Sugar Cookie Murder (26 page)

Add the ground meat and mix it all up with your impeccably clean hands. (That’s right, use your hands and smoosh it all up together — this really is worth all the mess.)

With your hands, transfer the meat mixture to the pan you’ve prepared, filling it to within ¾ inch of the top, except in the middle, where you should mound it like a loaf bread. If you have any meat mixture left over, shape it into patties, separate the patties with wax paper, stick them in a freezer bag and pop them in the freezer. They make wonderful hamburgers.

Piquant Sauce Meatloaf Topping

Esther says this piquant sauce is the reason her family loves having meatloaf. It’s really good!

3 tablespoons brown sugar

¼ teaspoon nutmeg (freshly grated is best)

1 teaspoon dry mustard

¼ cup catsup

In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar, nutmeg and dry mustard. (Esther uses a fork to do this.) Mix in the catsup and then spoon the sauce over the top of your meatloaf.

Put a drip pan (Esther has an old cookie sheet with raised sides) under the meatloaf pan and bake it at 350 degrees F. for 1 ½ hours.

Let cook in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn it out on a carving board. Let it cool for another 5 minutes, and then slice.

Everyone says no one makes meatloaf better than Esther!

MINNESOAT HOTDISH

Ruel moved to Minnesota from California to teach at a local college. He says that there are more “hotdish” variations n Minnesota than there are mosquitoes at a shore lunch. Essentially, hotdish is comfort food concept, not a hard-and-fast recipe. Feel free to substitute and make your own variations. Some people in other more fancy parts of the country call this dish a “casserole.”

2 large onions, chopped

1 pound of ground beef (or ground pork, or a combination of the two)

½ cup butter

1 pound of any cooked, leftover meat (beef, pork, ham, chicken, or sausage)

1/3 cup honey

½ cup soy sauce

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon Mrs. Knudson’s Season Salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper (freshly ground is best)

hot sauce to taste (optional)

2 pounds cooked medium-size shrimp without tails

2 one-pound packages of mixed frozen vegetables (use your favorites)

8 ounces canned sliced mushrooms, drained

6 cups of cooked rice (white, brown, or a mixture)

In your largest stovetop pan and over medium heat, fry the ground meat and onions together until the meat is crumbly and the onions are translucent. Drain off the fat.

Add the butter and stir it around until it melts. Chop the leftover meat into bite-size pieces and add them. Then add the shrimp, honey and soy sauce. Simmer for 10 minutes to marry the flavors. This should be on the wet side. It it’s not, add a little more soy sauce or your favorite flavored vinegar. (I like raspberry vinegar.)

Season with garlic powder, Season Salt, black pepper, and hot sauce to taste (if you like it on the hot side).

Steam, boil, or microwave the vegetables. Darin them and add them, along with the mushrooms.

Add the cooked rice. If there’s not enough room in the pan, combine the meat mixture with the rice in a large roasting pan you’ve coated with nonstick cooking spray. Mix it well.

If you’re not ready to serve yet, you can keep it warm in a 325 degree F. oven, uncovered for up to 1 ½ hours.

Yield: Serves at least 10 hungry eaters, maybe more.

NOT SO SWEDISH MEATBALLS

Edna Ferguson used to make her meatballs by hand, until she came up with this really good mushroom sauce and discovered that no one could really tell the difference. She likes to makes hers in the slow cooker because they’ll hold for a couple of hours that way, and they’re really easy to take to a potluck dinner.

1 five-pound bag cooked, frozen meatballs (about 120 meatballs)

8 50-ounces cream of mushroom soup (undiluted)

1 cup whole milk, half-and-half, or cream (depending on how rich you want it)

1/3 cup dried onions (or one large onion, finely chopped)

1 teaspoon seasoned pepper (or freshly ground black pepper)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 packet (.88 ounce) brown gravy mix (just in case you need it)

Cooked egg noodles, fettuccine, mashed potatoes, or rice

Coat a 5-quart slow cooker or a large roasting pan with non stick cooking spray. Combine everything except the frozen meatballs in the bottom of the slow cooker or the roasting pan. Mix in the frozen meatballs, making sure the tops are covered with the sauce.

