Beef is Just What the Doctor Ordered.

A classic meal, not just in the United States, but in many other countries, is the hamburger.  I am not referring to the minuscule hockey pucks sold at too many fast-food places.  I am not referring to the one-inch-thick rounds of seasoned meat, dripping with juices, layered between a bun and topped with anything your heart desires.  No, I am talking about an actual meal that consists of the hamburger as the star, served with a rich gravy, over rice, egg noodles or mashed potatoes.

In the USA, we know this meal as Salisbury Steak, but its origin is not here, or in any other English-speaking country, as the name might imply.  The original hamburger steak with gravy originated in Hamburg, Germany.  It was in the 1800s that immigrants from Germany brought this recipe to, not just America, but into England as well.  At this time, during the Meiji Era, Japan finally opened its borders to foreigners.  This opened up this region to cuisines from the USA, England, and India (Where do you think the Brits and Japanese got their love of curry from!”).

Back to Salisbury Steak which was named after Dr. James Henry Salisbury.  He was a general physician, but had a great interest in gastrointestinal health, digestion and nutrition.  During the Civil War, he noticed that the main diet of the soldiers was bread, a broth-like soup with some vegetables added, and fruit.  That is if fresh fruit and vegetables were available.  Dr. Salisbury deduced that even though the soldiers were eating, their bodies were actually starving from the lack of protein.  By introducing some type of meat (he focused on beef and pork), thickening the broth with “hard tack” biscuits, and adding vegetables, a more nutritious meal could be served to the soldiers, both North and South.

Ah, now how did Salisbury Steak become a popular dish, for not just those dining in restaurants, but for the populace in general?  Remember those German immigrants from Hamburg?  Coming into the USA, their ships landed in New York City, home to many famous restaurants like Delmonico’s.  Yes, you guessed it.  The chefs of Delmonico’s came up with a fancified version of the Hamburg steak, but then took it to another level.  Swiss Steak, which did not originate in Switzerland at all, is similar to the Hamburg steak recipe, but instead of ground meat, it uses actual steak that is tenderized by the” cubing” method.  “Cubing”?  The beef is pounded out and flattened to help tenderize cheaper cuts.  If you have eaten country fried/chicken fried steak, then you have eaten cubed steak.  Anyway, back to Delmonico’s who, with their innovative culinary techniques, were able to sell, to the rich and famous, dishes that any ordinary citizen could make as well.

After WW2, beef, in Japan, became more readily available and at a cheap price. Housewives, and restaurants, were able to take the Hamburg recipe and adjust it to Japanese tastes.  However, when beef became a more “specialized” protein, the prices went up, and pork began finding its way into the mix.  Since the 1960s, Japanese Hamburg Steak (Hambagu) contains

meat patties made from a mix of ground beef and pork, sautéed onions, garlic, eggs, panko bread crumbs, and milk.  Seasonings added are salt, pepper, and soy sauce while the sauce is a mixture of Worcestershire sauce, ketchup and sake.  Very similar to a homemade meat loaf recipe.  This is served with the ever-present bowl of rice.

So, next time you are dining on Salisbury steak, Swiss steak, or a juicy gourmet hamburger with all the fixings, do not feel guilty as it was just what the doctor ordered.

 

Salisbury Steak

 

Ingredients:

5 lbs. lean ground beef

1 cup each diced mushrooms and onions

1 cup beef broth

1 ½ cups plain dried bread crumbs

2 tsp. each salt and ground black pepper

1 Tbsp. garlic powder

2 Tbsp. butter

2 large onions, slivered

Gravy:

3 Tbsp. flour

2 (10.5 oz) cans cream of mushroom soup

2 cups milk

1 cup beef broth

1 (3/4 oz.) packet brown gravy mix

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400F.  Spray a large jelly roll pan with nonstick cooking spray.

 

In a large bowl, mix together beef, mushrooms, onions, broth, bread crumbs and seasonings thoroughly.  Use a 1 cup measuring cup to scoop out mixture and make oval shaped “steaks”; flatten down to 1” thick; place on spray pan.  Bake in oven for 30 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together all ingredients listed under “Gravy”.

