Slow cooker shredded beef for tacos

Last week I prepared shredded beef for tacos in a slow cooker at my sister's home. Since Debbie and I were going to be out all day, the slow cooker simplified the process of cooking dinner. This was the first time that I had used one in over 20 years. Although we had received a slow cooker as a wedding gift, it disappeared many years ago.

As often is the case when I'm cooking, I didn't follow a recipe. The process is simple. I began by heating a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. After seasoning a piece of 'London broil' (top round, between two and three pounds) with salt and pepper, I seared the meat until it was browned. The steak was then cut into thirds and layered in the ceramic crock with one sliced onion, minced garlic, chopped cilantro and taco seasoning. I used homemade seasoning in my sister's cupboard. I then added one-half cup of chicken broth to the mixture.

The lid was placed on the slow cooker and turned to the low heat setting. The meat slowly cooked for eight hours while we were out of the house. After we returned to the house, I shredded the meat with two forks and garnished it with diced red onions and chopped cilantro. The shredded beef was served on corn tortillas with refried beans, salsa, grated cheese and hot pepper sauce.

Maybe it's time to invest in a new slow cooker, like one of the pressure cooker combinations!

Slow cooker shredded beef for tacos.

Barbecued beef shepherd's pie in 14-inch Dutch oven

Crossing Mother Lode Drive at
Mile Post 136.8.

Last Friday, the El Dorado Western Railroad maintenance-of-way crew crossed Mother Lode Drive in Shingle Springs, California, to clear culverts and cut brush along a one-mile section of of the former Southern Pacific rail line. The crew also begin repair of a major washout. The goal is to prevent further washouts on the right-of-way and adjacent trail by ensuring proper drainage.

Since I haven't cooked for the railroad in nearly two years, the crew boss and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to treat the hard-working crew to a Dutch oven lunch. With plenty of room to safely fire charcoal briquettes, I set up my kitchen on the tracks. The first charcoal chimney was fired around 9:30 a.m. The crew enjoyed lunch three hours later.

I wanted to change the lunch entree for this cook date. Over the past 10 years, I have often prepared some form of chili con carne for the railroad crew. For over a week I had been working on a Dutch oven version of shepherd's pie. Instead of a traditional shepherd's pie with lamb, shredded beef chuck road, braised in beer and barbecue sauce formed the protein base. Since the biscuits, cobbler and coffee are crew favorites, I left them on the menu. The menu consisted of:

• Barbecued beef shepherd's pie in 14-inch camp oven
• Cream coleslaw
• Buttermilk biscuits in a 14-inch camp oven
• Mixed berry cobbler in a 12-inch camp oven
• Railroad coffee

We let the rail cars pass first as they were going to be working the area behind the camera. I set up my firepan and chuckbox between the rails to keep a safe distance from the brush.We don't cook with charcoal on the right-of-way in the summer months due to the fire danger.

The first thing I did was to bake buttermilk biscuits. To ease preparation on site, I weighed the dry ingredients and cut in the shortening at home on Thursday. The biscuit mix was stored in the refrigerator to keep the shortening cold. I added the buttermilk and cut large biscuits (3-1/2-inch diameter) once on the railroad.

With the biscuits on heat, I turned to the coleslaw, berry cobbler and shepherd's pie, in order. To prepare the meat for the shepherd's pie, I braised a 3-1/2-pound chuck roast in beer and barbecue sauce on Thursday. After cutting the roast into large pieces, I seared them in bacon fat in a cast iron skillet. The braising liquid consisted of 1-1/2 cups IPA beer, 1-1/2 cups barbecue sauce, 1/4 cup chopped parsley, 2 bay leaves and 1 teaspoon dried thyme. The braising liquid was poured over the meat in the skillet. After covering with aluminum foil, it was placed in a 300-degree oven for about 5 hours. Once the meat tender enough to pull, I placed it in a zipper lock bag and in the refrigerator. The braising liquid was strained and placed in the refrigerator as well.

As the biscuits were baking in a 14-inch camp oven, I cooked 5 pounds red potatoes in the stockpot. Once mashed, the potatoes would be used as the topping for the shepherd's pie.

