The Kidlet and I visited a museum in South Baymouth while we were waiting for the ferry a few months ago. They had a whole bunch of books for sale, including several cookbooks. Two of the cookbooks were modern recipe collections compiled from locals. Flipping through was pretty nostalgic for me as a lot of the recipes looked like things that I remembered my mother and grandmother cooking when I was a kid. The third cookbook was a bit different. It was also a collection of write-in recipes, but they were all much older and interspersed with general cooking and diet advice as well as ads from various Manitoulin Island businesses -- all from the turn of the (20th) century. As best I can tell, the whole cookbook is a reprint of some earlier cookbook. The little info page that has been added in the front just informs me that my purchase goes to fund the ongoing research of the Michael's Bay Historical Society and that it is "a historical cook book of 1920's".

So, while I'm not sure of the exact dates and provenance of the recipes, it is a lovely snapshot of early 20th c. ads, businesses, and attitudes. It's not as nostalgic for me as the more modern recipes, but that's part of why I got it! I already know how to make a lot of those recipes from my childhood and, for the ones I don't, I can ask my mom. The recipes in "The Cook Book" are much more unfamiliar to me. So, if I was only going to get one book, this pretty much had to be it.

Now, in a lot of cases the recipes are pretty sparse on details. They leave out things like quantities or cooking instructions or simply tell you to "bake in a slow oven", etc. But that's okay. That's honestly part of the fun of working with older recipes. The other problem, of course, is that some of the recipes sound truly vile¹. And many of the ones that don't just sound a bit bland. But I'd still like to try out at least some of them! And this relatively inoffensive spaghetti recipe seemed like a decent place to start.

Because this is a historical recipe that requires some degree of interpretation, I've included a transcript of the the original text below and then my rendition of the recipe below that.

SPAGHETTI AND HAMBURGER STEAK
1 pkg. of spaghetti, 1/2 lb. of Hamburger steak, 1/2 can of tomatoes, 1/2 onion chopped fine, 1/4 lb. of grated cheese, 1/2 Tbsp. of butter. Boil spaghetti till tender. Let Hamburger steak, tomatoes and onion simmer together for 30 minutes, then add cheese and butter and simmer 15 minutes longer. Make a nest of the spaghetti on platter and pour meat mixture into it. Mushrooms added at the same time as cheese improve flavour.--Mrs. K. R. Montizambert.

Spaghetti and Hamburger Steak

Adapted from The Cook Book; recipe by Mrs. K. R. Montizambert

Ingredients

• 450g extra-lean ground beef²
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 4 tsp. onion soup mix
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 100g mushrooms³, chopped (optional)
• 1 (800mL) can diced tomatoes
• 150mL tomato paste⁴
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 225g mild cheddar, grated
• ~400g spaghetti, spaghettini, or capellini
• chile flakes, to serve (optional)

Directions

1. Cook the beef over medium-low heat for 5-6 minutes.
2. Increase the heat to medium, add the onion, and cook for another 5 minutes or so.
3. Add the pepper, soup mix, garlic, and mushrooms (if using), and cook for 10 minutes more.
4. Add the tomatoes and tomato paste, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, uncovered, for 30-60 minutes.
5. Stir in the butter, then add the cheese and cook for another 15-20 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, cook the pasta.
7. Drain the pasta and transfer to a serving platter, making a nest into which to pour the sauce.
8. Pour the sauce into the pasta nest.
9. Top with chile flakes (if desired) and serve.

---

¹ Banana and celery salad, anyone? ^Back
2 Based on this recipe's presence in the "Luncheon Dishes" chapter of the cookbook, I suspect that this sauce is meant to be made with leftover hamburger steaks from dinner the night before. I didn't want to have to make hamburger steaks just to make this though, so I started with a pound of raw ground beef and just added a bit of garlic, black pepper, and onion soup mix to approximate hamburger steak. ^Back
3 I didn't end up using any mushrooms in mine, but I do think it would be tasty with some fungus in. I'd probably go for either cremini, oyster, or shiitake although white/button mushrooms would also be fine and probably more in line with what the recipe author was expecting when she suggested "mushrooms". ^Back
4 According to the original recipe, this was just meant to be done with a tin of tomatoes, hamburger steak, and an onion. No tomato paste. But I wanted to add a little more richness and body to the sauce, so I decided to toss in a tin of tomato paste that I had sitting in the pantry. I like the effect that this had on the sauce, but feel free to try it without the tomato paste if you'd like to stay truer to the original recipe or just prefer a somewhat thinner, lighter sauce. ^Back

