Showing posts with label Recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recipes. Show all posts

Sunday, January 7, 2024

Solomon Miller's Kosher Mulligan Stew Recipe, the first Jewish Scoutmaster in America.

I first tasted Miller's Kosher Mulligan Stew at Olin Sang Ruby Union Institute, Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, in the mid-1970s, during one of many weekend trips with my Sunday school. You'll love it too!


Mulligan's stew recipe is a Kosher Irish Beef Stew adaptation. Initially, the ingredients were added into a large coffee tin and heated over a fire to cook it. Mulligan stew ingredients varied depending on what was available. Feel free to substitute vegetables. If you add more vegetables — add more stock.



SOL'S KOSHER CAMPFIRE MULLIGAN STEW RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons oil
3 pounds cubed kosher beef OR 2½ pounds cut-up kosher boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 peeled and small diced yellow onions
128 ounces of kosher beef stock (4 x 32oz liquid boxes or equivalent ounces in powder form)
7 peeled sliced large carrots
7 medium celery stalks, sliced
1 pound trimmed green beans
4 pounds peeled and "large diced" russet potatoes
3 cups corn kernels
2 cups white or red beans or a mix
3 cans of 15oz or 1 x 28oz + 1 x 15 oz cans crushed tomatoes
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

reminder
Beef broth may contain a lot of salt. Make it from scratch or shop accordingly.

INSTRUCTIONS
In a large pot over medium-high heat, add 3 tablespoons of oil and cook the beef until browned OR Chicken until browned and cooked through, which takes about 4-6 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Add the onions to the pot and brown over medium-low heat while stirring every 1-2 minutes, which takes about 10 minutes.

Add the cooked beef or chicken back into the pot along with the beef stock and cook for 30 minutes over medium heat to help tenderize the meats.

Place in the carrots, celery, green beans, potatoes, corn, beans, and tomatoes and cook for 20-25 minutes over medium-low heat or until tender.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Finish with parsley.

Serve with a crusty French or Italian bread.

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I you make Miller's Kosher Mulligan Stew, please return and comment on this article.

Courtesy of Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Saturday, April 8, 2023

Frontier Corn Dodgers Recipe.

Corn dodgers were famous during pioneer life because they were very versatile and easy to carry around. You can eat them as a side to your meals or munch on them as a snack when you get hungry.

They’re relatively small, so pioneers would keep these in their pockets.

INGREDIENTS

2 Cups (coarse) yellow cornmeal
2 Tablespoons butter [or margarine]
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 Cups whole milk
1 Teaspoon baking powder

DIRECTIONS
  • Preheat oven to 400° F.
  • Cook cornmeal in a saucepan with butter, salt, sugar and milk until the mixture boils.
  • Turn off the heat, cover, and let stand for 5 minutes. 
  • Add baking powder and stir.
  • Spoon the mix onto the Baking Pan in heaping tablespoon-size balls, then bake for 10 to 15 minutes. 
  • They are done when slightly brown around the edges.
Cast Iron Corn Dodger Shaped Baking Pan.


Thirty-Two Foods with Recipies, That Abraham Lincoln Knew.

BUTTER
Warm the cream to a temperature of 56° ─ 58° F, and it will churn in fifteen minutes. After the butter collects in the churn, take it out and stand it for a minute in a very cold place. Do not wash it, as in this way, you rob it of certain elements necessary for its preservation. Work it continuously and thoroughly until all the buttermilk is out, adding 2 even teaspoonfuls of very fine salt to each pound of butter after you have worked it for about five minutes. Make it at once into prints, and stand away in a cool place.

CANNED FRUITS
BRANDIED PEACHES
Take the large white or yellow freestone peaches. (They must not be too ripe.) Scald them with boiling water; cover, and let stand until the water becomes cold. Repeat this scalding, then take them out, lay them on a soft cloth, and let them remain until perfectly dry. Now, put them in stone jars and cover them with brandy. Tie paper over the tops of the jars and let them remain in this way for one week. Then make a syrup, allowing one pound of granulated sugar and a half pint of water to each pound of peaches. Boil and skim the syrup, then put in the peaches and simmer until tender. Then, take the peaches out, drain them, and put them in glass jars. Stand the syrup aside to cool. When cold, mix equal quantities of this syrup and the brandy in which you had the peaches. Pour this over the peaches and seal. 

CORN MUFFINS
1 quart of milk
3 eggs, well beaten
1 teaspoonful of salt
1 tablespoonful of melted lard
1 pint of cornmeal
1 teaspoonful of baking powder

Pour the boiling water over the meal and stir so that all may be wet and scalded. Add the melted butter, salt and milk, then the beaten eggs. Put the iron gem pans into the oven to heat, putting into each butter, and beat the batter up thoroughly; then pour into the hot mold. Bake carefully for about twenty or twenty-five minutes. This matter, when ready, will be very thin.
Iron Gem Pan



COTTAGE CHEESE
Set a gallon or more of clabbered milk on the stove hearth or in the oven after cooking the meal, leaving the door open; turn it around frequently, and cut the curd in squares with a knife, stirring gently now and then till about as warm as the finger will bear, and the whey shows all around the curd; pour all into a coarse bag, and hang to drain in a cool place for three or four hours, or overnight if made in the evening. When wanted, turn from the bag, chop rather coarse with a knife, and dress with salt, pepper and sweet cream. Some mash and rub thoroughly with the cream; others dress with sugar, cream and a little nutmeg, omitting the salt and pepper. Another way is to chop fine, add salt to taste, work in a very little cream or butter, and mold into round balls.

