Scrambling Hamburger

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The other day on FaceBook there was a post going around. The post was:
“I want all my FB friends to comment on how you met me!
After this comment, copy this to your status so I can do the same for
you. You'll be amazed at the responses you get.”

I got a kick out of reading some of the comments, so I went ahead and posted it on mine. Here’s the reply from a friend of my sister, Alice Hall Stewart:
“I walked into your house (on Maple?) with Diane and Ard and you were in the kitchen in your underwear, cooking hamburger meat. Diane said you were "scrambling hamburger" to eat with ketchup. I still call it "scrambling hamburger" today.”

The post was correct, I was amazed. Diane is my sister. I was in either 7th or 8th grade at the time. Isn't it always amazing the tiny things that we do and how it affects the lives of others. Thanks Alice, for the comment. I'm sorry you had to see that and carry it with you all these years... hahaha!

Since then I haven’t changed much. I still cook in my underwear. Although I haven’t used the phrase “scrambling hamburger” for about 40 years, I may start using it again.

What the phrase refers to is the fine art of browning hamburger. We laugh because browning hamburger is easy and everyone does it for sloppy joes, chili, lasagna, spaghetti sauce, tacos, and a whole slew of other recipes. But, I want to share with you just a simple trick I learned while working at the Cuckoo, a long gone fast food restaurant in my home town. They did this for taco meat. The trick is a simple addition of a cup of water.

Most people start with a skillet or saute pan and put it on a hot burner. Then they add the hamburger by picking off itsy bitsy pieces at a time and placing them strategically in the pan. Then they stand there stirring, chopping, and separating the hamburger for 15 to 20 minutes. They use a spatula, a spoon, or a fork. I’m sure that’s what I was doing while standing there in my tidy whities back in the 60s.

What I do now is that I throw that pound of hamburger in the skillet whole. I don’t bother with separation. I add a cup of water and I don’t bother measuring. I place the lid on the skillet and I go do something else. I come back every once in a while just to make sure I don’t need to adjust the heat and see how things are going. That’s when I take my wooden spoon and do a simple crumble of the burger as necessary, mostly to see if it’s done. What happens is this. The water stops the burger from sticking and burning to the pan. It also creates steam that combined with the lid cooks more evenly. The heat then breaks down the fat and what you have left is finely ground hamburger. I little chopping at the end separates big chunks. Then you drain in your calendar like always to get rid of all that fat and grease. I even do this using frozen hamburger, although I monitor it a little closer. Sometimes, I’ll use a crock pot.

I also throw in the chopped onions, garlic, etc depending on the recipe. The difference is if I want the onions carmalized, they’ll go in the pan first with a little butter and when they’re done, then the hamburger and water.
So now you know how to scramble hamburger. While we’re at it, here’s a favorite recipe using the scramble.

Goulash

Scramble up then drain
a pound of hamburger
medium chopped onion
tblspn chopped garlic
medium sized chopped green pepper

While your doing that, cook two cups elbow macaroni. When it’s done, drain it and set aside.

In a blender, food processor, or using a hand held immersion blender, mix up the following:
2 tblspns chili powder (the hotter, the better)
5 dashes of Tabasco
¼ tspn ea salt and pepper
1 can Mexican style tomatoes
1 tblspn ea 57 sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce

Throw the whole thing together in a skillet and low simmer about a half hour.
Stir once in a while to keep from sticking or burning. This also will burn off most of the moisture (nobody wants a runny goulash)

I hope you like it.

Feel free to send me your favorite recipes. They may even end up here on Uncle Ron’s Kitchen.

Ham Salad, Pimento Cheese, Chicken Salad, Turkey Salad

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My first trip cross country alone was in 1973. I was heading to California. I had been transferred from Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida to Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, California. I flew to Kansas City from Jax, where I bought a brand new 1973 Camaro, bright red of course. I hit the road on March 1st. It was snowing as I left Liberty, a little town outside of KC. Elmer, from across the street, who was also my best friends Dad, and who was a truck driver mapped out my route. I-35 south, to US-54, to the I-40/ Route 66 taking me into California. That was Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California.

