Tag: Beef

Chafing-Dish Meat Balls

Chafing-Dish Meat Balls

by Andi Cohen-Rabiner ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

A Recipe from Good Housekeeping’s Complete CHRISTMAS COOKBOOK (1967)

About the Recipe

Each year for Christmas, my husband and I host what we call Orphan Christmas. We invite friends who are Jews (like us), who are unable to really travel, or who just have no where else to go to join our holiday gathering and table. We cook a big meal and sit down together to make merry. It’s basically heaven.

This year, I dipped into a new-old cookbook to create these meatballs, and they did not disappoint! They remind me of the Swedish meatballs a friend used to make for various festivities (and maybe for Christmas once or twice). The meatballs themselves are fantastic. It’s a great, easy recipe. I can easily see making a batch of them and then freezing them for a day when I don’t feel like cooking but want good spaghetti and meatballs.

In lieu of canned tomato juice, I opted for some bloody mary mix which I had on hand. I paired that with some original Sweet Baby Ray’s barbecue sauce, a favorite in our household, to make the sauce. I’ll go ahead and say, use whatever you really enjoy. It’s hard to miss on this one as long as you have the sweet in the barbecue sauce and the savory in the tomato juice.

My husband, Tarik has been making meatballs for years.
He was happy to help make this dish come to life!

About the book

I got this book as part of a set from my secret holiday gifter on my team at LinkedIn! I mentioned that I collect and cook out of vintage cookbooks, and this delightful set arrived on my doorstep. The Good Housekeeping Complete Cookbooks come in a set of 15 books, along with a plastic holder. This book is one of the set. As with so many of these MCM cookbooks, it comes complete with terrible food photos and delightful illustrations. I’m so excited to cook some more out of these books.

About the glassware

This barbed wire pattern divided dish is one of my favorite finds. It was a limited release in 1958 and I found it complete with a lid and in perfect condition. The cradle it’s in didn’t come with it, but is a partner to another divided dish that I have. It was the first pattern released on a divided dish, originally called the Cinderella Divided Serving Dish – delightful!

The Recipe!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs chuck, ground
1/2 cup finely-sifted dried bread crumbs
1 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup shortening
2 cups canned tomato juice
2 T regular all-purpose flour
3/4 cup bottled barbecue sauce
1/4 cup water
1 1-lb. 4 1/2-oz. can pineapple chunks, drained

Directions:

Early on day:
1. In bowl, with 2-tined fork, toss together chuck, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, egg, and milk until well blended. Shape into 1/2- to 3/4-inch balls. Place in shallow pan with shortening; refrigerate.
2. In saucepan combine tomato juice and flour until sooth. Add barbecue sauce and water; blend well.

About 1 hour and 30 minutes before serving:
1. Start heating oven to 350*F.
2. Bake meat balls 30 minutes; now drain off excess fat then pour on tomato sauce; bake 45 minutes longer.
3. To serve, spoon meat balls and sauce into chafing dish or serving dish, with pineapple chunks here and there.

Makes 48 meatballs.

Yorkshire Burger

Yorkshire Burger

by Andi Cohen-Rabiner ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

A Recipe from 9th Grand National Cook Book (1958)

About the Recipe

It’s been a long time since I’ve had a real Yorkshire pudding. When I saw this recipe for the first time, it didn’t actually occur to me that this would be the closest that I’d ever get to making one myself! The texture of the breading around the meatballs is like a British pudding – eggy, buttery, slightly salty. It’s absolutely delightful.

When I put it out on the table, my husband took a giant piece, grabbing 4 meatballs in one go – exactly like the picture above! Mr. Kellogg notes that his high school baseball teammates like to dig into this dish, and after seeing the excitement in my husband’s eyes when it landed on the table, I don’t doubt that they did!

One quick adaption here – we don’t eat ground beef in my house, so I substituted ground turkey. It worked really well, and I would imagine any ground meat would do fine. It was even noted at the table that some salmon or other fish based balls would also be delicious in the eggy pudding.

For more recipes in the Pillsbury Challenge, click here!

About the book

In 1958, the Bake-Off moves across the country from New York to Pennsylvania. If the photos in the book are any indication, it seems the participants had a wonderful time. Indeed, the publishers of this years book seemed to have too much fun to cram into one little volume. The front cover has the customary letter from Ann Pillsbury, and is surrounded by smaller photos of the event itself. With the 10th Anniversary to follow, they dedicate more space than usual (4 whole pages!) to the following year’s event. So exciting!

About the glassware

I just got this beautiful Butterfly Gold lasagna pan a few weeks ago (the day after I made lasagna, of course). It came from the little antiques store that I love in New Paltz, NY. I’d had my eye out for a pan like this one, and I was so excited to see it. While it’s a little shallow for casseroles (other than lasagna) in general, it’s perfect for dishes like the Yorkshire burger, and will be exactly right for bar cookies and the like.

The gravy dish was a birthday present from my husband. Spring Blossom is my favorite, and I honestly just love every excuse to bring it out of hiding.

The Recipe!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1/4 cup chili sauce
1 package dry onion soup
2 T chopped parsley
1/4 t pepper
1/4 t poultry seasoning
5 egg
1 T water
1 1/2 cups sifted flour
1 1/2 t double-acting baking powder
1 t salt
1 1/2 cups milk
3 T melted butter

Beef Gravy:
1/4 cup Crisco or butter
3 T flour
1 T beef extract
2 1/2 cups milk

Directions:

Combine in a mixing bowl the ground beef, chili sauce, dry onion soup, parsley, pepper, and poultry seasoning. Blend 1 of the eggs and the water. Add to meat mixture; mix well. Form into 24 small meat balls. Place in well greased 12×8-inch baking dish.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat 4 eggs until foamy. Add milk and melted butter; mix well. Add dry ingredients all at once to egg mixture. Beat with rotary beater (or low speed on mixer) only until smooth and well blended.