CURRANT JELLY
Wash and strip the currants from the stems and put them in a preserving kettle; mash them as they get hot and let them boil for half an hour; then turn them into a coarse hair sieve or jelly-bag and let them drip. When through dripping, without squeezing any, measure and pour into the kettle to cook. After it has boiled for about ten minutes, put in the heated sugar, allowing a pound of sugar to a pint of jelly, and the jelly will set as soon as the sugar is dissolved — about three-quarters of an hour. 

GOOSEBERRY COBBLER
Take one quart of flour, four tablespoons melted lard, half a teaspoon salt, and two teaspoons baking powder; mix as for biscuit, with either sweet milk or water, roll thin, and line a pudding dish or dripping pan, nine by eighteen inches; mix three tablespoons flour and two of sugar together, and sprinkle over the crust; then pour in three pints gooseberries, and sprinkle over them one coffee-cup sugar; wet the edges with a little flour and water mixed, put on upper crust, press the edges together, make two openings by cutting two incisions at right angles an inch in length, and bake in a quick oven half an hour.

GRAHAM BREAD
Take a little over a quart of warm water, one-half cup brown sugar or molasses, one-fourth cup hop yeast, and one and one-half teaspoons salt; thicken the water with graham flour to a thin batter; add sugar, salt and yeast, and stir in more flour until quite stiff. In the morning, add a small teaspoon of soda and flour, enough to make the batter stiff as can be stirred with a spoon; put into pans and let rise again; then bake in an even oven, not too hot at first; keep warm while rising; smooth over the loaves with a spoon or knife dipped in water.

GRAPE BUTTER
Take sweet apples and grapes, half and half. Cook the apples until tender, and rub through a colander. Prepare the grapes as above, using 1 pound of sugar to 2 pounds of mixed fruit. The skins may be boiled in a bag and taken out later, or they may be stirred into the butter. The above is the better way. Leave plain or spiced to suit your taste. 

HASTY PUDDING or MUSH
2 quarts of cornmeal
2 tablespoonfuls of salt
4 quarts of boiling water

Take freshly ground and newly sifted corn meal. Wet it with a quart of cold water. Add the salt to the hot water and stir in the meal gradually, keeping the mass hot and well stirred. Made in this manner, the mush will be smooth and will cook evenly. Boil not less than two hours. May be eaten hot with milk, butter, syrup, cream, and sugar. Hasty pudding is so-called from the custom of making it just as wanted and bringing it to the table with about 15 minutes of cooking. In this way, the meal was not thoroughly cooked, and therefore, was said to disagree with many people. A cast iron pot with feet lessens the tendency to burn and is, therefore, the best vessel to use. It is best to double the quantity needed and put away half to become cold for frying. Oiling the mush on the top prevents the formation of a crust by drying.

HOMINY
Fill a large pot half full of wood ashes. Then nearly fill with water, and boil for ten minutes. After draining off the lye, throw out the ashes and put the lye back into the kettle. Pour in four quarts of shelled corn and boil till the hull rubs off. Then, put it all in a tub and pour on a pail of cold water. Take an old broom and scrub the corn. As the water thickens, pour off and clean with cold water. Put through four glasses of water, and then take out in a pan and rub between the hands. Pick out the hulls and put them on to cook in cold water. When half boiled, pour off and renew with cold water. Do not salt till it is tender, and do not let it burn. Put in jars and eat with milk.

LADY FINGERS
Four tablespoons sugar mixed with yolks of four eggs, 4 tablespoons flour, and 1 teaspoon lemon extract. Beat whites to a stiff froth and stir in. Squeeze through a funnel of writing paper onto a greased paper in a dripping pan, and bake in small cakes in a moderate oven. These are good for Charlotte Russe.

MANGOES
Let the mangoes lie in salt water strong enough to bear an egg, for two weeks; then soak them in pure water for two days, changing the water two or three times; then remove the seeds and put the mangoes in a kettle, first a layer of grape leaves, then mangoes, and so on until they are all in, covering the top with leaves; add a lump of alum the size of a hickory nut; pour vinegar over them, and boil ten or fifteen minutes; remove the leaves and let the pickles stand in this vinegar for a week; then stuff them with the following mixture; One pound of ginger soaked in brine for a day or two, and cut in slices, 1 ounce of black pepper, 1 of mace, 1 of allspice, 1 of termeric, half a pound of garlic, soaked for a day or two in brine, and then dried; 1 pint grated horseradish, 1 of black mustard seed and 1 of white mustard seed; bruise all the spices and mix with a teacup of pure olive oil; to each mangoe add 1 teaspoonful of brown sugar; cut 1 solid head of cabbage fine; add 1 pint of small onions, a few small cucumbers and green tomatoes; lay them in brine a day and a night, then drain and add the imperfect mangoes chopped fine and the spices; mix thoroughly, stuff the mangoes and tie them; put them in a stone jar and pour over them the best cider vinegar; set in bright, dry place till canned . In a month, add 3 pounds of brown sugar or to taste. This is for four dozen mangoes.