Since then, I have driven cross country many times, but something that my Dad did for that first trip is a must. Dad made up some ham salad and some pimento cheese sandwiches. I think there were a half dozen of each in my styrofoam cooler on that trip.

Now ham salad, pimento cheese, turkey salad, and chicken salad all take a special kitchen tool if you want to make them right. That tool is a meat grinder or some call it a food grinder.

My sister, Elaine bought me one for Christmas in the 70's and from one marriage to the next, I lost it. I bought one at a garage sale, but it had suction cups to hold it steady. That didn’t work. So I found one in an old hardware store with a screw clamp that holds it securely to a table or counter top. Now days, I use my grinder attachment on our Kitchen Aid.

The grinder is absolutely necessary for grinding the meats, cheese, pimento, and sweet pickles. Trust me, it’s just not the same chopped. Believe me, I’ve tried it.

Now, as you know, I hate when people tell me “season to taste” in a recipe. I mean I absolutely hate it. Here’s the exceptions cause I’ve never measured anything for any of these recipes. It’s all to looks and taste. So grind ‘em up and mix ‘em together. I’ve never made a bad batch.

I’ve had people tell me “this is just like my grandma used to make” or “like my Mom’s.” Apparently, no one has grinders. It’s really easy.

Pimento Cheese
One block sharp cheddar
Pimento
Miracle Whip

Ham Salad
One pound bologna
Pimento
Sweet pickles
Miracle Whip
Salt

Turkey or Chicken Salad
same as Ham salad except you substitute the meats. It works best with breasts (white meat).

There ya go. Enjoy!

Country Fried Pork Chops

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Remember a couple weeks ago, those boneless pork chops were on sale. I had picked up a few extra and froze them. (I love my Food Saver, or Suck and Seal as I refer to it) So, when doing meal planning where you’re using frozen stuff, you gotta thaw. So Saturday, we decided to have pork chops Sunday.

Now Barbi loves my blog. I’m not sure if she’s ever even read any of it. She says I need to add more pictures. What she likes about it is that it gives her a break and I cook. We then share the cleanup.

So, anyway, we’re discussing how to fix ‘dem chops and we decide “chicken fried.” Now, I’m not a big fan of bread crumb or cracker crumb breading. I like it ok, but I would rather just have a simple egg wash and a flour dip. Or, for cod, a beer batter. That’s nothing more than beer and flour. Finding a flour and egg recipe is tough so I just used my G2 as we used to say in the service and made one up. (G2 and S2 are terms for the Intelligence offices)

So that was the plan. Got the meat figured out, what to have with it. What do ya have with anything “chicken fried” or “country fried?” That’s right, GRAVY. So that means potatoes and gravy. We decided on fried but could have easily gone with mashed. Mashed is actually a heck of a lot less work if you use instant. Plus, it don’t make near the mess.

Now this recipe is exactly the same for Chicken Fried Steak except now you’re using chops instead of cubed steak. Shoot, you can even do this with hamburger.

There used to be a place in Kansas City called Rigby’s that had the best chicken fried steak ever. Unfortunately, it’s long gone.

So, here we go.



Chicken Fried Pork Chops

4 qtr pound boneless chops
1 cup flour
1 teaspn pepper
2 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil


Whisk the eggs in a bowl, mix the flour and pepper in another. Dip the chops in the egg (they call this an egg wash) and then dip in flour/pepper mix. Coat good on both sides. Then set it on some wax paper.

Now, I did a double coat, but I shoulda did a single. I like the breading, but a double was just too thick.

Heat the oil on medium high like when frying anything. Use a good size skillet so you can get all four chops in at once. When it’s good and hot put the chops in. It takes about five minutes on each side. Fry until “golden brown” and then put them on a paper towel covered plate.