To prepare the shepherd's pie, I shredded the chuck roast by hand and placed it in the 14-inch camp oven (see picture above with the peas). I then skimmed the fat off of the braising liquid and poured it over the pulled meat, along with 8 ounces frozen peas. Next a thick layer of mashed potatoes was spooned oven the meat and peas. I baked the pie with coals for around 375 degrees until crisp potato peaks had formed and the sauce was buddling, about 45 minutes. I used 1-1/2 rings of charcoal on the lid and 8 coals under the pot.

The finished meal. Lunch was served to 8 crew members around 12:30. I was able to send cobbler, biscuits and shepherd's pie home with several crew members. We could've easily fed 12 to 15 with the 3 pots.

Dutch oven meatloaf

Though meatloaf reaches back to Roman times, the invention of the hand-cranked meat grinder hastened its acceptance as classic comfort food. Topped a tangy ketchup glaze, meatloaf is the perfect centerpiece for the traditional American meal. For many, it brings back memories of one or two fat slices, served with a heap of mashed potatoes.

I prefer a traditional loaf, one made with sauteed aromatics, finely ground bread crumbs, ketchup or milk, eggs and two or three ground meats. Baking the meatloaf in a camp-style Dutch oven lets you enjoy a good meal in camp. If desired, you can mix the meat in the home kitchen, shape it into a round loaf and place in the ice chest for the trip to the campground.

Enjoy ...

Mold the meat mixture into a seven- to eight-inch round inside the 12-inch camp-style Dutch oven. If desired, shape it into a traditional rectangular loaf.

Many meatloaf recipes instruct you to brush the glaze on in the last 20 to 30 minutes of baking to avoid burning. I find that the moist environment in the Dutch renders this step unnecessary. Brush the glaze on the uncooked meatloaf.

Asparagus sauteed in butter and garlic and mashed Klondike Rose potatoes were served alongside Dutch oven meatloaf.

DUTCH OVEN MEATLOAF

Most recipes (including this one) instruct you to avoid over-mixing the meatloaf. While giving the loaf a thorough mix is essential, mixing it longer than needed will yield a tough loaf. Mix the loaf just to the point where each ingredient is developed into a smooth texture. This will help the load hold together.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup carrot, finely grated
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup ketchup
2 large eggs, lightly whipped
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Pinch cayenne pepper (optional)

Glaze:
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Pinch nutmeg

Pre-heat a 12-inch camp-style Dutch oven over a bed of charcoal briquettes or camp burner. Pour in olive oil. Add onion, carrot and garlic. Saute until onions are translucent. Do not brown vegetables. Place vegetables in a medium bowl and cool slightly. Wipe Dutch oven with paper towel.

Add beef, pork, bread crumbs, ketchup, eggs, salt, pepper and cayenne to bowl with vegetables. Mix with your hands, until thoroughly blended. Do not over mix. Mold meat mixture into a round, about 7 to 8 inches in diameter. Place into a 12-inch camp-style Dutch oven.

Combine glaze ingredients in a small bowl. Brush glaze over meat loaf. Place lid on oven. Bake with coals for 350 degrees (approximately 8 charcoal briquettes under oven and 16 to 20 on lid) about 60 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Rest 10 minutes before slicing.

Bacon roses for your sweetheart

I thought this video appropriate with Valentine's Day around the corner. Like edible arrangements made from seasonal fruits and chocolate, nothing says "I love you" like bacon! My only advise: please share.


Video description: "Last minute gift for your Valentine? Give them a bouquet of bacon!"

Meatloaf flop

I won't be posting the recipe to cheeseburger meatloaf anytime soon. After testing the recipe last night, I wasn't pleased with the results. Though the recipe appeared to be straight forward, it needs re-working before I can give it the 'Round the Chuckbox stamp of approval.

I must confess that the failure of the recipe isn't entirely the fault of the source. It was located on the ChefRef cell phone application by Sysco. A major contributing factor was my selection of the wrong measuring cup, something that I rarely do.

The recipe called for a mixture of bread crumbs, chopped pickles, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, egg and mustard. Once mixed, it was worked into ground beef and shredded cheddar cheese. Since the initial ingredients were portioned in quarter and half-cup increments, I had intended to select the quarter-cup measure.

