Category: Burger

Taken At The Flood – Vienna Steak

Hello crime readers and food lovers!  Today’s Dining With The Dame dives into “Taken At The Flood” (also known as “There Is A Tide”).  This is a classic Agatha Christie mystery full of death and dastardly doings but also somewhat a mystery is our chosen dish – Vienna Steak!

Now, at first glance, this dish might have had you thinking schnitzel, a more familiar Austrian offering. But here’s the twist: Vienna Steak is actually more akin to a bunless hamburger. Traditionally, it’s served alongside fried onions and potatoes, a hearty, comforting but economical, combination.  However, I couldn’t resist putting my own spin on this wartime dish. Who can resist a good peppercorn sauce, right? So I jazzed up my version with a rich, flavorful sauce that adds a bit of glamour to the Vienna Steak.

Speaking of twists, a lightbulb moment just struck! Given the title of the book, wouldn’t “Vienna S-Taken At the Flood” be a great pun? (Okay, that one’s a stretch…) But you know how much we love a little food-related wordplay here at Retro Food For Modern Times!  

Vienna Steak

Taken at The Flood – The Plot

There were waves in the air of feeling – a strong electrical current of – what was it?  Hate? Could it really be hate?  Something at any rate – destructive.  

Lynn thought suddently, “But that’s what the matter everywhere.  Ive noticed it ever since I got home.  it’s the aftermath the war has left.  Ill will.  Ill feeling.  It’s everywhere.  On railways and buses and in shops and amongst workers and clerks and even agricultural labourers.  And I suppose worse in mines and factories.  Ill will.  But hereit’s more than that.  Here it’s particular.  It’s meant!

Agatha Christie – Taken at The Flood

It’s autumn 1944, and an air raid rattles the Coronation Club in London. Here, amidst the chaos, we meet Major Porter, the club bore. He regales Hercule Poirot with the tragic news of Gordon Cloade’s death. A German bomb has recently obliterated Cloade’s London house, taking his life in the process.

However, a twist emerges. Cloade died intestate, meaning he hadn’t updated his will after his recent marriage. This leaves his entire estate to his second wife, Rosaleen. But Rosaleen’s past holds a potential complication. Before marrying Cloade, she was the wife of a man named Robert Underhay. Underhay’s fate remains shrouded in mystery – appearently he died years ago in Africa, but concrete proof is absent.

Major Porter has just revealed that Underhay had spoken about faking his death and assuming a new identity as Enoch Arden when, he realises, much to his embarrassment that  Jeremy Cloade, Gordon’s brother has overheard his conversation.  

Vienna Steak2

The narrative then leaps forward in time. Spring 1946 sees Mrs. Lionel Cloade, another member of the Cloade family, seeking out Poirot. Convinced by a recent ouija board session, she pleads with him to locate Robert Underhay. Finding Underhay alive would invalidate Rosaleen’s marriage to Gordon, thereby jeopardizing her inheritance of the Cloade fortune. Poirot, however, remains unimpressed by this reliance on the spirit world and politely dismisses Mrs. Cloade.

But fate, it seems, has other plans. Just a few days later, news arrives that  a man named Enoch Arden has been found dead…

I included the above quote on ill will on purpose as Taken with the Flood is full of crimes and misddemeamours.  My copy is only 192 pages yet in that we have (In no particular order)

  • Murder
  • Attempted Murder
  • Death by misadventure
  • Death by Bomb blast
  • Accidental Death
  • Death by Suicide
  • Death by overdose
  • Eavesdropping
  • Bribery
  • Embezzlement
  • Perjury
  • Impersonation of persons living or dead
  • Drug addiction
  • Casual racism
  • General cattiness
  • A very red flag raising romance

And to lighten the tone a little bit of cross dressing! 

Good thing we have Poirot on hand to unravel all the threads and get to the bottom of what is going on with the Cloade family!

Taken at The Flood – The Covers

 

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As usual there are some amazing covers here and quite the variety  This is quite a complex story and as many aspects of it are in these covers.  The ouija board, the items found in  Enoch’s hotel room, Enoch’s body on the floor with the murderer seen absconding out the window, a very egg shaped head on Poirot, the blitz. 

And because it is Dining With the Dame we also have a wacky cover from Sweden showing a house sinking into a bog and some grassland in the shape of a girl’s face.  The Swedish translation is “High Water” which may explain the cover!  Either way, I love it!

