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"beef" and noodles- ft wayne's regional specialty?

"beef" and noodles- ft wayne's regional specialty?
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  • "beef" and noodles- ft wayne's regional specialty?

    Post #1 - January 7th, 2008, 2:02 pm
    Post #1 - January 7th, 2008, 2:02 pm Post #1 - January 7th, 2008, 2:02 pm
    This post was brought to mind by the peasant/food desert post, and the link to the "6 can casserole" post, and my recent holiday family dining experiences.

    I have in-laws who live in Fort Wayne. Every time we go there, we are treated to "beef" and noodles. I thought it was just a family recipe, but when I was in line at the Meijer's, an 80 yr old woman informed me they were also having beef and noodles for dinner. I asked if it was a regional specialty, and she wasn't sure, but told me it was a good way to feed a family of nine (!)

    The thing is, it's pretty vile stuff. I have a feeling, after some research, that it's a drastic perversion of "Amish beef and noodles" from the Amish in that area. Only because both dishes are intended to be served over mashed potatoes. Nothing like a double dose of carbs. But get this. My in-laws serve it with a side of (drumroll) white bread rolls! 3 starches in one sitting!

    I believe the iteration of this recipe that I was served consisted of *cans* of a beef product, possibly Hormel. I didn't want to go into the kitchen to find out, after the dog-food like aroma wafted out. The noodles are actually kind of nice, thick, german spaetzely things. Thus my question- anyone know of this dish, and what brand the noodles are that are generally used? They are maybe 2 in long and 1/4 in diameter, kind of chewy.

    In my research, I found a link to this historical document verifying that the recipe has been a part of fort wayne since at least the 50's, with the spaetzely noodles visible.

    http://contentdm.acpl.lib.in.us/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/coll3&CISOPTR=4354&REC=13
  • Post #2 - January 7th, 2008, 3:06 pm
    Post #2 - January 7th, 2008, 3:06 pm Post #2 - January 7th, 2008, 3:06 pm
    Wow! Akin to the fried pork tenderloin/french fry meal that was the best we could get during summer stock in southern Indiana! At least that was good once...
  • Post #3 - January 7th, 2008, 4:30 pm
    Post #3 - January 7th, 2008, 4:30 pm Post #3 - January 7th, 2008, 4:30 pm
    Mhays, was this in the New Harmony area? My dad is from there, it's a strange cultural mecca in the middle of nowhere.
  • Post #4 - January 7th, 2008, 4:33 pm
    Post #4 - January 7th, 2008, 4:33 pm Post #4 - January 7th, 2008, 4:33 pm
    Growing up I had two different Great Aunts and Uncles who both had farms in Indiana. Beef Noodles was a dish on the table for supper quite a few times when I visited both homes. One Aunt made the aformentioned version that sort of resembled and smelled like Alpo and my other Aunt made a far better version.

    The Aunt that made the alpo version also used storebought noodles, something that resembles the Reames Egg noodles that you'll find in the frozen section. She never cooked the flour long enough and I'm not sure what seasoning she used but I'm pretty sure it came out of a spice jar she had since the Depression.

    My Aunt with the better cooking used to make her own home made egg noodles to serve with it. It's very much supposed to be the Amish Beef and Noodle dish, stew meat, onion, water, flour, various seasonings.

    I think that this recipe is one of those that people sort of tend to look at and go "Hmm.. how can I make this faster and easier?" Thus you end up getting versions that use tinned meat, onion soup mix for the seasoning, and instead of developing a gravy you end up with something resulting in sludge.

    I had a good version of this last Spring when I visited my Aunt in Wabash, IN at a place called The Market Street Grill, and I've had some versions of this at covered dinners that aren't bad either. It's a very hit or miss dish I've found.
  • Post #5 - January 7th, 2008, 4:39 pm
    Post #5 - January 7th, 2008, 4:39 pm Post #5 - January 7th, 2008, 4:39 pm
    emdub wrote:Mhays, was this in the New Harmony area? My dad is from there, it's a strange cultural mecca in the middle of nowhere.