In a large skillet, melt butter on medium-high heat; sauté onions until softened.  Pour gravy over onions; mix and bring to a boil; reduce heat to low.  Remove steaks, dabbing on paper towels to remove excess grease, and immerse into gravy-onion mixture.  Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve over buttered noodles, rice or potatoes.

Makes 10 servings.

 

Swiss Steak

Ingredients:

2 lbs. cubed steak

1 tsp. each garlic powder, ground black pepper

¼ tsp. sea salt

1/ 2 cup flour

1/3 cup canola oil or peanut oil

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

1 large onion, slivered

1 large red bell pepper, cut into strips

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes

1 cup beef broth

Preparation:

Season both sides of steak with garlic powder, pepper and salt; lightly dust with flour. Heat oil, on high, in a large skillet; lightly brown both sides of steak; set on paper towels to remove excess oil.

Spray a 4-5 qt crock pot with non-stick spray. Place steaks in pot with garlic, onion, bell pepper and mushrooms on top. Spread diced tomatoes evenly over vegetables; pour broth over tomatoes. Set on low; cook for 6-8 hours, until meat is very tender.

Serve over noodles or rice.

Makes 6 servings.

Japanese Hamburg Steak

If you are interested in the Japanese version, here is a link to a good recipe:  https://norecipes.com/hamburg-steak-hambagu/

 Mary Cokenour

The Chicken Who Would Be King.

A number of times I have heard someone refer to my research techniques as being part ferret and part pitbull.  I believe I have always been like this, even as a child, being interested in a subject and wanting to know more and more about it.  Even now, my bookcases are filled with all kinds of books on the Four Corners states.  When writing my travel blog, I like to give accurate and historical insight to places we have visited.  Cookbooks?  I have one bookcase full of cuisines from all over the world.  With the knowledge available via the internet, I can dig up, and latch onto, more information than I know what to do with.  Gaining knowledge is like learning the tricks of a magician; something up my sleeve as you are distracted by another recipe to try.

So, as I began researching this newest interest in a chicken recipe, the information I found simply kept expanding.  Why?  Seems that from 1665 to 1972, someone, in some country was trying to take credit for its creation.  I cannot understand why myself as, no matter how fancy the added ingredients got, it still reminded me of one thing…Sh*t on a Shingle.  Yes, I consider this recipe the poultry version of Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast, just with some fancy veggies added in, maybe a drop of sherry or two.

While I attended university, this was a comfort food for me, along with shepherd’s pie, pizza and the greasier the cheeseburger, the better.  Ramen?  No, no, did not eat that dried out stuff when one could go to New York City’s Chinatown, and for five dollars buy enough food and eggrolls to last three days.  Try doing that now!

The name of the dish being referred to is Chicken A La King; small pieces of chicken and vegetables simmered in a thick cream sauce.  While some like to eat it over rice or egg noodles, toast cut into triangles is the more popular fashion.  It can be made from scratch, or semi-homemade using canned chicken, mushrooms and frozen vegetables; semi-homemade is quicker or course.

Back in 1665, the name of the dish was A La Royale, developed in France and served to royalty and aristocracy.  Even though it was mentioned in several cookbooks, no real written recipe ever appeared.  In the 1880s, Delmonico’s of New York City called it A La Keene, after Foxhall Keene who was an Olympic Gold Medalist in the sport of Polo.  But the Claridge Hotel of London claimed they named it A La Keene after Foxhall’s father, James, who was a famous horse breeder.  Sounds like a bit of father-son rivalry going on there.  The name change to A La King began in the late 1890s when the Brighton Beach Hotel, Brooklyn, NY, named the dish after their most popular patrons, E. Clarke King and his wife.  However, the Bellevue Hotel, Philadelphia, claimed it was created by hotel cook William "Bill" King.  When he died in 1915, his obituary stated that while he had no real claim to fame, his inspired recipe for Chicken A La King would be a testament to his cooking genius.  In 1972, James Beard inserted the recipe in his cookbook, American Cookery, called it Chicken A La King, and along with the chicken added mushrooms, green bell pepper, onion, and pimiento in a cream sauce with sherry.   …and that was that!

