A Christmas Story Meatloaf Dinner: Braised Sweet & Sour Cabbage

     I was in the mood for meatloaf after receiving my vintage Universal Chopper and my mind was immediately drawn to the movie "A Christmas Story" where the family is seen eating the same dinner every night, namely meatloaf, mashed potatoes and braised red cabbage.  So what better way to break in my new kitchen gadget than by recreating that dinner.

Hashed Leftovers

     Many times after the holidays we're left with mounds of leftovers from an overindulgent feast of Brobdingnagian proportions and we're completely flummoxed as to what to do with them.  I didn't even cook this much for Christmas but I did have a rather large turkey and now I'm left to decide what to do with the leftovers.  Part of it is getting mixed up into turkey salad using the Chicken Salad Recipe but with the rest I'm left to get creative.

Harley's Sandwich Shop Tuna Salad & a Double TT Diner Club

     Harley's Sandwich Shops were a landmark in Baltimore from the 1940's to the 1980's when they were bought up by Shane's.  I was really young when this happened, maybe 8 or 10 years old but I do remember the couple times I went with my grandparents to Harley's.  He was well known for his subs and his burgers simmered in a secret sauce, a recipe I'll get to another time, but it was his jazz show on local Baltimore radio that really made him famous.

Chicken Soup Recipe, Depression Era

     I've tried many ways of making chicken soup over the years and while they were all good they weren't fantastic I was always looking for something else.  This started as a research project into Depression Era cooking.  One of things that Herbert Hoover promised as president was "A chicken in every pot" and there's a reason for this, chicken was expensive, especially young chickens.  Chickens were kept for laying eggs and after 5 years when they stopped laying that's when they ended up as dinner.

The French Sandwich or Monte Cristo

Whilst looking for new ways to use up leftover Thanksgiving turkey I happened upon an old favorite of mine, the Monte Cristo.  This was a sandwich that I used to love ordering in Pargos a restaurant that we frequented when I was younger growing up in Baltimore.  Its been years since I had a Monte Cristo and I was interested to see that it is a not a modern invention as I had previously thought.

This sandwich combination originated in the 1930's and was probably used for the same thing I am using it for, ie to get rid of leftover meats from last nights dinner.  It is usually referred to as the "French Sandwich" and is erroneously attributed to being an American version of the Croque Monsieur a glorified French grilled cheese sandwich.  In actuality it's called the French Sandwich because it essentially a French Toast Sandwich.  This is a great sandwich for lunch or a late breakfast, but will work well any time of the day.

The French Sandwich (Monte Cristo)

For each sandwich you will need:
2 Slices Brioche or Egg Bread
1 Slice Ham
a few pieces of turkey battered flat with a knife
A few slices of cheese (Swiss, Gouda or Gruyere)
1 egg
3T Half and Half
Powdered Sugar
Jam, Cranberry Relish, etc

Build your sandwich with a slice of bread, then cheese, the ham, some cheese, then turkey, finish with cheese and top with the other slice of bread.  Mix Half and Half and egg in bowl well.  Melt some butter in a frying pan on med heat.  Dip sandwich in egg mix then flip and dip other side and fry in pan slowly, turning every so often.  When cheese melts and bread is browned serve on plate.  Dust sandwich with powdered sugar and serve jam on side.  I used some lingonberry jam with mine and it was amazing.

1930's Hard Times Green Beans

The other day I talked about what people ate from day to day during the Great Depression and this is one of the recipes that I have been able to uncover.  I love green beans and they're really a cheap side dish whether you cook them frozen or canned and they are easily grown fresh in a garden (they're quite prolific actually).  Right now we're in the midst of green bean season in Florida so we're getting some great beans out of Boynton Beach so I decided to give this recipe a try during Easter.  I don't think my wife was too fond of them but I made a huge batch and ate them as lunch a number of days until they were gone.  During the Depression this dish would have been a main meal using only a little bacon for the meat but yet turning out quite filling and not too bad nutritionally either.  They benefit from sitting in the fridge for a day to mellow out the flavor a bit but are still good they day they are cooked.