    We were in Bloomfield, INat the Shawnee Summer Theater like 12 years ago or so. (How did Bloomfield warrant a Wikipedia page?) Looks like we were a bit closer to Bloomington than you, but it was still mostly southwestern Indiana.
  • Post #6 - January 7th, 2008, 6:13 pm
    Post #6 - January 7th, 2008, 6:13 pm Post #6 - January 7th, 2008, 6:13 pm
    We have canned beef and homemade noodles at the in-laws quite frequently, especially after they just canned a forequarter. At first, I was less than enthused about the idea of canned beef. However, it was certainly the best beef dish that I had had in years.
  • Post #7 - January 8th, 2008, 10:26 am
    Post #7 - January 8th, 2008, 10:26 am Post #7 - January 8th, 2008, 10:26 am
    I sent this link to a writer who used to live in Ft. Wayne. She liked emdub's original post enough to quote it almost in its entirety in her blog today. She also responded:
    There’s so much to love in that post. The assumption that Hoosier beef and noodles must be a perversion of the more authentic Amish dish, assumptions of Amish authenticity being rampant in Chicagoland. (Trust me, honey: The Amish invented canned beef. These people don’t have refrigeration, remember. You wouldn’t believe some of the crap they eat.) The “dog-food like aroma.” The utter bafflement at its presentation, ladled over mashed potatoes. But hey, nice noodles. Where do you buy them?

    I can answer her question right off the bat: You don’t. Those kind of noodles you make, but it’s pretty easy. You don’t need a pasta machine, just a rolling pin, a flat surface and a knife. My Jay County-raised neighbor used to make killer chicken and noodles, and she thought making noodles from scratch was about as difficult as opening a carton of milk. As for the triple-starch presentation, all I can say is, if you spent the morning baling hay and were about to spend the afternoon stacking it in the barn, all those carbs would burn off by 2 p.m. and your stomach would start on the protein. The first and only time I ate noodles over potatoes I was doing the rigorous duty of writing a newspaper column, and the effect was soporific. Within 90 minutes I slipped under my desk for a 20-minute nap, and the residue of that meal I carry on my hips to this day.
    and more. By all means read the whole piece.
  • Post #8 - January 8th, 2008, 10:43 am
    Post #8 - January 8th, 2008, 10:43 am Post #8 - January 8th, 2008, 10:43 am
    My grandmother lives on a little farm outside a small town in northeastern Missouri, and makes something similar, only not with beef. She'll make a chicken or turkey gravy/stew and the thick homemade noodles and serve that over the mashed potatoes. Probably similar to the chicken and noodles mentioned in the linked blog. And I have to admit, though I've never eaten it over the potatoes, I will eat the noodles and gravy every damn chance I get.

    She doesn't actually cook too much these days, she's getting on in years and usually comes to the relatives' places for holidays rather than everybody coming to hers. It's a damn shame.

    Guess I can go to Indiana for it though :)
    Ronnie said I should probably tell you guys about my website so

    Hey I have a website.
    http://www.sandwichtribunal.com
  • Post #9 - January 8th, 2008, 1:39 pm
    Post #9 - January 8th, 2008, 1:39 pm Post #9 - January 8th, 2008, 1:39 pm
    I know this dish as my grandmother used to make it almost every "big" meal. She grew up in central IL, close to Decatur and this is purely a "farmer" type of dish. She would make the noodles by hand and create a beef stock using a very cheap cut of beef in a pressure cooker, then adding more canned beef stock. Salt, pepper, that's it. You would eat it over mashed potatoes but the funny thing is, she wouldn't serve the beef with it; although it was super tender (sort of like pot roast). She would just put the beef separately in a bowl off to the side and I would pick at it (how could you not?). Here's how I would replicate it:

    I would start by making the homemade egg noodles - she would use 1/2 or 1 egg per person. Make a flour well and add room temperature eggs. Knead dough until incorporated, roll out on a flour dusted area to a pie crust thickness. Once you have the right thickness, dust again and roll up the noodle mixture into a log (like a jelly roll). Then slice the roll into 1/4-1/2 inch thick noodles. Separate the noodles, dusting them with flour and let them dry (preferably overnight). My grandmother would use a "swiss steak" or other cheap cut of beef, probably in the 1-2 lbs range. Pat the beef dry, salt/pepper and sear on both sides of a large pressure cooker (6 to 8 qt.). Once browned, add water and pressure cook for 30 minutes - let cool and remove beef to a small bowl. The liquid should be a dark brown and you should add more canned beef stock (maybe 32-48 oz) for the boiling liquid. Bring liquid to a rapid boil and carefully and slowly add the dried noodles. If the liquid is not hot enough or if you add the noodles too fast, you'll get a large dough ball instead of individual noodles. Cook for 20 minutes or so (seems like a while) until the noodles are cooked and the broth is at a gravy consistency. You may have to add some more liquid during this process.

    She would serve this at Thanksgiving and everyone would pile a large spoon full of noodles over their mashed potatoes.

    Please note that this is purely from memory as my grandmother never wrote anything down but I had seen her make this dish a few times.

    My grandmother has since passed but when my family talks about these "noodles," one of my cousins said that when she gets a taste for them, she'll go to Arthur, IL (another Amish community) and there's a restaurant that serves them there. I've never been but wouldn't mind seeing how they compare.
  • Post #10 - January 8th, 2008, 9:09 pm
    Post #10 - January 8th, 2008, 9:09 pm Post #10 - January 8th, 2008, 9:09 pm
    ooh! I got called "snarky" and a "chicago foodie" in the blog above!
    If they only knew- I'm a Hoosier too! And lived in Amish country when I was a little girl..
  • Post #11 - January 8th, 2008, 9:57 pm
    Post #11 - January 8th, 2008, 9:57 pm Post #11 - January 8th, 2008, 9:57 pm
    Having weathered the "dogfood" evocative posts above, might I offer a corollary; Midwestern Chicken 'n Noodles.

    A favorite at each gathering of importance with the s/o's folks....and darn edible, to boot:

    Amish noodles(store bought egg noodles of "Amish" provenance)
    chicken broth(Swanson's is a-ok)
    chicken cooked down to veritable shreds

    : you must keep the seasoning to a minimum(because one should season to his preference at table)

    and this dish is expected to have it's leftovers microwaved to-each-his-own spray butter/salt/pepper/and dollops of water

    it took me some time to acclimatize myself, but when it's done right it *is* mighty good




    and best of all: I've grown to look forward to it...it's not a holiday meal at his folks w/o chicken noodles


    I can't yet face combining it with mashed potatoes(the true epicure's fusion)...maybe sometime
    Last edited by Christopher Gordon on February 28th, 2008, 11:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
    Being gauche rocks, stun the bourgeoisie
  • Post #12 - January 8th, 2008, 10:08 pm
    Post #12 - January 8th, 2008, 10:08 pm Post #12 - January 8th, 2008, 10:08 pm
    emdub wrote:ooh! I got called "snarky" and a "chicago foodie" in the blog above!
    If they only knew- I'm a Hoosier too! And lived in Amish country when I was a little girl..


    Yeah, it seems like they took some offense to your question about beef and noodles - maybe because they thought (or assumed) that the "vile stuff" you were speaking of was not referring to the actual dish prepared by your in-laws but the general "country dish" for farmers and people that actually work hard - not like us "Chicago foodies."

    I actually like beef and noodles and think it's a great "American" dish along the lines of the starchy dishes of Polish, Russian, or German cultures. Thing is, I live in Ukrainian Village and have been a city dweller for over 12 years. My grandmother grew up on a farm in central IL, where I've only experienced this dish - so I may have a bone to pick with it described as a "Hoosier" dish. Also, like her country friend, I could whip up some homemade noodles "as easy as opening a carton of milk" as well and no, I don't need a pasta machine.

