"Hamburgers Plain and Fancy" - Hamburgers stuffed with Onion and Cheese Filling - National Cheeseburger Day!

Date I made this recipe:  September 18, 2017 – National Cheeseburger Day

Hamburgers Plain and Fancy by Ceil Dyer

Published by Grosset & Dunlap

© 1968

Purchased at Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks, NYC

Recipe:  Hamburger (p. 56) stuffed with Onion Cheese Filling (p. 58)

People, I was all giddy with excitement for National Cheeseburger Day, not only because I love cheeseburgers, but I had just purchased this cookbook – Hamburgers Plain and Fancy – from Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks in NY and thought myself all set and ready to go for The.Big.Day.

Turns out I was not all set and ready to go for the Big Day.  Why?

Apparently, cheeseburgers are the red-haired stepchild of the burger world and therefore were not included in this 86-page book.  Not one single recipe.  I checked several times under "cheese" and under "cheeseburger" and nothing.  I was gobsmacked.

There were though, a few recipes for cheese-filled burgers and some for burgers topped with several ingredients including cheese slices. Would these do?  I needed to do some research and so to the internet I went.

It took me two seconds to find a "cheeseburger" definition.  Per Wiki, "A cheeseburger is a hamburger topped with cheese.  Traditionally, the slice of cheese is placed on top of the meat patty, but the burger can include many variations in structure, ingredients, and composition."

In the world of cooking, this explanation was sufficient for me to go ahead and explore other cheeseburger options. That said, my choices were still limited.  Let's chat about that by looking first at the Table of Contents where our choices were:

• Finger Burgers
• Fork Burgers
• Filled Burgers

Those were the burger options.  There's a section called Go Withs i.e. side dishes, and then a final chapter of Menus and Meals.

That concludes our look at the table of contents.

The author offers no explanation for "Finger Burgers," but I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest to you that he meant hamburgers you can pick up and eat although technically and physically, that would make it a handburger hamburger instead of a "Finger Burger."  Sorry, I could not resist saying that.

Options in the "Fork Burger" category ranged from a "Borscht Burger" – p. 15, to a "Suzy Wong Burger" – p. 19 (There is just something "wrong" about the "Wong" burger!), to a "Gandhi Burger" (cabbage and chutney) – p. 36 to a "Healthy Ham-Burgers" – p. 25

This last one amuses.  Ingredients are mushrooms and spinach leaves which are good and healthy, mixed pickles which are interesting and then ground beef plus a small jar of Smithfield ham spread which are not necessarily healthy.  This recipe's a head-scratcher for sure.

In the "Fork Burgers" category, we have [Hamburger] "Au Poivre" (peppercorns, wine, cognac) – p. 46, a "Sicilian Joe," – p. 52, which is basically a Sloppy Joe recipe with anchovies, and "Cook at the Table Party Skillet Burgers" – p. 54-55

Jumping ahead, the "Go Withs" are all side dishes, many of which sounded great (potatoes, beans, etc.) but we are celebrating National Cheeseburger Day, not National "Go With" Day so there it is.

This brings us back to the "Filled Burger" category from which I selected my recipe. 

There were a grand total of 15 recipes for filled burgers and what the author called "look under" burgers which are burgers with various toppings instead of filling. Let's examine them:

• Mushroom Filling – mushrooms, butter and cream but no cheese
• Creole Filling – onion, celery, green pepper but no cheese
• Roquefort Filling – Roquefort cheese and heavy cream
• Tomato Olive Filling – green olives and tomatoes but no cheese
• Bacon Filling  - bacon, sweet pickles, mustard and mayo but no cheese
• Almond Filling – almonds, cream cheese and cream.  Almonds? I can't even imagine that. Also, cream cheese is not "cheese" cheese as contemplated by the National Cheeseburger people.
• Onion Cheese Filling – sharp cheese, chopped onion, mayo and Tabasco.  This is the one I made.
• Walnut Filling – walnuts, horseradish, mayo but no cheese.  Again – walnuts?
• Feta Cheese Filling – feta cheese, black olives, chives, cream.  This one was tempting but we passed on it.
• Burgers "Look Under" – 1 – cream, avocado, pimento, topped with Cheddar cheese
• Burgers "Look Under" – 2 – liverwurst, corn relish, chili sauce and mild American cheese
• Burgers "Look Under" – 3 – tomatoes, garlic, thyme, other seasonings, Mozzarella cheese
• Burgers "Look Under" – 4 – raisins, whiskey, other stuff, Gruyere cheese.  Raisins? In a burger? Hahahahaha. (By the way, this is more like a patty melt than a burger.)
• Burgers "Look Under" – 5 – chopped peanuts, Monterey Jack cheese

Hmm, those are some kind of burger ingredients, am I right?  Shudder.

Now given our theme – cheeseburgers –you would think that I would go with either "Look Under Burgers 1 or 3, as both called for cheese on top, but I just wasn't feeling them so I went with a cheese-stuffed burger instead.  Well, what can I say except it's fun to go rogue!

Although this was one of the easiest recipes I've ever assembled, I had to deduct points from my own efforts for appearance as I did not properly seal the burgers and some of the filling oozed out.  In fact, I commented to Andy that this would likely have gotten me chopped on Chopped!  The taste was great though, and that's what counts.

A slight change I made to the recipe was to comply with Andy's request to sauté the onions first.  He didn't want to taste a bunch of raw onion and neither did I.

This then, concludes my report "What I made on National Cheeseburger Day."  Technically, it wasn't a cheeseburger as we know it, but it was a burger and cheese was involved so there you go.  Enjoy!

Hamburger stuffed with Onion Cheese Filling – serves 8

For the hamburger

2 pounds ground beef

1 ½ teaspoons salt

3 tablespoons heavy cream

For the filling

2 tablespoons crumbled sharp cheese

2 tablespoons chopped onion

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

2-3 drops Tabasco sauce

To make the hamburger patties, mix meat with salt and cream.  Shape into sixteen patties half as thick as usual.  Combine the filling ingredients until well-blended. Put two patties together with filling between, making eight burgers.  Press edges together.  (Ann's Note:  I guess I did not press mine hard enough before the cheese oozed out.  Not that I'm complaining, but I wish I would have nailed it.  Also, make sure your cheese crumbles are pretty tiny as this will help keep the cheese inside the burger.)  Broil or pan fry as usual.