Now to ferret out an original recipe, and I am blown away how difficult that was. References to James Beard’s recipe was plentiful, but not available to look at unless the cookbook was purchased.  How rude!  I also found references to the same recipe on food blogs, but when looked for, surprise, no longer available for viewing.  How strange!  Then there were the celebrity, home cooks, food bloggers, etc. that claimed they were using an original recipe, but with a twist…the addition of peas.  No, No, No Peas!  Egads, just because Paula Dean loves butter and peas, does not mean you have to add them into every recipe.

This recipe is as close to original as I could come up with, and never got any complaints.

 

Chicken A La King

Ingredients:

1/2 cup salted butter

8 oz. white or crimini mushrooms, rough chopped

½ cup diced green bell pepper (or mix with red and yellow bell pepper for more color)

1/4 cup diced onion

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups heavy cream

1 Tbsp. sherry wine (never use cooking wine, that stuff is full of salt!)

¼ cup diced pimentos

4 cups chopped cooked chicken

Preparation:

In a 3-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add in mushrooms, bell pepper and onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.

  

Add in flour and stir until well incorporated in the vegetables. Pour in chicken broth, cream and sherry; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until sauce is thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in pimientos and chicken; let cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until all ingredients become evenly hot.

   

 

 

Serve over cooked rice, egg noodles, toast, or biscuits.

Makes 6 servings.

 

To create a semi-homemade version of this recipe, use canned mushrooms and canned all-white meat chicken; drain the liquid for both, and chop up the mushrooms.  For the peppers and onions, I always have a frozen bag of the stir-fry ready variety, so a quick defrost and dice them up.  Simply follow the directions for the rest, and if you do not have pimentos, this dish has so much flavor, you will not miss them.

Mary Cokenour 

Keeping It Cool.

Here we are, the middle of July and the temperatures are on the rise.  So, where is that sound that brings out our childhood delight?  “What sound?”, you ask.  It is the jingle, the jingle played by the Good Humor or Mr. Softee truck.  All the kids lining up, at the usual stop, money in hand, to buy soft serve cones, rocket pops, éclair or strawberry shortcake. 

Ah, but where I lived, as a kid, we had one more sound that would get us excited in summer’s heat.  “What sound?”, you ask.  It was the “ding-ding”, no, not “dun-dun”; I am not doing an episode of Law and Order here.  “Ding-ding” of the bicycle bell located on the handlebar, and attached to the bicycle was a freezer on wheels, carrying cherry, lemon, grape and, my personal favorite, chocolate Italian ices.  Getting out a scoop and pleated paper cup, the Italian ice man would fill the cup, pressing down to get the most inside, and then rounding out the top in a mound.  It was sweet, it turned our tongues different colors, you could drink it as it melted inside the cup, but most important of all, it was cold.

What is Italian ice?  Origin, of course, is Italian, but even there it is debated on what region.  Supposedly, it is traced back to ancient Rome and the Apennine Mountain Range which runs through the center of Italy.  Snow was always on the mountain tops, gathered in the warmer months, mixed with fruit, and was a refreshing treat in the sweltering heat.  However, in Sicily, the same claim is made, but the snow came from Mount Etna.  In Rome, it was called sorbetto; in Sicily, it was called granita, and while both used fresh fruit, an added sweetener was also included and that was honey.

Between 1880 and 1924, poverty in Southern Italy and Sicily forced many a citizen, of these regions, to immigrate to America.  Italians became the fifth largest ethnic group in the USA, and the country benefited from their many skills, including culinary.  So, is it any wonder that Italian ices did not become a huge hit, during the summer months.  The cities were crowded, even back then, with street carts, people walking to and from employment, children playing, and others just going through day-to-day existence.  Concrete buildings and cobblestone streets created virtual oven-like conditions with the heat pressing down, and no ventilation.  One could not just go to the local convenience store, open the refrigerated section and grab a “cold one”. 

