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Sometimes I’m looking for something warm and comforting but I really don’t want to cook. This baked dish combines the savory delight of a cheeseburger with the total comfort of a bowl of macaroni and cheese. And it’s easy!

What’s in the casserole?

This dish is made with ground beef, onion, pasta, spices, cream of bacon soup and cheese – lots of cheese.

I know you’re thinking, what? cream of bacon? Yep. It’s by Campbells and it’s new – and it really has bacon in it!!

But if you can’t find it or don’t want the bacon, cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, or even cheddar cheese soup will work.

Be creative! It’s your meal.

What Makes it Comfort Food?

Mac and cheese is a classic comfort food. And a big, juicy cheeseburger fits the bill every time.

^[1]

Mixing the two makes it extra comfort!

Making the baked casserole – 

Cook your pasta first. Once it’s done, drain it, but save 1/4 cup of the water. Set aside.

Next brown the beef in a large, ovenproof skillet.

Crumble the beef an put it into the hot skillet. Cook it until it is almost all browned.

Place the minced onion, lemon pepper, and salt on the top. Stir well.

Stir in the soup and pasta water. Mix it well.

Stir in 1 cup of the cheddar. When it’s well mixed, add more salt and pepper to taste.

Top it with the remaining cheddar and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. The top will be bubbly and a little bit browned.

Serve hot and enjoy!

 

© Copyright 2024 The Lazy Gastronome

Leave me a comment – I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Yesterday was my husband’s birthday. His favorite food is prime rib so I made a ribeye steak for him (not quite prime rib, but close). He also said he wanted mushrooms – and could I use wine in the sauce? OK – So here is what I came up with, and I think it came out pretty good!

Making the Wine Sauce:

Start with the butter. Heat a large skillet and melt the butter in it. Add the oil (I used grapeseed ^[6]) and garlic. You can mince your own, or purchase fresh minced garlic (what I like to do). Cook on medium heat, stirring, for about 3 minutes.

Turn the heat to medium high and add the mushrooms ^[7]. Cook them until they are starting to turn golden, about 10 minutes.

While it’s cooking, stir the cream with the cornstarch until it’s dissolved.

Stir the wine, salt and cornstarch mix into the mushrooms.

Add the rosemary and gently simmer on low until the sauce thickens, about 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the rosemary before serving.

Top a steak (or burger – or potato) with it. Garnish with chopped fresh chives. Easy and delicious!

© Copyright 2023 The Lazy Gastronome

I’ll bet you can all come up with some great uses for this delicious side/sauce! Tell me some!

Leave me a comment – I’d love to hear your thoughts!

 Tomorrow marks the 111th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic. This “unsinkable” ship set out on it’s maiden voyage on April 10, 1912, heading from Southampton, England to New York City, USA. Built in Belfast, Ireland, this luxury liner was declared sea worthy in early April of 1912. And so she set sail on her maiden voyage. At 11:40pm, and iceberg was spotted and the ship’s side was scraped shortly after. By 2:30am, the entire ship was under water.

We’ve all heard the story of the Titanic. But did you know there were multiple restaurants for the first class? There were also two galleys. The one used for first class (also shared with second class) was equipped with the most current cooking supplies and a staff of 69 chefs, bakers, butchers and the like. The menus were lavish and used the best ingredients.

The third class, or steerage, had very simply prepared food and were served in a large dining room with long tables. The main meal for this group was served at noon.

So what did the Titanic passengers eat for their last meals?

A note before we begin, it is important to note there are no surviving recipes. Everything went down with the ship. Passengers sent menus to family and friends as souvenirs and that is all that is left 0f the meals they ate on the Titanic. Using the menus and historic food trends, recipes have been developed by several groups. The recipes here are my rendition of the menu items.

The pantry was certainly full. There was 1000 pounds of grapes, 40 tons of potatoes, 75,000 pounds of fresh meat and a lot of eggs!! Just to mention a few — The upper classes got the more exotic of the ingredients, while third class got the most basic foods.

Third Class Dinner on the Titanic –

The menu for steerage was very basic. Here is an actual menu for the day of April 14 – Note that the third class menu has all of the meals for the day on one card.

The dining saloon held long communal tables and no fancy decorations. Just a very utilitarian seating. There wasn’t enough room for all the passengers to eat at the same time, so the were fed at two different servings.

For this group, I have included a basic roast beef and potatoes recipe. I didn’t include everything on the menu. And just for reference, cabin biscuits were dry, hard soda cracker like things – also called hardtack.

A third class ticket on the Titanic cost $15 to $40 – about $400 to $1,100 in today’s economy.

Here is the recipe for third class roast beef and potatoes. 

Start by seasoning the beef and searing it in hot oil on both sides. Place it cast-iron dutch oven with the onions, garlic and water. Bring it to a boil, then roast for about 3 hours.

While it’s cooking, boil the whole potatoes until they are fork tender.

Remove it from the oven, add the carrots, potatoes and the last cup of water. Put the lid on and cook in the oven for another 30 to 45 minutes.

Serve it with buttered corn and the gravy from the bottom of the pan.

