Hamburger gravy and other comfort foods

[Chefguy]

Somebody stop me before I become a contestant on "Biggest Loser". I think I could eat this four times a week easily. Ranks up there with grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup.

1/2 lb lean ground beef
1/4 cup olive oil
dried sage
salt
pepper
1/2 chopped onion
1-2 cloves garlic
2-3 tbsp flour
1-2 cups of milk
2 tbsp butter, cut up

Brown the beef, sage, salt, pepper, garlic and onion in olive oil in a saute pan. Add flour and cook on medium heat, stirring for a couple of minutes. Add the milk and bring to a boil, stirring until thickened. Add in the butter and stir until melted. Serve over hot buttered biscuits, rice or pasta.

So...what are you surviving winter with?

[SolGrundy]

Katsu curry rice. Fried pork (or chicken) over rice, in thick curry gravy with potatoes and carrots. Damn.

It's good over soba noodles, too. Double damn.

The restaurants in Japantown are starting to treat me as a regular. "Normu-san!"

[AuntiePam]

Macaroni with milk and lots of salt and butter. :)

When I was a kid, my stepdad's sister paid us a visit, in Iowa. She was from Bellevue, Washington and they had a below-ground swimming pool, so we figured she was naturally ultra-sophisticated and we spent two weeks trying to impress her.

One day she insisted on fixing supper (only she called it dinner), and she fixed hamburger gravy.

In her version, the ground beef is crumbled into little chunks, but she didn't brown the meat like mom did -- she put the beef in a big pot, covered it with water, boiled it until the meat was brown, and then she thickened it with cornstarch. She added Kitchen Bouquet to give it some color, and we ate it with potatoes.

I was appalled -- boiling hamburger meat? But it was indeed yummy. Mom adopted the recipe and never fixed it the old way again.

[Chefguy]

In her version, the ground beef is crumbled into little chunks, but she didn't brown the meat like mom did -- she put the beef in a big pot, covered it with water, boiled it until the meat was brown, and then she thickened it with cornstarch. She added Kitchen Bouquet to give it some color, and we ate it with potatoes.

I was appalled -- boiling hamburger meat? But it was indeed yummy. Mom adopted the recipe and never fixed it the old way again.

Is she Polish? I've had that sort of dish before. I use boiled burger in the following version of perushke (or perogi, depending on where you hail from):

1 lb ground beef
2-3 stalks celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
dried rosemary, chopped (or whole)
salt
Sweet dough recipe

Make the dough recipe. While it rises, boil the meat and vegetables, rosemary and salt until cooked and tender. Drain thoroughly.

Roll out the dough. Cut into rectangles (about 3" x 4") and put a spoonful of
meat mixture in the middle. Form a package, making sure the edges are well-crimped. Place packages on cookie sheets, cover and let rise a second time.

Heat oil in a deep fryer to 365 or so. Fry the perushke in batches. Salt and eat warm. Hot damn, these are terrific and bring back childhood memories.

[Kansas Beekeeper]

Macaroni and cheese with Spam.

Ham & navy bean soup.

[Lamar Mundane]

Its been really cold here lately.

Navajo tacos do it for me when the temps drop below 10F.

[Ukulele Ike]

Sauerkraut and onions...either German-style with beer, caraway seeds, and grated spuds, or Alsatian with white wine, garlic, and juniper berries. Served with sausages or duckling, with mashed potatoes or pierogi.

Chicken paprikash with mushrooms included (paprikash/strogonoff?), with egg noodles or gnocchi.

Pork loin Arista....rubbed with fresh sage and rosemary and crushed fennel seeds, roasted on a bed of sliced garlic.

Guido Gravy. Sicilian-American style meat sauce, tomatoes and garlic and basil and parsley simmered for hours with beef meatballs, Italian pork sausage, and chicken thighs. With spaghetti.

Lots and lots of thick homemade soups -- we have a soup dinner at least once a week this time of year -- with fresh bread and good Irish butter.

