These United States of
America were founded on basic principles, one being Freedom. It became a melting pot for immigrants, mainly
from Europe, who were leaving poverty, or seeking sanctuary for religious
and/or political beliefs. This mixture
of peoples from different countries also brought their tried and true recipes
of the former homelands. As families
met, couples married, and created blended families, so did the recipes
intermingle. The East coast was becoming
crowded; the streets were not paved with gold, but a new land was being shouted
about…The West. The Pioneers began the
trek out to the West; to seek their fortunes on open plains, or in the hills
and mountains laden deep with gold, silver and copper.
Along the way, there were
no general stores or restaurants; perhaps a trading post a thousand miles or
so. Provisions were on the wagons;
hopefully the men would be lucky enough to catch fish in the rivers, or shoot
wild game for meat. Now the pioneer
women were resourceful themselves; every scrap of food, from flour to butter to
fruit and vegetables, had to be used up; there could be no waste! In other words, leftovers were not something
to sniff at and turn the head away; they were used and reconstructed into
something new and delicious.
Let’s take one of my old
time favorites, mashed potatoes…a fluffy mass of potato goodness seasoned with
salt, pepper, perhaps an herb or two; rich and comforting with milk and
butter. I can picture it now, sitting in
front of the fire on a cold or rainy day; a steaming bowl of buttery potatoes,
a spoonful resting on the tongue, then slowly slides down the throat. The deep sigh of satisfaction as warm comfort
envelopes, not just the stomach, but the entire body and mind. Alright, you get it, I truly enjoy mashed
potatoes when they are fresh and hot. Ah,
but what about when they become cold, not so nice then…and back to our women
pioneers.
Potato Fritters, British
and Irish Pancakes, Jewish Latke, Polish Placki; name a European ancestry and
you’ll find a version of one of these.
Now while I was researching Utah pioneer recipes, I came across an
article, “A Melting Pot of Pioneer Recipes” by Winnifred C. Jardina at the
Official Website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Let me quote one paragraph, “Thrift fritters
were a combination of cold mashed potatoes and any other leftover vegetables
and/or meat, onion for flavoring, a beaten egg, and seasonings, shaped into
patties and browned well on both sides in hot drippings.” However, there was no actual recipe within
the articles, and I wondered, how was I to make these without a recipe? I began searching and searching, and I had a
“Duh!” moment; of course, this was what I knew as a potato pancake!
Now it just happened I had
made a roast beef dinner including mashed potatoes and peas; gee, can you guess
what I did with the leftovers?
Pioneer Thrift Fritters
Ingredients:
2 eggs, beaten
4 cups leftover mashed
potatoes
1 Tbsp. dried parsley
leaves, crushed
Salt and pepper to taste.
1 cup cooked beef, diced
½ cup cooked peas
¼ cup sautéed diced onion
1 cup plain, dried bread
crumbs
4 Tbsp. canola oil
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
Preparation:
I
n a large bowl, mix
together the first seven ingredients, combine well. From the mixture, use an ice cream scoop to
make balls (if using hands, golf ball size); flatten to ½ inch and press both
sides into the bread crumbs.
In a large, deep skillet,
melt the butter in the oil over medium-high heat. Put 4 fritters into the pan; reduce heat to
medium low and cook for 15-20 minutes.
Carefully lift a fritter to check for brownness before flipping them
over. Fry other side for 15 minutes;
drain on paper towels. Repeat frying the
fritters in batches of 4 as instructed for the first batch. Add more oil and butter as needed.
Makes 16 fritters.
Mary Cokenour
Note: Just because I used a Mormon site to obtain this recipe, does not mean I am Mormon. I don't discriminate; I accept people for who and what they are, and I expect the same treatment; regardless of, well just about anything. Now, of course, if the person is a complete smuck, well then that goes towards the personality, not against race, religion, politics, ethnicity, yada, yada, yada.
In a large skillet,
medium-high heat, brown beef part way; add onions and peppers; complete
browning the beef. Add tomatoes,
Worcestershire, pepper and salt; mix thoroughly and remove from heat.
Remove dish from oven;
remove crescent roll dough from can and unroll over mixture in casserole
dish. Do not separate the dough into
individual pieces. Return dish to oven
and bake additional 15 to 20 minutes; until dough browns. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes
before cutting along the perforations of the dough. Use pie server to lift up wedge serving.