Split rolls and heat in the oven.  Place a patty on roll bottom and cover with top half of the roll.

"The Firefighter's Cookbook - Award-Winning Recipes From a Fire-Fighting Chef" by John Sineno - Chicken Marsala - 9/11/2017

Date I made this recipe:  September 11, 2017 – 16^th Anniversary of 9/11

The Firefighter's Cookbook – Award-winning Recipes from a Fire-Fighting Chef by John Sineno (Engine 58, NYC)

Published by Vintage Books

ISBN: 0-394-74429-2; © 1986

Purchased at Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks, NYC

Recipe:  Chicken Marsala – p. 19 – submitted by Jim Sherwood, Ladder 19 (Bronx, NY)

On 9/11/2001, 343 members of the FDNY (Fire Department New York) died in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center Twin Towers.

On 8/1/2017, I purchased this cookbook at Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks in New York City's West Village with, I have to admit, the intention on cooking from this on 9/11/17, the 16^th observance of the fall of the Twin Towers.  It's uncanny how many times over the years that I've discovered and purchased a cookbook just when I need it.

When I noticed that this book was published in 1986 (5 years before 9/11), I decided that I simply had to know if any of the firefighters and related personnel who submitted recipes for this book perished when the towers fell.  I found two similar sources on the internet and so book in hand, I started my search, always fearful that I would find a "match."

I am relieved to report that not a single name in this book appeared on the list.  That said, we continue to mourn the fallen from that horrible, horrible day.

For the record, my small hometown in Michigan has a volunteer fire department.  Although they were best known for putting on a fantastic water fight every 4^th of July, they continue to do this work because they love it and really, if you are going to be a firefighter, it is essential that you love what you do!

In 1986 when he wrote The Firefighter's Cookbook, author John Sineno, was a twenty-three year veteran with Engine 58, and a two-time first prize winner in annual cooking competitions among NYC firehouses; he retired in 1992.

Sineno's cookbook is filled with recipes from fellow firefighters across NYC (and a few from firefighters in NJ); administrators such as commissioners, assistant commissioners, and even a secretary to an administrator; a medic; a counsel to the FDNY, and a chaplain.  

As you might imagine, some of the recipe yields in this cookbook are huge as they are intended to feed firehouse staff.  Although I often divide recipes in half, breaking down a recipe that serves 8 or more is fraught with peril.  When you end up using "1/16^th teaspoon" of an ingredient, you have to ask yourself "Why bother?"  Sometimes, the taste itself also suffers and I wanted to avoid that which is why I shelved the otherwise delicious-sounding "Tortellini Meatball Soup" that served 16-20 people.  (Apologies to Capt. Pat Buttino, Engine 263.)

Recipe yields aside, I liked this cookbook because it was pretty compact and the recipes all sounded really good.  Your chapter options are:

• Main Courses
• Pastas and Soups (I would expect nothing less than a "pasta" chapter of an NYC cookbook)
• Side Dishes
• Desserts

Recipes up for consideration were:

• "Seafood Newburg" – p. 10
• "New Orleans Jambalaya"- p. 23
• "Pepper Steak" – p. 29 (This calls for six pounds of skirt steak.  Six???)
• "Artichoke Pie" – p. 59
• "Scalloped Potatoes and Onions" – p. 105
• "Pistachio Mousse" – p. 139

 And honestly, aside from a few fishes dishes (I don't like fish), there didn't seem to be a clunker in the bunch.  That has to be a first.

Initially, I was gung-ho on the "Scalloped Potatoes and Onions" but I wasn't sure I would get the rich, creaminess I am used to with this recipe and didn't know what to make about the inclusion of mayonnaise. 

Then I was thinking about the "Seafood Newburg" but it seemed like too heavy of a dish for what I was looking for plus it was topped with Swiss Cheese and that didn't work for me. In fact, I don't think that is a traditional topping.

So hmmm....what to make, what to make....okay, Chicken Marsala, final answer.  In fact, I was quite chuffed that I selected this because I had Marsala wine on hand so I used it and then realized afterwards that it was "dry" Marsala wine, not "sweet."

This explains much.  I mean, the flavor wasn't bad but it definitely did not taste like other Chicken Marsala dishes I have known and loved.  No worries:  The next day, I stopped at the liquor store, bought the "correct" Marsala and then added it to my leftovers!

Before I go, I wanted to note that 57 firefighters and related personnel contributed to this cookbook. I imagine many, maybe even most, are now retired but it should never be taken fore granted that it takes some kind of courage for these firefighters, and those who lost their lives on 9/11/2001, to run willingly into danger when others are fleeing;  for this, I salute you.

N.B.  Right after I published this blog, I realized that I had my own little fire marshal story to share. 

In 1997 or thereabouts, I worked for Wells Fargo in one of the taller office buildings in downtown Minneapolis.  Wells Fargo needed to have volunteer floor fire marshals for each floor that the employees occupied and so I became one for my floor. I even got an official hat! 

The floor fire marshals' job was to make sure employees left via the stairwell (never the elevator) and to check for stragglers.  Floor marshals were always the last ones to leave.

That year, we had several drills, some planned and some not planned, and actually one microwave fire on another floor that caused us all to exit the building, so I was a busy gal. To help me out, I enlisted the aid of a fellow co-worker, whose name I can't recall but let's call her "Sandy."  Sandy helped me do a sweep of the floor before we both left via the stairwell. This gal was really funny but took her job seriously.  After one event, she no sooner saluted me and said "Perimeter clear, sir," when a guy came running around the corner and down the stairs.

"Hey! You!  Where did you come from!"  She was so mad that she had missed him, sneaky bastard!  

Now, the interesting things about fire drills at this time (pre-9/11) was that all floor marshals were told specifically not to force anybody to leave, and in fact, one guy refused to go because he was in the middle of something. Lucky for him, it was a drill and not the real thing.