MARMALADE or QUINCE HONEY
Pare, core and quarter your fruit, then weigh it and allow an equal amount of white sugar. Take the parings and cores and put them in a preserving kettle; cover them with water and boil for half an hour, then strain through a hair sieve, and put the juice back into the kettle and boil the quinces in it a little at a time until they are done; lift out with a drainer, and lay on a dish; if the liquid seems scarce add more water. When all are cooked, throw into this liqueur sugar, and allow it to boil ten minutes before putting in the quinces; let them boil until they change color, say one hour and a quarter, on a slow fire; while they are boiling, occasionally slip a silver spoon under them to see that they do not burn, but on no account stir them. Have 2 fresh lemons cut into thin slices, and when the fruit is being put in jars, lay a slice or two in each. Quinces may be steamed until tender.

MINCEMEAT
Four pounds of lean boiled beef, chopped fine, twice as much of chopped green tart apples, 1 pound of chopped suet, 3 pounds of raisins, seeded, 2 pounds of currants picked over, washed and dried, half a pound of citron, cut up fine, 1 pound of brown sugar, 1 quart of cooking molasses, 2 quarts of sweet cider, 1 pint of boiled cider, 1 tablespoonful of salt, 1 tablespoonful of pepper, 1 tablespoonful of mace, 1 tablespoonful of allspice, and 4 tablespoonfuls of cinnamon, 2 grated nutmegs, 1 tablespoonful of cloves; mix thoroughly and warm it on the range, until heated through. Remove from the fire, and when nearly cool, stir in a pint of good brandy and 1 pint of Madeira wine. Put it into a crock, cover it tightly, and set it in a cool place where it will not freeze but keep perfectly cold; will keep good all winter. 
Mincemeat



OLD-FASHIONED CREAM PIE
Pour a pint of cream upon one and a half cupfuls of sugar; let it stand until the whites of 3 eggs have been beaten to a stiff froth; add this to the cream and beat up thoroughly; grate a little nutmeg over the mixture and bake without an upper crust. If a tablespoon of sifted flour is added to it, as in the other custard pie recipes, it would improve it. 

PICCALILLI
2 dozen large cucumbers, chopped
2 quarts small onions, whole
1 peck of green tomatoes, chopped
1 dozen green peppers, chopped
1 head cabbage, chopped

Sprinkle one pint of salt over this, and let it stand overnight, then squeeze out very dry. Put in a kettle.

1 gallon of vinegar
1 pint of brown sugar
1/4 pound box of Coleman's mustard
1/2 ounce of turmeric powder
1/2 ounce of cinnamon
1 tablespoon each of allspice, mace, celery seed, and a little horseradish.

Cook the mess slowly for two hours, then add two hundred pickles, just as it is to come off the stove. Add the mustard last, as this thickens it and is apt to burn.

PICKLED PEARS
Select small, sound ones, remove the blossom end, stick them with a fork, and allow each quart of pears 1 pint of cider vinegar and 1 cup of sugar. Put in a teaspoonful of allspice, cinnamon and cloves to boil with the vinegar; then add the pears and boil, and seal in jars. 

SAUERKRAUT
Remove the outer leaves of cabbage and cores, and cut fine on a slaw-cutter. Put it down in a keg or large jar. Put a very little sprinkle of salt between each layer, and pound each layer with a wooden masher or mallet. When your vessel is full, place some large cabbage leaves on top, and a double cloth wrung out of cold water. Then a cover, with a very heavy weight on it — a large stone is best. Let it set for six weeks before using, being careful to remove the scum that rises every day by washing out the cloth, the cover, and the weight, in cold water. After six weeks, pour off the liquid and fill it with clear, cold water. This makes it very nice and white.

SCRAPPLE
Take a hog's jowl, a part of the liver and heart, and the feet. Cleanse thoroughly, put on to boil in cold water, and cook until all the bones can easily be removed. Then take it out in a chopping bowl and chop fine. Season with sage, salt and pepper. Return it to the liquor on the stove, which you must strain. Then, thicken with corn meal and a teaspoonful of buckwheat flour to the consistency of mush. Then dip out in deep dishes, and when cool, slice and fry a rich brown, as you would mush. It is very nice for a cold morning breakfast. If you make more than you can use at once, run hot lard over the rest, and you can keep it all through the winter. 

SPICED CRAB APPLES
Peel and half 9 pounds of crab apples. Add 4 pounds of sugar, 1 pint of vinegar, 1 teaspoonful of cloves (whole cloves), and 3 or 4 sticks of cinnamon and mace. Let it boil for one-half hour or less if it grows too soft.

STRAWBERRY PRESERVES
Put 2 pounds of sugar in a bright tin pan over a kettle of boiling water, and pour into it half a pint of boiling water; when the sugar is dissolved and hot, put in fruit, and then place the pan directly on the stove or range; let boil ten minutes or longer if the fruit is not clear, gently (or the berries will be broken) take up with a small strainer, and keep hot while the syrup is boiled down until thick and rich; drain off the thin syrup from the cans, and pour the rich syrup over the berries to fill, and screw down the tops immediately. The thin syrup poured off may be brought to boiling and, then bottled and sealed, be used for sauces and drinks or made into jelly. 

SWEET PICKLED BEETS
Boil them in a porcelain kettle till they can be pierced with a silver fork; when cool, cut lengthwise to the size of a medium cucumber; boil equal parts of vinegar and sugar with half a tablespoon of ground cloves tied in a cloth to each gallon; pour boiling hot water over the beets.