TF recently did a write-up for a different Cook's Country hamburger steak recipe that we tried a while back. After doing that one though, she commented that she'd be on board with doing hamburger steaks more often, so I figured I might as well give this recipe a try.

As with yesterday's salad recipe, I tried to make a few tweaks to this one to reduce the "Points" cost. Unlike with yesterday's salad recipe, those tweaks paid off in a big way this time. They made the difference between 8 Points per serving and 18! So, in this case, even though the final result isn't quite as rich and unctious as it would've been with more butter and fattier beef, I'd say the modifications were definitely worthwhile.

Hamburger Steak with Onion Gravy

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country April/May 2019

Ingredients

• 900g extra-lean (95%) ground beef
• 5/8 c. panko breadcrumbs
• 1 packet onion soup mix
• 3/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 4 tsp. unsalted butter, divided
• 2 onions, halved and sliced
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 2 c. beef or vegetable broth
• 2 Tbsp. minced fresh chives

Directions

1. Combine beef, breadcrumbs, soup mix, and pepper and mix well.
2. Divide into 6 equal portions and shape each portion into a flat patty.
3. Melt 1 tsp. of butter over medium heat.
4. Add as many patties as will fit in the pan and cook, covered, for ~5 minutes.
5. Flip and cook, covered, for another 5 minutes.
6. Remove from pan and tent with foil.
7. Cook any remaining patties the same way and add to foil tent when done.
8. Add onions to pan. If pan seems very dry, add a little of the broth as well.
9. Cook, covered, for 5 minutes.
10. If pan seems dry, add a little (more) broth. (You don't want it to be wet, just slightly moist.)
11. Add flour and cook for a minute or two.
12. Whisk in broth and bring to a boil.
13. Cook, uncovered, for 4-5 minutes.
14. Remove from heat and stir in remaining 1 Tbsp. of butter.
15. Top patties with sauce, sprinkle with chives, and serve.

Hamburger steaks! They aren't a prestige food, but they are cheap, easy to make, and delicious. A lot of the time I'd rather have a good hamburger steak than a steak steak.

The recipe as written calls for 1.5lbs of hamburger meat. Since we have frozen 1lb bags, I used two bags and scaled some of the other ingredients up slightly.

French Onion Hamburger Steaks with Potatoes and Gravy

From Cook's Country August/September 2018 (recipe card)

Ingredients

• 675g (1½ lbs) potatoes, halved lengthwise
• 1 tbsp butter, melted, + 3 tbsp butter, solid
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper, freshly ground
• 900g lean ground beef
• 160mL (⅔ C) panko
• 1 packet onion soup mix
• 225g cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp flour
• 240mL beef, chicken, or vegetable broth
• 2 tbsp chives, minced

Directions

1. Toss potatoes with melted butter, salt, and pepper.
2. Arrange cut face down on a baking sheet and bake at 450°F until tender and browned, ~30 minutes.
3. Combine beef, panko, and soup mix a large bowl. Form into six wide, flat patties.
4. Melt ½ tbsp butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
5. Cook three of the patties until well browned and cooked through (160°F). Remove and buffer.
6. Melt another ½ tbsp of butter and repeat with the other three patties.
7. Add mushrooms and cook until they release their liquid and begin to brown, 5-7 minutes.
8. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute.
9. Stir in broth, bring to a boil, and cook until thickened, 2-4 minutes.
10. Remove from heat and stir in remaining butter. Pour over beef and sprinkle with chives.

Un-Meatloaf

I made this to spec this time. It's alright, but has a bit too much salt and too little flavour for my taste. So the recipe here will reflect some tweaks to try to improve that aspect next time.