Post-9/11, the thought that anybody would remain in place, drill or no drill, seems ridiculous if not downright dangerous. I have to wonder too, if companies have changed their informal policy and now require everybody to leave; I hope so.  Remember when employees in the second tower were told all was well and they should return to their desks? (I believe the "all-clear" command though, came from the building management and not each individual company housed in the tower.) I pretty sure I've read that the vast majority of people who defied that command and kept walking down the stairs to safety, lived to tell about it.

If this happened to me today, I believe I too, would skedaddle, but only after ensuring everyone else was okay, of course.  Once a floor fire marshal, always a floor fire marshal!

Chicken Marsala – Servings: 4 (Ann's Note:  Even half the recipe made quite a lot) – recipe submitted by Jim Sherwood, Ladder 19 (Bronx, NY)

2 pounds chicken cutlets, pounded

½ pound butter

¼ cup olive oil

Flour

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 pound mushrooms

1 shallot 1 ½ cups sweet Marsala wine

1 bunch parsley, minced

2 lemons, halved

Clean chicken cutlets, remove excess fat.  Cut into medallion-size pieces.  Melt ¼ pound butter in a skillet and add olive oil.  Dredge chicken in flour seasoned with salt and pepper.  Shake off excess and sauté to golden brown.  Place chicken in an ovenproof pan and set aside.

Separate mushroom caps from stems.  Mince shallot and mushroom stems, quarter or slice mushroom caps.  Melt remaining butter and sauté shallots and mushrooms, and cook until mushrooms release their juice.  Remove from heat and add Marsala and 1 tablespoon minced parsley.  Season to taste and simmer for 5 minutes.

While mixture is simmering, squeeze juice of 2 lemons over chicken.  Pour sauce mixture over chicken, cover, and cook at 350°F for 15- 20 minutes.  Garnish with parsley.  Serve with noodles Alfredo.

The Hot Dog Cookbook - Hot Dog Bean Bake, a la Kraut - Labor Day 2017

Date I made this recipe:  September 4, 2017 – Labor Day

The Hot Dog Cookbook – Frankfurter – Weiner – Franks – Coneys by William I. Kaufman

Published by Doubleday & Company Inc.

© 1966

Purchased at Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks, NYC

Recipe: Hot Dog Bean Bake, a la Kraut – p. 59

Before I go one step further, I must point out to you that William I. Kaufman published many cookbooks including this one:  The Catholic Cookbook. This is the first time I've seen an "official" cookbook meant to help Catholics cope with dietary restrictions during Lent and other church holidays, and not the usual and customary spiral bound book published by churches everywhere.  I'm intrigued.  Of course, I have to have it, but right now, it will cost me a cool $50.00 to buy it off Amazon so I'm going to see if I can find it for less; forgive me "Father."

Also, I love how the book is stamped inside "Louise Adelia Read Memorial Library Hancock, New York."  My husband and I returned recently from a road trip through NY state and were not far from Hancock.  A couple of days after leaving that area, we went into the New York City where I purchased this hot dog cookbook.  I love how that all accidentally came together.

Once we got home from our trip the first week of August, summer sped by as it is wont to do and like it or not (not), Labor Day was upon us and which meant I had to decide to observe or not observe Labor Day with a cookbook.  I've mentioned before that cooking on major holidays is a challenge for me as I have too many cookbook that might fit a particular observance but not this year! 

This year, I was updating my cookbook list with my newly-acquired titles, and as soon as I saw The Hotdog Cookbook, I let out a sigh of relief as it was the perfect thing for Labor Day because as we know, Labor Day signals the unofficial end of summer and therefore hot dogs.  Please note though, that summer ain't over until it's over which is Friday, September 22, the first official day of autumn.  I cringe as I write this!

Okay, I've established that this year's Labor Day "cookbook" was a gimme, but finding a recipe was not easy given the breadth of my hot dog recipe choices: 

• Appetizers
• Soups
• Main Dishes
• Sandwiches
• Salads (Salads?)
• Cookout

Appetizer hot dog offerings were the usual and customary cocktail dogs and chafing dish dogs along with "Gourmet Hot Dog Dip" – p. 5 and "Hot Dog and Cheese Canapés" – p. 5.  Pass.

The Soups chapter gave me pause with recipes for "Hot Dog Vegetable Chowder" – p. 9, and "Hot Pot of Barley and Hot Dogs" – p. 9.  Again, no.

We'll come back to Main Dishes so we can continue on to Sandwiches.  Happily, this chapter is back on track with recipes for "Chili Topped Hot Dogs" – p. 69, and "Coney De Luxe" – p. 69.  I almost made the Coney recipe but it called for ¼ wheat germ and I don't know what that adds to the recipe, but it caused me to put it in the "no" pile.

Two recipes from that chapter that were also out were "Hot Dog Spread" – p. 73 as the mixture of ground hot dogs, chopped hard-boiled eggs and salad dressing plus a few more ingredients sounded completely unappetizing, as did the recipe for "Hot Dog and Cucumber Spread" – p. 73  Ick.

Speaking of "Ick," the Salad chapter gave me the most pause.  Here, it seems like the guy is just throwing hot dogs into salads because he could and not because it makes sense. 

As an example, the recipe for "Cabbage, Apple, and Hot Dog Salad" – p. 77, is basically a coleslaw with apples, green peppers, mayo and hot dogs.  A "Baked Hot Dog Potato Salad" – p. 7, is a casserole more than a salad, and it's basically a hot potato salad with green beans (green beans?) and hot dogs.

This then, forced my hand back to the Main Dishes chapter with the hopes that I could find something that wasn't ridiculous to make.

"It was the best of [hot dog] times, it was the worst of [hot dog ] times."

"Hot Dog Pilaf" – p. 17, are you kidding me?  Hot dog "pilaf?"  Eesh.  "Asparagus and Hot Dog Stroganoff" – p. 18 is another one that bit the dust.  I just...sigh.  And "Curried Macaroni and Hot Dogs" – p. 39 is ridiculous.  Just ridiculous.  The winner of the "Are you kidding me?" contest, and it is easy to see why, is a recipe for "Hot Dog Crown Roast" – p. 38, where 18 hot dogs are arranged so as to resemble a pork crown roast, complete with the traditional stuffing in the center.