There's one problem. Our quarter-cup measure has been missing for some time. (It's likely buried in the rice or flour container.) Instead, I absentmindedly selected the third-cup measure. While I enjoyed the basic flavor, I couldn't move beyond the pasty texture. And I couldn't slice it for the plate without it falling apart.

I do intend on presenting a Dutch oven meatloaf recipe on these pages in the coming week or two. I will place the recipe for cheeseburger meatloaf on the back burner for now and work on a basic comfort recipe.

Pork tenderloin and apples with cider glaze

Apple cider glaze is amazingly good with pork roast, pork chops and chicken breast. Most recipes direct you to begin with fresh apple cider, then reduce it in a heavy skillet under high heat. A sweetener, such as maple syrup or honey, blends well with the succulent flesh of the meat. Vinegar or wine, mustard and herbs balance the flavor.

Last year I started reducing fresh unfiltered apple cider until it had a syrupy consistency. I've added it to homemade hotcake syrup, roasted Brussels sprouts, apple mahogany sauce and apple glaze. I typically purchase the cider in half-gallon bottles and reduce it over high heat to one-quarter its beginning volume (see recipe below). Apple cider is at its peak in the fall.

PORK TENDERLOIN AND APPLES WITH CIDER GLAZE

The recipe for apple mahogany sauce lists several ideas for a sauce such as this one. You can substitute pork chops or chicken breasts for the tenderloin. Saute the meat in a cast iron skillet or grill over hot coals as desired. Brush sauce on the meat during the couple minutes of cooking.

2-1/2 pounds pork tenderloin
Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1-1/2 cups apple cider reduction (click for recipe)
2 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced, 3/4-inch thick
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Rinse pork and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper. Coat all sides with thyme and rosemary. Melt butter in a 12-inch Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add pork and cook until browned on all sides.

Place lid on oven and arrange 10 charcoal briquettes under and 19 on lid (heat for 400 degrees F.). Cook 20 to 25 minutes until pork reaches 145 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Note size and shape will influence cooking time. Place pork on a platter and rest 10 minutes. Pour off any moisture (and reserve for future application, if desired).

Combine cider reduction, vinegar and mustard. Add apples and cider mixture to Dutch oven. Cook over medium heat until apples are al dente and sauce has thickened to glaze consistency. If needed, thin glaze with a small amount (1 tablespoon or less) to apple cider or reserved moisture. Meanwhile, slice pork 1/2-inch thick. Spoon sauce over pork and place apples on either side. If desired, sliced pork can be served from Dutch oven (as pictured).

Makes 6 to 8 servings. Serve with roasted Brussels sprouts and rice pilaf.

Roast eye of round at camp

I menu roast beef at Oakland Feather River Camp every week or two. I have been using the eye of round (IMPS/NAMP 171C) for five years now. It can usually be purchased at a reasonable price, slightly above $3 per pound when purchased in a 54-pound case. Each case holds six to eight individual roasts.

You can also purchase the eye of round at the local cash and carry restaurant supply house. I purchased it at Cash and Carry on Richards Boulevard, Sacramento, California, when I worked in midtown Sacramento. The store currently sells the roast for $3.22 per pound for a five-pound average roast.

I like the roast because it cooks quickly and gives a reasonably tender serving to the camper. The cylindrical shape of the roast yields a consistently round serving when sliced on the meat slicer. I don't use a recipe for the roast, but will describe my process:

1. Trim fat and silver skin on the roast. I generally leave a quarter-inch of fat on each roast.
2. Rub each roast with a light coat of canola oil. Then rub kosher salt, coarse ground and granulated garlic.Place in roasting pan.
3. Brown roasts in pre-heated 450-degree convection oven until browned, 20 to 25 minutes.
4. Pull pan from oven and reduce oven setting to 200 degrees. Turn roasts over. Add a bit of water or stock to pan if the drippings have dried.
5. Cover pan and return to the oven. Roast until roasts reach desired temperature. At camp I pull them when the internal temperature reaches 145 to 150 degrees. This gives you a nice, evenly colored roast.
6. Rest meat 10 to 15 minutes. Slice on meat slicer to desired thickness. I prefer it on the thinner side. This lets campers take as many slices as they desire without impacting portion control. Each six to seven-pound roast yields 20 to 25 (4-ounce) servings at Oakland Camp.
7. Prepare gravy or au jus as desired from the drippings.