The Recipe: Vienna Steak

“And every year things get worse and worse  No Service! Food uneatable! Vienna Steak indeed!  A steak’s either Rump or Fillet – not chopped up horse!” 

Agatha Christie – Taken at the Flood

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Vienna Steak with Mashed Potatoes, Fried Onions and Peppercorn Sauce

A tasty throwback to a pub meal from 1940’s Britain as described in Taken at The Flood.

Ingredients

Scale

For The Vienna Steak:

  • 500g minced Beef
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 slice of white bread, crusts removed and torn into small pieces
  • 1 tbsp of milk
  • 1 tsp Herbes of Provence
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • Oil for frying the onions and the “steaks”
  • Salt and Pepper

For The Fried Onions:

  • 2 large onions, thinly sliced
  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper, ground
  • 1/41/2 tsp cayenne pepper

For the Mashed Potatoes:

  • 500g potatoes, peeled and chopped into quarters
  • 50ml milk
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

For The Peppercorn Sauce:

  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 shallot finely chopped
  • 50ml brandy
  • 150ml Beef stock
  • 100ml cream
  • 2 tbsp green peppercorns from a tin or jar, slightly crush these with the back of your knife

Instructions

For The Fried Onions

  • Place the onions in a shallow bowl and cover with the buttermilk.  
  • Cover and place in the fridge for about an hour.
  • Place the flour, salt, pepper and cayenne in a ziplock bag and stir to combine.  
  • After the hour, heat the oil to 180C in a deep saucepan.  
  • Take a handful of onions from the bowl and shake off the excess buttermilk. Add them to the ziplock bag and shake.  Remove the onions from the bag and shake to remove any excess flour.  
  • Place in the oil and fry until they are a deep golden brown (2-3  minutes).
  • Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain the onions on paper towel.
  • Repeat with the rest of the onions until they are all used up.
  • Serve sprinkled on top of the Vienna Steaks.

For The Vienna Steaks:

  • Heat the oil and saute the onions until golden brown.  Set aside to cool.
  • When cool, add to the rest of the ingredients and mix well.  
  • Shape into four burger patties.
  • Place in the fridge for around an hour.
  • Heat the oil in a frying pan over high heat.  Add the patties.  Sear for a minute on each side then lower the heat  to medium and and allow to cook through, turning once during cooking.  Cook to your preferred state of doneness
  • Remove from pan and keep warm while you make the peppercorn sauce.  

For The Mashed Potatoes:

  • Place the potatoes into a saucepan and cover with water.  Add salt.
  • Cook for approx 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. 
  • Drain the potatoes.  Leave to dry for a minute or two the pop back into the pan.  Mash well ensuring there are no lumps of potato left.  
  • Add the butter and milk and mash again.
  • Season to taste with salt and pepper.

For The Peppercorn Sauce:

  • Melt the butter  over medium heat in a small pan.
  • Add the chopped shallot.  Cook for around 5 minutes until softened, stirring every few minutes.
  • Add the peppercorns and stir for 1 minute.  
  • Increase the heat to medium high.  Add the brandy and cook until this is amost entirely reduced.
  • Add the stock and simmer until reduced to about half (3-5 ) minutes
  • Reduce the heat to medium low, Add the cream and heat to your desired consistency.  Do not allow to boil.  

To serve, place a big spoonful of mashed potatoes on a plate.  Place a Vienna Steak on top of the mash.  Pour the sauce around the mash.  Sprinkle the onions on top of the “Steaks”. 

Vienna Steak4 - Taken at The Flood

 

He stood for a moment in the hall looking from the glass -enclosed empty office to the door labelled in firm old-fashioned style COFFEE ROOM.  By experience of country hotels Poirot knew well that the only time coffee was served there was somewhat grudgingly for breakfast and that even thena good deal of watery hot milk was its principal component/  Small cups of a treacly and muddy liquid called black coffee were served not in the COFFEE ROOM but in the lounge.  The Windsor Soup, Vienna Steak and Potatoes and Steamed Pudding which comprised dinner would be obtainable in the COFFEE ROOM at seven sharp.  

Agatha Christie – Taken at the Flood

Vienna Steak3 - Taken at The Flood

 

Links To The Christieverse

Superintendent Spence says to Poirot “And then your anonymous A B C lunatic killed….(no spoilers here”).  This might refer to the killer in the earlier Poirot mystery The A.B.C Murders.

Other Food & Drinks Mentioned in  Taken At The Flood

Our August read will be Crooked House.  

Have a great week!

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Devilled Burgers. Taste Heavenly!