The Old Is New Again

I had a blip on the radar the other day that I ignored much to my detriment.  My old computer had been acting weird for a week or so but I had just chalked it up to it's advanced age.  Then the unthinkable happens and the computer just died.  Seeing as it was using older hard drives I lost pretty much everything to do with the blog, including the pictures and old ads I had collected.  Well I'm back up and running with a middle age laptop until I can get something better but in the meantime it means I have a clean slate to work with as far as the blog goes.  I know I don't write nearly as much as I used to, it goes along with having a full time job now.  Having the job has been a positive experience even if I had to shelve the blog for a few months while I was training.  The biggest thing I have taken away from working at an upscale grocer is my love and newfound depth of understanding pertaining to organic foods.  I started with experimenting with organic and now it's a full on passion.  I don't go crazy with it, insisting that all things be organic but if the option is available I certainly take it.

Haluska, Hungarian Cabbage & Egg Noodles

Because of my Hungarian ancestry, I am of course fascinated with Hungarian cuisine.  Real Hungarian cuisine not the bastardized recipes that most Americans are familiar with.  Hungarians, it is said, have more ways to prepare cabbage than any other ethnic group from Eastern Europe and more incredibly, none of those ways involves boiling the cabbage.  Hungarians are strictly against boiled cabbage because it destroys the wonderful flavor and texture of this lowly vegetable.  Most Americans are familiar with the slimy cabbage that is procured on St. Patrick's Day, but a whole new world awaits and you may grow to love cabbage if you give it a try Hungarian style.  Previously I posted my recipe for Hungarian Coleslaw but here we have a hot dish that is light, packed with vitamins and full of great flavor.

Mock Tenderloins

Depression era cooking is a fascinating aspect of vintage recipes.  Much of the recipes that have survived are frugal recipes that cook for a family using very little money yet still striving to stay healthy.  The others are what I call "make do" recipes that are often in imitation of something that would have been more expensive.  Such austere recipes were often tasty in their own right, even if they fell short of what they were trying to imitate.  Here is one such recipe, mock tenderloins of course are a frugal replacement for true tenderloin that would have hit the purse hard for someone not making as much as before.  This recipe comes from 1930 or 31 and luxuries such as this would be fondly remembered after '32 when the depression was at it's worst.  Today we are locked in the Great Recession, sugarcoating what is otherwise a repeat of the last great depression.  We've much to learn from these frugal recipes of yesteryear since they are every bit as cost effective now as the were then.

Authentic Hungarian Chicken Paprikash

One of the crucial elements of frugal cooking is ethnic recipes.  Many Americans adapted the recipes of Germans, Hungarians, Italians, Russians, etc. to suit their tastes.  These were people who were used to living frugally back in their home countries and Americans learned much from their cooking styles.  It also started the downward decline in the formerly popular "meat and potatoes" type of meals that were prevalent through the boom years of the 1920's.  Hungarian cooking is usually typified by the ubiquitous Goulash, a stew of beef, onion and paprika.  While Goulash is tasty in it's own right I much prefer Paprika Chicken (Paprikash).  Formerly we had been using a mentally recorded recipe passed down from my great grandparents and while it was good, there was something missing.  That something was good quality paprika.  Most paprika sold in the US is of inferior quality, having a dull red color.  True Hungarian paprika is a vibrant red and has an unmistakeable smell similar to fresh red bell peppers.  Getting good Hungarian paprika can be tricky, but not to worry the good Spanish sweet paprika is equal to it.  Check out TJ Maxx, Marshalls or Home Goods for tins of Spanish paprika marked Pimentón Dulce this is the really great sweet Spanish Paprika.  Also you will need some Hot Hungarian Paprika, it doesn't make the dish spicy but it adds a little kick.  Hot Hungarian paprika will be darker in color than the vibrant red of sweet paprika.

