I really love the title of this post (Dec 26, 2010) from Jenny of Nourished Kitchen, “Salisbury Steak for Grown-ups”. As she mentions in her post, certain dishes can provoke powerful memories for many of us. As a kid I loved Salisbury Steak, but it was usually in the form of a frozen TV dinner and not made with quality in mind. It’s a dish that I’ve never attempted making in my adult life, but with this recipe, that will change soon. While my youngest child has experienced Salisbury Steak in the school cafeteria (and yes, she loves it), I have a feeling that despite the title of Jenny’s post, she will love this. I might just have to add a side of apple sauce to it for her :)
I wonder what other recipes are out there that could be adapted to be made more “grown-up friendly”. Talk about wanting to bring out the inner child (sorry, if I’m starting to sound like a therapist) — food will definitely do that for me. Whenever I’m at any sort of gathering and someone starts talking about food, I am always one to jump right in and get involved in the conversation. This concept of adaptation of childhood favorites might just be the topic of a future discussion. Thanks Jenny.
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“This is not your lunch lady’s Salisbury steak recipe. No. Not by any means. In this Salisbury steak recipe, we pair grass-fed beef with earthy oyster and shiitake mushrooms, fresh thyme and mineral-rich homemade beef stock. It’s a luxurious dish – rich and robust.
For a woman who lives food, dreams food, revels in food like I do – there’s a handful of dishes that evoke powerful memories, memories so strong one can almost relive them in tasting the dish. Preserved lemons and home-cured olives bring me back to my summer in Morocco – whitewashing a children’s center, traveling the ridge of the Rif mountains in a teetering old van. Just a sniff of cherry-flavored Jolly Ranchers or black licorice-flavored jelly beans, and I’m sitting at the worn wooden table in my grandmother’s Long Island kitchen. And Salisbury steak takes me back to the grade school lunch room, to science fairs and playing Red Rover during dusty and hot recesses. And then, a second memory comes. I’m in college, poor like all college kids – spending money on books and booze, bagging groceries at the supermarket until midnight when I’d settle in for a microwave supper. Banquet made the cheapest and I could usually buy one for under $1.50. Oh how it makes me cringe now; though, in all fairness, it made me cringe then, too – and I eventually gave it up to vegetarianism (another bout). Let me tell you now, texturized vegetable protein and vegetable broth does not a Salisbury steak make. Of course, I learned quick to ditch the processed soy and resolved to eat a whole foods vegetarian diet – lentils and beans, grains and vegetables…”
