunoise onion into ground beef.  Gather a chunk of meat, separating into 6 - 8 portions to create Salisbury Steaks.  Shape into a rectangle or oval shape and lay on either 1/2 sheet or full sheet pan.  Place steaks into oven for 10 minutes.  Flip over at 10 minute mark and leave in oven for five extra minutes.  Pull steaks off tray and set to side.  Hold grease drippings as gravy.


To create pan gravy, heat pan on medium fire.  Once pan reaches even heat, use grease drippings, approximately 1/3 c. with 90% beef, in pan and caramelize onions; add mushrooms and set vegetables to the side.  Using drippings, mix with all purpose flour, adding 1 T at a time.  Stir frequently and be patient for it to thicken.  Add soy sauce for color and season with salt, as needed.  For a little twist, add 1/3 c. white wine slowly and allow gravy to thicken.  It should be thick enough that it reaches the nappe stage (coat the back of a spoon and stay) but not too thick where it is gooey.  You can thin your gravy with oil, preferably a veggie oil.  Taste to see if it is seasoned enough and you can add onions and mushrooms in mixture.  To make it visually appealing, plate your Salisbury Steak with a coating gravy and place onion and mushrooms on top.  


Bon Appetit!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

First Blog on Blogspot!

Spinach Stuffed Chicken with Jasmine Rice
...and I've been talked into blogging once again but this time it's all about the cakes (and other foods too).


For those who don't know me personally, my name is Latoya S. Snell, owner of Brooklyn's home based business, The Cake Monologues.  You can call me the butter cream queen, the Brooklyn cake magician on a mission or just Toya.  Either way, I still have love for you.  


It's Me!  Latoya S. Snell
Photo credits:  W. Eric Snell of  E. Snell Design
I hope that I will be able to share some of my self taught recipes, give some tips here and there about the world of pastries and please don't be fooled...this larger than life Brooklyn gal likes to throw down in the kitchen.  With that being said, check out my Blogspot from time to time to visually taste some of my good home cooking and if I'm not being a sucka...I'll share some recipes with you.  


The Cake Monologues
Please feel free to check out my website, www.thecakemonologues.com and if you are moved by some of the voodoo that I do (hehehehe), please order a cake or two.  Currently, I am able to deliver within the New York City area and part of New Jersey unless it is a special order.  Anyone who has me as a Facebook friend know that I love to post up all different types of dishes and baby, I don't discriminate.  


My mouth is kinda...eh, colorful at times but if you touched the knives that I've crossed in the kitchen, your mouth wouldn't be so pretty either.  I have a passionate love for poetry (hence the business name) so don't be surprised if you see a poem or six on here.


Please share your thoughts, opinions...good, bad, ugly and the oh no you didn't heifers, with me.  If you have a question or two, send it to me and I will try my best to help you.  I love you all already and this is my first post.   Feel free to follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cakemonologues or click here.  Don't be afraid to fan The Cake Monologues on Facebook by clicking the link on the side of this blog or clicking here.  I promise not to call you a stalker unless you're lurking near my window at 2AM. 


Buona Notte!


Latoya Shauntay