Printable Third class recipe:

Second Class Dinner on the Titanic –

Second class had a bit better menu than the steerage passengers. They shared the same galley as the first class and were served popular British foods of the time. Rarely did they get a taste of the French cuisine the first class passengers got.

The dining saloon was a bit fancier than steerage. There were mahogany tables and oak paneling on the walls. It was also big enough to feed all the second class passengers at the same time.

That last dinner was served in three courses –

•  1st course – Consommé with tapioca
• 2nd course – Baked haddock with sharp sauce; curried chicken and rice; spring lamb with mint sauce; roast turkey with savory cranberry sauce; green peas; puree turnips; boiled rice; boiled and roast potatoes.
• 3rd course – Plum pudding (also known as Christmas pudding), wine jelly, coconut sandwich, American Ice Cream, nuts, assorted, fresh fruit, cheese, biscuits. (Note: American ice cream varied from the French in that it had no eggs in it)

A second class ticket cost $60 – about $1,600 today.

Here is the recipe for second class Haddock and Sharp sauce –

Season the haddock and cover with the other ingredients. Bake for about 20 t0 25 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

While it’s cooking, make the sharpe sauce. Cook the onions in the butter until they are opaque.

Add the brown sugar, flour and mustard and simmer until it is fragrant.

Stir in the remaining ingredients and simmer on low for about 10 minutes.

Strain it and set it aside.

Serve the fish with the sauce over it.

Printable second class recipe:

First Class Dinner on the Titanic –

First class were served the most luxurious food on the ship, prepared in elaborate ways. And they were served many courses! In the time of the Titanic, they say that wealth was measured by girth – in other words, the larger you were, the richer you were. The first class menu will show you why!

Passengers on first class could eat in the main first class saloon or in a smaller, ala carte restaurant – the Ritz. This little Parisien cafe was open to dine anytime between 8 and 11 pm.

That last, first class dinner on the Titanic was served in ten courses, followed by fruit, nuts and cheeses with fine port wine, coffee and cordials – and for the men, cigars. The evening ended with passengers in the smoking room, sipping scotch, smoking cigars and listening to music.

• 1st course     – Hors Oeuvre Varies, Oysters, 
• 2nd course   – Consommé Olga, Cream of Barley,
• 3rd course    – Salmon, Mousseline, Cucumbers,
• 4th course    – Filet Mignons Lili with Potatoes Anna or Sauté of Chicken Lyonnaise with Vegetable Marrow Farcis,
• 5th course    – choices were; Lamb, Meat Sauce, Roast Duckling, Apple Sauce, Sirloin of Beef, Chateau Potatoes, Green Peas, Creamed Carrots, Boiled Rice, Parmentier, and New Potatoes,
• 6th course    – Punch Romaine,
• 7th course    – Roast Squab and cress,
• 8th course    – Asparagus Vinaigrette
• 9th course    – Pate de Foie Gras, Celery,
• 10th course – Waldorf pudding, Peaches in Chartreuse Jelly, Chocolate and Vanilla Eclairs and French Ice cream (French ice cream was rich and made with eggs, where as the American ice cream was simply cream and sugar)

First class tickets in a simple berth was $150 – $4,000 today. A more luxurious choice was the Parlour suite at a mere $4,350, or in modern numbers, $116,000!

Here is the recipe for First class Filet Mignon Lili and Potatoes Anna – 

The first thing to do is prepare the potatoes. Slice 2 large, peeled russet potatoes super thin (I used a mandolin).

Rub a 2 quart casserole dish with butter.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Layer the potatoes in a spiral in the bottom, brushing each layer with melted butter and salt & pepper.

Put the pan on the burner over medium heat for about 5 to 10 minutes. You want to brown the bottom of the potatoes.

Set these aside until just before the beef is done.

Now, on to the sauce.

Melt half the sauce in a medium sauce pan. Lightly saute the shallots in the butter.

Stir in the tomato paste, stirring until it becomes thick.

Stir in the broth, wine, port and cognac. Add the rosemary and bay leaf. Bring it to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until it has reduce by half.

Strain the mixture then return to the pan.

Stir in the remaining butter and remove from heat. Set aside.

Prepare all the ingredients for the filets.

Salt and pepper all sides of each steak. Let them sit at room temperature.

Now it’s time to cook the potatoes. Place the dish in a 450 degree, preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the top is lightly browned.

Move to a broiler and broil 1 to 2 minutes, until the top is golden. Rest at least five minutes.

Back to the steak. It gets a little tricky here. Do the next two steps while the potatoes are in the oven –

Melt 1/2 tablespoon of the butter in a heavy skillet, then add the vegetable oil and garlic.

Sear the steak on high heat, then reduce heat to medium and cook about 5 to 10 minutes on each side, remembering to turn it and cook the sides. The internal temperature should be 130 degrees ^[14]. The temp will go up as it rests so don’t go over that.  Set the steaks on a hot plate.

But don’t forget to keep the potatoes going!

Using the pan drippings and the remaining butter, gently saute the artichoke hearts. At the same time, place the foie gras slices in the pan and gently brown on both sides.