[pulykamell]

"Creamed" zucchini (tökfõzelék) topped with a breaded pork chop or meatloaf. Basically, make a light brown roux of butter & flour. Add 1 small onion & cook. Add 1 tsp Hungarian paprika, a bunch of chopped dill, and two-three pounds of zucchini (or other squash) that has been grated into strings. Add some water and cook for 10-15 minutes. Add 2-3 tablespoons vinengar and add 1/2 to 1 cup sour cream of sour cream (you can also use light cream.) Salt to taste. Either eat as is, or top it off with a meatloaf, pork chop, or whatever.

Another favorite cheap dish of mine is Potatoes paprikas (paprikas krumpli). Fry a decent amount of cubed slab bacon in a pan with high sides. Add one large chopped onion. Cook until translucent. Take off heat. Add a heaping teaspoon of paprika and a bit of caraway seed. Add quartered potatoes and enough water to cover. You may also add a couple of seeded bell peppers and a tomato or two. (I use tomato paste for this. Or letcho/lecso works just as well.) Cook until potatoes are done, replacing water if it evaporates too much. The gravy should not be too watery, though. Occassionally, I dice up and fry some Polish or Hungarian sausages with the bacon in the beginning.

[Guinastasia]

Campbell's Double Noodle Soup with crackers. Take a ton of crackers, crush them up and dump them in the soup. When all the broth is soaked up enough that it's just noodles and mushy crackers, then it's perfect.

Oreo cookies dunked in milk until they're soggy.

[Qadgop the Mercotan]

I run velveeta and spam thru the meat grinder together, spread it on english muffin halves, and bake at 375 for about 8-10 minutes until nicely bubbly and browned. Then I take my lipitor.

[Odinoneeye]

Fried cabbage and corned beef

Something we always called long rice (a japanese dish that was basically teriyaki chicken or beef along with veggies and soy noodles served over rice)

These are the only things I can think of that only my mom can make properly. Everything else good from my youth, I've managed to improve.

[ivylass]

Bacon and Cheddar cheese on toast with butter.

Or, bacon and Cheddar cheese on bread with Miracle Whip.

Yes, I've been going to the gym.

[dwyr]

Sounds yummy.

My aunt couldn't really cook but she had a few dishes I just loved. One is Brown Jug Soup. Put about a cup of chopped onion and a bag of frozen vegetables in about a quart of simmering water (or stock if you're fancy like that) and let it go until the veggies are tender as you like. Then add in two cans of condensed cream of celery soup and one pound of Velveeta cheese-like stuff, heat until the Velveeta melts.

Full speed ahead and damn the cholesterol!

[Ukulele Ike]

Another favorite cheap dish of mine is Potatoes paprikas (paprikas krumpli).
You ever hear of rakott krumpli? A Hungarian co-worker turned me onto this. It's a casserole of sliced potatoes and hard-boiled eggs, dressed with sour cream and sauteed onions and baked.

I added fresh dill to it the first time I made it ('cause my momma's pipple were Czech); it was great, but the Hungarian guy looked at me like I was nuts.

[Annie-Xmas]

dwyr Brown Jug Soup is vegetarian comfort food at its best. I plan to whip some up tonight.

Before my veggie days, I'd make Chicken Fried Steak. I now make Eggplant Fried Steak, but it ain't the same. Real CFS is a piece of beef pounded so thin you can almost read through it, dreg it in flour, then fried till done. Take the meat out of the pan, add a tablespoon of flour, make a roux with the fat left in the pan, then add a cup of milk and cook till thickened. Pour on steak and enjoy.

[Chefguy]

Another favorite cheap dish of mine is Potatoes paprikas (paprikas krumpli). Fry a decent amount of cubed slab bacon in a pan with high sides. Add one large chopped onion. Cook until translucent. Take off heat. Add a heaping teaspoon of paprika and a bit of caraway seed. Add quartered potatoes and enough water to cover. You may also add a couple of seeded bell peppers and a tomato or two. (I use tomato paste for this. Or letcho/lecso works just as well.) Cook until potatoes are done, replacing water if it evaporates too much. The gravy should not be too watery, though. Occassionally, I dice up and fry some Polish or Hungarian sausages with the bacon in the beginning.

