MINI-SERIES Twelve Recipes of Christmas: Recipe 3: Grammy's Hamburger Dinner
Next, place your pieces of cabbage into large pot and fill the pot with water until the water is about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way up the pieces of cabbage. Some people prefer to steam the cabbage by using a steam tray inside the pot, however this is how I remember my Grammy making our cabbage for dinner so this is how I make it for this meal. Note, if you are boiling the cabbage make sure you cover the pot with a lid and keep an eye on the cabbage as well. I would be lying if I didn't admit that I have successfully boiled all the water out of a pot of cabbage I was trying to boil (by accident of course) and trust me when I say the smell is not very pleasant. (I have also done that with Brussels sprouts, frozen corn, and peas before, so it is, at least for me, not completely difficult to do!)
You will continue to boil the cabbage until cooked through to "fork tender", meaning you can poke the cabbage with a fork and it will go into the cabbage with little to no resistance. Again, please note that tenderness level is also to preference so be sure to check the cabbage after about 7 minutes in case you like your cabbage with a little more crunch.
While the cabbage is cooking, you want to take your ground beef out of the package and put it into a mixing bowl. The purpose of the bowl is simply to help season the beef and also make it easier to work with while you are shaping your hamburger patties.
Next you want to add about 1 Tbs of butter into a skillet and let it melt over medium-high heat. This is a crucial step. I remember my Grammy using a cast iron skillet but if the temp of the skillet you are using is right, a regular skillet will still work just fine. Portion out your ground beef and shape into even patties (for 1 lb of ground beef you should be able to make about 4 small patties). Season one side of each of the patties with a "pinch" of salt and a "dash" of black pepper - about 1/2 tsp and about 1/4 - 1/2 tsp black pepper, to your preference. THAT'S IT! I know we have discussed time and time again in this blog about the importance of seasoning, but ladies and gents, this recipe is so pure and simple I promise you won't want anything more in the hamburger patty! Place the patty SEASONED SIDE DOWN into the hot skillet. Once in the skillet you can season the other side of the patty with the same amount of salt and pepper.
The key to these burger patties is to NOT OVER FLIP THE MEAT! You want the patties to get a nice sear and crust on them before you flip them and you will only flip them ONCE. If you flip too many times or too soon you won't get the nice crust that adds so much flavor to the finished product.You will be able to tell it is time to flip once you see the sides of the patties changing color and starting to cook through. Once the brown cook is 3/4 of the way up the side of the patties, carefully flip them over.
Once they have been flipped, continue to let them simmer over medium to medium high heat in the butter and their own juices until they are cooked through. You can tell they are cooked through when you gently push down and the juices run clear.
We warmed our creamed corn up in a glass dish in the microwave but you can also warm it up on the stove top in a small sauce pot. We did not alter the corn in anyway.
Finally, time to serve up dinner - the only thing missing was the mashed potatoes and homemade gravy but as this was lunch, we wanted a lighter meal. (I will try to include in the recipe below the method that she made her gravy, although I am warning you now there are no measurements because I don't have it calculated out!).
You must include a Kit-Kat for desert, as it was my Grammy's favorite candy. She always had Kit-Kat bars on hand and was willing to share with all who came over for a visit.
This "recipe" or meal is a classic and memorable because of its
simplicity and the special meaning and place it holds in my heart.
My maternal great grandmother was an incredible, tenacious, spitfire of an Irish woman and sadly she was called to heaven December of last year, just shortly after her 104th birthday. She suffered from Alzheimer's in her later years, but that didn't stop us from celebrating her birthday with her. The last several years we would go visit her at the nursing facility and have cake with her; she always donned a green sweater and always enjoyed the company and cake (especially the frosting). But as many of us who have loved ones who have traveled on to await us on the other side of this world, I have many fond memories with her. Especially around my elementary and middles school days, 15 some years ago. Practically every Friday my Grammy would pick me up from school and we would go to our local library where she would let me pick out several books for me to enjoy. I even remember when our library changed by adding in the "new" "self-checkout" kiosks and she would let me scan our library card, then swipe the barcode on the library books, checking the screen to make sure it registered in the system. I felt so important.
We then would go to Sam's Club back when they used to have samples of foods almost at every intersection / end of the aisle. (Not sure if they still did that before Covid-19 or not, but I remember the number of samples dwindling the older I got). She always made me feel like it was a fun game and we would go around do our shopping, and I felt like we got one up on them if I was able to sneak in a second serving of a sample, if I really liked it. I also remember there being stands, almost like the ones you see postcards in at tourist attractions, but rather than postcards they had free recipe cards for people to take home. I always grabbed a bunch, even though I knew I definitely wasn't going to be cooking the complex meal on the card at the age of 10. Like I mentioned, it was a fun game we always did.