I find that it's best to slice the roast using a meat slicer. The slicer gives you consistently sized pieces. It also helps maximize the slices from each roast. 

Seabee grill cooks

My Seabee battalion (NMCB-17) spent time at Camp Shelby in 1986 on a similar field exercise. I returned in 1992 for Seabee Crew Served Weapons School, where I was the platoon chief petty officer (equivalent to a Marine platoon sergeant) for platoon of M-60 machine gun students.

CAMP SHELBY, Miss. (June 15, 2007) - Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Rick Watson, of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 23, helps Culinary Specialist Seaman Joshua Abshire and Culinary Specialist 3rd Class Frederick Kline as they prepare pork chops to feed about 1,000 Seabees. NMCB-23 is conducting Operation Desert Heat, a graded field exercise to sharpen the battalion's combat and contingency construction capabilities.

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ja'lon A. Rhinehart (RELEASED).

Barbecue sliced beef meal

Sometimes the simplest meals are the best. Last night for the closing dinner of the 2014 volunteer work camp at Oakland Feather River Camp, barbecued beef, garlic mashed potatoes and roasted summer squash and zucchini were on the menu. Brownies with caramel drizzle followed for dessert. Polish sausage was placed on the buffet line to relieve pressure on the beef since I wasn't sure if I had enough for the meal. Around 75 volunteers and 15 staff enjoyed the meal.

To prepare the barbecue sauce, I began with Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce and seasoned it with guajillo chili paste, minced garlic, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and lemon juice. The resulting sauce had a mildly spicy taste with a lemony tang. The sauce was ladled over sliced pot roast (made from eye of round) and sliced red onions. It baked in a 300 degree convection oven, uncovered, for around 60 minutes.

Dutch oven cookout at camp

When I arrive at camp last year my focus was to get the kitchen ready for staff and campers. I had little time to enjoy a Dutch oven cookout with the cooks. My first week went to writing a new menu, working on vendor relationships and cleaning the kitchen that's dormant eight months of the year. Once the cooks arrived, the focus shifted to training them to cook my recipes and molding them into a cohesive team.

Opening the kitchen this year has been much smoother for me. Outside of revising the menu and training a new crew, the 2014 start up has been a bit less busy. I didn't have to reinvent every process or procedure. I'm spending my time improving on what we did last year and training new cooks (only one 2013 cook returned).

I've added a new feature to our pre-camp evening program. Once each week the cooks enjoy a dinner cookout. We held our first one last night on the barbecue patio that's adjacent to the kitchen. Using the New Braunfels charcoal charcoal grill, I grilled marinated steaks, then set them in a 12-inch camp oven to braise. Nine staff (kitchen, maintenance, housekeeping and leadership) joined in for a fun meal on the patio.

After trimming an eye of round, I cut it into around 20 steaks. I flattened each steak with a heavy bacon press.  

The steaks marinated in a (mildly) spicy guajillo chili sauce. To my guajillo adobo sauce, I added a bit of vinegar, juice of 2 limes, couple tablespoons chopped cilantro and a splash of olive oil. The steaks marinated in the refrigerator for around 4 hours.

The steaks were grilled over a hot charcoal fire in the camp barbecue grill. I set the 20 steaks on a bed of thick onion rings. The onion rings acted as a trivet and flavored meat and resulting sauce.

Since I didn't want to burn the charcoal briquettes on the concrete deck, an inverted 17-inch Lodge skillet served as the Dutch oven table. Five coals under the oven and around 20 on the lid were used to tenderize the steaks (at approximately 350 degrees). It takes 1-1/2 to 2 hours to cook the steaks to the point when they're fork tender. Be ready for a change of coals after 45 minutes. I poured the marinade over the steaks at the halfway point.