Sounds like a more elegant version of a dish I used to make when holed up in some crappy apartment overseas. It consisted of sausage, potatoes and onion fried up in a pan together with whatever spice I could find locally. Cheap, greasy, and tasted wonderful.

[Kitchen Wench]

I've been making lots of soups lately.

Today's menu is Seeker's High Octane Bean Soup and Steakhouse Soup for my non-bean-eating husband. He's gonna hate me tonight when we're in bed. I can't wait! :D

Bean Soup
1 bag of 15 bean mix (and a half bag I had left over)
water
chicken stock
4 smoked ham hocks
2 onions
a couple carrots
a couple celery stalks
1 or 2 big cans of crushed tomatoes (I eyeball everything)
garlic
cajun seasoning

I won't go through the directions, as they come on the bag o'beans. But I throw in more veggies and stuff.


I'm just gonna wing the Steak Soup. Here's what I'm tossing in:
Stew meat
lots of onion
potatoes
mushrooms
beef broth
a bit of tomato paste
brown gravy powder if it needs it.


I've made some killer potato soup, and veggie/hamburger soup in the past couple months. And for some reason, my bro's three kids manage to stop by every time. It's a good thing I can never manage to make a small pot of soup. They love them all, and they think I'm a damn fine cook.

The best part about cooking? Getting lots of compliments, of course!

[pulykamell]

You ever hear of rakott krumpli? A Hungarian co-worker turned me onto this. It's a casserole of sliced potatoes and hard-boiled eggs, dressed with sour cream and sauteed onions and baked.

I added fresh dill to it the first time I made it ('cause my momma's pipple were Czech); it was great, but the Hungarian guy looked at me like I was nuts.

Rakott Krumpli! Yeah, that stuff is easy peasy to make and absolutely filling. Even though the Hungarians do love their dill, I've never seen this dish served with it, so I agree that you're nuts. ;) I've also never seen it made with onions, although I can't see any reason why one wouldn't put them in.

For those interested in replicating the dish at home it's super simple. Hard boil some eggs. Cook some potatoes until just done. Let cool. For the sausage, the Hungarians traditionally use a slightly spicy, smoked, fatty and somewhat dried sausage like debreceni. You can substitute any decent Polish sausage. (Prefereably, if you have an Eastern European deli around, go there and get one of the sausages that are hanging. They should be somewhat dried out, but not rock-hard.) Cut all your ingredients (potatoes, eggs, sausages) into disks and layer them in a casserole in that order. Top off with sour cream and (optional) panfriend bacon with drippings. Make another layer of potato, egg, sausage, and sour cream/bacon. Continue until done. Finish with a layer of potatoes, and top off with sour cream & bacon. Bake until done at, oh, 350.

Yeah, for some reason dill seems weird to me in that context.

Chefguy—Tee hee. I don't think I've ever heard paprikash potatoes referred to as "elegant." :) The really really cheap way to do it is without the meat. But for me, all the fun is the paprika-bacon-onion sauce that the dish makes. It's typical Hungarian "peasant food", as every household could be relied upon to have these ingredients. (If not bacon, then at least lard.)

[Kitchen Wench]

Oh, hey Chefguy... I've been meaning to ask you if you've ever had Kopama. This is the stuff my Great Grandpa (born and raised in Kalamata) used to make every Easter before I was born. My Grandma, bless her soul, taught me how to make it. A cousin who lives in Atlanta was up for Christmas & he asked me to make it for dinner. This was the first time I'd ever made it for the whole family- my Great Aunt usually makes it. I was a bit intimidated at the prospect of submitting my Kopama to the scrutiny of my elders (I'm 30, and no one has asked me to make anything more elaborate than f*ing jello salad for any family function), but I was determined to show just what a good cook I am. :)

Kopama with Macaroni (these are not exact amounts)

5 cans tomato sauce
family pack of chicken thighs, skin off
1 or 2 onions, course chop
assload of lemon juice (we like ours very tangy)
more lemon juice for marinating
salt & pepper
macaroni of your choice: long ziti is traditional, but penne works just fine
butter
pecorino romano cheese

Marinate thighs in lemon juice overnight.