Un-Meatloaf
Adapted from Food Network
3 Japanese eggplants
1/2 c. walnuts
1 lb. firm tofu
227g cremini mushrooms
2 Tbsp. garlic paste
1 c. ground flax
1 c. quick oats
1/2 c. fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 Tbsp. fresh sage
1 Tbsp. fresh thyme
1 egg
1 egg white
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. chile flakes
1 packet onion soup mix
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. dark soy sauce
1 tsp. dried rosemary

1. Roast the eggplants under the broiler until the skin is black and blistered.
2. Wrap the eggplants in foil and let rest for 20 minutes.
3. Once the eggplants have rested, unwrap and remove the skin.
If you have a food processor:
4. Add peeled roasted eggplants to the food processor along with the tofu and mushrooms and process until minced.
If you do not have a food processor:
4. Mash the eggplant and finely chop the tofu and mushrooms and combine with mashed eggplant.
5. Grind the walnuts and add to the eggplant mixture.
6. Stir in all the remaining ingredients.
7. Press mixture into a greased loaf pan (or lasagna pan).
8. Bake at 400F for 1 hour (or 30 minutes if using a lasagna pan).

Mushroom Sauce
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
227g cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1/4 tsp. black pepper
salt to taste
1/4 c. flour
2 Tbsp. dry white wine
1 c. vegetable broth
2 sprigs fresh thyme + 1 tsp. leaves
1/4 c. milk

1. Melt the butter over medium-high heat.

2. Add mushrooms and green onions and cook until softened.

3. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Sprinkle with flour and cook for an additional minute.

5. Add wine and broth and cook until sauce thickens.

6. Reduce heat to low and add thyme and milk.

7. Simmer for 5 minutes.

8. Serve with un-meatloaf.

Cheese Tortellini with Beef and Cream Sauce

This particular dinner didn't come so much from a recipe as a quick description of a friend's dinner. It sounded easy and tasty though, so I figured I'd give it a try.

Cheese Tortellini with Beef and Cream Sauce
1 lb. ground beef
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 can condensed golden mushroom soup
2 cans of milk
2 packets onion soup mix
sliced cremini mushrooms (I think I had about half a pound)
black pepper, to taste
1 1/2 lbs. cheese tortellini
grated Parmesan, to serve

This came out quite tasty, but not perfect. I'd like to try to tweak it a little bit to see if I can really get that flavour I'm looking for. I have a few ideas that I'd like to try out next time to improve it a little bit.

Improved Cheese Tortellini
1 lb. ground beef
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 can milk
1 can white wine
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 packets onion soup mix
1/2 lb. cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 c. frozen peas
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 Tbsp. dried parsley
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 lbs. tortellini (cheese or cheese & asparagus)
grated Parmesan, to serve

1. Brown the ground beef in a frying pan. Add to crock.
2. Heat the olive oil in the pan and add the onion. Sauté until it just begins to brown. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two. Add to crock.
3. Reconstitute the soup with one can of milk and one can of white wine and add it to the crock.
4. Add remaining ingredients (except for Parmesan), stir to combine, and turn on high for 1 hour.
5. Top with grated Parmesan and serve.

For my initial run-through I didn't precook the beef. This worked fine, but I think the flavour would've been better if I'd browned it a little first. I think some sautéed onions would've gone a long way as well. And garlic.

I generally find Worcestershire sauce to be a pretty solid choice to go with beef. Hopefully it'll be a nice addition to this sauce. A full tablespoon might be a bit on the heavy side, but the husband and I are both big fans of the stuff, so I'm not too worried about overdoing it.

I don't think the frozen peas are really necessary, but it makes me feel like the dish is slightly more balanced so, if they don't detract from it, I'd like to try including them next time. I think the thyme and parsley will go well with the white wine and the creaminess of the sauce. I debated about the bay leaf, but I think I'll toss one in next time and see how it comes out.

The cheese tortellini worked nicely in this dish, but I feel like an asparagus-stuff pasta would also complement the sauce well, so I may give that a try if they have anything appropriate on sale the next time I feel like making this. Using a pasta that at least nominally contains additional vegetables would also make me feel slightly more virtuous when making this as a one-pot meal as well.