Like rock and roll and dancing in that town in Footloose, burgers must be the work of the devil.  There is no other explanation for something so simple tasting so good!  And that’s just normal burgers.  Once you have tried Margaret Fulton’s Devilled Burgers you will be ready to sell your soul for the recipe!

Devilled HamburgersNot that you have to of course.  The recipe is at the end of the post.  No soul selling involved!

So what makes the Devilled Burger so special?

Oh and warning ahead…I am going to drop the dreaded M word.  You know, the one that rhymes with foist.  Haters beware!

One thing  I have noticed about a couple of old hamburger recipes is that they use bread soaked in evaporated milk.  This may both look and sound pretty gross but I think this combo really helps to keep the burgers moist.  There.  I’ve said it.

Devilled Hamburgers3This mixture turns into something that resembles either wallpaper paste or the gruel from Oliver but I think it does the job.  I had these two nights running and I was expecting that reheating them on the second night would make them dry but no, they were as juicy as ever!  Possibly even better than the first night.

Other ingredients are finely chopped mushrooms (sorry Jenny), mustard, tomato ketchup, green Habanero sauce, horseradish and Worcestershire Sauce!  No wonder these are tasty little demons!

Devilled Hamburgers4These are so good.  Who could believe  ground beef could be so tasty? These have rocked straight in at number two on my best burgers ever (right behind my spicy feta burgers)!  Hmmm..,.now what would happen if you added some feta and cumin to this recipe?  The burger to end all burgers? Burgergeddon?  I now so want to try it out!

Top these burgers with your favourite toppings, mine are in the recipe below and enjoy!!!!

If serving at your own devil theme party, why not lay out your salad ingredients and condiments and any other trimmings you like and let your guests create their own version of the Devilled Burger?

Print

Devilled Burgers

Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 slices bread
  • 3/4 cup evaporated milk
  • 1 kilo minced (ground) beef
  • 2 tsp salt
  • pepper to taste
  • 1 chopped onion
  • 2 eggs
  • 250g chopped mushrooms (optional)
  • 1.5 tsp Dijon Mustard
  • 1/4 cup tomato ketchup or mild chilli sauce (I used a combination of ketchup and green habanero sauce)
  • 2 tsp prepared horseradish
  • 2 tsp Worchestershire sauce
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tsp green Habenero sauce
  • Lettuce leaves
  • Tomato Slices
  • Vintage Cheddar, thinly sliced
  • Red Onions, thinly sliced
  • Pickles

Instructions

  1. Remove the crusts from the read, cut into squares and soak in evaporated milk for 10 minutes, then beat with a fork.
  2. Mix meat, bread, salt, pepper, onion, mushrooms, mustard, tomato ketchup and/or chilli sauce, horseradish and Worchestershire Sauce in large bowl. Mix in the eggs with a fork.
  3. Shape into 10 even sized patties.
  4. Heat some oil in a frying pan and gently fry the red onions .
  5. Preheat the grill and grill the hamburgers on one side for 7-8 minutes on one side and ^ minutes on the other. Add a slice of cheese using and grill for a further minute or so until the cheese has melted.
  6. Whilst the hamburger is cooking, toast your buns.
  7. Mix the mayonnaise and the green habanero sauce together and spread over the buns.
  8. Top with a lettuce leaf and a slice of tomato.
  9. Place the burger on top of the tomato and top with the fried onions and the burger bun.
  10. Pickles can be served on the side or in the burger or not at all!

 

Devilled Hamburgers2

Oh and look!  Is that a bottle of Lychee Beer in the background?  Yes indeed.  Just doing a little taste testing for the margarita to come.  Or should that be a lagerita?

Have a fab week!  Next time, we’ll be wrapping up our devil themed party with an appropriately titled cake from the Domestic Goddess herself!

The Devil Cocktail

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Old Bay Oyster Sliders

Maybe it’s because it’s Halloween week but here I am with another thing, actually two things that scare me.  Batter and deep-frying.  Because I made Sliders. And not just any sliders, Oyster Sliders.  And not just any Oyster Sliders but Old Bay Oyster Sliders!

Old Bay Oyster Sliders1Ooooooohhhhhyeeeeeaaaahhhh!!!

Can I just say that these were as good as they look?

Start off with some mini brioche…..hmmm..now where would you find some of them? And toast them up.

Toasted BriocheWhip up some aioli ( I had this saffron and roasted garlic aioli from something else I had made), but any aioli or even mayo would be fine.  But the saffron makes it look so pretty!