Cook in the slow cooker on low for 6-7 hours, or in a tightly covered roasting pan at 350 degrees F. for 5-6 hours.

Check meatballs a half hour before the end of the cooking time. If there’s too much liquid, sprinkled some brown gravy mix over the top and stir it in. if there’s not enough liquid, add more milk or cream. Check for salt at this time and add it if needed.

Finish cooking and serve over cooked egg noodles, fettuccine, mashed potatoes, or rice.

These can also be served as appetizers if you cut back on the liquid. Present directly from the slow cooker or pan, and provide food picks and small plates for your guests.

ROSE’S RESTAURANT TURKEY

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F., rack in the bottom position.

This is the turkey that Rose uses at the café for her hot turkey sandwiches with the mashed potatoes and gravy on top, and her turkey salad.

One uncooked (doesn’t that sound better than “raw?”) turkey, thawed, rinsed, and patted dry

A roasting pan big enough to hold the turkey

1 meat rack big enough to hold the turkey and small enough to fit in the pan

Spray the rack and pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Spray the turkey with nonstick cooking spray. Salt and pepper the outside of the turkey. Place the turkey, breast down (Rose knows this is unusual, just do it), on the rack in the pan.

Roast turkey at 275 degrees F., uncovered, for 23 minutes per pound.

If you want to roast the gizzard, liver, or nick, sprinkle them with salt and pepper and place them inside the largest cavity of the turkey.

Remove the turkey from the oven. Cover it loosely with foil and let it sit for at least 30 minutes.

• Rose says this turkey doesn’t at all resemble the gorgeous brown centerpiece turkey that wives carry out and place on the table for their husbands to carve. This turkey must be carved in the kitchen, and you’ll find the meat practically falls off the bone. You’ll also find that the meat is moist and delicious and much better than meat from a bird that looks gorgeous.
  

SALMON LOAF

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

This recipe is from Stan Kramer’s sister Kitty. (When they were growing up. Stan used to tease that she was fated to marry a man named Katz.) Kitty says you can use pink salmon, but the loaf turns out looking a little gray. Red salmon’s more expensive, but it’s worth it if you’re serving this for company.

2 cans (14.75 ounces each) red salmon

1 cup finely ground bread crumbs (or cracker crumbs or matzo meal)

1 cup evaporated milk (or light cream)

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon sage

½ teaspoon ground oregano

½ cup butter, melted

½ cup dried chopped onions (or ½ small onion, finely chopped)

8-ounce package frozen green peas

Coat a bread pan with nonstick cooking spray. (The one Kitty uses is glass, and the bottom measures 4 x 8 inches.)

Drain the salmon in a strainer. Prepare it by taking out the bones and removing most of the silver skin. Let it continue to drain while you mix up the rest of the loaf.

In a large bowl, mix the ground bread crumbs, evaporated milk, beaten eggs, and seasonings. Add the melted butter and chopped onions, and mix well.

Add the salmon and the frozen peas, and mix it all up with a big wooden spoon. (You may have to get in there with your hands to make sure it’s thoroughly mixed.)

Transfer the salmon mixture to the pan you’ve prepared, filling it to within a half-inch of the top. If you have any salmon mixture left over, shape it into patties, separate the patties with wax paper, stick them in a freezer bag and pop them in the freezer. They make wonderful salmon patties. Just thaw them an fry them in butter.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 1-1 ½ hours. If the top starts browning too rapidly, tent a piece of aluminum foil over the top.

Let cool for ten minutes and then slice and serve. This is especially good with dill sauce.

Dill Sauce

This sauce must be made at least 4 hours in advance (overnight is even better).

2 tablespoons heavy cream

½ cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon crushed fresh baby dill (you can use with ½ teaspoon dried dill weed, but it won’t be as good)

Mix the cream with the mayonnaise until it’s smooth, and then mix in the dill. Put the sauce in a small bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for at least 4 hours.

A note from Stan’s wife, Lolly: This looks really pretty if you make a double batch of piecrust dough, roll half in an oval for the bottom, and hand-shape the salmon mixture on top of that, leaving 2 inches of cough uncovered around the outside. Roll out the other half of the dough, drape it over the top, and tuck up the bottom edges, crimping them as you would for a pie. Cut slits in the top entire surface of the dough with egg yolk mixed with a bit of water. Bake it the same as you would for a regular salmon loaf and serve it as a “company dish.”