SUN-DRIED FRUITS
To dry fruits nicely, spread in shallow boxes and cover them with mosquito netting to prevent flies from reaching them. Dried peaches are better when halved and the cavities sprinkled with sugar. The fruit must be good, however, as poor fruit cannot be redeemed by any process. The secret of keeping dried fruit is to exclude the light and to keep it in a dry and cool place. 

YEAST
Wash and peel six potatoes the size of a large egg, cut in quarters and put on the stove to boil in a quart of water; as it boils away, fill up the tea kettle to the quantity. When your potatoes are nearly done, put a handful of hops to steep in a pint of hot water; take out the potatoes when well done, put them into a crock and mash fine; on these, put a pint of flour and scald this with the hot potato water, and hop water. Beat until perfectly smooth and free from lumps; into this, put a cupful of granulated or other good white sugar and not quite a half cupful of salt. It should be quite thin; if not thin enough at this stage, add a little cold water. When cool enough, stir into this a pint of good yeast or two good-sized yeast cakes dissolved in warm water; let it stand twenty-four hours, stirring very frequently; then put it away in a stone jug, and cork tight and keep in a cool place, but not where it will freeze. This recipe makes a pint over a gallon.

VINEGAR
Fourteen pounds of coarse brown sugar, 10 gallons of water, and 1 cupful of brewer's yeast. Boil the sugar with three parts of the water, and skim. Remove from the fire, and pour in the cold water. Strain into a ten-gallon keg. Put in some small pieces of toast with the yeast. Stir every day for a week. Then tack gauze over the orifice. Set where the sun will shine on it, and let remain six months, by which time, if made in the spring, it will be vinegar.

Always save all the currants, skimmings, pieces, etc., left after making jelly, place in a stone jar, cover with soft water previously boiled to purify it, and let stand several days; in the meantime, take your apple peelings without the cores, and put on in porcelain kettle, cover with water, boil twenty minutes, drain into a large stone jar; drain currants also into this jar, add all the rinsings from your molasses jugs, all dribs of syrups, etc., and when the jar is full, drain off all this when clear into vinegar keg (where, of course, you have some good cider vinegar to start with). If not sweet enough, add brown sugar to molasses, cover the bung hold with a piece of coarse netting, and set it in the sun or by the kitchen stove. Give it plenty of air. The cask or barrel should be of oak. Never use alum or cream of tartar, as some advice, and never let your vinegar freeze. Paint your barrel or cask if you would have it durable.

DESSERTS
BUTTER-SCOTCH CANDY
Two cups of sugar, 2 cups of dark molasses, 1 cupful of cold butter, and a grated rind of half a lemon. Boil over a slow fire until it hardens when dropped in cold water. Pour thinly into tins well-buttered, and mark them into little-inch squares before they cool.

CREAM DATES
Remove the stones from the large dates, and make the cream as directed in the cream recipe. Roll a tiny bit into a long roll, put it in the date where you remove the stone, and press the two halves together so that the white cream will show between. Roll the whole in granulated sugar, and stand away to harden. 

HOREHOUND CANDY
Boil 2 ounces of dried horehound in a pint and a half of water for about half an hour; strain and add three and a half pounds of brown sugar. Boil over a hot fire until it is sufficiently hard, pour out in flat, well-greased tin trays, and mark into sticks or small squares with a knife as soon as it is cool enough to retain its shape.

MAPLE SUGAR CANDY
Boil one cupful of maple sugar together with one-half cup of water and a small bit of butter. Boil this for about ten minutes. When done, add one teaspoonful of vanilla and pour into buttered tins. It must not be stirred.

FRUIT COOKIES
One cupful and a half of sugar, 1 cupful of butter, one-half cup of sweet milk, 1 egg, 2 teaspoonfuls of baking powder, a teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, 3 tablespoonfuls of English currants or chopped raisins. Mix soft and roll out, using just enough flour to stiffen sufficiently. Cut out with a large cutter, wet the tops with milk, and sprinkle sugar over them. Bake on buttered tins in a quick oven. Fruit can be left out if preferred.

SOFT CREAM COOKIES
Three-fourths cup sour cream, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 egg, one-fourth teaspoon soda, and a pinch of salt. Mix very stiff with flour.

STICK CANDY
One pound of granulated sugar, 1 cupful of water, a quarter of a cupful of vinegar or half a teaspoonful of cream of tartar, and 1 small tablespoonful of glycerine. Flavor with vanilla, rose or lemon. Boil all except the flavoring, without stirring, for twenty minutes, half an hour, or until crisp when dropped in water. Just before pouring upon greased platters to cool, add half a teaspoonful of soda. After pouring upon platters to cool, pour two teaspoons of flavoring over the top. When partly cool, pull it until very white. Draw it into sticks the size you wish, and cut it off with shears into sticks or kiss-shaped drops. It may be colored if desired.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

President Lincoln's Paltry Eating Habits.

The President rose early; his sleep was light and capricious. In the summer, when he lived at the Soldiers' Home[1], he would take his frugal breakfast and ride into town in time to be at his desk at 8 o'clock, writes Colonel John Hay. 