Once we made it back to her home I helped her unload the groceries, we would talk, or I would sing, or read to her for a little while before she started on dinner. I would set up the card table in the living room and set the two places for dinner, then watched various shows on TV while she prepared dinner (mostly remember watching Baywatch, Boy Meets World, or Sabrina the Teenage Witch with Melissa Joan Hart). Most of the time our meal was either a chicken fried steak, cube steak battered like fried chicken and skillet fried until cooked through, or a simple hamburger patty. Accompaniments were almost always the regular crew: steamed cabbage, creamed corn, and mashed potatoes with skillet gravy, made from the pan drippings from the cooked protein. She would bring the dinner plates in and we would eat together while watching Wheel of Fortune and / or Jeopardy. I also remember she always, ALWAYS, had A1 steak sauce for condiment for the protein and vinegar for the cabbage. Once dinner was finished I helped clear the table and brought the dishes to the kitchen, wiped down the card table, and put it away. I was left to my own devices (Baywatch, etc) while she cleaned up from dinner. Then desert was always a homemade chocolate malt served in "fancy" glasses she would take out of her china cabinet. We then would watch 20/20 with Barbara Walters and the nightly news. Those days will always be with me and something I cherish every day. It is funny how you don't realize how enjoyable the simple life is or was until that time is passed and the realization that life may never seem that simple again.
Her birthday was December 12th and I thought it would be fitting to go
to my grandma's house (daughter of my Grammy) to spend it with her and
recreate a version of the memorable meal I had possibly hundreds of
times in my childhood. As you can tell from the story I am sharing, this
"meal" has a special place in my heart and will forever be a "go to"
family meal for me and one day my kids and grand-kids simply because it
is "home on a plate" and transports me back to pleasant, carefree,
special evenings with my Grammy.
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SCRAPPY GIDGET'S VERSION OF GRAMMYS HAMBURGER DINNER
Ingredients (for about 2 servings):
1 lb ground beef (85/15 blend or higher)
1/2 head of green cabbage, cleaned and core removed, cut in half
1 - 14.5 oz can of Green Gian Cream Style Sweet Corn
Apple Cider Vinegar and A1 Original Steak Sauce for serving
Kit Kat bar for desert
Directions:
1). place cut cabbage into a pot of water about 1/2 to 3/4 way up the cabbage and boil on Medium-High heat for about 7 - 12 minutes until fork tender;
2). Melt 1 Tbs of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
3). Place ground beef into mixing bowl and divide into four equal pieces and shape into patties, depressing the center with your thumb to help keep the patties from puffing up in the middle.
4). Season one side of each patty with salt and pepper, to taste or preference; ( I used about 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper)
5). Place the patties seasoned side down into the hot buttered skillet and season the second side with same amount of salt and pepper. Let cook for about 6 - 8 minutes or until the browned meat is about 1/2 to 3/4 the way up the side of the patty, then flip.
6). Let the patties continue cooking and do NOT flip them again. Cook for another 4- 6 minutes or until they are cooked through, no longer pink in the middle and the juices run clear.
7). While your cabbage and hamburger patties are cooking, heat up the creamed corn in a microwave safe dish in the microwave (about 3 - 5 minutes) or you can also put the corn into a small sauce pot and cook over medium heat until warmed through.
8). Remove the cooked cabbage from the water with a slotted spoon and serve in a bowl. Top with some apple cider or red wine vinegar.
9). Serve the hamburger patty and creamed corn hot on the same plate.
** If making mashed potatoes** I remember loving to put my creamed corn on top of my mashed potatoes then smothering that with the gravy - does anyone else do that?
Grammy's potatoes & gravy:
I believe she mostly used Idaho Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" - 1"cubes. Bring to a boil in salted water until fork tender or until they break apart when you try and stab with the fork. Drain in a colander and put into a large glass bowl. Using electric beaters, break up the pieces of potato, mashing them using only the beaters, do not turn on the mixer yet. Once the potatoes have been broken down into small pieces, add about 1 -2 Tbs margarine or softened butter and pour in a little evaporated milk (you can also use regular milk). Turn the beaters on about medium speed and mix together until all ingredients are well combined. Begin adding splashes of the evaporated milk until the mixture reaches the desired consistency. You can also add a little bit more butter or margarine, 1 Tbs at a time, if you like more buttery potatoes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. If you think you are getting to the point your potatoes are becoming too thick or starting to seem gluey it could be that you are over mixing the potatoes. At that point stop using the electric mixer and mix the added milk with a regular mixing spoon or a spatula until you reach the desired consistency.
For the gravy: after removing the hamburger patties from the pan, DO NOT DRAIN THE PAN DRIPPINGS. To the drippings and about 2 Tbs of flour and using a rubber whisk (to not damage the pan) whisk the flour into the drippings over medium heat making sure to get rid of any lumps. Add a little more flour if necessary, we are trying to create a thick paste. Once the flour is mixed in and browned, begin adding evaporated milk, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. I usually end up using almost a full can of the evaporated milk. Continue cooking the gravy over medium heat until it begins to thicken. If the gravy seems to watery, you can add a little more flour. If I ever do that, I remove some of the gravy and mix the flour into the small amount of gravy in a cup or small bowl then return the thicker mixture to the main skillet in order to avoid lumps.
In memory of my Grammy 🍀💗💚💗🍀