SAUERBRATEN

THIS RECIP MUST BE STARTED 3 DAYS IN ADVANCE!

Marguerite and Clara Hollenbeck bring this to every Lake Eden potluck dinner. People start lignin up early so they’re sure to get some.

3 ½ - 4 pound boneless beef roast (rump or sirloin tip preferred)

Marinade:

1 cup water

1 cup vinegar

2 limes, sliced with peels (or 1 lemon)

1 teaspoon ground cloves

10 whole green peppercorns

2 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons molasses

1 teaspoon ground ginger

2 teaspoons ground Mexican oregano

For later:

1 cup onion, chopped

16 ounces canned mushrooms with the liquid

one packet (.88 ounce) beef gravy mix

12 gingersnaps, crushed

16-ounce package wide egg noodles

Place meat in a glass or ceramic bowl that’s deep enough to hold it and leave 2 inches at the top.

Mix marinade ingredients together in a large saucepan. Heat until almost boiling.

Pour marinade over the meat, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 24-36 hours, turning the meat every 6 hours or so. (Nobody’s going to time you — you don’t have to be exact.) Or, you can borrow Clara’s trick and make double the marinade so it covers the meat entirely and you don’t have to turn it.

When the meat has marinated, place it in a greased Crock-Pot. Stir the marinade in the bowl and remove one cup of the liquid (no lime slices.) Pour this cup of marinade over the meat.

Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours.

Remove the meat from the Crock-Pot and toss out the marinade. Put in one cup of chopped onions, and canned mushrooms including the mushroom liquid. (You can also use 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup diluted with 1 can of water.)

Sprinkle in half of the packet of beef gravy mix, reserving the rest for later, and stir it all up. Then place the meat in the Crock-Pot, pour in enough water to just cover it, and cook it on LOW for an additional 2 hours.

Remove meat to a carving platter. Stir the juice in the crock and turn the control to HIGH. Crush the ginger-snaps and add them to the juice. Stir, cover, and let the “gravy” cook for 10-15 minutes. (If it’s not thick enough, add the rest of the beef gravy mix, whisk it briskly, and cook it for another minute.)

While the gravy is cooking, boil salted water and cook the egg noodles, according to the package directions. Drain them, butter them, and serve them with the meat.

Carve the meat (if it needs carving — it may just fall apart and that’s fine), arrange it on a serving platter, and pour some of the gravy over the top. Sprinkle with fresh parsley, if desired. Serve the remainder of the gravy in a gravy boat or bowl.

Most people like to put the meat on top of the egg noodles and then pour on a bit more gravy.

SMOTHERED CHICKEN

Laura Jorgensen got his recipe from her friend. Dee Appleton, who lives in Texas. It’s wonderful.

7-8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

½ cup flour

½ cup butter

1 tablespoon Mrs. Knudson’s Season Salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon ground oregano

½ teaspoon ground thyme

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ cup dried chopped onion

1 tablespoon parsley flakes

1 teaspoon sweet basil (not absolutely necessary, but adds a lot)

1 teaspoon chervil (not absolutely necessary, but adds a lot)

1 cup dry white wine (or water with a tablespoon of red wine vinegar)

Take out your largest frying pan and melt the butter on medium heat. Mix the flour, salt, pepper, paprika, oregano, thyme and garlic powder in a bowl. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture and brown it in the butter. (If there’s any flour left in the bowl, just dump it in on top.) Do the underside of the chicken breasts first, so that when you’re finished browning both sides, the right side is up. (This should take about 5 minutes per side.) When the chicken is browned, sprinkle the dried onion, parsley, sweet basil, and chervil over the top. Then dump in the wine, turn the heat down to simmer, and cover the pan. Let it cook for 45 minutes or until the chicken breasts are fully cooked.

Laura serves this with egg noodles and makes a sauce. After removing the chicken to a platter with sides, she pours in a little more white wine or water and cooks the pan drippings for 2-3 minutes until they’re the right consistency. Laura serves this separately so folks can pour it over their noodles and chicken.