He began to receive visits nominally at 10 o'clock. Long before that hour struck, the doors were besieged by anxious crowds, through whom the people of importance, senators and members of Congress, elbowed their way after the fashion which still survives. On days when the cabinet met, Tuesdays and Fridays, the hour of noon closed the morning interviews. On other days it was the President's custom at about that hour to order the doors to be opened and all who were waiting to be admitted.

At lunchtime, he had to run the gantlet through the crowds who filled the corridors between his office and the rooms at the west end of the house occupied by the Lincoln family. The afternoon wore away in much the same manner as the morning; late in the day, he usually drove out for an hour's airing; at 6 o'clock, he dined.
Recreated Kitchen in Lincoln's House on Eighth & Jackson Streets, Springfield, Illinois.


He was one of the most abstemious (non-self-indulgent) of men; the pleasures of the table had few attractions for him. His breakfast was an egg and a cup of coffee; at lunch, he rarely took more than a biscuit and a glass of milk and a plate of seasonal fruit; at dinner, he ate sparingly of one or two courses. 

Every so often, especially on special occasions or when having dinner company, Mary Lincoln would make Abraham's Favorite Gingerbread and Topping for dessert. Authentic Recipe. 

Lincoln drank little or no wine, not that he always remained on principle a total abstiner, as he was a part of his early life in the fervor of the "Washingtonian" movement. Lincoln didn't care for any wine or liquor and never used tobacco.

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The Washingtonian Movement (Washingtonians, Washingtonian Temperance Society or Washingtonian Total Abstinence Society) was a 19th-century temperance fellowship founded on April 2, 1840, by six alcoholics (William Mitchell, David Hoss, Charles Anderson, George Steer, Bill M'Curdy, and Tom Campbell) at Chase's Tavern on Liberty Street in Baltimore, Maryland. The idea was that by relying on each other, sharing their alcoholic experiences, and creating an atmosphere of conviviality, they could keep each other sober. Total abstinence from alcohol (teetotalism) was their goal. 

Abraham Lincoln was no foodie. He was almost entirely indifferent to food except for liking apples and hot black coffee. An often-cited quote has also been attributed to him: "If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee."

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Prices, at the time of Lincoln's assassination in 1865, were considered outrageously high. Bulk butter was sold for 30¢ a pound, and coffee, when found, was 21¢ ($3.88 today) a pound.  Ham was unusually high, 28¢ a pound, and turkey sold for 30¢. Salt was sold by the bushel at 50¢. A barrel of crackers, priced at $6.50 ($120.00 today), was expected to last an entire season.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.



[1] Today, the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington, D.C., 340 Rock Creek Church Road N.W., Washington, D.C., USA

Saturday, December 3, 2022

Mel Markon's, Restaurateur, Authentic Sweet & Sour Cabbage Soup Recipe.

Mel Markon's Sweet & Sour Cabbage Soup quickly became my benchmark for judging all other sweet & sour cabbage soups.
An actual photo of Mel Markon's Famous Sweet-and-Sour Cabbage Soup. 




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A very close 2nd to Mel Markon's came from "What's Cooking Restaurant" in the Lincoln Village Shopping Center, Chicago. It's a brothier, tomatoey soup with chunkier vegetables and a bit sweet. Straight from the old country  

Being a serious "foodie" since I was 7 years old, I must step out of my Chicagoland roots to Manhattan's Carnegie Deli on 57th Street, New York. They opened just offstage from Midtown Manhattan's theater district in 1937.  Carnegie's Sweet & Sour Cabbage Soup had a velvety texture and perfectly cooked beef. It's a shame that they permanently closed on December 31, 2016. 
 
PERSONAL NOTE:  
I ordered a cup of chicken matzo ball soup at the Carnegie. The waitress came to the table and plopped down a bowl of chicken soup with one GIGANTIC  matzo ball resting in the center. The Waitress says, "There ain't no way to get those matzoballs [is 'matzoball' one word?] in a cup, so we serve 'em the matzoball in a bowl,  filled with soup."

INGREDIENTS:
  • 24 cups water (1½ gal)
  • 3 lbs short rib of beef
  • 2 heads of cabbage, cut into bite-size pieces (about 3 pounds)
  • 2 med. onion, chopped 
  • 2 cups tomato ketchup
  • 1 - 4.5 oz can of diced tomatoes, drained
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2⁄3 cup lemon juice 
  • 3 tablespoons sweet paprika
  • 2 tablespoons salt - to taste
DIRECTIONS:
  • Boil the meat in [filtered] water using a stainless steel or enameled pot. 
  • Skim the froth as it rises.
  • Skim the froth/fat off the broth a few times while it simmers for 1 hour.
  • Transfer meat to a cutting board and trim off bones, fat, and grizzle.
  • Cut the cooked meat into bite-sized pieces, and add back to the broth. 
  • Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 30 to 60 minutes.
Ready In: 2hrs 30mins
Serves: 18

By Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Thursday, November 3, 2022

The Authentic "Chicago Chop Suey" recipe and Chinese Chop Suey History.

The dish chop suey falls into the category of American Chinese cuisine, featuring meat (either chicken, fish, beef, shrimp, or pork), quickly cooked with vegetables like bean sprouts, bok choy, and celery, all mixed together in a gravy-like sauce and served over rice. If served over stir-fried noodles instead of rice, that's a variation on chow mein. 
This is the bastardized, thoroughly American version made with ground beef, macaroni, and tomato sauce, called American Style Chop Suey.




