Today's first recipe isn't a gourmet dish and it's certainly not trendy. Salisbury steak is simply good old-fashioned home cooking.
Salisbury steak is ground beef formed into patties or mini meatloafs that are fried or baked. A gravy made of the pan drippings is usually served with the steaks. Our recipe is a little different in that it uses canned soup for flavoring the steaks and making the gravy.
The recipe is easy (another point in its favor). The steaks are quickly pan fried and then placed in an ovenproof pan. A mixture of tomato and cream of celery soups is poured over the dish, which is then placed in the oven to bake for one hour. To make use of the tasty gravy, we served the Salisbury steak with mashed potatoes.
Where did the name come from? Supposedly, Salisbury steak was named after a 19th-century English physician, Dr. D. H. Salisbury, who believed a copious consumption of beef was a cure-all for a number of ailments. Today we know better, but that doesn't mean we can't indulge ourselves once in a while, although you could substitute ground turkey for ground meat.
The best way to end a heavy meal is with a light dessert and anise drop cookies fill the bill. The first person to sample these cookies commented on how tasty they were and that they reminded him of soft biscotti cookies -- we agree. The recipe calls for anise extract or anise seeds. We used the anise seeds, believing the seeds would give the cookie an interesting speckled look, and they did.
Eleanor Balint of Bridgeville requested a recipe for Salisbury steak and gravy, and Kathryn E. Troup of Meadville responded.
Salisbury Steak
2 pounds ground beef
1 can onion soup
1 cup bread crumbs
2 eggs, beaten
Salt to taste
1/2 cup flour
Gravy:
1 can tomato soup
1 can celery soup
Mix the ground meat (we used ground sirloin), bread crumbs, onion soup and eggs. Add salt to taste. Form into patties. Dip patties into flour and brown on both sides. Arrange in a greased baking dish
To make gravy, combine tomato and celery soup and 1 can of water. Pour over patties and bake in a 350-degree oven for 1 hour.
Gloria Strauss of Chalfont sent in this delicious cookie recipe for Joyce McCarter of Whitehall.
Anise Drops
2 cups sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons anise seed crushed or 1/2 teaspoon anise extract
Sift flour with baking powder; set aside.
Beat eggs at high speed until light. Add sugar gradually. Continue mixing until all sugar is blended. Add vanilla, flour mixture and anise.
Drop from teaspoon 1 inch apart on greased and floured baking sheets. Let stand at room temperature overnight. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes (the edges will become golden brown). Cool on rack.
Makes about 3 dozen cookies.
Requests
Lois Schultz of Andover, Ohio, is searching for a chocolate cake made with sour cream and chocolate chips. Lois recalls the recipe being printed in either Woman's Day or Family Circle magazine. The cake was from one of the Lennon Sisters.
Marge Mueller of Bridge-ville would love to have a recipe for a hot vinegar bacon dressing -- the kind used on spinach salad.
Evan Fedash of Martins Ferry, Ohio, would like a recipe for babka.
Armand Lubatty of Carne-gie would like recipes for sour rye bread, a hard crisp shiny bread with a sour cream taste.
Babe Studnicki of Belle Vernon would like a recipe for Coca-Cola Cake.
Anne Reynolds of Franklin Township is looking for a Polish recipe called pougauchi (pronounced pugachey). It is a sauerkraut-stuffed bread that is peppery, she says, and makes a great appetizer.
Letter
Here's a letter regarding the Apricot Glazed Chicken featured in last week's Kitchen Mailbox.
"This particular recipe is a favorite of my family's. I have trouble finding Russian dressing, so I substitute Catalina or Spicy Red French dressing instead with great results. I actually think the sauce is tastier with French dressing than when made with Russian dressing. My family likes the extra sauce served over rice or with scalloped potatoes. This recipe appeared in the original "Three Rivers Cookbook (Vol. 1)" as 'Golfer's Chicken,' to be baked at 225 degrees for 4 to 5 hours or 375 degrees for 1 hour 'if you're not playing golf ...' "
Amy Deak,
Mt. Lebanon
If you want to answer a recipe request from a reader or are looking for a recipe yourself, please write to Kitchen Mailbox, c/o Arlene Burnett, 34 Blvd. of the Allies, Pittsburgh 15222, or e-mail to aburnett@post-gazette.com Please include a name, neighborhood/city/borough/township and state and a daytime phone number on all correspondence.
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