Never will I ever....

Now I know that I was "asking" for it by purchasing this hot-dog focused cookbook, but still people.  Still. 

Happily, a few more sensible choices were left but even then, I was just not feeling some of the options and for once, neither was Andy.  I mean, they were okay but they were also the usual and customary:  "Barbecued Hot Dogs" – p. 32, not to be confused with "Hot Dog Barbecue" on p. 45.  I could have gone with "Hot Dogs with Pork 'N" Beans" – p. 57, but frankly (pun intended) my mother's dish was better.

In the end, we settled for what I call "Hot Dogs, Deconstructed," which is to say Hot Dog Bean Bake, A La Kraut. To me, this was the best of both worlds.  You had your hotdog, you had your baked beans and you had a sauerkraut topping all rolled into one.  It seemed perfect and it was nearly perfect except the sour flavor of the sauerkraut completely overwhelmed the other ingredients.  If I made this dish on Food Network's Chopped, I would have been chopped for not showcasing the other two ingredients, hot dogs and beans.

Still, all is not lost here because you can save the day with few adjustments.  At least I think you can!  The recipe calls for these ingredients:  hot dogs, pork and beans, chili sauce, sauerkraut and dill weed.  Were I to make this again, I think I would have added some brown sugar to the mixture and possibly even a small amount of mustard and ketchup, particularly ketchup to offset the sourness of the kraut.  Plus, the amount of kraut you use here (1 pound, or in my case, a half a pound) is way more than most of us would ever put on our hot dogs and that is what prevented it from being a great dish. It wasn't bad, but wow, my lips puckered!

Nevertheless, I have once again completed the compulsory portion of our Labor Day weekend was is to say, I made hot dogs!  Until next year....

Hot Dog Bean Bake, A La Kraut – makes 5 servings

1 pound hot dogs

2 cans (1 pound each) pork and beans with tomato sauce

¼ cup chili sauce

1 can (1 pound) sauerkraut, drained

½ teaspoon dill weed

Cut 5 hot dogs into bite-size pieces and combine with beans and chili sauce in a 1 ½-quart casserole.  Cover with sauerkraut and sprinkle with dill weed.  Bake in 350° oven for 30 minutes.  Top with whole hot dogs and bake additional 15 minutes.

Ann's Note:  As suggested above, I think the addition of some brown sugar and perhaps even some mustard and ketchup might help cut the tanginess of the sauerkraut.

"The Green Tomato Cookbook" - Tortilla Casserole and Green Tomato Spice Bread

Date I made these recipes – August 27, 2017 – Celebrating summer and the "arrival" of green tomatoes!

The Green Tomato Cookbook by Paula Simmons

Published by Pacific Search

© 1975

Purchased at Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks, NYC

Recipes:  Tortilla Casserole – p. 50 and Green Tomato Spice Bread – p. 11

My friend Dennis mentioned in a Facebook post the other day that he picked some green tomatoes from his garden.

My ears perked up like a dog:  "Green tomatoes?  Did you say 'green tomatoes'?"

People, I've had this cookbook – The Green Tomato Cookbook – since 2011[1] and up until now, it's been languishing on my shelf until such a time as I could score some green tomatoes.

You may think "Well, that's easy, just go to a grocery store or farmer's market," but those folks sell red tomatoes.  Red. Red sell like hotcakes because they are ripe.  People like ripe.

Yet all tomatoes start out green and when Dennis mentioned that he had "green" tomatoes, I realized that in the future, I needed to connect with amateur gardeners.  Now I know plenty of people who garden and grow vegetables, but if they offer produce,  they are always trying to push things I don't need like zucchini or armfuls of rhubarb.  Not once has anybody ever mentioned they had green tomatoes until Dennis and then the light bulb went off and I found my "Holy Grail."

You might ask "Why didn't you just grow some yourself," but remember folks, my life motto is "Nature is NOT your friend."  When my husband and I moved into this house almost 20 years ago, I planted tomatoes and a few other things because it felt like the new home owner thing to do, and I grew lovely tomatoes which I then had to pick.

Well now, I went outside to pick my fruit (tomatoes) and vegetables and got eaten alive by mosquitoes.  And I'm the type of person who gets welts from bug bites (it's a histamine problem) and so that was my first and last attempt at gardening.  This is why grocery stores and farmer's markets exist.  But as I said above, farmer's markets in these parts don't offer unripe tomatoes and so I have to depend upon the "kindness of strangers" to be my supplier.  To be clear, Dennis is not a stranger but I just had to quote that line from A Streetcar Named Desire.

Anywho, I messaged Dennis and asked if I could have some and he brought some over and I had so many that I made two recipes instead of my usual one per cookbook.  I actually had enough for a third recipe but there is such a thing as overkill.

Now, I can't read minds but I'm pretty sure most of you probably inserted the word "fried" in front of "green tomatoes," but that was about the last thing I wanted to make, not only because it was expected but because I'm not a huge fan of these things.  I mean, they're okay, but don't float my boat; frankly, I think this is more of a southern obsession.  Besides, given that I had an entire cookbook with green tomato recipes at my disposal, why not do some exploring?

So I explored and I debated about branching out and making some pickles or relishes, something I had not done before, but frankly, I didn't/don't want to deal with sanitizing all the jars and making sure everything is sealed properly.  I suspect though, that this cookbook's previous owner really loved the Pickles and Relishes chapter as almost every recipe page was splattered with ingredients:  "End-of-the-garden Pickles," p. 69; "Green Tomato Chili Sauce," p. 70, and, "Martha's Vineyard Old-Time Mincemeat." I love particularly the note at the end of the mincemeat recipe – "Prize recipe of Gertrude Turner's mother."  I have no idea who that is, but hooray for her!

Other Table of Contents categories were:  Growing and Cooking Hints; Breads and Wine; Cakes, Cookies, Pies, and Desserts; Casseroles; Pickles and Relishes; Vegetables and Side Dishes.

I'm sorry, let's go back a minute:  ]Green Tomato] Wine?????  Pass.

