No, that is not a can of cat food artfully presented with a hint of lemon. It is, rather, in the words of Wikipedia:
Steak tartare is a meat dish made from raw groundmeat (beef or horsemeat). It is usually served with onions, capers, pepper and Worcestershire sauce, and other seasonings, often presented to the diner separately, to be added to taste. It is often served with a raw egg yolk, and often on rye bread.
Clearly, this dish is not in the mainline for meat eaters, those of us who choose between a burger and a filet depending upon the dollar signs on the menu. But other foodies extol the virtues of this purest of purists' meat choices.
Why do I even risk ruining someone's supper or, worse yet, turning them against beef altogether as a barbaric choice made by folks with ultra long incisors?
Because once upon a time, on a whim and a dare, I ordered steak tartare...at a German restaurant in Washington, D.C. Even given fair warning, the appearance of the dish, bringing to mind nothing so much as a uncooked cube steak, was enough to give me pause. The articles tell us that raw meat is supremely tasty...and I'll admit that a fine rare or medium rare steak certainly has more flavor than the sliced beef 'n gravy on the average buffet. But even decades later...for that's how long it has been...the overwhelming 'remembrance of things past' is not the beef, but the capers, onions, and other strong herbs I suspect were used to cover up the taste of the meat in times past....not enhance it.
Because it was lunch, and out of pride and bravado, I did eat some of my steak tartare. The German beer was much more palatable....
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| Gabe.... |
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| not a big fan of oysters.... |
Thinking about these 'delicacies' gives me pause as I contemplate some of my culinary accomplishments when we were first married. Clearly the guy that has survived oysters for more than forty years earned that cast iron digestive tract.
I remember cooking pork blade steaks several times a week while we lived in Columbia: they retailed for $1.29 a pound, never mind that a person burned more calories than he consumed trying to separate the meat from the bone. Another favorite dish involved cooking hamburger, then mixing in a can of tomato soup and a can of cream of mushroom soup, and pouring the whole mess over spaghetti. I am sure I can blame that one on Campbell's soup, but, it was mighty cheap and fed us several times. I used my harvest gold electric skillet a lot!....
It's so convenient anymore to look up a recipe using whatever combination of ingredients you desire. For lunch today, I had bought some asparagus, having a vague notion that I'd seen an interesting pasta recipe using both shrimp and asparagus. Very springy, right? All you need to have on hand.... besides the shrimp and asparagus and pasta........ are such staples as mushrooms, fresh oregano, fresh parsley, and fresh thyme! Pardon me if all my spices come in those convenient little round orange containers that say "Tones"....
The cookbooks in my pantry reflect the way people used to cook at home...and the kinds of meals kids ate in the school cafeteria. One of my most careworn cookbooks is one I received as a wedding shower gift. Even though the blue cover is long gone, I know Grandma Hurst's friend, Mabel Pursell, gave me the big thick Kitchen Klatter cookbook. I still use it: particularly for frostings and muffins. A windshield survey of the contents is sufficient to recognize how much times have changed in the kitchen:
Exhibit A: Mustard Ring (Extra special!)
Ingredients: eggs, sugar, unflavored gelatin, dry mustard, turmeric, salt, water, cider vinegar and whipping cream. Follow the instructions and turn into a quart and a half ring mold. When firm, turn onto salad greens.
When was the last time you saw a mustard ring?
Exhibit B: Just-Before-Payday Casserole
Ingredients: margarine, flour, pepper, onion, milk, potatoes, can luncheon meat, grated cheese. Make a white sauce, add potatoes, and bake with lunch meat. Top with a little cheese.
Or...
Exhibit C: Wiener Dinner
Ingredients: Minute Rice, frozen green beans, 10 hot dogs, margarine, onion, mushroom pieces, pepper, flour, chicken broth.
Cook rice and beans according to packages. Cut hot dogs into chunks and saute in margarine. Saute mushrooms, onion, and pepper. Stir in chicken broth and flour. In a large bowl, put the rice on one side, the beans on the other, and pour the wiener mixture over all.
Hmm.. Makes me want to pack a lunch....but all the ingredients are in your pantry!
Don't misunderstand: I mean no disrespect. The women of Kitchen Klatter were women like my grandmother, the cooks who sent in both family favorites and aspirational recipes like Mary Beth's Quiche Lorraine (Pronounced Keesh Lorraine) and President Eisenhower's Old-Fashioned Beef Stew. They were Presbyterian women with honorifics: Mrs.Wm. R. Tweedie or Mrs. C.A.Bottermuller and they were careful to thank the Presbyterian business and professional men who sponsored the cookbook.
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