Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin: September 2009

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Tuna Burgers

Dorcas Annette Walker

Usually I am able to remember where I first tasted a food whenever I think about the circumstances of where I was at the time, but for some reason Tuna Burgers comes up blank. I probably ran across this recipe somewhere while out on the road. During the summer my daughter wouldn’t unpack her suitcase when we came home as invariably we’d be heading out again somewhere else the next week. I do know that during those whirlwind days of traveling around the United States and school days, Tuna Burgers were a lifesaver.

Tuna has been fished from the Mediterranean Sea, Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans since ancient times, but the name only dates back to 1880. A member of the mackerel family, tuna has streamlined body’s two fins, five or more finlets, and is very narrow at the tail, which is forked. Tuna are in constant motion, can cruise up to 55 mph, and have been tracked from Japan to California traveling through open ocean and waters of dozen of nations in its lifetime. To maintain this speed, tuna eats up to ten percent of its body weight daily and can reach up to 600 pounds per fish. Efforts to conserve and manage tuna’s sustainability stock are an ongoing one.

The majority of commercial tuna harvest comes from California. Only about one percent of tuna is sold as fresh fish. Canned tuna is America’s most popular fish second to shrimp. The average consumption of tuna is 3.6 pounds per person each year; a total of 1 billion pounds of canned and pouched tuna annually. Canned tuna is healthy being rich in protein, low in fat and calories, and is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, which help lower blood pressure and cholesterol. Canned tuna, unopened and not damaged, has a shelf-life up to four years under normal conditions; pouched tuna has a shelf-life of three.

In March 2004 the FDA and Environmental Protection Agency reassessed their findings on mercury in fish. Their summary: It is safe for the average person and women of child-bearing age to eat up to two cans of tuna per week. Pregnant women should avoid eating tuna while young children (up to 45 pounds) can safely eat one-half a can of tuna per week. So unless you plan on eating an entire can of tuna each day, tuna is perfectly safe to eat.

My Tuna Burgers have a mild creamy tuna salad consistency laid on top of a crusty bun. These burgers can be made up ahead of time, served warm or eaten cold, or you can double the recipe and place part of the Tuna Burgers in the freezer for later meals. The Tuna Burgers take only fifteen minutes to prepare and this recipe serves ten.

Tuna Burgers

5 hamburger buns or 10 slices of bread
2 (5oz) cans of tuna
1 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1 c mayonnaise
½ c chopped celery
1 tb minced onion
Salt and pepper

Place hamburger bun halves on a large tray. In a medium-sized bowl mix together thoroughly tuna, cheese, mayonnaise, celery, onion, and shake in salt and pepper to taste. Divide and place a heaping tb on each hamburger half. Bake for 15 minutes at 350º until the cheese is melted. Cool for fifteen minutes and then serve with celery sticks or a tossed salad!

Weekly tip: Salad tip #3: Never cut salad greens with a knife. Instead tear them with your fingers into bite-size pieces as cutting greens with a knife will turn the edges brown!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net. For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.com

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Spam Burgers

Dorcas Annette Walker

I first tasted Spam Burgers in the Bible Institute kitchen that I attended. Since I had a study hall right before lunch, and the call had gone out for volunteer help in the kitchen, I found myself a couple days each week in the school kitchen helping prepare and serve the lunches. I soon became good friends with the cooks. Guess who was one of the first fellows to arrive at the kitchen close to lunchtime? This tall lanky blond fellow with a wide grin seemed to hang around every time I worked in the kitchen. He knew just exactly how to butter up the cooks and get larger portions of food. He also knew how to work his charm on me and that is how one afternoon, instead of a romantic setting like I had always envisioned, I found myself being proposed to at one end of the dining hall while the cooks bustled back and forth in the kitchen preparing a meal. For some unknown reason my destiny always seems to circle around a kitchen.

Spam by first developed by Hormel in 1926 and was the first canned meat that did not require refrigeration. It was called the “miracle meat” and became a prime staple for the military during WWII, who soon began singing songs about how much they hated the stuff. Regardless, once they returned home the soldiers brought a taste of Spam back with them. This innovative product became fated to save lives, win wars, and balance the diet of people worldwide. One of the most important moments in Spam’s history was in 1970 when a popular British comedy show produced a skit where every item on the menu consisted of Spam ending with a song in praise of Spam. Today spam is most widely known as a term used for the sending of unsolicited bulk messages over the internet. Its start in 1993 came by Richard Drew, who had a software program with a bug in it that ended up posting 200 messages ticking a lot of people off.

My Spam Burgers have a sharp ham flavor surrounded by melting cheese on toasted wheat bread. Spam Burgers can be made up ahead of time and popped into the oven right before serving. Leftovers can be frozen and microwaved later. These Spam Burgers are great for parties or as a snack. Any type of breads or buns can be used from regular, pita, and French to rye along with using Swiss cheese instead of mozzarella. My Spam Burgers take only ten minutes to prepare and this recipe serves eight.