Out of all the other non-pickle or relish recipes, the Tortilla Casserole and the Green Tomato Spice Bread seemed to be the best and easiest ones to make.  Neither one showcased the green tomato (something you would be expected to do on Chopped) but they were fine. 

I have to note though, that the Tortilla Casserole's filling could easily be used for Sloppy Joe's or even Chili, with or without beans.  I thought it was tasty and happily, not too spicy.

As to the spice bread, it was not at all "spicy" which was good, but the flavors didn't quite come up to those I would expect from a spiced loaf bread, and that was disappointing.  I also hoped for the bread to be a bit more moist (sort of like a zucchini bread) but that didn't happen.  Part of the problem might be that I halved the recipe thereby cutting the oil from ½ cup to ¼ cup, and the eggs from two to one.  It's hard to get a moist cake when you're shy on ingredients, not that a full recipe would have fared much better. 

Now as a side note, on my recent visit to Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks in NYC last month, I found a Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe Cookbook by Fannie Flagg (who knew?). I pondered and pondered whether or not to purchase Fannie's cookbook, and decided to pass this time around.  This would make sense to you if you saw the huge stack of books I actually purchased – 18 total!  Besides, I already had today's cookbook on my shelf and so first things first.

Tortilla Casserole – Serves 6

1 pound lean ground beef

1 T. vegetable oil

½ cup chopped onions

2 tablespoons flour

1 15-ounce can tomato sauce

3 large green tomatoes, chopped

1 ripe tomato, chopped

2 crushed garlic cloves

½ cup green chili salsa (optional) (see Ann's Note below)

1 T. chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon or more salt

¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper

½ teaspoon sugar

1 cup water

12 homemade or purchased tortillas (recipe below)

¾ pound (about 3 cups) shredded sharp cheddar cheese

¾ cup chopped onion

Brown beef in oil; drain off excess fat.  Add ½ cup onion and sauté until limp.  Stir in flour; blend in tomato sauce.  Add both ripe and green tomatoes, garlic, chili salsa (if desired), and seasonings.  Stir in the water.  Simmer sauce slowly until thickened.

Fry tortillas lightly in oil.  Spoon 1 tablespoon cheese, 1 tablespoon onion, and 2 tablespoons of meat sauce onto each tortilla.  Fold over and arrange filled tortillas in large shallow baking pan, side by side.  Spoon remaining meat sauce over them; sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Bake at 350° for 25 to 35 minutes, until cheese is bubbly.

Easy Home-Made Tortillas – makes 12

1 ¼ cups flour

¾ cups yellow cornmeal

¾ teaspoon salt

1 cup boiling water

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Mix dry ingredients together.  Boil up oil in water; add dry ingredients and mix well.  Divide dough into 12 balls.  Roll each into a thin disk on floured pastry cloth or between wax paper.

In lightly oiled skillet, brown tortillas on each side.  These can be made ahead and reheated in oiled skillet to soften them when ready to use.  Recipe can be doubled.

Ann's Note:  Green Chili Salsa is an optional ingredient for the recipe above, but the cookbook does not contain a recipe for it.  It does include a recipe for a Green Tomato Taco Sauce but the yield on that is mega (8 quarts green tomatoes) when all you need is ½ cup.  So if I were you, if you want to add this ingredient to the casserole, I'd go shopping and find something that most closely approximates green chili salsa or make up your own version.

Green Tomato Spice Bread – Makes 2 loaves

2 ½ cups unsifted flour

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup firmly-packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ginger

1 tablespoon molasses

3 tablespoons honey

½ cup oil

1 cup ground and undrained green tomatoes

2 whole eggs

1 teaspoons vanilla

½ cup chopped walnuts

Mix dry ingredients.  Add rest of ingredients; beat well. Spoon into 2 greased and floured medium loaf pans.  Let batter rest 10 minutes.  Smooth the top of the loaves, then make an indentation along the center from end to end.  Bake at 350° for 45 to 50 minutes, or until they test done.

---

[1] Timing is everything:  I bought this book in July 2011, just a few days after we held a memorial mass for my late father who passed away in March of that year.  Since dad was from New Jersey, and since it was difficult for older relatives to travel, we brought the "show" to them and held a memorial mass for him in New Jersey.  Thereafter, as is usual and customary, we went into the city (NYC) for a few days to see more friends and family and to shop.  This cookbook was purchased at Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks, NYC, with "daddy money" i.e. money that he left to me after he died.  Since he knew about my cookbook collection I am sure he would have approved, if not been highly amused.  He also grew a huge garden every year so this cookbook is especially fitting.

The Seventeen Cookbook" - Sloppy Joes - Seventeen Magazine and Say Yes to the Dress Goes to the Prom!

Date I made this recipe:  June 11, 2017

The Seventeen Cookbook by the Editors of Seventeen Magazine

Published by The Macmillan Company

© 1964

Purchased at Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks, NYC

Recipe:  Sloppy Joes – p. 60

Those of us of a certain age will likely remember reading Seventeen Magazine cover-to-cover, taking note of the current fashion (ugly as it was), dating tips, life tips and well, tips in general to help us all navigate through our teenage years.

I have to say that I was a little surprised this magazine was still in publication but then again, it's not like I've looked for it on the newsstand.  If Brownies can "fly up" to be Junior Girl Scouts, then Seventeen Magazine readers can fly up to read Vogue and other more adult-oriented fashion magazines. I do believe this is an unofficial life rule.

I've had this cookbook for a while now but was never really prompted to cook from it until I saw "Say Yes to the Prom," that aired on TLC in April.  This special event show was a take-off of the very popular "Say Yes to the Dress," that airs on the same channel.  I'm constantly amazed at how many people, including me, "confess" to watching "Say Yes to the Dress" and am almost always amused by the fact that these friends and I share the same sense of horror at what some women consider to be appropriate bridal wear.  Hint:  "If it looks like a nightgown, it is a nightgown.  Just put it down, honey, just put it down."

