Okay, so this is really a bit of silliness on my part.
Christey and I were watching TV when a Manwich commercial was on and she said she never liked them. I always did, as a kid and as a starving college freshman (oddly, I was mostly vegetarian for the rest of my college career). I told her I bet I could make her a Manwich she’d like, and she told me to go for it.
For those outside the US, a Manwich is Hunts’ trademark for their version of a sloppy joe, basically spiced tomato sauce and maybe some minced vegetables mixed with browned hamburger and served on a hamburger bun. It’s commonly either a different take for those bored with a hamburger, or a way for a family to stretch a bit of meat a longer way. It’s Americana comfort food, especially family comfort food, in the same sense as Kraft macaroni and cheese, Oscar Meyer hot dogs, or bologna and cheese sandwiches.
So, of course I figured I’d take a comfort food classic and elevate it a bit. But, don’t take me seriously on this, because I certainly didn’t. This was just craziness.
A sandwich is a sandwich, but this manwich is something else…
I mentioned in my last post, I have a lot of eastern European in my background. Goulash, or the similar Stroganoff, is what the French would term a “peasant dish”. It throws together what is underground, either in the dirt or a cellar, with whatever meat can be scrounged, cooked with some local herbs, spices, and such from local gardens.
I’ve had a mother and two grandmothers cook their interpretations, and each is different. Throw in the rest of eastern Europe, and each recipe may be as different as the mother or grandmother cooking that day for the family.
I kicked the recipe up a bit with ingredients that would not normally be used in traditional versions of this dish, but the inspiration is from my upbringing.
But wait! There’s more!
It’s been warm lately. Unseasonably so. From Christmas Eve to now, it’s been pretty much low-80s in the day (mid-to-high 20s C). That’ll end tonight when it’ll dip near freezing, and tomorrow night when there’s a hard freeze warning for Central Florida. Since we’re right next to the ocean, I doubt we’ll see freezing, probably a couple degrees above (a couple degrees above in C).
But, for now, it’s warm, and yesterday evening was pretty balmy. So, for New Years Eve dinner, I cooked Christey and myself some NY strip steaks on the grill.
New York strip steak over mustard cream sauce, garnished with feta and caramelized shallot, with a sauteed mushroom side.
Pictures and Recipe Here