CHOP SUEY'S ORIGIN AND HISTORY
Much of what we know as typical Chinese food was brought over by immigrants from the Toisan region of China. It was a population of poor farmers who assembled dishes using their crops and livestock, mostly eating mixed vegetables and fried noodles, utilizing every part of the pigs and fowl they raised. According to historian Yu Reniu, the English phrase "chop suey" is borrowed from the Toisanese "Tsaap Slui" (雜碎 = 'Chop Suey' in Traditional Chinese), two characters that together refer to entrails and giblets.

Chinese immigrants first arrived in the United States in large numbers in the 1840s, heading to California during the gold rush only to be met with violent prejudice; many eventually settled in New York, where they still dealt with racism and xenophobia but were at least slightly more tolerated.

Chop suey was an early favorite, and it was first mentioned by a prominent Chinese-American journalist, Wong Chin Foo, in a list of typical dishes he thought might appeal to Western tastes. As he explained, "chop soly" would often be quite varied:

Each cook has his own recipe. The main features of it are pork, beef, chicken, mushroom, bamboo shoots, onion, and green pepper … accidental ingredients are duck, perfumed turnip, salted black beans, sliced yam, peas and string beans.

Yet that it could properly be called the 'national dish of China' was not in any doubt.

Chop Suey Restaurant on Clark Street, Chicago. Circa 1905.
In 1883, a Chinese grocer was accused of cooking dogs and cats. In 1885, a Chinese journalist and activist, Wong Chin Foo, wrote an article for a New York culinary magazine called "The Cook," dispelling rumors that Chinese immigrants were cooking kittens and puppies. 

The article sings the praises of Chinese cuisine, and in it, he lists "chop soly" as one of his favorite dishes, one that he explained every chef had their own personal recipe for, but at the core was that same Toisan principle of mixed vegetables and meats. The article was enough to inspire American journalist Allan Forman to visit New York City restaurant Mong Sing Wah, Atlas Obscura explains, and in his review of the place, pens the first description of chop suey as it came to be known in NYC Chinese restaurants. Soon the dish spread elsewhere, and every chef put their spin on it to suit their specific clientele's taste. Before long, it would become more representative of American cuisine than Chinese culture.

THE DECLINE OF CHOP SUEY
Chop Suey Matchbox Artwork, c.1935.
In the 1900s, chop suey was the "it" dish, and soon New York City was home to hundreds of Chinese restaurants selling it. Throughout the 1920s, the dish became ubiquitous, with recipes appearing in women's magazines and United States Army cookbooks.

In 1922, a white American University of Wisconsin graduate started the La Choy company with a Korean-American business partner to cash in on demand for "Asian" ingredients. In 1925, Louis Armstrong released the song "Cornet Chop Suey." Restaurants across the country started popping up to sell chop suey and advertised the dish with large, decorative signs with English lettering whose strokes mimicked those of Chinese characters (this font would later become known as "chop suey"). It seemed like chop suey couldn't fail. So what happened?

The shift began partly when chef Cecilia Chang opened "The Mandarin" in San Francisco in 1961. In 2015, Chang (who died in 2020 at 100 years old) told PBS, "I decided, well, since Chinatown the food is pretty bad, a lot of chop suey, I think I want to introduce real Chinese food to Americans."

Once Americans realized that people in China weren't actually eating chop suey, demand for the dish faltered. Suddenly, all they wanted was to taste authentic Chinese cuisine, even while other Americanized dishes, like General Tso's chicken, were quietly being invented in Manhattan. So why is General Tso's still so prevalent on menus while chop suey has fallen by the wayside? How do consumers decide which "non-authentic" Chinese dishes are acceptable in Chinese American cuisine and which aren't? There's no concrete answer, but perhaps it's because as the first to rise, chop suey also had to be the first to plummet. And the makeup of the dish is replicated in many other ways throughout other menu items; beef and broccoli are essentially a spin on chop suey, or at least embody the Toisan sensibility that bore chop suey.

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The Mystery of the "Chicago Chop Suey" Building.
This little restaurant building is in Guadalupe, California, about 220 miles south of Los Angeles. The signs on the windows say “Please do not lean your bicycles on the building. Thank you.” The sign on the fence replaces the word "building" with "fence." The building was constructed in 1926. According to a map showing the locations of Japanese American-owned businesses in 1940, this restaurant was originally named the "New York Chop Suey."






As chop suey was a traditional American-Chinese concoction, it’s interesting and confusing that it was owned by Japanese or American-Japanese people. The Japanese population was rounded-up and placed in internment camps in 1942. Few came back to Guadalupe. A couple of white allies tried to guard some of their buildings, particularly their Buddhist temple, but eventually ran out of town. After which, what wasn’t taken over was vandalized, often beyond repair.


Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.