Happily, "Say Yes to the Prom" did not go the way of the bridal show.  In this special episode, 50 high school students were given the opportunity to select a prom dress with assistance from Aya Kanai, Seventeen Magazine's Fashion Director, designer Betsy Johnson and Monte Durham from "Say Yes to the Dress – Atlanta."  All of these kids were deserving in some way and were thrilled with their dress selections.  It was a total feel-good moment, sans the usual family infighting that happens on the bridal show. Also missing was the reveal of the "over your budget" (by a country mile) price tags that make this gal blink in double-time and that was refreshing!

As to my prom, I didn't go but before you get all "awww" on me, let me tell you why.  My school had only a Junior-Senior prom and to the best of my recollection most, but not all, of the people who attended were going together, otherwise known as going steady, or, if you will, in a "committed high school relationship."  The Christmas Hop however, was another story all together.

The Christmas Hop has been a mainstay at my school for well over 60 years (perhaps even closer to 70).  I remember seeing "Hop" photos in a lot of the older year books that were stored in the high school library and just loved looking at Hop fashions over the years.

The Hop was the biggest deal on the planet even though it was a Sadie Hawkins dance which is to say the women asked the men, and I think it was open to all high schoolers but cannot remember. (I think the junior high students pulled [serving] punch duty.)  I do know that attendance far exceeded the prom as nobody wanted to be left out of The Hop as it was "The" social event of the year.

The Hop was held in the cafeteria/gymnasium of Central School, the elementary school next to our combined junior high and high school and it was packed to the rafters with attendees.  If memory serves, this was held in early December which was really a bad time of year to hold a formal dance because of the high probability of snow or a snow storm, but who cared?  Most of us women attending wore boots beneath our evening gowns and changed into sandals in the parking lot because that was what you did.

The flower shops in my hometown were never as busy as when they were preparing Hop corsages and boutonnieres to match your dress which of course, you looked high and low for.  Velvet was in as were "granny" dresses and please do recall folks that this was the 70's and also that what goes around, comes around because nowadays, all of that is fashionable again, why Lord, why?

The first year I went to the Hop was my junior year and I asked not only the shyest guy in our class but also the future valedictorian.   I wore a light green dress that was very simple and was also affordable.  He wore – and I love this – red checkered pants, a red jacket, a white bow tie and either a red or a blue shirt, I cannot recall.  We definitely took our holiday theme seriously.

The second year I attended, I asked the class salutatorian (see a pattern here?) and dressed in a light blue sleeveless dress with a dark blue velvet jacket with a light blue ruffle.  I could gag at the thought of it really, but such is life; the green dress the year before was way better.  My date dressed in blue to match my dress although I cannot recall if that was deliberate or not.

To make the whole look really, really awful (mine, not his), I decided to go to the beauty salon and have them roller set my hair under the premise (and I was not wrong) that it would help straighten out my naturally wavy hair.  This one-off look was never seen on me again as it didn't quite work as I expected it to.  That said, it was usual and customary for my female classmates to have their hair curled for the big event.

So to recap, I had this bad hair, a dress I hated and which seem to accentuate the fact that I had gained weight during the summer before my senior year (lost it all before graduation but alas, too late for senior photos) and to make it all worse, I wore gold-rimmed aviator glasses.

Let that just sink in for a minute.  I mean, the look was not at all uncommon back then but yeesh, people.  Yeesh!  And not only were they ugly glasses but for the first time since I got them in 6^th grade, I wore them for a Hop photo.

Why did I do that?  Why?  I NEVER wore my glasses in photos, not ever.  Even in childhood vacation pictures, you will be hard-pressed to find photos of me wearing my glasses and so there I was all dolled up on Hop night and I had to go and ruin my no-glasses streak and it has bothered me ever since.  (As an aside, after I sold my childhood home, I brought back a ton of childhood photos and a best friend kept exclaiming that "they don't look like you."  She finally figured out why:  I never wore my glasses and I almost never smiled because my teeth were crooked and I was self-conscious.)

Still, the fact that I attended the Hop with my friends was fun even if my date the second year spent most of his time romancing a friend of mine who had just broken up with her boyfriend.  Let the pity party begin!

Since my hometown was short on restaurants (the town was tiny), nobody really got together beforehand to go out to dinner and only the second year did my friends and I gather afterwards.  And for the record, there was absolutely no such thing as a limousine in the town so you could forget that noise.  Things were pretty simple back then and we managed to have a ton of fun without all of today's prom accoutrements and accompanying expenses.

The nearby town of Marquette, Michigan though, was much bigger and their high school had a huge spring prom and I know this because my trial run as hostess at the Garden Room restaurant was on prom night.

I was going to college at Northern Michigan University in Marquette and needed a new summer job before starting my senior year. My summer job the previous year was at Montgomery Wards Repair Service and we do not have time here to discuss the horror that was that job, nor does it have anything to do with Prom so there it is.

Prior to my trial run at the Garden Room, I spent two weeks working for pennies on the dollar at a local Big Boy restaurant before deciding I was simply not Big Boy material and so set my sights on one of my family's favorite restaurants, the Garden Room. 

The Garden Room was a family favorite because the owner, Dorothy, and her family owned also a few other restaurants in town, one of which was the site of my parent's wedding brunch.  The food was fabulous and unlike Big Boy which was stuck in a mall, this restaurant overlooked Lake Superior and it was gorgeous.

So I went in one day and pitched my services to Dorothy who then asked if I could come in that Saturday for a trial run as hostess (which I loved better than waitressing) and I said sure, and then when I got there, she said "Oh, by the way, it's prom night."

Good to know.

So I survived that and managed to seat all the prom attendees without incident and I was then hired FT for the summer.  I have to say that it was somewhat amusing to seat students who were just a few years younger than me but "them's the breaks!"

Now then, returning our attention to The Seventeen Cookbook, in the early years of formal dances, it was usual and customary for one of the attendees to throw a dinner party the night of the big dance (although not in my town) and the dinner party menu usually had something "fancy" on it like Beef Stroganoff or steak and twice-baked potatoes and I was leaning heavily toward the stroganoff for my ode to prom until my husband decided he wanted the Sloppy Joes.  (He didn't attend prom, either.)

What can I say?  One cannot go wrong with Sloppy Joes even though I doubt anyone would have served them on prom night because they were, well – sloppy! (Can I just say that on prom night at the Garden Room, almost everybody used their napkins as a bib lest the outfit be ruined which would be horrible and unncessary!)  Since Andy and I ate this "prom night" food in our casual summer clothes, we didn't care what happened and so why not Sloppy Joes?