Saffron AioliChoose your vegetables.  I used lettuce, carrot, red cabbage and red onion.

Slider fillingsDon’t forget the pickle!  I used a pickled jalapeno but a dill pickle would also be fine.

Next up a tempura style batter loaded with Old Bay!  Heat some oil, drench your oysters in the batter and drop into the hot oil.  These only need a minute or so to cook.  Drain on crumpled paper:

Old Bay Oysters

Old Bay Oysters2And assemble.

Now, you have to promise not to laugh or judge me too harshly…(oh wow does that make a third thing that frightens me, in this post alone?) but I made my first ever gif.

Ok, deep breath, here ’tis…

SliderEeek….if anyone’s left after that, here’s the recipe!

Old Bay Oyster Sliders2

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:23]

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

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Retro Food for Modern Times – (Not) The Hot Weather Cookbook – Middle East Inspired Feast

Last week  I mocked some of the food styling in The Hot Weather Cookbook, so in the interest of fair and unbiased reporting  I thought it was only fair to show what I think is easily the best photo in the book.  Not only that, I was so inspired by the photo I had plans to cook the exact meal as shown for a barbecue dinner we were having.

Lamb Sosaties, Carrot Salad, Cucumber Salad
Lamb Sosaties, Carrot Salad, Cucumber Salad

Why do I love this so much?  First, I think it has a clean modern look to it.  This would not look out-of-place in a current issue of Bon Appetit or Delicious magazine.  Second, I love gingham.  One of the reasons is that it evokes memories of summer, picnics by a river in the shade of a tree, the gingham table-cloth spread on the ground absolutely loaded with super tasty picnic food, the sound of birds and crickets chirping lazily in the background, the sun dappling through the leaves…In my mind picnics look like this. Thanks to the lovely  Amber Clery from the Vintage Home blog for her permission to use these gorgeous photos.

Vintage Home Picnic 1

Vintage Home Picnic 2

Vintage Home Picnic 3

In reality, I remember having a picnic with my parents by a river.  I went for a swim and got a leech on my leg.  The sounds of that picnic weren’t so much the gentle noises of nature or the hushed sounds of silence but hysterical screaming and uncontrollable sobbing.  I vastly prefer Amber’s version.

Apart from the gingham, the other things I liked in the photo from “The Hot Weather Cookbook”  were those amazing looking kebabs and the saffron rice with juicy raisins that they are lying on top of.  The legend for the picture told me that were Barbecued Lamb Sosaties accompanied by Carrot Salad and Cucumber Salad.  No mention of the rice.  I had never heard of a Sosatie before so I flipped to the glossary which told me that Sosaties were a:

“Cape Malay (South African) dish of curried meat, cooked in small pieces on a skewer”

So now, not only do these kebabs look delicious, they sound delicious. I was salivating in anticipation of finding out how to cook these delights because I thought they would reconfirm my position as queen of the barbecue.  One of the first things I ever cooked for my family was a “Spicy Feta Burger”.  I must have been eight.  I didn’t even know what feta was but begged my mum to buy some so I could make these burgers.  Some decades later we still make them.  People invited to family barbecues demand them.  In my family and circle of friends, they are legend.  However, all empires fall and it had been quite some time since I had come up with some delectable barbecue goodness.  I’ve rested on my feta burger laurels for far too long.  The time was ripe to launch a new taste sensation.

In my mind, my spicy feta burgers were already singing that Coldplay song about “that was when I ruled the world”.  My Barbecued Lamb Sosaties were running up and down flights of stairs and humming “The Eye of The Tiger.”

We’ll pause there and I’ll tell you about the rice with raisins.  Remember how I said they weren’t mentioned in the picture tag?  I searched for the recipe in index.  Under R there are two entries:

  • Radish Salad, Cool
  • Rice Salad

I didn’t really know where else I  might find the recipe for the rice with raisins (it was not the rice salad recipe listed).  So I flicked through the entire book and found the recipe on page 64…well I found something on page 64 called Yellow Rice With Raisins.  As it’s not name checked in the photo, I can’t be entirely sure it is the same recipe but given that what is pictured is  yellow and it’s rice and it contains raisins I used my best Sherlock Holmesian powers of deduction and decided they were one and the same.  I then went back and checked the recipe index.  This time, I not only checked under R in case I had missed something in the vast number of recipes beginning with that letter.  (I hadn’t.)  I then checked Y…just in case.  Not there either.  I then checked every recipe in the index to see what exactly was listed for page 64.  There’s a Barbecue Sauce which is actually on page 64.  There is no mention of the Yellow Raisin Rice in the index at all.  Grrr….

