SLOPPY JOES

Sloppy Joes

Teenage fare from the 1960's

1 lb. Ground beef

2-3 stalks celery, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

1/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cup barbeque sauce

1 Tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp dry mustard

salt and pepper

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp. Vinegar

Brown the ground beef, celery and onion. Drain the fat. Stir in remaining Ingredients. Simmer, covered, 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. If Joes appear too "loose", leave cover off and let moisture evaporate.

　

LENTIL SLOPPY JOES

Lentil Sloppy Joes
A meatless meal and pretty festive for a Lenten supper.

1 cup brown lentils

1 cup yellow onion, chopped

1 Tbsp. garlic, minced

1 cup ketchup

1/4 cup pure maple syrup, (in a pinch pancake syrup will work)

1 Tbsp prepared yellow mustard (French’s)

1 Tbsp. Apple cider vinegar

1/8 tsp. Ground ginger

Crystal hot sauce to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

Sort through lentils, picking out rocks or debris. Rinse, then put into a pot and cover the lentils with about 2 ½ cups of water. Cook over medium heat until tender, but not mushy, 30-35 minutes. Drain lentils and set aside.

Saute onion in oil until soft, 8 minutes.

Add garlic and saute until fragrant. 1 minute.

Add ketchup, syrup, mustard, vinegar, ginger, Crystal, salt, and pepper. Simmer until thick and darker in color, 8-10 minutes. Stir in lentils and simmer 2-3 minutes to warm through. Serve Sloppy Joes on buns with pickles, lettuce and onions.

　

VICKSBURG TOMATO SANDWICHES

Vicksburg Tomato Sandwiches

Makes 36
4 loaves day-old bread 
6 to 8 medium tomatoes, peeled 
Salt and black pepper 
Mayonnaise, preferably homemade 
1 grated onion with juice 
Paprika 

With a large (2- or 3-inch) biscuit cutter, cut bread slices into 72 rounds. Slice tomatoes thinly and place on double sheets of paper towels to drain. Salt and pepper tomato slices. 
Spread mayonnaise on bread rounds. Place well-drained tomato slices on half of the bread rounds and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of onion with juice over each tomato and top with remaining bread rounds. Sprinkle tops with paprika. 
To save until serving time, place on a cookie sheet with waxed paper between the layers.

CURIOUS LITTLE STUFFED BUNS

Another variation on the Tea Sandwich theme: This one uses small Finger Rolls. You can use small cream puff shells, small Southern biscuits, almost anything.  Pistolettes are especially nice.  The crawfish dip recipe on the blog is another classic filling.

Buy the "finger roll" variety of bun, or make small rolls using any roll recipe about the size of half a large cigar. Stuff them by making a deep slash in the top of each bun and spooning a generous Tablespoonful of filling into the opening. The buns should be stuffed shortly before serving with the fillings suggested below. (Each filling recipe makes 6 to 8 stuffed buns.) To serve, arrange the buns on a suitable platter or tray and garnish with radish rosebuds and sprigs of parsley.

CRABMEAT

1 cup drained cooked crabmeat, fresh, canned, or frozen

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup finely chopped celery

1 tsp. Lemon juice

dash paprika

black pepper

Chop the crabmeat into small pieces and mix in the mayonnaise, celery, and lemon juice. Season to taste with a dash of paprika and pepper.

HAM

1 cup ground ham

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 Tbsp finely chopped chutney or sweet mustard pickle

freshly ground pepper

Beat together the ham, mayonnaise, and chutney or pickle. Add pepper to taste.

CHICKEN

1 cup chopped cold cooked chicken, white and dark meat

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup finely chopped celery

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 Tablespoon capers

black pepper

cut the chicken into small pieces and mix in the mayonnaise, celery, lemon juice, and capers. Season with pepper to taste.

CATFISH SALAD IN PITAS

Catfish Salad in Pita

2 U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish Fillets, cooked and flaked

1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 cup celery

1/2 red onion, finely diced

1/2 cup green onion, thinly sliced

1 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon hot sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

4 whole-wheat pita rounds, split and opened

8 green leaf lettuce leaves

1 large tomato, sliced (optional)

Sprinkle cooked catfish with Cajun seasoning.

Combine catfish, bell peppers, celery, onion, mayonnaise, hot sauce, and salt and pepper in bowl; mix well.

Place lettuce leaf and tomato slice in each pita half; spoon in catfish salad.

Serves 8

LAVENDER EGG SALAD

Makes 12 Tea Sandwiches-lavender, matcha tea and curry

10 eggs
 ½ cup mayo
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tsp. Dried lavender
1 tsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp curry powder
½ tsp matcha green tea
powder, or more to taste
1/8 tsp each salt and pepper

1 cup mixed baby salad greens and 12 thin baguette slices,
olive slices and chive sprigs for garnish.