Gravy

2 cups milk (Whole, 2 percent, or non fat, or even cream. Whatever you got handy.)
4 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon pepper

In a shaker or blender, mix the two cups milk with 4 tablespoons flour. Throw in about a teaspoon pepper which will give it a nice look when it’s done.
Carefully and slowly, pour this into the pan drippings. For four chops as cooked above, you should have about 4 tablespoons of pan drippings so no skimming required.
Heat, stirring constantly until it turn into a nice thick country gravy.

Fried Potatoes

2 potatoes
3 tablespoons butter or crisco
salt and pepper to taste (how’s that Bub?)

Peel and slice the potatoes about a qtr inch thick. Too thin makes ‘em more like potato chips than fried potatoes.
Use another good size skillet 12 or 13 inch. Heat butter just like you are frying anything else, medium high. Same-o, when they’re browned to your liking, flip and get the other side. This takes a good ten or so minutes on each side.

There you have it. We had canned corn on the side. Now, this is obviously not your “heart smart” recipe, but it’s hard to beat if you like flavor. Speaking of flavor. If you want a little more flavor in your gravy, use the other half of that Jimmy Dean sausage you had left over from those stuffed pork chops, too.

Speaking of leftovers, leftover chops and chicken fried steak makes great sandwiches. I like 57 sauce and dill pickle.

Enjoy!

Time For Dessert - Lemon Chiffon Pie

In my side yard we have two orange trees, two plum, one lime, one grapefruit, and one lemon. The lemons are ready to harvest. If I let them hang much longer, they’ll start to fall. I made some lemonade, put slices in our water at every meal, trying to find every use for them, and am giving away as many as I can. I grabbed the cookbooks and what jumped out at me was the Lemon Chiffon Pie recipe. Although it only calls for one lemon and a half lemon peel, I started drooling for Lemon Chiffon.

The following recipe comes once again from a recipe of the Cordon Bleu Cookery School. It’s in the Gran Diplome Cooking Course. It was fairly easy. The only trouble I ran into was towards the end of the recipe. Be sure to whip the cream prior to mixing it into the meringue. If you don’t, it won’t come out as fluffy as it should.

The recipe itself tells how to make the graham cracker crust which I’ll show you, but I cheated and picked up a premade one at the grocery store. I made one before so I know it's good. I used it for cheesecake.

Baked Graham Cracker Crust

1 1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup softened butter

9 inch loose-based pie pan

Method:

In a bowl combine ingredients and blend until crumbly. Press evenly over bottom and sides of pie pan. Bake shell in moderately hot oven (375 degrees F) for 8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

Lemon Chiffon Pie

9 inch baked graham cracker crust

For filling:
½ envelope gelatin
2 Tblspn cold water
2 eggs, seperated
½ cup sugar
pinch of salt
juice of 1 lemon and grated peel of ½ lemon
½ cup heavy cream, whipped until it holds a soft shape

Method:
Make pie shell and cool.
In a small sauce pan sprinkle geletin over cold water and let stand for 5 minutes or until spongey.
Meanwhile, beat egg yolks with half the sugar, the salt, lemon juice and peel until light and creamy.
Pour into double boiler and cook, stirring over gentle heat until mixture is the consistency of heavy cream. Remove from heat.
Dissolve gelatin over a pan of hot water and stir into lemon mixture. Cool, stirring occasionally.
Beat egg whites until they hold a stiff peak and beat in remaining sugar a spoonful at a time until this meringue is smooth and glossy.
When lemon mixture starts to set, beat until smooth and fold into meringue with the whipped cream.
Pour into pie shell and chill until set. Take from refrigerator 20 minutes before serving.

There ya go. Enjoy!