Toss onions and thighs with juice into tomato sauce & simmer for a long time. Add S & P to taste. Add as much lemon juice to the pot as you like, tasting along the way. When chicken is falling off the bones, remove from sauce & cool. Remove bones and shred chicken. I leave some bigger hunks of meat for variety. Return meat to sauce. It should be the consistency of a hearty Italian meat sauce.

Boil pasta & drain. Return to pot and add butter and toss thoroughly. Layer pasta with chese on serving bowl/deep platter (you gotta make sure to get it nice and cheesy).

Don't toss the sauce in with the pasta. Just ladle sauce over individual servings.

Best served with a crusty Italian bread, Feta cheese (sheep's milk), and Kalamata olives.

The family raved over my Kopama. :) I was quite proud of myself. I have to say that mine is better than my Great Aunts. She puts red wine in hers. SACRELEGE!!! And my best friend loves it, too. Every time he has it he says, "With so few ingredients, it has no right being as yummy as it is." I just tell him that the Greeks (at least my family) always know how to make something out of nothing.

[Guinastasia]

Pot roast with the potatos and carrots cooked in the pot together. Mmmm...smothered in gravy. My mother's making that tonight. Yay!

My mom's chicken pot pie. She'd generally only make it when it was really cold outside, and it was always so warm and good. Tastes even better the next morning reheated. (Yes, for breakfast!)

[Ukulele Ike]

Yeah, for some reason dill seems weird to me in that context.
Well, I've never made it with sausage or bacon. My Hungarian buddy is a vegetarian, so I figured it for more of a side-dish than a casserole meal. And Susan Derecskey's The Hungarian Cookbook also omits meat.

The potato/egg/onion/sour cream combo reminded me of a dish my Bohunk grandpapa made, called "dill gravy." Sort of a potato-onion soup with eggs poached in it. And dill. Lots and lots of dill.

[Flutterby]

The usual salmon rolls, chili and stew.. but I now have an urge to make Hamburger Soup again.. haven't had that in a bit.

[Primaflora]

You ever hear of rakott krumpli? A Hungarian co-worker turned me onto this. It's a casserole of sliced potatoes and hard-boiled eggs, dressed with sour cream and sauteed onions and baked.

I added fresh dill to it the first time I made it ('cause my momma's pipple were Czech); it was great, but the Hungarian guy looked at me like I was nuts.

Can't imagine that made with dill -- did it work OK? We add bacon or speck to that recipe.

[quiltguy154]

Thanks Chefguy for a trip down Memory Lane. Your recipe, minus the more eclectic additions, is one of the best dishes I used to have when I was in the Air Force. At midnight chow there was always a steaming vat, or so it seemed, of your ground beef/white sauce concoction. The old mess sergeant called in the Original SOS, Shit on a Shingle. As much as I love the version made with air-dried beef, the hamburger variety had it beat. Gloriously tasty, and over-the-top greasy, just the thing ladled over toast. Never made it myself, but the description has set my taste buds on full alert. Now I'll have to drag my weary self out for a few key ingredients. Just made five gallons of chili. That's how big the pot is, and the freezer was just about empty, so why not. Lots of good eating for the next few months. A few weeks ago my goddaughter's mother sent over 4 containers of her great turkey soup. It's actually just a really rich broth, but some cooked rice or pastina stirred in, it's heaven. Not as good as Grandmom's, but then, what could be. I'm the only one I know who likes it, so much the better for me. YAY!

[Chefguy]

dwyr
Before my veggie days, I'd make Chicken Fried Steak.

This is what I could eat the other three days of the week. Yeah, I'm on Lipitor.

Other faves:

Bean soup made with some sort of smoked pork (sausage, chops, hocks), served with corn bread with honey.

Scalloped potatoes with ham.

My world-famous and award-winning black bean and chicken chili.


Can you tell it's 10 degrees outside and dark most of the time?

