Jerri’s Hamburger Pie

In spite of the fact that we have been using our Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook at least once a week for over forty years, it is in pretty good shape. The title page and page two, a note from the editors, have torn loose and some of the section tabs have torn off. But every recipe is still there, and many taste just as good today as they did when we first tried them.

That, coupled with the fact that the recipes are easy to read and follow, helps explain why the book has been in print continuously since it was published in 1930. Over forty million copies have ended up in the kitchens of America.

Our copy is the 1968 edition and the copyright page states that the book was published by Meredith Corporation of Des Moines, Iowa, and “Printed in the United States of America.” I was glad to learn that, as it gave me the perfect answer to the question that Minnesotans like to ask visitors from the Hawkeye state, “What is the best thing to come out of Iowa?”

I-35 indeed. Ask the jokers how many cookbooks from Minnesota have sold forty million copies.

Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook is still published in Des Moines, Iowa, but I note sadly that it is no longer printed in the USA. Instead, it is now “Printed in China.” Alas.

One of the recipes that Jerri discovered in this wonderful cookbook is “Hamburger Pie.” Like many casseroles, this one lends itself to being put together ahead of time and cooked just before the meal. When she was giving piano lessons, she made this casserole at least a couple of times every month. She assembled it before her first student arrived, put it into the refrigerator and then popped the casserole into the oven an hour before we sat down to eat.

Even our kids liked it. Give it a try.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. hamburger
1/2 small onion (about 2 inches in diameter)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
2 cups canned cut green beans
1 can (10 1/2 oz.) condensed tomato soup
4 large or 5 medium potatoes
Water
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
1/8 tsp. white pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup Cheddar cheese

PROCEDURE:

Peel and quarter the potatoes and put them in a two or three-quart saucepan. Cover them with water and add a teaspoon of salt. Bring the pan to a boil and simmer the potatoes until they feel tender when you jab them with a fork. It will usually take about twenty minutes for the potatoes to cook, but check them after fifteen minutes or so, as you want them tender but not falling to pieces.

While the potatoes are cooking, brown the hamburger over medium heat in a large skillet. Use a wooden spoon to break the hamburger into crumbles and season it with a half teaspoon of salt and about an eighth teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper. Chop the onion medium fine and mix it with the hamburger. You want about a half cup of chopped onion. Remove the pan from the heat.

If there is more than a tablespoon of fat in the pan, drain the excess before you add the beans and tomato soup. Drain the beans and mix them with the meat. Then stir in the soup.

Grease a one and one-half or two-quart casserole and spread the meat mixture evenly on the bottom.

Preheat the oven to 350º.

The potatoes should be cooked by this time. Drain and mash them. Heat the milk until it feels very warm but not hot and use the masher to stir it vigorously into the potatoes. Beat the egg in a cup until it is lemon yellow and stir it into the potatoes along with an eighth teaspoon each of white pepper and salt.

Spread the mashed potatoes evenly over the meat mixture.

Grate the cheese and sprinkle it over the top. Bake the casserole for twenty-five minutes or until the cheese is melted and slightly browned around the edges of the casserole.

NOTES: Jerri uses medium Cheddar most often for this casserole, but I think that it is even better with sharp Cheddar. In an emergency, you can use mild Cheddar or even Colby.

Mennonite Dinner Rolls

Mennonite housewives understood both their Bible and human nature. When they read that “Man shall not live by bread alone,” they respected the need to honor their God, but they also knew that people needed something besides bread on their plates.

Namely, rolls. How else can one explain the fact that the recipe for rolls is the third recipe in the Mennonite Community Cookbook right after “Starter for Liquid Yeast” and “Basic White Bread Recipe”?

These rolls are easy to make, fluffy and tender and have a wonderful flavor. You may want to make them a couple of times to get a feel for just how much flour you need to produce rolls that are light and tender, but once you figure that out, you will be making these rolls often to treat your guests and family.

And of course, the baker needs to test a few when they come hot out of the oven.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup water
2 1/4 tsp. (1 packet) active dry yeast
2 cups milk
5 T sugar
1/4 cup butter plus extra to paint the rolls.
5 – 6 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 large egg

PROCEDURE:

As with other breads, you will be kneading the dough, so scrub your hands well as the first step in the process.

Dissolve the yeast in a half cup of lukewarm water and allow it to proof. Heat the milk until it is very warm and pour it into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the butter and sugar and allow the milk to cool to lukewarm. Stir in the yeast and three cups of flour, a cup at a time. Stir thoroughly after adding each cup until you have a smooth batter.

Cover the bowl with a damp towel and allow the batter to rest in a warm place for about half an hour. The yeast should begin working in the batter and turn it into what is called a sponge. Beat the egg until it is lemon colored, then stir the egg and salt into the sponge.

Add the remaining flour a cup at a time, beating the dough well between each addition. If necessary, beat a little more flour into the dough until it just begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Allow the dough to rest for a few minutes, then turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.

This is a sticky dough, so make sure your hands are well floured. Use a spatula or baker’s scraper to turn the dough a few times to coat the outer surface with flour, then knead the dough for three or four minutes. Try not to work too much flour into the dough, but knead until the dough feels smooth and satiny. Let the dough rest and rise slightly for a few minutes on the floured surface.

While the dough is resting, grease a nine by thirteen-inch and a nine by nine-inch baking pan.

Divide the dough in half and roll one half to a rectangle about half an inch thick. Use a pizza cutter or knife to cut the rectangle into equal pieces about two and a half inches square. With floured or greased fingers, form the pieces into rolls and place them nearly touching in rows. Roll out the second half and finish the job. You should end up with about two and half dozen rolls.

Set the pans in a warm place and cover them with a damp towel. Let them rise until they have nearly doubled in bulk. Preheat the oven to 400º a few minutes before the rolls have finished rising.

Melt two tablespoons of butter and use a pastry brush to lightly paint the tops of the rolls. Bake the rolls for fifteen to eighteen minutes until they are golden brown.

Rub a stick of butter over the tops of the hot rolls after you take them from the oven. Serve them warm.

NOTES: I prefer to use whole milk for baking. However, my wife buys 2% milk. To get a little more butterfat into these rolls, I put a half cup of half and half into the measuring cup, then fill it to the two cup mark with the 2% stuff.

There are some good explanations on the Internet of how to form neat rolls. but I just tuck the corners of the dough under, make the buggers a little roundish and put them shoulder-to-shoulder in the pan. They taste just fine and even look like dinner rolls.