Nowadays, we take a luxury like this for granted.

Ah, but here came the Italian ice man, with his icy confections keeping cool with block ice.  It was momentary relief, but it still hit the spot.

Italian ice, sorbet and sherbet, are they not all the same product?  Yes and no.  They all, if the manufacturer cares about the quality, use pureed fresh fruit, ice and a natural sweetener like sugar or honey.  However, sherbet adds another ingredient, a dairy product of milk, heavy cream or buttermilk.  The added fat gives the sherbet a smoother texture equating it more to ice cream than an “ice”.  If shopping for any of these in a market’s frozen section, read the labels!  Some have artificial flavors and colors, and lots of sugar added, to fool you into thinking you are eating real fruit.  Chances are, if the product states, “no sugar added”, real fruit which contains natural sugar itself, is your main ingredient.

Can Italian ice be homemade?  You betcha!  Back in the 1990s (aka the late 1900s), Martha Steward did a show on making “granita”, or the Sicilian version of Italian ice.  Of course, she touted it as a very fancy dessert that would “wow your guests”.  Anyway, three basic ingredients are needed: fresh fruit, ice and a sweetener.  When making a citrus flavored ice, an additional tablespoon of freshly squeezed juice will give added flavor, and a zing to the tongue.  Berries can be put into the blender whole, except for large strawberries which should be quarter, and green part removed of course.  Larger fruit should be peeled and also cut up.

 

Homemade Italian Ice

Ingredients:

3 cups fresh fruit  

2 Tbsp. honey or granulated sugar

3 cups ice (small cubes or crushed)

Option: one Tbsp. freshly squeezed juice of same fruit being used.

Preparation:

In a food processor or blender, blend the fruit, honey or sugar, optional juice, and 2 cups of ice until chunky. Add remaining one cup of ice and blend until completely smooth. Taste to see if more sweetener is necessary.

Pour the mixture into a 9” x 13” glass baking dish and freeze for 30 minutes. Remove dish from freezer and scrape with a fork until slushy. Continue to freeze for another 2 hours, repeating scraping once per hour.

Scoop the ice into dessert cups.  The ice will be of a chunky looking consistency, if a smoother texture is desired, let it sit out for about five minutes.  Warm the scoop slightly and run it over the top of the ice to smooth out the bumps.

Makes 4 cups.

Pioneer Day Weekend celebrations will be here soon, wonder if a vendor will be cooling our tongues down with a nice fruity ice?

Mary Cokenour

Indulging the Exotic; Review of Galil Brands.

Indulging the exotic, what exactly does this mean?  Oxford Dictionary defines exotic as, “Originating in or characteristic of a distant foreign country.”  Encyclopedia Britannica denotes it as, “very different, strange, or unusual”.  Well now, depending on where in the world Waldo is, every place and everything can be defined as exotic. 

Large cities have the advantage of allowing diversity to reign freely.  Yes, cultural communities may have a strong footing in one particular area of the city.  Those interested in, and wanting to experience, the different cultures will travel to the areas.  Music, dancing, artwork, even religious beliefs open up the minds to newness throughout our small planet.  However, it is the foods and beverages of the community that open up, widely, the senses of sight, smell and taste.  Sadly though, more often than not, many do not seek out the “very different, strange or unusual”.  Fear of the unknown is too strong for some, and we all know that fear is the mind killer.

Living on the east coast, and especially within a short travel distance to New York City, experiencing the exotic was easy.  Within Brooklyn itself, when I lived there back in the 1960s, and visited during the 1970s, Italian, Croatian, Norwegian, and the Jewish communities had much to offer.  Parades, festivals, bakeries, delicatessens, restaurants, and all the small “mom and pop” grocery shops were a learning experience, especially when it came to foods and beverages.

So, when I think of exotic, the food items I will tell you about now were readily available, and normal (such an overrated word) for me, while to you, they might sound, once more, “very different, strange or unusual”.

