Now that Fall is here, I hope to be more regular with this column. I just haven’t been in the mood to write about food, what with the world coming down all around. But as my editor says, politics is a dime a lime, but everyone likes to Eat It.
Bradley Jones keeps asking me for some one dish casserole recipes so I’ll start with my own chili recipe. I like chili very thick and sort of spicy sweet.
Brown 1 lb. hamburger with a good size chopped up onion and a clove or two of garlic. Drain one can of red kidney beans and mix it in with the meat. Now for seasoning, I use one small can of tomato sauce and a good amount of barbecue sauce, a few shakes of hot chili sauce and lots of chili powder (also a bit of honey if the barbecue sauce is not sweet). Now you want it to taste like chili, not barbecue hamburger, so pour in the chili powder. Add a pinch of curry powder for tang and simmer about 45 minutes. Cook it low because it is thick and will burn easily.
Serve it in big bowls with lots of sour cream. To be a little more piss elegant, serve a good green salad with vinegar and oil dressing, Syrian bread with whipped butter and dry red wine.
Suzanne’s Sukiyaki: Don’t think this recipe is difficult. It’s very easy, takes little time and is delicious. The trick here is not to use cheap soy sauce. Go to a store in Chinatown and buy a quart of real soy sauce. Cut everything up before you start anything else and set aside in small piles:
2 lbs. sirloin or round steak (chicken or pork may be used too)
1/4 cup beef or chicken broth (bouillon cubes)
1/4 cup beer or dry sherry
3 tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. pepper
3/4 tsp. Accent
4 tbsp. oil
2 cups sliced onions
1 cup sliced celery
Cut meat cross grain in thin slices (slightly frozen meat is easier to slice thin); combine the soy sauce, broth, etc. Heat the oil in the skillet; brown the steak in it. Push to one side of the pan and pour 1/2 cup of the soy mixture over it. Add the onions, celery, etc., saute 3 min. Pour remaining soy mixture into the pan and cook with the cover on for another 3 min. Don’t cook too much at once and don’t overcook- the vegetables—they should be crisp to the tooth.
NOTE—I don’t know if it belongs in a food column, but putting mayonnaise in your hair before washing it makes it very soft and silky. It has the same quality as expensive jars of conditioners—just rub it into your hair and let it set for up to an hour before you wash it—and it’s much cheaper.
Editors’ note: Of course you will smell like a giant bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich.