The Secret Ingredient

Long have the days passed since I was a starving college student, eating mashed potato sandwiches (with half an avocado if I felt extravagant.) I’ve certainly had my fair share of delicious things not found on a menu, enough so that I can survive a full day’s worth of meals.

Breakfast

You’ve got a couple options here, but let’s start with the simple:

1)      Toast-Jam-Egg: This recipe is simple and exactly as it sounds. A delicious layover from childhood that still bites today.

1 piece of buttered toast
Layered thick with a favorite jam
Topped with a peppered over-medium egg

I strongly recommend seeded raspberry as my personal favorite jam. The medium yolk should break and soak into the toast without overly pooling onto the plate. The pepper from the egg and the sweetness of the jam make for a dazzling sweet/savory mix.

2)      Fried Mush: My aunt Crista used to make this one for my siblings and I and the memory of it has made its way into other writings. The joy this dish brought to us is beyond comparison.

1 bowl of malted meal; congealed overnight in the fridge, cut into slices.
Fry slices in lots (lots) of butter until crisp and brown
Coat in sugar and cinnamon

The results of this dish give you a smooth creamy inside, buttery crunchy outside, and a sugary smack reminiscent of cinnamon-sugar toast. Great for kids that need a strong boost of energy in the morning before they are sent back to their parents.

Lunch

For lunch let’s go south of the border and I’d like to talk about a Squid Torta that was made for me by a friend of a friend. We were travelling through southern California and stopped to visit and have lunch with the new acquaintance.

When I say squid torta: I do not mean seafood and I do not mean calamari; this bad boy was a thick cut, grilled to perfection, squid steak slapped between fresh baked torta bread with rocket, zesty guacamole spread, and mayonnaise.

Pair it with a glass of crisp lemonade and a sunny day with a light breeze on the beach and…

Hot holy damn. I would pay good money to find this on a restaurant menu. I have literally had dreams of eating this sandwich again.

Dinner

Dinner should come in courses, right? So let’s get started with the salad.

Salad: Grilled Romaine Hearts

To be fair, I have seen grilled salads on menus before, but they are chopped and mixed in with other ingredients. Hey, we don’t need the mumbo jumbo special effects. Skip the croutons, skip the dressing, skip the grated cheese. This thing should need a plate, not a bowl.

Thanksgiving Day with a friend, we walk in to hear, “Oh, good, you’re just in time. The salad just came off the grill!”

“The what came off the what you say,” I said.

A tray of full romaine heads, cut in half, grilled, and served with oil, salt, rosemary and fresh ground pepper, appeared before me. Simple and gods-damned delicious. I love me a thanksgiving feast and I never expected to go back for seconds and then thirds of just the salad.

Main course: Slop

Gruel, porridge, mush, whatever you want to call it. My grandpa would call this the “never-ending-stew” and tell stories about how leftovers were just added to the pot and stirred around for months or years.

Why wouldn’t this be on a menu? Because… it’s never going to be the same.

Currently my partner knows this is one of my favorite meals and its become one of my top comfort foods. I asked him for his “recipe” and here is his response:

“I do two cups of rice, cook rice per rice instructions, Brown a pound or so of burger, throw in two cans of cream of mushroom soup, then I mix up a little bit of chicken bouillon with about 2-4 cups of water to thin it out a little. Season with whatever seasoning you want.”

-Partner

Throw in some cooked carrots and this meal is top tier delicious.

Dessert: Mary’s Cherry Bars

You should always leave room for dessert.

My mother’s cherry bars might be my favorite thing she makes. They are soft and gooey and filled with cherry goodness. Primarily brought out around the holiday seasons these are good year-round for any event. (When I moved into my neighborhood I introduced myself to neighbors with this treat and it always comes with great success.)

Technically, I think you can find this recipe online, but I will firmly believe that my mother came up with it from scratch until my dying day. I even made sure to ask her before repeating this recipe here:

I’m not actually sure what they can be classified as; they are kind of a strudel, notes of a sugar cookie, a little cakey, and 100% pure delicious. It's also simple and easy to make:

Ingredients
1 & ¾ Cup Sugar
1 Cup Real Butter
4 Eggs
1 Tsp Vanilla
1 & ½ Tsp Baking Powder
3 Cups Flour
2 – 21oz Cans Cherry Pie Filling

Cream the sugar, butter, and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each egg. Add baking powder and flour, blend well.

Spread 2/3 of batter over a 15 x 10 inch cookie sheet (best done by hand, dip hands in flour.) Spread pie filling over batter.

Drop spoonfuls of remaining batter over the pie filling (like you are making cookies.)

Bake for 35-40 minutes at 350 degrees until browned on top. Cool completely and then drizzle glaze.

(I've messed around with using other fruit fillings, but to avoid a motherly scolding please stick with cherry.)

Glaze Ingredients
1 Cup Powdered Sugar
2 Tbl Milk
½ Tsp Almond Extract
Mix well.

 Oh, and the secret ingredient you've been promised? I use the same secret ingredient in just about everything: real Madagascar vanilla bean.

I was a lucky guy when I happened upon a discount jar of pre-shaved real Madagascar vanilla bean and it is the pride of my spice cabinet. A pinch of that stuff will heighten any dish to new levels of tongue-tingling tastiness.

Enjoy your meal prepping and thank you for reading!