Chili

There are literally millions of chili recipes. My wife likes her's soupy and throws in lots of oyster crackers. I don't turn it down but I like mine thick enough to put on a hot dog. We both like chili with beans. She used to use strictly kidney beans but I have convinced her to use chili beans. She still uses one can kidney beans and one can chili beans. I’ve made mine without beans strictly for use on hotdogs.

Give ‘em both a try, depending on your mood.

Barbi’s Chili- a quick and easy recipe for a chili night

1 lb hamburger
1 white onion
2 cans red kidney beans
1 can Campbell’s tomato soup
1 tblspn flour
2 tblspn chili powder
1 teaspoon salt

Brown hamburger and onion. Drain
In kettle mix beans, tomato soup, and one can water.
In a small bowl mix flour, chili powder, 3 tblspn cold water, and salt. Mix well then add to kettle.
Add the hamburger and onions. Stir
Simmer 45 min to 1 hour minimum
stir occasionally

I call my recipe Chief’s Chili because it’s a variation of my Dad’s recipe. His name is Chief. He's the leader of our tribe.

You’ll notice the recipe calls for a block of chili. What this is, is Mexican style chili con carne without beans. It comes in either a block or tube and is made with lard, spices, and beef. Dad uses Rice’s brand but my sister told me at Christmas that Rice’s quit making it after over 50 years. I never could get Rice’s in California so I settle for whatever I can get. In my store, it’s over by the cold cuts and cheeses. I’ve substituted some canned chili (two cans). It was good, but just not the same. I’ve heated a block by itself and put it on chili dogs. Another time, just the block and some hamburger. It works well, but I wouldn’t recommend a bowl of it.

I gave my recipe to a guy one time because he liked it enough that he said he was gonna put it in a chili cookoff. When he read the recipe, he said he couldn’t use it because it wasn’t homeade since we use the block chili.

Now, the recipe calls for a tablespoon of salt. That may be a bit much for some. I would skip it and as my brother says “salt to taste.”

You may not win any cookoffs with this stuff but you’ll like it, I guarantee! Don’t forget to top with shredded cheddar or just a good ol’ slice of Velveta.

Chief’s Chili

1 brown onion
1 ½ lb hamburger
1 block chili
1 can Mexican style tomatoes
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon each catsup (or ketchup), Heinz 57 sauce, salt, Worceshershire sauce, and kitchen bouquet.

Cook the hamburger and onion. Drain if you want.
Add the block and heat until it melts.
Add everything else and simmer for at least an hour.

Enjoy!

Tartar Sauce

Growing up in Kansas City, one of my favorite places to eat was the Forum Cafeteria. The best entree on the line was the Fried Whiting fish. I would usually get fried potatoes and corn to go with it. The best part though, was the tartar sauce they served with it.

Over the years, I tried to duplicate the tartar sauce but always came up short. As it turned out, I was trying to make the recipe too difficult. When we moved to San Jacinto in 1989 and started looking for places to eat locally, we found a Furr’s Cafeteria in Hemet (a neighboring city.) To my delight Furr’s had a tartar sauce similar to the Forum’s. I asked the manager if I could get the recipe and she told me “Fat Chance.”

At that time, I was a Deputy Sheriff in Orange County and commuting 70 miles each day, one way. In 1991, I was hired as an officer in Hemet. One of my many, many jobs, was going to burglar alarms. Furr’s closed in the early 90's but before they did, I was lucky enough to be dispatched there for an alarm call. Upon my arrival, I met with store manager Drew McKaig. McKaig apologized and told me that he had mistakenly set the alarm off. I told McKaig that my brother had sent me some fish and I would be eternally grateful if he would give me the tartar sauce recipe. To my surprise, he said “Sure, why not.” He went inside and came out with a 3x5 index card where he had hastily written the recipe for me.