NOTE: The original dish had foie gras on the top with thinly sliced black truffles on top of that. I could not find truffles so I used foie gras with truffles in it.

Now, it’s time to serve it up!

Place a hefty scoop of potatoes in the center of the plate.

The steak goes on top, then the fois gras.

Lay the artichoke hearts beside the potatoes and drizzle sauce over the whole dish. Garnish with a couple of chives.

Printable First Class recipe:

© Copyright 2023 The Lazy Gastronome

Now that you have all the menus, you can plan your next Titanic party! Will you go steerage, second class or all the way with first?

Leave me a comment! I’d love to hear your thoughts. 

My grandfather was German ^[19] and so was my step-mother. They both made some amazing German Food! One of my favorites was sauerbraten and spaetzle. Although time consuming, it’s not a difficult meal to make.

 

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What is Sauerbraten?

Sometimes referred to as the National Dish of Germany, sauerbraten is typically a marinated beef, but sometimes other meats are used. Like many dishes around the world, each region has it’s own version of this dish.

Many of the meats of the time were tough and gamey. The best way to tenderize it and enhance the flavor, was often with wine or vinegar. So the meat was marinated for days and cooked slowly in a dutch oven over the fire.

Although I’m sure this is a modernized and Americanized version of this traditionally German food, it is rich and delicious and satisfying.

Here’s how to make the roast:

The first thing is to get the roast in a marinade. It needs to sit for 3 to 4 days. Mix all the marinade ingredients into a large, non reactive container with a lid.

Mix it well,

then push the roast down inside. Cover and refrigerate, turning the roast once a day.

When it’s time to cook, take the roast out of the refrigerator and bring to room temperature. Place the meat on a plate, but keep all the marinade.

Mix the flour, salt and pepper in a small dish. Rub it on both sides of the meat.

Heat the oil in a heavy kettle and brown the roast on all sides, cooking for about 10 minutes.

Pour the marinade over the top of the meat and gently loosen the bits on the bottom of the pan.

Bring it to a boil, then cover and cook on medium low for 3 to 4 hours or until the meat breaks away with a fork.

When is fork tender, remove the meat from the pot

and strain the liquids.

Put the liquid back in the pot, add the crushed ginger snaps,

and bring to a boil. Cook on medium for about 30 minutes. The cookies will dissolve and help thicken the sauce.

Time to make the spaetzle!

While the sauce is cooking, make the spaetzle – another favorite German food! Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Grate the fresh nutmeg –

Beat the eggs, buttermilk, nutmeg and oil together in another dish.

Pour the liquid into the flour and mix it into a wet, sticky dough.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.

Run the dough through a spaetzle maker into the water.

As it rises to the top of the water, scoop it out and set aside.

Keep going until all the dough is used.

Drain the water from the pan and add the cooked spaetzle in with 2 Tablespoons of butter. Set aside.

Now back to the sauce – using an immersion blender, blend the sauce to smooth any lumps the gingersnaps may have left.

Slice the meat and put it back into the pot with the sauce to reheat.

Serve the meat

and spaetzle

with sauce on top.

© Copyright 2023 The Lazy Gastronome

Leave me a comment – I’d love to hear your thoughts!

We love meatloaf at our house. We love it for dinner, but more than the delicious dinner, we love the sandwiches the day after. This meatloaf is a little different. It’s got a bit of a Southwestern flair and made some of the best sandwiches yet!

An Enchilada ^[24] Meatloaf! Made with all the flavors of enchiladas in a loaf!

Making an Enchilada Meatloaf

First – char the poblano on all sides. You can do this in the oven, in a hot, dry pan or over the open flame.

Char it on all sides then, while it’s still hot, place it in a plastic bag to cool. The steam in the bag will loosen the skin.

After its cool enough to handle, run the pepper under cold water and rub off the skin. If some of it stays on, that ok. Clean out the seeds and chop the pepper and set aside.

Next, place all the spices and the two meats in a large bowl. Mix it all together well. I like to use my hands – squeezing and smoothing to make sure all the spice are evenly distributed.

Now add the eggs and the bread crumbs, again, mixing well.

The last thing you’ll mix in is the chopped pepper.

You can put everything together and mix it once, but I like to mix it in batches – this way I’m sure everything is mixed in evenly.

Form half the mixture into a loaf and place it in a large casserole dish.

Make a well in the top and lay the pepper jack cheese in the center.

Use the remaining batch of meat mixture on the top of the loaf and pinch the sides to seal in the cheese.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Top the meatloaf with the full can of enchilada sauce,

then the cheddar cheese.

Bake the meatloaf for about an hour, or until the top is browned and the sauce is bubbling.

We enjoyed it the first night

with a salad and some Mexican rice.

And we enjoyed it more the second night on rustic bread with sundried tomato mayonnaise.

© Copyright 2023 The Lazy Gastronome

Making Sundried Tomato Mayonnaise

To make sundried tomato mayonnaise –

Chop 2 tablespoons of sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil. Mix them into 1/2 cup of mayonnaise. Chill –

Leave me a comment – I’d love to hear your thoughts!