The menu for dinner was grilled steaks with spicy guajillo sauce, rice pilaf and succotash with spinach.

Meals during pre-camp

During the first week of the season at Oakland Feather River Camp, staff are on their own for meals. The half-dozen employees that commute from nearby Quincy bring lunch. Debbie and I fend for ourselves. Other than the camp manager, who lives on the property with his wife, we're the only ones living at camp.

The dietary kitchen -- so-called because campers prepare special diets in it -- serves as our home kitchen for the first week. Late next week the cooks begin cooking breakfast and dinner for the dozen pre-camp employees. The sous chef and pre-cooks arrive on Thursday to clean the kitchen and begin preparing meals on Friday.

Sometimes breakfast for dinner is the best meal. Friday evening I cooked bacon (not pictured), cottage potatoes and fried eggs in the Lodge #12 skillet. Sorry, there were no leftovers!

I brought two 12-inch Dutch ovens for use during pre-camp and a couple cook's evening cookouts. Three large Lodge skillets (including the 20-inch skillet I found in Eagle Point, Oregon, in April) were also packed for use in the main kitchen. Pre-camp gives me the opportunity to do a lot of Dutch oven cooking. Once camp opens in mid-June, I'm too busy to cook in Dutch ovens.

Thursday evening, our first full day at camp, Debbie and I visited Moon's, our favorite restaurant in Quincy. Mike and Lisa Kelly are wonderful hosts, and they serve great food. Hickory smoked ribs with rosemary-garlic mashed potatoes and freshly baked garlic bread is my most ordered meal. Debbie enjoys the twice-baked potato. She always returns to camp with leftovers to use for lunch or dinner.

Saturday's dinner was bratwurst with layered cabbage and red potatoes in a Lodge 12-inch camp oven. A layer of sliced red potatoes went on the bottom. Sliced onions came next, then shredded green cabbage. The dish was baked with charcoal briquettes for 350 to 400 degrees for around 45 minutes. Don't forget to season each layer. Adjust quantities of sausages, potatoes and cabbage as needed to feed your group.

Friday and Saturday evenings we cooked dinner in cast iron. You can see the results in the two photographs. I'm planning a busman's holiday cookout for cooks this Friday. After two busy days cleaning and organizing the kitchen, it'll give the cooks time to bond as the culinary team at Oakland Camp. And off their skill. Everyone, along with maintenance and housekeeping staff if they choose to join in, will have fun.

Hamburger Stroganoff

Just about every hamburger stroganoff recipe on the Internet contains the same ingredients: ground beef, chopped onion, sliced white button mushrooms (canned or fresh), all-purpose flour and a can or two of condensed cream of mushroom (or chicken) soup.

Some recipes add garlic. Most recipes are seasoned with salt, ground black pepper and sweet ground paprika. And I've seen a few that suggest a tablespoon or two of tomato paste or catsup.

This is the recipe that I grew up on. I didn't know there was any other kind until my first visit Hong Kong on the USS Cocopa in the 1972. A group of us visited a European restaurant on the Kawloon side of Victoria Harbor. Stroganoff was the perfect comfort food for this sailor away from home for the first time. Instead, the waiter surprised me with traditional stroganoff. The sauteed strips of tender beef in a light sour cream based sauce were amazing.

Hamburger stroganoff may not resemble the dish that carries Count Pavel Stroganoff's name. But it's pure comfort food. The rich mushroom flavor and creamy tanginess of the sour cream warms the belly and reminds me of home.

HAMBURGER STROGANOFF

You can use most any condensed cream soup in the pantry. My mother always used cream of celery. I like the mushroom soup because it adds a nice mushroom base to the dish. Substituted sliced crimini mushrooms for the white buttons if desired.

1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup sliced white button mushrooms
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
Ground black pepper, to taste
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
3/4 cup lowfat milk
1 cup (8 ounces) lowfat sour cream

Place ground beef in a 10-inch heavy skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until meat is browned. Add onion and mushrooms and cook until just tender. Drain off any excess fat in the skillet. Blend flour, salt, paprika and black pepper into beef. Immediately stir in condensed soup and milk into mixture.