Spam Burgers

8 slices of wheat bread
1 (12 oz) can of luncheon meat
½ (12 oz) bag of shredded mozzarella cheese
1 c mayonnaise
3 tb catsup
1 tb dried onion
1 tb sweet pickle relish
Black pepper

In a medium-size bowl shred the luncheon meat and add cheese, mayonnaise, catsup, onion, and pickle relish. Sprinkle on black pepper to taste. Mix well, divide up, and spread on the slices of wheat bread laid out on a large tray. Bake at 350º for 15 minutes until lightly browned and the cheese is melted. Garnish with chives or parsley and serve hot with a tossed salad!

Weekly tip: Salad tip #2: Cut the core out of lettuce heads with a paring knife, wrap in paper towels, and store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. You can store lettuce this way for up to a month letting you stock up on lettuce when on sale!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Meat Lovers Pizza Burgers

Dorcas Annette Walker

Schools are back in session. It doesn’t seem that long ago that my life completely revolved around a school schedule. When my son started kindergarten, I also went back to school and taught kindergarten. It was a learning experience for us both. When Dwight reached high school, I homeschooled him due to his chronic internal bleeding episodes that made him absent so many school days. There never seemed enough hours in a day to do everything that needed done. I didn’t have time to spend in the kitchen cooking up a huge meal. So this month I am going to feature four different kinds of burgers that are quick and easy to make that our family enjoyed.

There is a lot of controversy over who exactly first invented the pizza. Egyptians and other ancient Middle Eastern cultures were eating bread much like a pita. Pizza was considered a peasants meal in Italy for centuries. The modern pizza has been attributed to a baker in the 16th century, who owned a restaurant in Naples and baked a special pizza for the Italian king and queen. The introduction of tomatoes on pizzas came in the 18th and early 19th century. As pizza became more popular street vendors gave way to shops where people could order custom pizzas with different toppings. In the early 1900’s pizza made its way to the United States through Italian immigrants. For over 50 years pizza has been an American favorite food. Millions of pizzas are eaten daily.

My Meat Lovers Pizza Burgers are very versatile in that any favorite pizza topping can be added to customize the pizza burgers for your family, leftovers can be frozen and then microwaved, or you can make up a batch of Meat Lovers Pizza Burgers to freeze and bake later. Sausage or ham can be added or substituted for the hamburger as well as peppers and black olives. Any way you make them Meat Lovers Pizza Burgers will be a hit with your family each time you serve them. Preparation time for my Meat Lovers Pizza Burgers is around thirty minutes and this recipe serves sixteen.

Meat Lovers Pizza Burgers

8 jumbo hamburger buns
1½ lb ground hamburger
1 tb chopped onion
1 tsp oregano
¼ tsp garlic salt
2 c pizza or spaghetti sauce
½ c parmesan cheese
48 pieces of pepperoni
2 c shredded mozzarella cheese

Fry hamburger until browned adding onion, oregano, and garlic salt. Lay half a hamburger bun on two large trays inside up. Spread with a tb of sauce and sprinkle on parmesan cheese. Drain the hamburger and divide up between the buns. Place three pieces of pepperoni on each half and then top with ¼ c of mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350º for fifteen minutes until the cheese is melted. Serve hot with a tossed salad!

Weekly tip: Since each of my four burgers go great with a tossed salad; I’m going to give a salad tip each week. #1 Select greens that are crisp and free of discoloration. Heads should be firm and solid to the touch!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Dutchy Fried Squash

Dorcas Annette Walker

I’ve found out no matter how long we live our parent’s influence will follow us, especially in the realm of food. It is amazing how much a person’s upbringing shapes the way we eat. Just when I think that I am completely my own person evolved from being exposed to other culinary cultures in different parts of the United States, I find myself eating something from my childhood. Different seasons of the year trigger off a hunger for something I ate while growing up. For me summer isn’t complete without a platter of fried squash. Now, not just any fried squash mind you, but what I call Dutchy Fried Squash from my father, who was Pennsylvania Dutch. I have never been a big eater, but I confess that when it comes to fried yellow squash I completely forget any ladylike tendencies I’ve learned about eating dainty portions and completely pig out. I’ve even been known to eat a whole plate of fried squash. My family has learned to turn a blind eye on me when the garden summer squash comes in.

One summer company came by our place to stay for a few days when our daughter was still small. We had never met these people before in our lives, but they knew my parents. These folk had a skinny teenage son, who seemed to be quite bored with life in general. In fact the only place the fellow perked up was at the table. I was quite shocked to find out that the mother’s cooking consisted of making up a huge pot of food in the beginning of the week and then having the family eat the same leftovers for the rest of the week- I kid you not! So needless to say the husband and son thought they hit paradise-on-earth having home-cooked meals with lots of baked goods to fill up on in-between.

