Day 5 Really Awesome Dinner--Old Faithful**
Day 5 Really Awesome Dinner Old Faithful*
As the title informs you, this was a perfectly fantastic meal that is like a hidden gem in the already impressive line-up of Peg Bracken’s “I Hate to Cook Book.” I was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable I was making this! I felt like a truly amazing chef with this one meal. There was just something very familiar about this meal. That isn’t completely unheard of in Peg Bracken’s writing, however, and in fact, there is another meal further on in the book that is very similar to something I learned from my mother. Of course, I did first learn about Peg Bracken from my mother who, like many homemakers in the 1960s, also had her cookbooks. Anyway, Old Faithful* this is an amazing little recipe. Incidentally, Peg warns us not to use one recipe too much for it is possible for even a favorite recipe to eventually be taken for granted. Another risk one can run is the temptation with something familiar to skip some step, or ingredient, or skim around the edges just as one skims over the boring part of a well-loved book. This you must not do no matter how much people beg you for a favorite recipe over and over again throughout the week. Eventually, you know every line and outcome and can recite it by heart, but the enthusiasm wears thin.
This was a very simple and yet satisfying meal and I served it with Peg Bracken’s Fried Tomatoes for little extra veggies and some fruit.
So without further introduction here is Day 5’s Chops recipe….
Oh wait I forgot to tell you there are some recipes in here that call for Lamb Shanks and Lamb Chops since Lamb is expensive nowadays you can substitute the lamb with pork which is what I did. By the way, I have a feeling that lamb must have been a lot cheaper once upon a time, while a good cut of pork seems to have been something treated like a rare delicacy in older cookbooks. Now, of course, we throw pork chops around like they were something that could be plucked from the trees as an afterthought to dinner, while lamb is imported from New Zealand.
Ok, now for the Recipe:
Old Faithful* Or Super Awesome Chops
Ingredients 4 Servings
4 medium thick lamb or pork chops
6 tablespoons raw rice
1 can chicken broth
1 pinch of marjoram
1 pinch of thyme
1 large onion
2 ripe tomatoes
1/2 green pepper
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons of oil or shortening
Directions: In a skillet brown the chops in a little of the oil. As those are browning nicely on their own, grease a casserole dish and place the uncooked rice in the bottom of the dish, spread it around. Then you will slice the vegetables the green peppers need to be sliced in rings... After the chops have browned place them on the rice, top with onion slices, tomatoes, and green pepper on each slice, place the onion and tomato in the green pepper ring. Add salt and pepper to your liking, not too much though be careful of other people's liking. Pour chicken broth over the top. Add Thyme and marjoram, cover and leave it be at 350F for one hour.
As I said before this was a great hit. And it could easily be doubled for company on a Saturday, and finish it off with a cake for dessert and - presto! - you’re feeling rather successful. I was so impressed with how well this went, that I was actually really rather afraid that at the last minute I would drop the dinner or something (coincidentally, my wonderful teen-aged son stepped in and removed it from the oven for me). But, nothing untold happened and dinner was placed before a salivating crowd of kids. Seconds were asked for all around, and everyone was impressed.
I have to say, I am rather proud of myself thus far and I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens on Day 6. For now, as the curtain closes, I can chalk this one up as a victory, reflect on the accolades, knowing that my fans will be expecting a repeat performance. Good night and stay tuned for tomorrow when again we turn to our heroine and ask “Can she continue to ride this wave of success into tomorrow?” “Will she slip and cause herself to fall headlong into the soup?” All this and more in Misadventures in Cooking.
What do you think? Have you tried this recipe? Will you try it? What changes would you make? Comment, rate, and share your ideas. Until next time have fun and stay Flamboyant my Flamingo friends.
**Bracken, P. (1960). The I hate to cook book. (pg. 12). New York: Harcourt, Brace & World.