 

Recently, I found an online site that offered products created and shipped in from Israel, and many items used in Jewish recipes.  Galil Brands (https://galilbrands.com/) has been in business, since 1985, offer customer quality products at reasonable prices, from several countries, not just Israel.  Orders of $35 or more have free shipping, and the products from Israel are kosher.  Why is being kosher so important?  Did you ever see that commercial for Hebrew National hotdogs, the one with Uncle Sam about to eat a hotdog full of additives, fillers and by-products?  But the narrator states, “Hebrew National is kosher, as we have to answer to a higher authority”.  So, what does kosher mean?   The Hebrew word "kosher" means fit or proper as it relates to kosher dietary law.  While it is not necessary for a rabbi to bless the foods, a company will have a rabbi on staff to supervise the processing, and make sure it follows “biblical” quality standards.  The rabbi will inspect ingredients added to foods, and the foods themselves, to make sure no contaminants taint the products.  Therefore, no FDA allowable amounts of bug parts, rodent droppings or animal hairs.  Yes, I am grossed out too, so let’s get on to the products you might see as exotic, and I only see as hitting the yummy spot of the tummy.

 

Turkish Delight, I bet the first time you have heard of this confection was either reading The Chronicles of Narnia, or watching the movies.  In the story, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Turkish delight is a symbol of Edmund's mistakes and his want for something so much that he will hurt others to get it.

 

Turkish Delight is a candy made with starch and sugar that commonly comes in flavors like rose, orange, lemon or mint.  Cut into small squares, to resemble jewels, this powdered sugar covered treat (lokum in Turkish) became popular in Turkey at the final quarter of the 18^th century. The confectioner Hacı Bekir Effendi, arrived in Constantinople (Istanbul today) from Anatolia in 1776, and invented Turkish Delight.  While eating the candy, the flavorings start out mild and intensify as chewed, with the powdered sugar giving a delightful sweetness.  Created in Turkey and delightfully sweet…Turkish Delight!

 

Cinnamon Walnut Cake is basically coffee cake without the brown sugar streusel over top, and/or layered within.  This cake comes in a rectangular shaped, single layer loaf and is strongly flavored with cinnamon, and chopped walnuts.  Most coffee cake recipes use some type of dairy product for added moistness to the cake.  Due to being kosher, the only liquids used are eggs and simple syrup (water plus sugar), so the cake might seem dry at first, but continue eating and it simply gets better and better.

 

Halva, aka Halvah, originates from the Egyptian word “halawa” meaning sweet confection.  Historically, this sweet treat dates back to about 3000 BCE, and is credited to Persia (Iran today).  Similar to fudge, but a crumblier texture, it is typically made by mixing tahini, a paste of ground sesame seeds, with heated sugar syrup, cooled into a brick form, and then sliced into individual pieces. Flavorings are usually vanilla, chocolate, pistachio, or marble (vanilla/chocolate swirled). Luckily, Galil offers a sugar-free variety, and it is just as delicious as the halva made with real sugar.

 

Roasted Chestnuts, back in the December 14, 2022 issue of the San Juan Record, I wrote about chestnuts, and mentioned the Galil brand then.  At that time, the chestnuts in the packets were an unsightly, and appetite killing, greyish color.  Not so any longer!  The chestnuts are a variety of light to dark brown, just as roasted chestnuts are expected to look like.  The flavor is full on chestnut, and while the packet says to refrigerate after opening, and will last seven days; no, maybe two days maximum as they are addicting.

 

Dried figs are a good source of calcium and fiber; they are a good substitute when fresh figs are not available for purchase.  Due to being high in natural sugar, the recommended serving is 2-3 figs per day.  Being dried, they can be difficult to bite apart, and very chewy; but they can be reconstituted in water for easier eating.

Galil Brands offers grocery items, candies and snacks galore; many might sound weird, but they will be a delicious bonus to the taste buds.  So, go for the different, the strange, the unusual…go exotic!

Mary Cokenour