The Authentic Chicago Chop Suey Recipe.
12 servings
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 pounds of lean boneless pork cut into 1-inch cubes
1 1/2 pounds of beef (your choice) cut into 1-inch cubes
1/4 cup peanut oil
2 cups beef or chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 to 4 tablespoons of peanut oil
1 pound of mushrooms, sliced
3 medium yellow onions, halved, thinly sliced through the stem ends
3 cups diagonally sliced celery
4 cups chopped bok choy
2 red bell peppers, seeded, diced
1 cup chopped green onions
1 package (6 ounces) of fresh trimmed Chinese pea pods, or thawed if frozen
3 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup each: soy sauce, oriental bead molasses, water
1 cup frozen peas
1 pound fresh bean sprouts, rinsed
1 can (8 ounces) of sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 can (8 ounces) of sliced bamboo shoots, drained
Hot cooked rice

Optional: 
                 1 or 2 raw eggs, cooked in the Wok or pan just before serving
                 1 can (8 to 15 ounces) whole spear baby corn on the cob, drained
                 Chow Mein Noodles
                 Thinly Sliced Carrots                 

COOKING DIRECTIONS
1. Cook meat, in batches, in 1/4 cup hot oil in a Wok or Dutch oven until brown on all sides. Put all browned meat, broth, salt and pepper in a pan. Heat to boil; reduce heat; simmer, covered, until meat is tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Reserve. (This can be done in advance.)

2. Heat a Wok or very large skillet until hot. Add 2 tablespoons oil. Add mushrooms and onions; stir-fry until limp. Add more oil to the pan if needed. Add celery, bok choy, red peppers, green onions and pea pods. Stir-fry until crisp-tender, 2 to 4 minutes.

3. Blend cornstarch, soy sauce, molasses and water until smooth. Stir into the meat. Cook, constantly stirring, until slightly thickened.

4. Stir cooked vegetables into the meat. Stir in peas, bean sprouts, water chestnuts and bamboo shoots. Cook just until heated through, about 2 minutes. 

5. Serve immediately with hot rice. 

Extra: Allow diners to add chow mein noodles to their dish so they keep their crispness.


Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Wednesday, April 13, 2022

Chicagoan Magazines from 1926 to 1935, 166 Full Issues.

The Chicagoan, published from 1926 to 1935 in Chicago, was explicitly modeled on the New Yorker in both its graphic design and editorial content. The magazine aimed to portray the city as a cultural hub and counter its image as a place of violence and vice. It was first issued biweekly and then, in a larger format, monthly, ceasing publication in the midst of the Depression. The magazine received little national attention during its lifetime and few copies survive.
ISSUES OF THE CHICAGOAN MAGAZINE.