Cook over low heat, uncovered, for about 15 to 20 minutes. Thin the stroganoff with extra milk if it's too thick. Stir in sour cream and heat through. Serve hamburger stroganoff over mashed potatoes, steamed rice or egg noodles.

The recipe yields about 4-1/2 cups. Serves 6 (3/4-cup) portions.

Pulled pork party

We were running a bit late the other day with barbecued pulled pork. I had placed two pork butts, rubbed with the appropriate spices, in the bottom convection oven at 7 a.m. By 11 a.m., the pork should've emerged ready to shred. Sometime around 9 a.m., I discovered that the oven had cut off. The pork lost an hour or more of precious roasting time. Giving the two roasts and additional hour, my sous chef (in the Phillies ballcap) pulled the pork at noon. After cooling it for 15 minutes, he called a couple dishwashers over. They quickly shredded the meat and tossed in barbecue sauce for our 12:30 p.m. mealtime.



Steamship round

The General Mess served steamship round of beef at NAS Kingsville, Texas, weekly during my tour from 1976 to 1978. In 1976, the roast was served on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day alongside roast tom turkey and baked Virginia ham. The roast was one of the signature dishes of the galley at the air station.

The cooks on the night watch placed the rounds in the large rotating oven early in the morning. According to U.S. Armed Forces Recipe Card No. L-4-1, a 60 to 75-pound steamship round took eight or more hours to roast at 300 degrees. When I worked the night watch, we set the oven temperature between 225 to 250 degrees. While the cooler oven temperature added two or three hours to roasting time, the crew was rewarded with a succulent slice of roast beef at meal time.

U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (Jan. 1, 2013) -- Culinary Specialist Seaman Teresa Arnold, from Hamilton, Texas, serves steamship round in the aft galley aboard the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74). John C. Stennis is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility conducting maritime security operations, theater security cooperation efforts and support missions for Operation Enduring Freedom.

U.S. Navy photo by Seaman Daniel P. Schumache.



Scalloped potatoes with ham and onions

Debbie and I enjoyed a quite Christmas Day at home. Everything about the day was simple. Rainy weather dictated the day's activities would be conducted indoors. We slept in, read and watched holiday movies. A simple holiday meal capped the day.

Scalloped potatoes with ham and onions sounds more like a meal for leftover Christmas ham. Yet when we purchased a small smoked ham Sunday afternoon, I figured that it would make a nice meal when coupled with Sierra Gold potatoes. We also bought several heads of fresh broccoli and a pound of Brussels sprouts as well.

Heavy rain saturated our uncovered patio when I began cooking just after two o'clock in the afternoon. Since preparing the meal in a camp-style Dutch oven wasn't practical, the meal was cooked in a 10-1/2-inch skillet. Once the sauce was formed in the skillet, I stirred in the diced ham and potatoes and placed the skillet into a pre-heated oven.

Around 4 p.m., Debbie and I sat down to a meal of scalloped potatoes with ham and onions. Oven roasted broccoli with garlic and tossed romaine salad accompanied the meal. While the casserole became the centerpiece of our holiday meal, you can use it to use leftover Christmas ham. Enjoy and bon appitite!


Roasted broccoli with garlic and tossed green salad with fresh croutons from French bread accompanied the meal.

SCALLOPED POTATOES WITH HAM AND ONIONS

To prepare in a 12-inch camp-style Dutch oven, heat over a bed of coals or gas burner. Prepare recipe as directed. Bake in the Dutch oven with 9 coals under the oven and 18 on the lid.

I find that adding chicken stock to the sauce gives the potatoes a richer, more refined flavor, especially when you add one or two cheeses. While I used Parmesan cheese for the casserole, one or two ounces of Gruyere or Swiss cheese will certainly enhance its appeal.

4 tablespoons butter (2 ounces)

1 medium onion, sliced

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1-1/2 cups chicken stock

1-1/2 cups scaled milk

2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided (2 ounces)

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 pound smoked ham, diced

5 medium potatoes, diced (1 pound 4 ounces)

Melt butter in a 10-1/2-inch cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Sweat onions until soft and translucent. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk stock and milk into the onion-roux mixture, stirring constantly. Stir in 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

Stir in ham and potatoes. Place skillet in 375-degree oven and bake until potatoes are soft, 45 to 60 minutes. Remove from oven and spread remaining Parmesan cheese over potatoes. Continue baking until cheese has lightly browned. Serves 6 to 8.