I know that in some parts, it is usual and customary to add a cream of "something" soup to a Sloppy Joe mix (or Chicken Gumbo or Chicken and Stars) but I never found a recipe calling for the soup until now.  In addition to the soup, you'll add chili sauce and prepared mustard, the combination of which made me feel like I was eating a burger instead of a Sloppy Joe but it was good so why quibble?

And so here we are, many moons past prom and all my reminiscing that went with it, but it doesn't matter because Sloppy Joes are great any time, anywhere, prom or no prom, Hop or no Hop! Enjoy!

Sloppy Joes – makes 12

2 tablespoons butter or other fat

2 lbs. ground beef chuck

1 cup chopped onion

2 cans cream of mushroom soup, undiluted

½ cup chili sauce

2 tablespoons prepared mustard

¼ teaspoon black pepper

12 hamburger buns, toasted and buttered

Melt butter in a large skillet.  Add beef and onion, cook, stirring until broken up and well-browned.  Add soup and seasonings; simmer for about ten minutes to blend, stirring occasionally.  Serve by ladling mixture onto hot hamburger buns.

"The Weekend Cookbook" - Baked Bean Casserole - Memorial Day

Date I made this recipe:  May 29, 2017 – Memorial Day

The Weekend Cookbook by Jeanne Adams

Published by Hewitt House

© 1970

Purchased at Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks - NYC

Recipe:  Baked Bean Casserole – p. 37

Is there a better time than a long weekend to pull out The Weekend Cookbook?  Nope, don't think so! 

Is there a better excuse to make yet another baked bean casserole than Memorial Day?  Nope, don't think so either!

Although Andy isn't as fond of baked beans as I am, I feel compelled to make them for one of the summer holidays and he eats them without complaint.  That said, I try not to push the envelope too far and so typically substitute my favorite accompaniment, potato salad, with something else.

These baked beans were super easy and were not doctored up like most baked bean recipes I've made (including my mom's) but I liked that it was no fuss, no muss.  You simply open two cans of baked beans/pork and beans, add some sliced onion and sliced tomato and bake.  What I like is that this then leaves you open to engaging in other Memorial Day activities, assuming it doesn't rain.

Although the author doesn't list specifically recipes for various holidays, she does break out her table of contents by seasons as follows:

• Summer Weekends:  Friday Dinners; Saturday Breakfasts; Saturday Lunches; Saturday Dinners; Sunday Breakfasts; Sunday Lunches.  (Apparently nobody eats Sunday dinner?)
• Summer Picnic
• Three-Day Summer Weekend
• Four-Day Summer Weekend
• Providing for a Working Husband (Well, this is rather sexist but we can given the woman a break because she wrote this in 1970 when women were generally either absent or invisible in the workplace.)
• Fall Weekends: Friday Dinners; Saturday Breakfasts; Saturday Lunches; Saturday Dinners; Sunday Brunch; Sunday Lunches.  (Again, cooking on Sunday nights is apparently out of the question. Also notice that one has brunch on fall Sunday's, not "breakfast")
• Winter Weekends: Friday Dinners; Saturday Breakfasts; Saturday Lunches; Saturday Dinners; Saturday Night Smorgasbord; Sunday Breakfasts; Sunday Lunches.  (Saturday Night Smorgasbords?  No.  Where I grew up, smorgasbords went mostly hand in hand with a Friday Fish Fry.  Some places served them on Saturday but these would be your rogue restaurateurs.)
• Three-Day Winter Weekend
• Spring Weekends: Friday Dinners; Saturday Breakfast; Saturday Lunches; Saturday Dinners; Sunday Breakfasts; Sunday Lunches
• Hors d'Oeuvres

 I was hoping to find a recipe in the "Summer Picnic" or "Three-Day Summer Weekend" category (even though summer doesn't arrive until June 21^st, but that didn't happen but the baked beans recipe came from the "Summer Weekend" chapter so that was close enough.  I pondered a few other recipes like Ratatouille but that just didn't seem right for Memorial Day. 

For those of you who are menu-challenged, the book provides you with countless menus so you have an idea of what other items make good accompaniments to your main dishes.  The menu containing the "Baked Bean Casserole," for example, suggested you serve it with "Cold sliced Baked Ham," "Sliced Cucumbers," "Rye Bread," and Frozen Éclairs.   Of course, you are not beholden to using frozen éclairs if fresh ones are available.

My menu was very different than the one suggested in the book as I made bleu cheese hamburgers (see my National Hamburger Day post), the beans, a macaroni salad (see my post from the L&L Hawaiian Cook Book) as is usual and customary.  I even threw in a shrimp cocktail from the Martha's Got Nuthin' On Me cookbook to round out our Memorial Day observance.

One final note:  This cookbook does not list any yields but based on the ingredients, I'd say you have plenty of baked beans to serve 6-8 people

Baked Bean Casserole – serving size unknown

2 jars New England-style baked beans

1 large onion, sliced

2 large tomatoes, sliced ½ inch thick

Salt, pepper

Empty one jar of beans into a casserole.  Separate the onion slices into rings and arrange on top of the beans.  Add the other jar of beans to the casserole and cover with sliced tomatoes, overlapping if necessary.  Salt and pepper, then bake uncovered in a 375° oven for 20 minutes, or until thoroughly heated.

Ann's Notes:  The author likely intended that you use B&M Baked Beans but I was shopping at Trade Joe's and they had their own brand of baked beans and so I used theirs.  And not that I've shopped regularly for these things, but Trader Joe's price was very reasonable – about $1.30 a can – and you can't beat that!

"Soul Food - Classic Cuisine From the Deep South" by Sheila Ferguson - Cheese and Sausage Grits Casserole for Black History Month

Date I made this recipe:  February 25, 2017 – Black History Month

Soul Food – Classic Cuisine From the Deep South by Sheila Ferguson

Published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson

ISBN: 1-55584-420-0; copyright 1989

Purchased at Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks, NYC

Recipe:  Cheese and Sausage Grits Casserole – p. 61

So February was Black History Month and even though I had the entire month to make a recipe from a related cookbook, please note that I snuck this one in under the wire.  Of course, getting it posted in the month of February was another matter all together.