    Instead of her own "snarky" comments, she could have provided a little bit better description of the dish that she is so proud her farmer friends enjoy - unless of course, she actually can't make the said dish or the noodles as easy as some.

    I have another dish for you that my grandmother used to call, "Hillbilly Tacos" and still remain a family favorite. Funny thing is, my Grandmother adapted the recipe from a co-worker's Mexican family recipe she met while working in the Chicago suburbs at Motorola. Is it a country dish, or a city dish or just a great slice of Americana? It's basically a mixture of ground ham and hashbrowns, with some taco seasoning filled into hard taco shells. Wrap a few assembled tacos in some foil (2-3) at a time, and heat for about 20-30 minutes, just to soften the shells. Unwrap, add a slice of American cheese and some taco sauce and viola, you have a meal that cost you about $15 bucks but can feed 6-8 comfortably. You have to remember that she had to adopt the recipe since the supermarkets in central IL don't have a lot of Mexican ingredients. If I were to change it with ingredients from Chicago, I would make my own hashbrowns, use a good quality smoked ham, use a more diverse spice mixture, and load it into a freshly fried corn tortilla. Then serve with some Chihuahua cheese and a great salsa. Hey - I'm getting an idea here...
  • Post #13 - January 8th, 2008, 10:19 pm
    Post #13 - January 8th, 2008, 10:19 pm Post #13 - January 8th, 2008, 10:19 pm
    HI,

    This thread has been very interesting. On April 5th, Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance meeting will be on sweets and desserts. When we had our sausage event, we lunched on every sausage discussed during the program. Unfortunately you cannot serve candy, cake and cookies for lunch.

    I have been advocating chicken and noodles served at church suppers when you get beyond metropolitan Chicago. I see now I should also be considering beef and noodles as well. I wasn't aware these were served on top of mashed potatoes, which is especially great.

    Long ago, I visited a friend in Iowa City when I was may be 19 or 20. He very kindly made dinner of steak, mashed potatoes and rice. I observed I had never had two comparable starches served on the same plate at the same time before. I began to feel like a high maintenance snob when he explained, "Rice is cheap and filling. It fits my budget at this time."

    Thanks for a great discussion.

    Regards,
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
    Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways,
  • Post #14 - January 9th, 2008, 9:03 am
    Post #14 - January 9th, 2008, 9:03 am Post #14 - January 9th, 2008, 9:03 am
    Hmm...interesting my mother made something she referred to as Been and Noodles that her mother made for her. It sounds far removed from this though. It was basically just egg noodles topped with chopped steak that was braised in a boullion based beef gravy. Cheap, easy, and strangely addictive.

    My mother is no good cook but her beef and noodles and slumgullion served on buttered white bread are comfort food to me these days.
  • Post #15 - January 9th, 2008, 10:42 am
    Post #15 - January 9th, 2008, 10:42 am Post #15 - January 9th, 2008, 10:42 am
    Cathy2 wrote:HI,


    Long ago, I visited a friend in Iowa City when I was may be 19 or 20. He very kindly made dinner of steak, mashed potatoes and rice. I observed I had never had two comparable starches served on the same plate at the same time before. I began to feel like a high maintenance snob when he explained, "Rice is cheap and filling. It fits my budget at this time."


    Regards,


    Typical menu at the in-laws:

    Baked Ham
    Escalloped Potatoes
    Escalloped Corn
    Potato Salad
    bread

    Typical of many farm families. Heavy on the starches to support a 12 hour physically demanding lifestyle.
  • Post #16 - January 9th, 2008, 11:21 am
    Post #16 - January 9th, 2008, 11:21 am Post #16 - January 9th, 2008, 11:21 am
    tyrus wrote:My grandmother has since passed but when my family talks about these "noodles," one of my cousins said that when she gets a taste for them, she'll go to Arthur, IL (another Amish community) and there's a restaurant that serves them there. I've never been but wouldn't mind seeing how they compare.