Pour over meat balls.

Bake in moderate oven (350*F) 50-60 minutes until golden brown. Serve hot with Gravy.

Beef Gravy:
Melt butter or Crisco in saucepan. Blend in flour and beef extract. Add milk. Cook, stirring occasionally, until gravy is smooth and thickened.

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Hot Dog Fiesta

Hot Dog Fiesta

by Andi Cohen-Rabiner ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

A Recipe from America’s BAKE-OFF Cookbook 100 winning recipes from BAKE-OFF 27 (1976)

About the Recipe

The hot dog casserole, I think, is one of the great lost recipe trends of the 1960’s/70’s. Every one that I’ve tried has looked absolutely disguising on paper, but has ultimately been unbelievably delicious. This one is no different. The note on the recipe says to “hear [the kids] ask for seconds,” and I have no doubt that they will with this one!

Side note – this does one of my favorite things when it comes to biscuit toppings. The biscuit dough bakes in the casserole, and sops up the juices as it does. Then you have the crunchy top that you can than dip in the remaining sauce. It’s just so good.

Additional side note – if you’re not into beef, please take a chance and try this recipe with tofu or turkey dogs. It should work just as well.

For more recipes in the Pillsbury Challenge, click here!

About the book

It’s 1976 and it’s the United States Bi-Centennial! Pillsbury takes this opportunity to re-christen themselves to America’s Bake-Off. We get some lovely patriotic graphics, and the contestants were treated to a Boston clam bake! I love the little bit of extra nostalgia and cheese.

About the glassware

This 2.5 quart Butterfly Gold casserole came to me from a close friend who inherited it from their Nana. It’s so special and you can feel the love that went into every dish every time it’s used. I have the set of two – small and large – and they hold a special place in my heart.

The Recipe!

Ingredients:

2 T butter or margarine
1 lb. pkg. wieners, cut in 1/2 inch slices
10 3/4 oz. can condensed cream of potato or celery soup
8 oz. package frozen mixed vegetables with onion sauce, thawed
1 cup milk
1/4 t marjoram leaves
10 oz. can refrigerated biscuits
1/2 to 1 cup (2-4oz.) shredded cheddar or American Pasteurized Process Cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375*F.

In 10-inch ovenproof fry pan, brown butter and wieners. Stir in soup, mixed vegetables, milk and marjoram; heat until hot and bubbly.

Separate biscuit dough into 10 biscuits; cut each into 4 pieces. Arrange over hot wiener mixture with points up.

Bake 20-25 minutes until biscuits are golden brown. Remove from oven; sprinkle with cheese. Serve immediately. (Refrigerate any leftovers.)

TIP: Hot meat mixture may be transferred to a 2-quart casserole. Top with biscuits; bake as directed.

To reheat, cover loosely with foil; heat at 375*F for 20-25 minutes.

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Potato Pan-Burger

Potato Pan-Burger

by Andi Cohen-Rabiner ♥ 3 Comments

A Recipe from Pillsbury’s 13th Grand National Bake-Off Cookbook (1962)

About the Recipe

I have never in my life bought potato flakes – until this recipe came along. And I’ll admit, I’m kind of blown away by them. One minute you have these weird flakes in a box… BAM! Mashed potatoes. Life changing.

This is a great recipe, especially for a crowd. It’s like a busy person’s shepherd’s pie. I can see this being a kid-pleaser for sure with all of the meat and butter and potato-y goodness. It was super simple to make. The thing that took the longest was adding the potatoes a tablespoon at a time, but worth the effort to get something that kind of looked like a bun when it was spooned up.

My only adjustment to this is to maybe play with the spices a little bit, or have some common condiments on hand for a “make-your-own pan-burger” buffet.

For more recipes in the Pillsbury Challenge, click here!

About the book

The recipes seem to be getting better and better as we come up into the ’60’s. We’re still using butter and full fat milk, and the time saving substitutions haven’t moved too far into processed food yet. My favorite thing on this one is the absolutely gorgeous full color photos of the grand prize winners.

Really just stunning. And the little illustrations to go along with them are to die for. I can tell already that this is one I’ll come back to over and over again.

About the glassware

My husband found this Pyrex Snowflake Casserole dish at a flea market, where it had come straight from an estate sale. It was an absolute steal when I got it, barely used, in perfect condition. I have the lid that goes along with it, which I’ll make sure to feature in the future. It’s my husband’s favorite color (which I’m sure is why he grabbed it) and it’s such a great size for all of these big family-sized dishes.

The Recipe!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1/2 c chopped onion
1/4 c flour
1 T catsup
3/4 c beef broth
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 c sour cream

Potato Puff Topping:
1 1/2 c water
1/4 c butter
1 1/2 t salt
1/2 c milk
2 c potato flakes
2 eggs
1 c flour
2 t baking powder

Directions:

Brown ground beef and onion in large skillet, stirring occasionally. Drain. Blend in flour and catsup. Add beef broth, salt, and pepper. Cook until thick, stirring constantly.

Stir in cream of mushroom soup and sour cream. Reheat, and if your skillet measures less than 2 1/2 quarts, transfer filling to a 2 1/2 quart casserole or two 1 1/2 quart casseroles.

Make the potato puff topping. Drop the topping by rounded teaspoonfuls to cover the filling. Bake at 425* for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.

Potato Puff Topping:
Heat water, butter, and salt to boiling in saucepan. Remove from heat. Add milk. Stir in potato flakes. When flakes are soft and moist, whip lightly with fork.

Add 2 unbeaten eggs, beating well after each. Stir in flour and baking powder. Beat well.