One meal I set out a large platter of fried yellow squash. This poor family have never seen nor eaten fried squash before. By now the husband and teenage son was willing to try anything I cooked. They were quite fascinated by the fact that to me the only way to eat fried squash is to put a spoonful of homemade apple butter on top. They hesitantly tried one piece, realized instantly how delicious it was, and without warning cleaned up the entire platter of fried squash. From then on I fried up squash for every meal and was hard put to grab a couple of pieces for myself before it totally disappeared. So I’ll post a warning here that my Dutchy Fried Squash can become habit forming. The Dutchy Fried Squash takes only fifteen minutes to prepare and this recipe makes twelve pieces.

Dutchy Fried Squash

1 yellow squash
3 tb shortening
1 egg
½ c milk
1 c self-rising flour
salt and pepper
homemade apple butter

Melt shortening in an iron skillet. Wash, trim the stem ends, and slice the squash into 1/8 round pieces. Beat together in a small bowl the egg and milk. Dip a slice of squash into the egg/milk mixture and then coat it with flour. Place in the hot iron skillet and sprinkle on salt and pepper. Fry for five minutes until one side is golden brown, turn over, cover skillet, and brown the other side. Serve hot with a spoonful of homemade apple butter!

Weekly tip: Summer yellow squash skins are so thin and tender that they require no peeling, the seeds are soft enough to eat, and cooks up quickly. Harvest young squash when close to two inches in diameter for frying!

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Raspberry Delight

Dorcas Annette Walker

Raspberries have a sweet mild tart taste with an almost melt-in-your-mouth texture. Any dessert made with raspberries immediately becomes elegant. I love raspberries and started a patch of raspberry vines several years ago beside our orchard. I was surprised at how easy it was to grow raspberries. Since then I’ve made up raspberry jams and keep frozen raspberries for toppings and sauces. Whenever I see the price of raspberries in the store, due to being one of the most limited and perishable fruits, I am doubly thankful for my raspberry patch out back.

Red raspberries are a native berry to Turkey and Asia Minor. History says that there were raspberry vines growing in the foothills of Troy in the first century. The Romans are thought to have spread raspberries throughout Europe. In Medieval Europe, raspberries were considered to be both medicinal and utilitarian, although only the rich could afford them. By the Middle Ages raspberries were used for food, wine, vinegar, sweets, jams and even employed in art for paintings and illuminating manuscripts, but it wasn’t until the seventeenth century that raspberries became popular. When settlers came to America they found the Native Americans eating and drying the berries for preservation and ease of transportation. In 1761 George Washington moved to Mount Vernon where he began to cultivate raspberries in his extensive gardens. By 1867 over 40 different varieties of raspberries were known.

The raspberry bush or vine grows up to three feet in height and comes in colors of red, yellow, orange, purple, or black. 60-70 pints of fruit can be harvested from early summer through fall in a 100 foot row. Today there are over 200 species of raspberries that can be grown from the Arctic to the equator. The leading producing regions for raspberries are Washington, Oregon, and California with Washington accounting for nearly 60% of U.S. production at nearly 70 million pounds per year. Raspberries are purported to fight cancer and heart disease and offer many health benefits. They are high in Vitamin A, B1, B2, C, Niacin, mineral, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and potassium.

My Raspberry Delight has raspberry jello on top of a cream cheese mixture with a rich nutty crust underneath. This light dessert is a feast for the eyes and palate. The Raspberry Delight takes only three steps to make and can be made up the day before. Preparation time for my Raspberry Delight takes about an hour and this recipe serves sixteen.

Raspberry Delight

1c self-rising flour
¼ c brown sugar
½ c chopped pecans
½ c melted margarine
2 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese
1 (8 oz) container cool whip
1 c sugar
2 (3 oz) pkg raspberry jello
2 c boiling water
ice cubes

Step 1: Mix together the flour, brown sugar, pecans, and melted butter and press in the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish. Bake at 350º for fifteen minutes and cool.

Step 2: Beat together the cream cheese and sugar. Add the cool whip and mix until smooth. Spread over cooled crust.

Step 3: Pour the boiling water over the two pkg of raspberry jello and stir until dissolved. Add ice cubes until the mixture is jelled and pour over the cream cheese mixture. Chill until solid. Garnish with whipped cream and fresh raspberries before serving!

Weekly tip: Fresh raspberries will only keep in the refrigerator for a couple of days if spread out and lined on paper towels. Do not leave raspberries at room temperature or expose them to sunlight as they spoil quickly. Instead freeze raspberries for year round use!