    Could you find out which restaurant in Arthur offer this?

    Regards,
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
    Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways,
  • Post #17 - January 9th, 2008, 11:59 am
    Post #17 - January 9th, 2008, 11:59 am Post #17 - January 9th, 2008, 11:59 am
    When I was a kid growing up in Ft. Collins, I went to St. Joseph's, a 4-classroom (1st-8th grade) elementary school for a few years. This was in '49-'53, and the cafeteria ladies had infinite stocks of war surplus canned beef, chicken and turkey to work their way through. But our beef- , chicken-, and turkey-'n-noodle were only sometimes served over mashed potatoes: under the best circumstances, we got them served over homemade, glorious biscuits! Lots of canned meat, wonderfully sloppy gravy, noodles, and wonderful biscuits--you could smell those biscuits baking from recess on, drive you crazy.

    While reading this thread, I've come to realize that I miss those flavors, savours, aromas, more than almost anything else I can remember from my childhood. I can taste those lunches, particularly the turkey, even as I'm writing this.

    What I wouldn't give to taste them once more... Of course it would most likely be a disappointment. But still...


    Geo
    Sooo, you like wine and are looking for something good to read? Maybe *this* will do the trick! :)
  • Post #18 - January 9th, 2008, 12:28 pm
    Post #18 - January 9th, 2008, 12:28 pm Post #18 - January 9th, 2008, 12:28 pm
    Cathy2 wrote:I have been advocating chicken and noodles served at church suppers when you get beyond metropolitan Chicago. I see now I should also be considering beef and noodles as well.


    Our Presbyterian church suppers were always ham and scalloped potatoes--to provide yet another option.

    Inspired by this thread, and the fact that I'd already been simmering a beef soup bone for two days, I made my version of beef and noodles yesterday. I've never made noodles, and the Joy of Cooking makes it look a lot harder than opening a carton of milk (among other things it says not to try for the first time on a damp day, which yesterday certainly was) so I used the Joy recipe for spaetzle instead. The spaetzle turned out great, but boy were the mashed potatoes redundant. Today for lunch it's just the leftover beef and spaetzle.

    The thread also got me thinking about other carb/carb combos. The Hawaiian plate lunch comes to mind immediately. But I also make, and like a lot, a Chinese chicken curry with potatoes that's served over rice. So maybe it's not the extra carbs that gross me out--it's just this particular combination.
  • Post #19 - January 9th, 2008, 1:12 pm
    Post #19 - January 9th, 2008, 1:12 pm Post #19 - January 9th, 2008, 1:12 pm
    A memorable multi-carb meal for me...as a college student, living with a Spanish family in Sevilla, I was often served arroz con pollo y patatas for our midday meal. The rice, potatoes, and garlic, saffron, paprika broth melded into an amazing combination to sop up with bread at the tail end of the meal. A long siesta was always necessary after this difficult to replicate meal ( I just can't seem to get the spice combination right).
  • Post #20 - January 9th, 2008, 1:28 pm
    Post #20 - January 9th, 2008, 1:28 pm Post #20 - January 9th, 2008, 1:28 pm
    Every pub I ate at in Ireland served multiple starches on the same plate- and typically, multiple forms of potatoes. We were walking a lot every day, but it still seemed superfluous (I think you have to get to a roof-raising level of activity before it seems necessary).
  • Post #21 - January 9th, 2008, 2:06 pm
    Post #21 - January 9th, 2008, 2:06 pm Post #21 - January 9th, 2008, 2:06 pm
    Geo wrote:When I was a kid growing up in Ft. Collins, I went to St. Joseph's, a 4-classroom (1st-8th grade) elementary school for a few years. This was in '49-'53, and the cafeteria ladies had infinite stocks of war surplus canned beef, chicken and turkey to work their way through. But our beef- , chicken-, and turkey-'n-noodle were only sometimes served over mashed potatoes: under the best circumstances, we got them served over homemade, glorious biscuits! Lots of canned meat, wonderfully sloppy gravy, noodles, and wonderful biscuits--you could smell those biscuits baking from recess on, drive you crazy.Geo


    I used to receive the surplus beef, pork, and chicken by the truckload from the USDA in the 80s when I worked at a large public hospital. While I actually like the canned meats, the government stuff was generally very low quality. However, the pork, when combined with a good quality BBQ sauce, was quite palatable.