While I don't necessarily keep a list of cookbooks to purchase, I was on the lookout for this after reading about the book and its author a long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away) and finally found it two years ago at one of my favorite cookbook bookstores, Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks in NYC.  As per usual, when I shop at Bonnie's, I find the coolest books and this was one of them.

This cookbook, written in 1989, is full of yummy recipes and great stories submitted by Sheila and her relatives. And sure, there were a fair amount of "no-go" recipes like "Pig's Feet," "Chit'lins," and lordy, lordy, "Braised Squirrel," but I was prepared to overlook that because of the breadth of her other offerings.

As a "for instance," "Roland's Home Fries" (p. 41) was in the running for a long time but when I realized that my recent breakfasts out with friends were heavy on the home fries, I passed.  Still, I would love to make it sometime because it sounded easy and fabulous.

On pages 60 and 61 you'll find four recipes for all kinds of grits including one for a "Sweet Grits Soufflé."  Today's recipe, Cheese and Sausage Grits Casserole, was found on page 61.  I like a book that has four grit offerings for every flavor palate out there.

Also in the running was "Aunt Odessa's Macaroni and Tuna Bake Casserole," (p. 122) and I also pondered that long and hard before going back to the grits.  I love mac and cheese, and I love tuna casserole so this likely would have been a hit even though it was missing my favorite tuna casserole ingredients – peas.

And then I considered two salads, one, a classic macaroni salad, the other, a potato salad, (both on p. 132) but these are more summer than winter dishes and Black History Month waited for no one!

See what I mean?  And those were just a few of the options from this cookbook a cookbook that covers soul food recipes from A-Z, as evidenced by the following categories:

• The High and Mighty Breakfast
• Down-Home Breads
• Grits, Grits, Grits
• Fine Feathered Fowl
• Critters That Swim  ("Critters?"  that "Swim?"  Happily, she mostly means fish.  Mostly.)
• The Almighty Pig
• If You See It, Shoot It (I almost spit my coffee just now!)
• Beans 'n' Rice
• Kissin' Cousins (a variety of recipes from people who are not kin but should be)
• Soulful Salads
• God's Green Acres
• That Glorious Sweet Potato
• Sweet Thangs
• Cakes and Cookies
• Pickles and Drinks (Huh.  I don't know as I'd ever put these two together in one chapter, but I suppose she was getting to the end of things and had to wrap it all up. )

Also included in this book is a chapter called "So What Is Soul Food," "It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing! The Black Way of Talking," and a "Future Reading" page.  Books in the "Future Reading" section aren't necessarily African-American but most have to do with southern cooking or southern specialties.

Now although it's not necessarily a requirement that a cookbook author have some cooking cred, I was surprised to see that author Sheila Ferguson is a singer first, cook, second.  Her dust jacket bio says she was lead singer of the legendary pop group The Three Degrees ("When Will I See You Again?"); these days, it looks like she is enjoying a solo career.  So the fact that she pulled together a really good cookbook is amazing – kudos!

Before I head on to the easy and tasty recipe, I have to tell you that my friend, Ann, will likely not touch a drop of this recipe and that's a damned shame.  Years ago, she spent some time at Florida State University and our northern gal of Scandinavian descent did not cotton to grits at all.  Can't say as I blame her as the few times I had grits while down south during childhood family vacations were not fond food memories for me, either. I n fact, I thought they were awful.  But over the years, I've really taken to them which is a good thing as I am able to leave my horrible grit-eating past behind me and embrace the suckers.  That said, it should be noted that there are "grit" grits which I like, and that are a lot like polenta, and then there are hominy grits which I loathe.  I make it a point never, ever to order the latter.

Although this is an easy dish, there is one adjustment that I made and that is to the sausage.  The recipe directs you to use a ready-made (read:  already-seasoned) product like Jimmy Dean sausage but I just could not, not only because of the preservatives and other additives, but because a roll of that stuff was way more than I needed.  So I Googled to see what sausage seasonings closely approximated Jimmy Dean's and added them to the ground sausage I purchased (in the quantity I needed, no more, no less). I'm including the sausage spices below.

This was a very good dish and a great way to close out Black History Month.  As an FYI, about a year ago, I purchased a fabulous and fascinating book called The Jemima Code by Toni Tipton-Martin.  This book (not a cookbook per se) explores two centuries of African-American cookbooks and Soul Food – Classic Cuisine From the Deep South is one of the included books.  I am currently going through my collection list to see which cookbooks from The Jemima Code I already own and which ones I need to acquire.  It's a process to be sure but meanwhile, enjoy this casserole!

Cheese and Sausage Grits Casserole – p. 61

1 lb ready-made sausage meat (Ann's Note:  I suggest you skip that and add the spice mix below to make your own sausage.)

1 cup uncooked grits

4 cups lightly salted water

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 cup butter

2 large eggs, slightly beaten

1 cup milk

1 small clove garlic, minced

Ann's home-made sausage spice (*These are for a half pound of sausage; double the ingredients for a full pound).  Add the following mixture to your ground sausage:

¼ teaspoon parsley

1/8 teaspoon rubbed sage

1/8 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon sage

1/8 teaspoon coriander

½ teaspoon salt

*If you want it hot, add some red pepper

Form the sausage meat into patties and fry it up crisp and golden brown.  Be sure you pour off all the excess fat as you're frying. Drain your patties on paper towels, then crumble them up in a bowl.  Preheat your oven to 350.

While you're doing all this your grits can be cooking.  You've got to boil them up in the salted water for about 5 minutes, exactly as it states on the box.  When they thicken up to the consistency of porridge, remove them from the heat and stir in grated cheese. Cover and let them stand for a couple of minutes.  Now stir in your butter, eggs, milk, and garlic until well blended.  Stir in your sausage meat.  Taste and adjust your seasonings.

Pour into a well-buttered 1 ½ quart baking dish and bake in your oven for 1 hour or until lightly browned and bubbling.