Vol. 1, No. 1, June 14, 1926
Vol. 1, No. 2, July 15, 1926
Vol. 1, No. 3, August 1, 1926
Vol. 2, No. 1, Sept 15, 1926
Vol. 2, No. 2, October 1, 1926
Vol. 2, No. 3, October 15, 1926
Vol. 2, No. 4, Nov. 1, 1926
Vol. 2, No. 5, Nov. 15, 1926
Vol. 2, No. 6, Dec. 1, 1926
Vol. 3, No. 1, March 26, 1927
Vol. 3, No. 2, April 9, 1927
Vol. 3, No. 3, April 23, 1927
Vol. 3, No. 4, May 7, 1927
Vol. 3, No. 5, May 21, 1927
Vol. 3, No. 6, June 4, 1927
Vol. 3, No. 7, June 18, 1927
Vol. 3, No. 8, July 2, 1927
Vol. 3, No. 9, July 16, 1927
Vol. 3, No. 10, July 30, 1927
Vol. 3, No. 11, Aug. 13, 1927
Vol. 3, No. 12, Aug. 27, 1927
Vol. 3, No. 13, Sept 10, 1927
Vol. 4, No. 1, Sept 24, 1927
Vol. 4, No. 2, October 8, 1927
Vol. 4, No. 3, October 22, 1927
Vol. 4, No. 4, Nov. 5, 1927
Vol. 4, No. 5, Nov. 19, 1927
Vol. 4, No. 6, Dec..17, 1927
Vol. 4, No. 7, Dec. 31, 1927
Vol. 4, No. 8, January 14, 1928
Vol. 4, No. 9, January 28, 1928
Vol. 4, No. 10, Feb. 11, 1928
Vol. 4, No. 11, Feb. 25, 1928
Vol. 4, No. 12, March 10, 1928
Vol. 4, No. 13, March 24, 1928
Vol. 5, No. 1, April 7, 1928
Vol. 5, No. 2, April 21, 1928
Vol. 5, No. 3, May 5, 1928
Vol. 5, No. 4, May 19, 1928
Vol. 5, No. 5, June 2, 1928
Vol. 5, No. 6, June 16, 1928
Vol. 5, No. 7, June 30, 1928
Vol. 5, No. 8, July 14, 1928
Vol. 5, No. 9, July 28, 1928
Vol. 5, No. 10, August 11, 1928
Vol. 5, No. 11, August 25, 1928
Vol. 5, No. 12, August 8, 1928
Vol. 5, No. 13, Sept 22, 1928
Vol. 6, No. 1, October 6, 1928
Vol. 6, No. 2, October 20, 1928
Vol. 6, No. 3, Nov. 3, 1928
Vol. 6, No. 4, Nov. 17, 1928
Vol. 6, No. 5, Dec. 1, 1928
Vol. 6, No. 6, Dec. 15, 1928
Vol. 6, No. 7, Dec. 29, 1928
Vol. 6, No. 8, January 12, 1929
Vol. 6, No. 9, January 26, 1929
Vol. 6, No. 10, Feb. 9, 1929
Vol. 6, No. 11, Feb. 23, 1929
Vol. 6, No. 12, March 2, 1929
Vol. 6, No. 13, March 16, 1929
Vol. 7, No. 1, March 30, 1929
Vol. 7, No. 2, April 13, 1929
Vol. 7, No. 3, April 27, 1929
Vol. 7, No. 4, May 11, 1929
Vol. 7, No. 5, May 25, 1929
Vol. 7, No. 6, June 8, 1929
Vol. 7, No. 7, June 22, 1929
Vol. 7, No. 8, June 6, 1929
Vol. 7, No. 9, July 20, 1929
Vol. 7, No. 10, August 3, 1929
Vol. 7, No. 11, August 17, 1929
Vol. 7, No. 12, August 31, 1929
Vol. 7, No. 13, Sept 14, 1929
Vol. 8, No. 1, Sept 28, 1929
Vol. 8, No. 2, October 12, 1929
Vol. 8, No. 3, October 26, 1929
Vol. 8, No. 4, Nov. 9, 1929
Vol. 8, No. 5, Nov. 23, 1929
Vol. 8, No. 6, Dec. 7, 1929
Vol. 8, No. 7, Dec. 21, 1929
Vol. 8, No. 8, January 4, 1930
Vol. 8, No. 9, January 18, 1930
Vol. 8, No. 10, Feb. 1, 1930
Vol. 8, No. 11, Feb. 15, 1930
Vol. 8, No. 12, March 1, 1930
Vol. 8, No. 13, March 15, 1930
Vol. 9, No. 1, March 29, 1930
Vol. 9, No. 2, April 12, 1930
Vol. 9, No. 3, April 26, 1930
Vol. 9, No. 4, May 10, 1930
Vol. 9, No. 5, May 24, 1930
Vol. 9, No. 6, June 7, 1930
Vol. 9, No. 7, June 21, 1930
Vol. 9, No. 8, July 5, 1930
Vol. 9, No. 9, July 19, 1930
Vol. 9, No. 10, August 2, 1930
Vol. 9, No. 11, August 16, 1930
Vol. 9, No. 12, August 30, 1930
Vol. 9, No. 13, Sept 13, 1930
Vol. 10, No. 1, Sept 27, 1930
Vol. 10, No. 2, Oct. 11, 1930
Vol. 10, No. 3, Oct. 25, 1930
Vol. 10, No. 4, Nov. 8, 1930
Vol. 10, No. 5, Nov. 22, 1930
Vol. 10, No. 6, Dec. 6, 1930
Vol. 10, No. 7, Dec. 20, 1930
Vol. 10, No. 8, January 3, 1931
Vol. 10, No. 9, January 17, 1931
Vol. 10, No. 10, Jan. 31, 1931
Vol. 10, No. 11, Feb. 14, 1931
Vol. 10, No. 12, Feb. 28, 1931
Vol. 10, No. 13, March 14, 1931
Vol. 11, No. 1, March 28, 1931
Vol. 11, No. 2, April 11, 1931
Vol. 11, No. 3, April 25, 1931
Vol. 11, No. 4, May 9, 1931
Vol. 11, No. 5, May 23, 1931
Vol. 11, No. 6, June 6, 1931
Vol. 11, No. 7, June 20, 1931
Vol. 11, No. 8, July 4, 1931
Vol. 11, No. 9, July 18, 1931
Vol. 12, No. 1, August 1931
Vol. 12, No. 2, Sept 1931
Vol. 12, No. 3, October 1931
Vol. 12, No. 4, November 1931
Vol. 12, No. 5, December 1931
Vol. 12, No. 6, January 1932
Vol. 12, No. 7, February 1932
Vol. 12, No. 8, March 1932
Vol. 12, No. 9, April 1932
Vol. 12, No. 10, May 1932
Vol. 12, No. 11, June 1932
Vol. 12, No. 12, July 1932
Vol. 13, No. 1, August 1, 1932
Vol. 13, No. 2, Sept 1932
Vol. 13, No. 3, October 1932
Vol. 13, No. 4, November 1932
Vol. 13, No. 5, December 1932
Vol. 13, No. 6, January 1933
Vol. 13, No. 7, February 1, 1933
Vol. 13, No. 8, March 1, 1933
Vol. 13, No. 9, April 1, 1933
Vol. 13, No. 10, May 1, 1933
Vol. 13, No. 11, June 1, 1933
Vol. 13, No. 12, July 1, 1933
Vol. 14, No. 1, August 1, 1933
Vol. 14, No. 2, Sept 1, 1933
Vol. 14, No. 3, October 1, 1933
Vol. 14, No. 4, November 1, 1933
Vol. 14, No. 5, December 1, 1933
Vol. 14, No. 6, February 1, 1934
Vol. 14, No. 7, March 1, 1934
Vol. 14, No. 8, April 1, 1934
Vol. 14, No. 9, May 1, 1934
Vol. 14, No. 10, June 1, 1934
Vol. 14, No. 11, July 1, 1934
Vol. 14, No. 12, August 1934
Vol. 15, No. 1, Sept 1, 1934
Vol. 15, No. 2, October 1, 1934
Vol. 15, No. 3, November 1, 1934
Vol. 15, No. 4, December 1, 1934
Vol. 15, No. 5, January 1, 1935
Vol. 15, No. 6, February 1, 1935
Vol. 15, No. 7, March 1, 1935
Vol. 15, No. 8, April 1, 1935  

© The Quigley Publishing Company, a Division of QP Media, Inc.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.