    Canning beef was the norm until the late 50s when most households - especially those in the country- invested in a large chest freezer and could put an entire cow/steer away at a time.
  • Post #22 - January 9th, 2008, 2:31 pm
    Post #22 - January 9th, 2008, 2:31 pm Post #22 - January 9th, 2008, 2:31 pm
    Cathy2 wrote:I observed I had never had two comparable starches served on the same plate at the same time before. I began to feel like a high maintenance snob when he explained, "Rice is cheap and filling. It fits my budget at this time."


    Rice and potatoes are routinely served together on the Greek table as well.
    Steve Z.

    “Only the pure in heart can make a good soup.”
    ― Ludwig van Beethoven
  • Post #23 - January 9th, 2008, 2:36 pm
    Post #23 - January 9th, 2008, 2:36 pm Post #23 - January 9th, 2008, 2:36 pm
    Geo wrote:While reading this thread, I've come to realize that I miss those flavors, savours, aromas, more than almost anything else I can remember from my childhood. I can taste those lunches, particularly the turkey, even as I'm writing this.

    What I wouldn't give to taste them once more... Of course it would most likely be a disappointment. But still...


    Just today I lunched at GNR Winner Patty's Dineron the Wednesday special of roast turkey, gravy, stuffing and mashed potatoes. I always find this meal particularly evocative of school lunchroom days...right down to the overcooked green beans. Geo, if you ever make it to Chicago on a Wednesday and visit Patty's, you would not be disappointed!
    Steve Z.

    “Only the pure in heart can make a good soup.”
    ― Ludwig van Beethoven
  • Post #24 - January 9th, 2008, 2:37 pm
    Post #24 - January 9th, 2008, 2:37 pm Post #24 - January 9th, 2008, 2:37 pm
    Tnx Steve, carefully noted! I can't wait.... : )


    Geo
    Sooo, you like wine and are looking for something good to read? Maybe *this* will do the trick! :)
  • Post #25 - January 9th, 2008, 4:19 pm
    Post #25 - January 9th, 2008, 4:19 pm Post #25 - January 9th, 2008, 4:19 pm
    Cathy2 wrote:
    tyrus wrote:My grandmother has since passed but when my family talks about these "noodles," one of my cousins said that when she gets a taste for them, she'll go to Arthur, IL (another Amish community) and there's a restaurant that serves them there. I've never been but wouldn't mind seeing how they compare.


    Could you find out which restaurant in Arthur offer this?

    Regards,


    I'll try. I usually talk to my cousins about once a year but maybe there's another way to find out.

    I would also like to address the double carb issue. I'm not sure how other people were served this dish but at our family gatherings, the beef and noodles was more of a side dish (albeit and labor intensive side dish), not like a beef stroganoff. For instance, it would be served at Thanksgiving along with ham and turkey (the beef on the side). Once the meat is on your plate, you would grab some green beans, corn casserole (another carb), and some mashed potatoes (and then of course, throw a biscuit on there!). Then, the noodles, with their built in gravy would go right on top of the potatoes and spill on to the rest of plate. The noodles are of a dumpling-like consistency but the gravy is thick, from all the flour on the noodles.

    I'll have to make them and add to this post. Double carbs, here I come...
  • Post #26 - January 9th, 2008, 4:27 pm
    Post #26 - January 9th, 2008, 4:27 pm Post #26 - January 9th, 2008, 4:27 pm
    Cathy2 wrote:
    tyrus wrote:My grandmother has since passed but when my family talks about these "noodles," one of my cousins said that when she gets a taste for them, she'll go to Arthur, IL (another Amish community) and there's a restaurant that serves them there. I've never been but wouldn't mind seeing how they compare.


