Thursday, April 15, 2010

Fruit, fried fish, frizzled beef, milk toast, Graham gems, boiled egg

Bad dinners go hand in hand with total depravity, while a properly fed man is already half saved.

This breakfast (yes, breakfast!) menu comes from Tried and Approved. Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping. Compiled from Original Recipes., which is dedicated to:

THE PLUCKY HOUSEWIVES OF 1876,

WHO MASTER THEIR WORK
INSTEAD OF ALLOWING IT TO
 MASTER THEM.

IMG_2693.jpg picture by seshet27

Fruit
I used pears that I canned last fall.

Fried Fish
Clean thoroughly, cut off the head, and, if large, cut out the backbone, and slice the body crosswise into five or six pieces; dip in Indian meal or wheat flour, or in a beaten egg, and then in bread crumbs (trout and perch should never be dipped in meal), put into a thick-bottomed skillet, skin side uppermost, with hot lard or drippings (never in butter, as it takes out the sweetness and gives a bad color), fry slowly, and turn when a light brown. The roe and the backbone, if previously removed, may be cut up and fried with the other pieces.
A better way is to dredge the pieces in the flour, brush with beaten egg, roll in bread-crumbs, and fry in hot lard or drippings enough to completely cover them. If the fat is very hot, the fish will not absorb it, and will be delicately cooked. When brown on one side, turn over in the fat and brown the other, and when done let them drain. Slices of large fish may be cooked in the same way. Serve with tomato sauce or slices of lemon.

IMG_2695.jpg picture by seshet27


Yeahhhh. I used the last of the tilapia, which I bought sans head and backbone. I say I, but actually Ron made this. He used Italian breadcrumbs.

Frizzled Beef
Use a quarter of a pound of dried beef, tender, crimson and shaved very fine. Into the pan put one tablespoon of butter, let it melt, then add one and one-half tablespoons of flour. Rub to a smooth paste, pour in one cup of thin cream, add a dash of paprika, then the beef. Allow it to boil up, then serve on rounds of toast.

IMG_2692.jpg picture by seshet27


IMG_2694.jpg picture by seshet27

This recipe actually comes from another cookbook, Good Housekeeping (1909), because it had much clearer directions. I also used milk rather than cream. Cream would be... wow. Probably really delicious. I also just used 1 jar of dried beef, and it was just about right for this amount of sauce.

Milk Toast
Make toast. Heat up milk. Pour milk over toast. Eat. I didn't make this, because it seemed ridiculous to have toast with gravy, toast with milk, and Graham gems.

Mrs. Buxton's Graham Gems
Take one egg and beat well; add pinch of salt, one quart of buttermilk or sour milk, and Graham flour enough to make a stiff batter; add one heaping tea-spoon of soda and stir thoroughly with a spoon; heat and grease gem-irons [pour in muffin tins], and after dipping the spoon in cold water, drop a spoonful of batter in each pan, repeating until all are filled; bake in a quick oven [about 375-400 F.] half an hour. This measure will make a dozen [abt. 2 dozen].

Boiled Eggs
Put them on in cold water, and when it has boiled the eggs will be done, the whites being soft and digestible, as they are not when put on in boiling water.

I may have simmered these a solid 10 minutes past the point when the water started to boil. I WILL NOT EAT RAW WHITES.

Verdict:

Fruit: Well, it's fruit, isn't it? Home canned pears are delicious. Especially when they are from my grandma's tree.

Fried Fish: This was SO much better than that egg sauce business. If I make tilapia again, this is how I'm doing it.

Frizzled Beef: This is also known as chipped beef. First of all, the dried beef was kind of hard to find. Until I looked at Wal-Mart. It was by the spam, sardines, vienna sausages, etc. I really thought this would be terrible. But it isn't! It grows on you. One thing I did that other recipes for frizzled beef (and the lid) called for was pouring on warm water, swishing it around, then pouring it off to get off some of the salt. This isn't something I'll be putting on regular menu rotation, but it actually is pretty good. I had seconds for the first time since starting this blog. I'm going to get a couple jars for food storage.

Graham gems: They were, you know, fine. Much like the invalid muffins, but wheat. I used whole wheat flour instead of Graham flour, because it is easier to find and the differences are negligible. The crust was nice, but these should really be more of a vehicle for jam. Lots and lots of jam. Ron said they would be better with sausage gravy. Again.

Boiled egg: Geez! What is with these people and mass amounts of protein and bread product?!

2 comments:

Betsy said...

That's creamed chipped beef - one of my favorites! Known in the military as SOS - sh** on a shingle.

My mother was a salt fiend, so this was one of her favorites, too. She "frizzled" the beef in the butter, added some flour to make a roux, then poured in some milk and cooked until it was thick - not very long. There was no rinsing of the beef.

I like it on plain, untoasted white bread, or, even better, plain crisp waffles. I've seen it on biscuits, too, and it looks good.

I buy the dried beef in the packaged deli meat section of the grocery store. It comes in a plastic pouch.

I think I have some in the fridge - gonna be a good breakfast tomorrow!

Jana said...

Frying the beef in butter, that's genius! My dad calls dishes of this sort "sss...(glances to see if I am in the room)...tuff on a shingle."