1930's Egg Dinner

I spent quite a bit of time with my grandparents when I was growing up so this is a meal I became quite familiar with for dinner.  My grandfather sometimes called it scrambled egg mess but it is straight from the lean days of the Depression.  Usually it contained no meat, however you could include some ham or spam if you had some on hand.  Otherwise it was made of 3 ingredients that were rather cheap back then and even cheap now, Onions, Potatoes and Eggs.  Ofttimes it was made of leftover baked potatoes from dinner the night before but it was a great way to feed a family for a little bit of money.

Noodles And Pot Cheese

Noodles and Pot cheese is a meal that my dad has been talking about for awhile now.  He remembered as a kid growing up in New Brunswick, NJ his parents going out to the dairy farm down the road and one of the things they would buy every so often was pot cheese.  It took me a bit of looking but pot cheese in essence is just a curdled milk cheese, a way for farmers to use up leftover milk after the cream has separated and been skimmed off.  While skim milk is what is traditionally used in this recipe, it's important to remember that unless you've had organic skim milk you've never really experienced what real skim milk is.  The commercial dairy skim milk is little better than powdered milk mixed with alot of water and lacks the taste and richness of true skim milk which is closer to 2% milk in flavor and richness.  So if you're going to do this, go organic and get some organic skim milk.  You will also need some cheesecloth and a colander.  1 quart of milk makes enough pot cheese for 4 servings and it needs to be used up within a day as it doesn't keep well.

A Guide to Buying Pots & Pans

Pots and pans in the early 1900's were simple, you had cast iron, steel, and baked porcelain enamel.  Aluminum cookware first appeared in the very early 1900's but it was frowned upon by most homemakers and so relegated to restaurant use next to the copper pans.  Today though we have a dazzling array of pots and pans available to us made out of every type of metal conceivable.  It can be truly daunting when trying to choose what is best for your kitchen.  I write this as a guide to steer you in the right direction.  Everyone is different in their needs which is why I don't suggest getting a set of pots and pans but buying them individually instead.  You will be able to secure better quality pots by buying individually and you will have a set that is tailored to your needs.  Remember, when choosing pots and pans for your use, go for practical, hard wearing cookware.  Too much cookware on the market today is of disposable quality or is made to be "bling bling" showy but gives horrible results when used.  The best made pots and pans will last a lifetime.

Organic and Vintage Is Cost Effective

If you think that buying organic is too expensive then you need to rethink your position.  I've heard this argument and I admit, I've made it myself but it wasn't until I started looking into vintage foods and cooking that I started thinking about the true cost.  In the picture above you see my dinner last night.  A piece of Publix Greenwise Porterhouse done medium rare on the grill with steamed asparagus and caprese salad.  Herein lies the most important part of the vintage diet plan, smaller portions.  People ate within serving guidelines back in the day, they just varied what they ate so the taste was more rewarding.  Despite current beliefs, they were not steak and potato fanatics as we would be led to believe.  Vegetables were a part of the meal and everything was fairly well balanced.  It's the gross overcomsumption of today that has led us to think that a 12oz steak is a "serving".  Sorry, a serving size of just about any meat is 5-6oz, this holds true to beef, chicken and fish.  SO with that mind we are able to go from buying 3 common steaks at $7.99/lb on sale to 1 organic steak at $9.99/lb on sale, and effective savings of $13.98!  Lets break the meal down and see what we have:

The Gold Standard

14 hour housewives of 8 hour men need Gold Dust to get them through their work.  Man, it's not easy being a housewife.  Washing, cooking, laundry all would have been done by hand back then and taken a rather large amount of time to complete.  I should know since I lived in the Philippines for 3 years and did my laundry by hand along with helping my wife clean the house. Eventually we hired a maid for the princely sum of $30/month which is what many  people back in the early 1900's did as well.  It was sign of being solidly middle class when you could afford a maid.