[Soul Brother Number Two]

I just got one of those Harrington corncob smoked hams, you know those ads that have been in the back of the New Yorker and Yankee and other mags since forever ago? Just so I could make scalloped potatoes and ham.

Breakfast for dinner is my ultimate comfort food, though.

[CurlyD]

I had never heard of Hamburger Gravy until now. When I was a kid I had a Betty Crocker Cookbook for Kids, and it had a recipe for Saucy Hamburger Crumble, which I now know to be Hamburger Gravy. It was simpler than Chef Guy's recipe - no sage, margarine instead of olive oil, and garlic and onion powder instead of the fresh stuff. On YOYO dinner nights (when Mom didn't want to cook and told us You're On Your Own) I loved to make a single serving and heap it over a baked potato. Mom couldn't stand it, though. She said it looked like barf. If she saw me making it, she'd ask me if I was making that Crunchy Crispy Crackly Crumbly Cruddy Crap again. (She never could remember Betty Crocker's catchy name for it.)

This winter's comfort food is spinach spread on Wheat Thins. Thaw a package of frozen chopped spinach and squeeze the water out. Mix it with 16 oz. of softened cream cheese, a couple of good size garlic cloves, minced, and about a third of a cup of mayonaise. Put a bowl of Wheat Thins on one arm of the armchair, the remote on the other arm, and the bowl of spinach spread in your lap. Enjoy.

[Soul Brother Number Two]

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that I've never had hamburger gravy but I'm making it tonight.

I mean, it's two of my favorite words right in a row, how could it be anything but awesome?

[Chefguy]

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that I've never had hamburger gravy but I'm making it tonight.

I mean, it's two of my favorite words right in a row, how could it be anything but awesome?

Ummm...you're a guy, right? Cuz women usually find this sort of thing fairly disgusting. My idea of the perfect woman is someone who thinks biscuits and gravy is the perfect breakfast food.

[Soul Brother Number Two]

I'm a fella. And my wife won't touch it, I'm sure. Who cares? More for me.

[butler1850]

My family calls this recipie "Mush". The only difference it that (my family) would add a can of peas to the mix, and THEN serve over rice or noodles.

My wife had never heard of it before we moved in together, and with the exception of the peas (she hates peas :confused: ) we have it fairly regularly here! She loves the stuff now. Easy, cheap, and good!!! :D :D :D

We also do not add milk or cream, but leave it a beef based gravy.

Great comfort food.

[Zyada]

Ummm...you're a guy, right? Cuz women usually find this sort of thing fairly disgusting. My idea of the perfect woman is someone who thinks biscuits and gravy is the perfect breakfast food.


Sorry, I'm already taken! :D

[rjk]

Sorry, I'm already taken! :D
And I'm the one who hates the stuff. Good thing I do most of the cooking! :p

[pulykamell]

Well, I've never made it with sausage or bacon. My Hungarian buddy is a vegetarian, so I figured it for more of a side-dish than a casserole meal. And Susan Derecskey's The Hungarian Cookbook also omits meat.

:eek: Vegetarian rakott krumpli!!! Say it ain't so.

[dinahmoe]

Ummm...you're a guy, right? Cuz women usually find this sort of thing fairly disgusting. My idea of the perfect woman is someone who thinks biscuits and gravy is the perfect breakfast food.
Oh yay, I'm perfect! :)

[butler1850]

Ummm...you're a guy, right? Cuz women usually find this sort of thing fairly disgusting. My idea of the perfect woman is someone who thinks biscuits and gravy is the perfect breakfast food.

Guess I found the perfect woman, she just learned to make this for me for breakfast! Great stuff! (She does white sauces much better than I do.)

(Even if I do most of the cooking in the house, especially now that she's pregnant and too big to reach even the 2nd shelf :) )

[shamrock227]

Creamed Spinach

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Boiled Potatoes with butter and parsley

(not all at the same meal, obviously :) )


I LOVE biscuits and gravy. I haven't found anyone who really makes them great here at home (acceptable but nothing special) but I have had some unbelievable ones when I've been traveling - like Heaven on Earth.

Great, now I'm starving.