    Could you find out which restaurant in Arthur offer this?

    Regards,


    I just asked my uncle and he said it's Yoder's in Arthur and they don't do the beef and noodles but the chicken and noodles. The noodles are the same just substitute the chicken for the beef - served over mashed potatoes. Here's a link to the menu: http://www.yoderskitchen.com/menu.htm
  • Post #27 - January 9th, 2008, 5:34 pm
    Post #27 - January 9th, 2008, 5:34 pm Post #27 - January 9th, 2008, 5:34 pm
    Hi,

    Of course, a place with a name like Yoder (the Amish equivalent of Smith) would be the place to go.

    I am beginning to wonder if my friend's rice-potato meal was culturally influenced in addition to finances. Baked or mashed potatoes and rice on the same plate seemed redundant. Maybe I was the clueless person in the room.

    Last summer, Surfinsapo from Texas made a video cooking filet mignons. The side dishes were 4-cheese double bake potato, potatoes au gratin and rice with the secret ingredient of pan juices. Until this thread, I was beginning to think a mult-starch dinner was a guy thing.

    Regards,
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
    Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways,
  • Post #28 - January 9th, 2008, 6:05 pm
    Post #28 - January 9th, 2008, 6:05 pm Post #28 - January 9th, 2008, 6:05 pm
    Cathy2 wrote:This thread has been very interesting. On April 5th, Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance meeting will be on sweets and desserts. When we had our sausage event, we lunched on every sausage discussed during the program. Unfortunately you cannot serve candy, cake and cookies for lunch.

    I have been advocating chicken and noodles served at church suppers when you get beyond metropolitan Chicago. I see now I should also be considering beef and noodles as well. I wasn't aware these were served on top of mashed potatoes, which is especially great.


    Cathy, I agree that this would be a fitting meal for the Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance meeting. While I cannot remember noodles served on mashed potatoes, there were certainly lots of chicken and noodle dinners served in our house when I was growing up. Unfortunately, at some point, my mother, who never met a convenience food she did not like, succumbed to the meager charms of Hamburger Helper. It all worked out well, though. Very soon after, I decided to learn to cook.

    jlawrence01 wrote: Typical menu at the in-laws:

    Baked Ham
    Escalloped Potatoes
    Escalloped Corn
    Potato Salad
    bread


    My guess is that, in addition to the need for fuel, this sort of menu traditionally arose in areas where fresh vegetables were hard to come by, especially in winter months. My grandmother, a small-town Kansas housewife from the Dust-Bowl years thorough the Eisenhower Era, made scalloped potatoes more than once a week from her root cellar, and chopped cabbage for coleslaw every day. My mother told me that she had never eaten an avocado or a green salad until she married my father. Where we might eat a green salad, they ate home made pickles and canned vegetables.
    Man : I can't understand how a poet like you can eat that stuff.
    T. S. Eliot: Ah, but you're not a poet.
  • Post #29 - February 28th, 2008, 8:36 am
    Post #29 - February 28th, 2008, 8:36 am Post #29 - February 28th, 2008, 8:36 am
    Hi,

    Does this Beef Noodles sound on target? Are the noodles usually baked in the meat juices?

    The relative blandness discussed in the narrative seems to evoke Christopher Gordon's comments up thread. It is intended the diner will adjust seasonings to their taste.

    Regards,
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
    Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways,
  • Post #30 - February 28th, 2008, 1:05 pm
    Post #30 - February 28th, 2008, 1:05 pm Post #30 - February 28th, 2008, 1:05 pm
    Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

    Does this Beef Noodles sound on target? Are the noodles usually baked in the meat juices?

    The relative blandness discussed in the narrative seems to evoke Christopher Gordon's comments up thread. It is intended the diner will adjust seasonings to their taste.

    Regards,


    That's not the same dish that I've seen or eaten. I'll see if I can find a pic.

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