Creamed ground beef

Each year I receive two or three requests for the old military recipe for creamed beef. Known as SOS or "stuff" on a shingle, most ask for the recipe from the time period of their service to this great nation. In view of a recent request for a recipe that's suitable for a "small family," I have posted such a recipe. It's based on one pound of ground beef, which should be sufficient for the average family.

Click for the recipe for 100 portions if you need to serve a crowd. It's based on the 1969 U.S. Armed Forces Recipe Service card No. L-30.

I "enjoyed when it was served in the (CPO) mess," wrote a retired Navy chief petty officer.

CREAMED GROUND BEEF

1 pound ground beef
5-1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1-1/2 teaspoons beef base
3-1/4 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Brown beef in its own fat in an saucepan or skillet. Drain excess fat. Add flour, pepper and beef base to beef. Mix thoroughly and cook until flour is absorbed.

Add milk and Worcestershire sauce to beef mixture. Heat to a simmer, stirring frequently. Cook until thickened. Adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce to taste. Serves 4 to 6.

Bakin' Bill's ham 'n cheese muffins

Bakin' Bill and Deeann Johnson offer this recipe for ham 'n cheese muffins. They originally presented it at a Dutch oven class in November 2004 at Macey's supermarket in Ogden, Utah, near their hometown of Layton. The Johnson's taught the monthly class for 14 years.

"Each month we did a different main dish, bread and dessert," explained Bill. "Each time we would do one or two of the recipes for the first time there in the class. It was to teach them to get out of their comfort zone and try new things."

BAKIN' BILL'S HAM 'N CHEESE MUFFINS

These muffins can be baked in cast iron muffin tins or as balls on the lid of the Dutch oven.

1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon butter
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
1-1/2 cups reduced-fat biscuit/baking mix
1/2 cup fat-free milk
1 egg, beaten
1 cup finely chopped fully cooked ham

In a seasoned cast iron skillet, sauté onion in butter until tender; set aside. In a bowl, combine cheese and biscuit mix. Stir in milk and egg just until moistened. Fold in ham and onion mixture.

Coat muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray or use paper liners. Fill three-fourths full. Bake at 425 degree for 13 to 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm. Yield: 1 dozen.

Chef Tyrone's pulled pork technique

Chef Tyrone of the Tyronbcookin: Seasoned and highly flavored blog has been running a series on menu items from his job. Last week he featured red beans and rice along with his thoughts on two fundraiser menus (pancake breakfast and Thanksgiving dinner. Interesting food related tidbits fill the spaces in between food articles.

Today Tyrone posted the first of a promised series of short how-to videos. "I am trying out a few introductory videos from the work kitchen and maybe even my home kitchen," said Tyrone on his blog. "(Each video) will be short and to the point. If you would like more details of the video in each post, please be sure to comment!"


YouTube video description: "Cooking Boston Butt in convection oven for pulled pork sandwiches."

Fresh country sausage

Here's the recipe for fresh country sausage. It's based on Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn's recipe for Fresh Master Sausage in Charcutery: The Craft of Salting, Smoking and Curing by (Norton & Company: New York, 2005) (found on (page 117).

I worked out a flavor profile that appealed to me. Cumin and coriander are among my favorite spices, along with chile peppers, cilantro, garlic and thyme. These herbs and spices, along with the wine, give the sausage a pleasant taste. The wine (I used pinot noir) adds flavor and brings all the ingredients together.

FRESH COUNTRY SAUSAGE

"It's very important to keep your meat as cold as possible during the sausage making process," cautions Ruhlman and Polcyn. "Sausage that gets too warm can 'break,' meaning the fat and the protein will separate from each other when cooked." Instead of enjoying a firm, juicy sausage, where the fat evenly coats each bit of meat, you'll be eating something that's dry and crumbly.