[Flutterby]

Ummm...you're a guy, right? Cuz women usually find this sort of thing fairly disgusting. My idea of the perfect woman is someone who thinks biscuits and gravy is the perfect breakfast food.

Well I dunno about other women but it sounds pretty tasty to me (of course for awhile the height of my cuisine was hamburger, a tin of tomato soup and pea to make 'ghoulash' so hamburger gravy sounds like a step up from that..)

[Manduck]

Roast beef / mashed potatoes / glazed carrots

I win!

[Glassy]

I make an awesome corned beef dinner, excellent on a chilly night.

Buy at least 4 lbs corned beef brisket and rinse the thing really well under warm water. Then put it in a crock pot. Add some allspice berries and peppercorns, a thinly-sliced lemon and similarly-prepared onion, and pour in hot water to cover. Cook 6 hours or so until tender.

Do Not Skip This Step: Remove the corned beef from the crock pot, discard everything but the meat, and fire up the broiler. Combine equal parts dijon mustard and brown sugar, and spoon this over the meat. Slip this under the broiler until the mustard topping is golden-and-bubbly.

Slice on a bias and serve with mashed potatoes and cabbage. If you're lucky, you'll have enough leftover potatoes and meat to make hash the next morning. That, with some poached eggs and sourdough toast = the perfect cold morning breakfast.

[TVeblen]

I just made a potload of my favorite zucchini stuff this weekend. (It gets even better with age.) Amounts are approximate but:

large sweet onion, thinly sliced
3-4 cloves garlic, finely minced
drizzle of good olive oil
assorted spices: a dash of oregano, some crumbled rosemary, whatever
4-5 medium zucchini, quartered and sliced
handful of good black olives, coarsely chopped
1 can diced tomatoes w/ red wine and olive oil
@ 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
a sprinkle of rinsed capers

Basically I just saute the onions and garlic until softened, then add the zucchini to soften a bit as well. Then I toss in the spices, tomatoes and everything else and turn it down to simmer for about half an hour.
It's great over penne pasta w/ a good grind of fresh parmesan, good tucked into an omelette, and so forth. It can even be thinned down a bit for a quickie soup. Peasant food but hey, I'm a peasant.

Oh, and count me in on the bisquits and gravy thing.

Veb

[Guinastasia]

MMmm...I loves me some biscuits and gravy. (Even though I've only had it at hotel restaurants, unfortunately). I'm gonna try the recipe in the OP this weekend-is it okay to use Bisquick biscuits?

[Tapioca Dextrin]

My generic tomato/tuna/pasta/cheese thingy

1 can diced tomatoes*
1 can/pouch tuna
4oz short dried pasta
2oz mozarella type cheese

*use can with added garlic/onion/etcs for extra yumminess

Open can of tomatoes. Empty into small ovenproof/stoveproof pot.

Heat pot on the stove, allow to simmer vigorously for 15 - 20 minutes.

Turn on oven to 350°F

Heat up a pan of water. When it boils put pasta in and cook for around 4-5 minutes.

Add Tuna and pasta to tomatoes. Stir.

Dump cheese on top.

Place in oven.

Wait 20 minutes.

There's approximately a gazzillion variations on this. You can add sauted onions/garlic. Swap the tuna for other meaty goodness (or evenn sardines). Add an egg to the top of the cheese. It's a no brain dish for cold, hungry winter nights.

[Wile E]

I like biscuits and gravy, just not very often.

I don't think I've ever had this hamburger gravy stuff, my mom probably never made it because my dad had a strong aversion to anything resembling S.O.S. after his army days. I don't eat red meat so I probably won't try it but I might make something with a white sauce soon. I've been wanting to try my hand at one.


There's a recipe I'd like to find for mushrooms. My boyfriend's former roommate used to make these really good braised mushrooms. He'd use the whole button mushrooms from a jar, some wine, and some liquid smoke or kitchen bouquet (I think). It would end up with a thick rich sauce and was very tasty. They parted ways not very nicely so I can't exactly call him up for the recipe and I haven't wanted to experiment and waste some precious mushrooms, does anyone have a similar recipe?