That annoyed me.   It’s slapdash  and surely someone in the editing process should have picked it up before the book went to print.  Never mind, at least I could make it.  After all, I had the recipe, even if it appeared to have been inserted into the book by stealth.

Ok, so the last time we saw the Barbecued Lamb Sosaties, they were fist pumping the air and claiming global victory in the barbecue stakes.  I looked up Barbecued Lamb Sosaties in the index. 

I started with L…not there.

S…not there either.

I tried B…I may was well not bothered.

I tried a lateral approach and looked under K for kebab and, harking back to the glossary definition, I looked under C (Curry and Cape Malay).  I then looked through every other letter. There was no mention to the Barbecued Lamb Sosaties in the index. Double Grrr!

But the rice recipe wasn’t in the index either.  No point in getting upset.  So, in the spirit of keeping calm and carrying on, I flicked through “The Main Course” section of the book.

Nothing.

I flipped back to the picture.  Those kebabs look hearty but I thought that maybe they are meant to be a first course, like satay sticks in an Asian restaurant. 

They weren’t in the first course section either.

I then looked through the entire book.

Zippedy doo dah.

I then looked through the entire book again, this time focussing on the page numbers.  (This was a second-hand book and, given the awesomeness of the Barbecued Lamb Sosatie, someone may have ripped the page out to keep it for posterity).

Every page was accounted for.

THE RECIPE FOR WHAT LOOKED LIKE THE MOST AWESOME DISH IN THE BOOK….WAS NOT IN THE BOOK.

If that looks like I am yelling, it’s because I am.  It’s actually a lot nicer than what came out of my mouth when I initially made this discovery. I probably wouldn’t  be allowed to print exactly what I said.  It’s more than likely illegal in some countries and frowned upon in most others.

I could give you a recipe for Barbecued Lamb Sosaties.  I (eventually) found a number of them on Google.  Instead, I was so annoyed with the Hot Weather Cookbook, I am going to give you the original recipe for the spicy feta burgers.  This recipe is so old now, it comes from a time where they didn’t quite know how to spell spicy.  These are awesome and you should all make them immediately. (Sorry it’s a bit crooked, that is literally the way it is stuck to the page in the family recipe compendium). 

Just to top off a few days where recipes from the past have really let me down, it is also wrong.

I defy anyone to make 12 burgers out of 50g of minced steak.  Unless of course they happen to be pixies. (To anyone not familiar with the metric system, as a point of comparison, I just weighed an egg from my fridge.  It came in at 64g. )

I used 500g of mince when I made the burgers this time and made 12 decent sized burgers.  I left all other amounts as stated.

This can also be very much treated as a base recipe.  For instance, this time round I added some dried chilli flakes and some chopped up coriander.  You could use mint or parsley or basil.  Pinenuts in the mix are fabulous! You can also use lamb mince instead of steak for another variation in flavour.

Spciy Feta Burgers
Spicy Feta Burgers

Out of sheer spite I also didn’t make the rice or either of the salads from The Hot Weather Cookbook.  I made a gorgeous carrot salad inspired by a recipe from Gourmande in the Kitchen.  This recipe is amazing…quite possibly the most vibrant delicious taste sensation I have had all year.  The orange flower water in the dressing is a stroke of genius! The original recipe required watercress.  I tried three local green grocers and was advised that due to the hot weather, we are suffering watercress drought.  I used rocket and it was lovely.  I will definitely also try it with watercress as soon as I can get my hands on some!

Carrot Salad with Orange Flower Water and Cumin Dressing

The cumin and the orange flower water actually go very nicely with the lamb and feta to create a lovely Middle Eastern vibe to this meal.

I made a really quick cucumber salad to go with this, just sliced cucumber, a sprinkle of cayenne pepper and chives, and a squeeze of lemon.  I had a  small bowl of pomegranate molasses as a condiment for the burgers. 

Et voila! Here is my Not The Hot Weather Cookbook Middle East Feast!

Feta Burgers, Carrot and Orange Flower Water Salad, Cucumber Salad and Pomegranate Molasses
Feta Burgers, Carrot and Orange Flower Water Salad, Cucumber Salad and Pomegranate Molasses

This will more than likely be my last post before the New Year as I need to focus on cooking and other things related to the season for the next few days.

Best wishes to all for a safe and happy Christmas and a joyous New Year.

 

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