Keep the pork and chicken in the refrigerator while you prepare the other ingredients. Also place the wine in the cooler. Cold ingredients reduce the chance that your sausage will break. And, "always grind the meat and the fat into a bowl set in ice."

3-1/2 pounds pork shoulder butt, diced
1-1/2 pounds chicken or turkey thigh meat, diced
1-1/2 ounces kosher salt (about 3 tablespoons)
2 jalapeno chiles, minced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup good red wine, chilled

Mix pork, chicken, salt, chiles, cilantro, thyme, garlic, cumin, coriander and pepper together in large bowl until evenly mixed. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to blend flavors.

Grind mixture through small die (1/8-inch) into a bowl set in ice. Transfer mixture to mixer bowl (5-quart or larger). Mix on low speed for 1 minute. Add wine while mixing on low speed; Increase speed to medium and mix 1 minute more, or until liquid is incorporated and meats looks sticky.

Sausage making venture

Yesterday I set out to prepare a five-pound batch of country sausage. My sausage making venture promised to be the ideal project for a lazy Saturday afternoon at home. My goal was to stock the freezer with several packages of bulk sausage and then publish the recipe on the blog.

Armed with a mug of coffee and Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn's Charcuterie, I penciled a draft recipe for the sausage. A mixture of pork shoulder and chicken or turkey thigh meat appealed to me. I figured the right combination of cumin, coriander, cilantro and jalapeno chile pepper with a nice red wine would give the meat a pleasant taste. Confident that my recipe would meet the flavor test, I drove off to the meat market.

My plan was simple: Buy a large pork shoulder from my local meat purveyor and have him grind it through an 1/8-inch die; return home to place the meat in the refrigerator; and then finish shopping at the supermarket. I contemplated wrapping up the project by 3 or 4 p.m. As you'll soon see, my plan didn't survive the first stop on the itinerary.

The butcher's meat grinder was a key element in my plan. Even though I purchased a Kitchenaid stand mixer with a five-quart bowl some 15 years ago, I never saw a need for the grinder attachment. Until yesterday, my vintage Climax No. 50 meat grinder efficiently ground cooked meat and vegetables, mostly for hash. I wasn't confident of it ability to grind raw meat.

For the butcher to grind pork, I learned that I must call ahead to order. The lady at the counter said that he only grinds pork and other meat in the morning. Since that wouldn't help me (and the fact that the shop is only open four day per week), I decided that I must try the hand cranked grinder. I purchased the pork, chicken and remaining ingredients at the supermarket and returned home. (On reflection, I should've asked the supermarket butcher to grind the meat.)

Once home, I quickly diced the pork and chicken meat. It went into the refrigerator while I prepared the spices (cumin, coriander, kosher salt and pepper) and aromatics (cilantro, garlic, jalapeno chile pepper and thyme). I pulled the meat out of the refrigerator, mixed in the spices and aromatics and then returned it to the chill box for a two-hour rest.

Next came the most challenging step in my sausage making process. I had to figure out how to run five pounds of seasoned pork and chicken through the narrow hopper and dull blade of the meat grinder. I gave up after 10 minutes. The grinder mashed the meat instead of cutting it, probably because the die has never been sharpened.

I knew that I had to change direction at that point. I returned the meat mixture to the refrigerator while recovered my largest knife from my knife roll. The heavy blade of the 10-inch chef knife helped me chop the meat, a task that I had to accomplish quickly in order to keep the meat cool.

The remaining steps went quickly (mixing in the Kitchenaid mixer and incorporating the wine into the sausage). Since Debbie and I ate dinner earlier, I elected taste the sausage -- and hunt for a Kitchenaid grinder attachment -- today. The sausage passed its taste test this morning at breakfast. It has a pleasingly fresh taste, perfect for a country breakfast sausage. The flavors blended for a bright, fresh example of charcuterie. And, even with two jalapenos in the mix, there's barely a hint of spiciness.

Oh, I couldn't locate a grinder in my home county this afternoon. If a search yield nothing tomorrow in Sacramento, I'll order one from Amazon.com. I should be able to post the recipe by next weekend. In the meantime, I'll freeze the sausage in one-pound chubs and grind it as needed.