Place the eggs in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Turn off the heat. Cover the pot and let sit for 14 minutes. Drain and run cold swater over the egs until water stays cold. Let the eggs sit in the cold water while you prepare the dressing.

In a large bowl, whisk together the mustard and sour cream until smooth. Add the lavender, Dijon, curry, matcha, scallion, salt and pepper. Stir until blended. Drain the eggs, peel, and chop coarsely. Add the chopped eggs to the dressing and stir until combined. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. The egg salad may be made 1 day in advance and stored, and refrigerated, in an airtight container. Put a few baby greens on each bead slice. Divide egg salad among 12 slices and serve. Open faced. Garnish with chives, sliced olives or pimento etc. 

ROAST BEEF PO BOYS with Debris Gravy

Roast Beef Po-Boys with Debris Gravy
Makes 6 Po-Boys

1 tsp. Black pepper
1 tsp. Granulated onion
1 tsp. granulated garlic
½ tsp. ground thyme
1 (4-5 pound) bottom round roast, (almost any will do)
2 medium yellow onions, quartered
3 medium carrots, halved
3 celery ribs,halved
2 whole garlic heads, halved, with skins on
12 cups beef stock (or enough to cover three-quarters of the meat)
6 10-inch sections of New Orleans French bread (use what you must) cut in half horizontially, but leaving a "hinge" of bread in the back.
Your favorite sandwich condiments


Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine dry seasonings and rub outside of roast thoroughly-go ahead, massage it in.

If your roasting pan has a rack put it on the bottom and place the roast on top. Scatter the onions, carrots, celery and garlic on the bottom of your roasting pan. Pour beef stock into pan until it covers three-quarters of the roast. Place in the oven and cook until internal temperature reaches 170 degrees or until the outside of the roast begins to fall apart; at least 2 to 3 hours-it may take longer. Remove from the oven and slice the roast as thinly as possible.


Strain the pan gravy and discard the solids (or eat’em). Put the sliced roast and the little bits of meat (the debris) back into the pan gravy. When ready to serve, put mayonnaise on both the bottom and top of the bread and assemble generous portions of the roast beef on the slices of French bread and dress with your favorite condiments. Mother’s debris Po-Boy features sliced roast beef, debris gravy, and pile on the frills. ("dressed" with mayonnaise, Creole, yellow or French mustard and dill pickles.) You can cut each individual sandwich in half vertically; on the bias is nice because it gives a wider bottom to hold onto. Some places also include sliced tomatoes, and shredded iceberg lettuce. It’s up to you.

You should not need to thicken the gravy. It is messy and fun.

HOMEMADE MAYONNAISE

Homemade Mayonnaise

1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Coleman’s dry mustard
½ tsp. Sugar
2 egg yolks, divided
1 cup Wesson oil
2 Tbsp. lemon juice, divided (you'll add half of it in the beginning and the other half when it starts to thicken)
pinch Cayenne

Mix at low speed with an electric mixer or by hand with a wire whip. Heck, almost anything will do, even a wooden spoon can work. A processor is great but the texture won’t be as fine. Mix the first three ingredients together. Add egg yolks and 1 Tbsp. of the lemon juice and beat to a pale yellow. Beat and at the same time begin to drizzle in the oil by drops. Be patient.
When the oil begins to emulsify increase the flow of oil, beating all the time, to a tiny, steady stream. When it begins to thicken add beat in the second Tbsp. of lemon juice and become just a tad more generous with your stream of oil. When all the oil is incorporated you will have mayonnaise; thick, unctuous, mayonnaise.
Or

SOFT SHELL CRAB

Fried Soft Shell Crabs
These as a sandwich are the remarkable. Lettuce, tomato onion and Mayo please!

6 soft-shell crabs
1 egg
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
Salt and pepper

Clean crabs by cutting off the face and eyes. Lift up the shell at both pointed sides and pinch out the gills (or "dead man’s fingers"). Rinse well; crain and pat dry. Soak crabs in mixture of egg, milk, salt and pepper for 15 minutes. Coat with flour and fry in 375 degree deep fat (probably need to turn them once to make sure you get both sides brown) unntil golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side or 6 minutes total. They must be steaming hot inside. Drain and garnish with sliced lemon and minced parsley. Serve with tartar sauce.
6 servings

To Broil:
Clean crabs and follow directions for frying except omit egg and use 1 Tbsp flour instead of 1 cup. Melt ½ stick butter and brush crabs thoroughly. Broil 3 inches from source of heat, top side down, for about 5 minutes until golden brown. Remember broiler units are notoriously unreliable so go by eye-it could take as long as 8 minutes. Turn, brush top side with butter and continue broiling for 5 to 8 minutes or until golden brown and steaming hot inside. Garnish with parsley and lemon wedges