Here it is:

1 ½ gallons mayonaise
3 cups onion
3 quarts chopped dill pickle
1 ½ cups chopped fresh parsley

I divided it down for home use

1 cup mayo
3 tblspn onion
½ cup chopped dill pickle
1 ½ tblspn fresh chopped parsley

Now how easy is that. One of the problems I always had in duplicating was that I used sweet pickle relish and salad dressing like miracle whip. Then I would always see recipes adding a plethura of other things. I do like to add pimento when I have company coming. It gives it a little color.

I used this recipe in it’s full version at the Elks Lodge fish fry and it was a huge success. Now, I’ve never been one to refuse giving out recipes. I’ve known many, many people who won’t give recipes out. I never could understand that except for restaurants and those making money off their recipes. But, the average person... I think it’s just something people grow up with, never give away family secrets.

I got an email the other day from my niece Jessica. She likes the tartar sauce recipe from Bubba Gump’s Shrimp Co Cookbook p 104.

c. mayo
1/4c. chopped dill pickle
1 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
2 tsp capers
2 tsp grated onion (I just mince it)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp prepared mustard (I used spicy brown)
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Combine all ingredients cover and chill.

With tartar sauce, I always make it at least a day in advance. That way the flavors have a chance to marry, and as Jessie says “the sugar needs a chance to incorporate properly.”

Enjoy!

Tournedos Chasseur

When WinCo opened in Hemet, California, they had beef tenderloin on sale for less than $3 a pound. I couldn’t pass it up and bought two full tenderloins. I wish I had bought more. The first one I cooked on the grill then sliced like a prime rib. It was great. The second one I spent the time to strip off all the “shark skin” and sliced into some nice filet mignon.

I found a recipe that really turned out fantastic. It’s from my Grand Diplome Cooking Course books (vol 15, p 56) that I picked up at a garage sale for $20. This collection of twenty books was from a magazine ad for the Dunbury Press in the early 70's. You order the first book “Absolutely FREE” then you get one book a month for the next 19 months at $4.45 plus shipping and handling. So, the whole set costs just about a hundred bucks in 1972. I saw them on E-Bay between $34.95 and $124.95.

Chausser means Hunter Style which is short for onions and mushrooms. Shallots and fresh mushrooms to be exact, but we didn’t have any of those. Regular white onion and canned mushrooms had to do. It also called for a teaspoon and a half of tomato paste. We used ketchup. We did have the wine. It was served on a croute (fried bread) and fried taters (it called for Pomme de Parisienne).

Here’s the recipe:

Tournedos Chasseur

4 tournedos steak, cut 1 - 1 ½ inches thick
4 slices white bread, crust removed. Cut into circles the same size as tournedos (for croutes)
4 tablespoons oil and butter, mixed (for frying)
½ cup white wine
1 teaspoon tarragon
1 tablespoon chopped parsley

For sauce
1 cup (1/4 lb) mushrooms
2 tablespoons butter
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 teaspoons flour
1 ½ teaspoons tomato paste
1 cup well-flavored beed stock
salt and pepper


Method

To make the sauce; trim the mushroom stems level with the caps and finely slice the caps. In a small skillet or frying pan heat butter and cook shallott gently until soft; add mushrooms and saute until lightly brown, stirring so mixture does not burn. Stir in flour and, after a few seconds, add tomato paste, stock and seasoning. Bring to boil, stirring, and simmer 10-15 minutes until sauce is glossy and slightly thickened.

In a heavy skillet heat half the oil and butter, fry croutes on both sides until golden brown, drain on paper towels and reserve.

Wipe out the pan, heat the remaining oil and butter and fry tournedos briskly for 2 -3 minutes on each side for a rare steak; sprinkle with seasoning after turning them. Set each tournedos on a croute, arrange on a platter and keep warm.

Discard any fat from the pan, ad white wine to the pan, stir to dissolve the juices and simmer 1 - 2 minutes. Add mushroom sauce, simmer 1 -1 2 minutes, add the herbs, taste for seasoning and spoon over tournedos. Serve very hot with Parisienne potatoes.

Hope you like it.