FOOD NOSTALIGIA

The other day my husband said “you know what you haven’t made in a long time and I would like to have”.  No, what?  “Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast’.  Now, quite honestly, I have never ever made this particular dish for him.  However, I did make it once or twice for my sons’ Father.  Well, I don’t like it now and I didn’t like it then.  But I do know where their desire for this dish came in.  This is one of the few dishes that they both remembered from their Navy days.  Why, I don’t know.

So, I told my husband that I would make it for him for dinner the next night.  “Dry Chipped Beef” anyone?  I don’t think it exists anymore except maybe in ‘camping stores’.  I went to three markets and no one had anything close.  Then, I figured that if I am going to make this dish, I would make as close to a Gourmet Version as possible.  So I purchased some Rare Roast Beef from the deli and went home and made Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast for dinner.

 

I sautéed some diced Onion and Celery and some sliced Mushrooms in a combination of Olive Oil and Butter.

 

While the vegetables were cooking, I cut up the Beef into small pieces.  Once the Vegetables were done, I added 3 Tablespoons of Flour to the pan and stirred it all around until the Flour had absorbed the Fat and coated the Vegetables.  Next I added 1 ½ cups of Milk and Half & Half and stirred and cooked until a thick Sauce (Béchamel) had formed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next I added 1 cup of Petit Pois (baby peas) and the Beef. I seasoned this mixture with my ‘Basil Salt’ and White Pepper.   I kept this mixture on low heat while we made the toast and put together a salad.

Since I had just made a ‘Country French Bread’ the day before we decided to use it for the toast.  This was dinner, one of my least favorite ones, but Ev loved as did Arnold before him.  I did tell him though that he would have to wait a long time before I made it again – at least one year.  I can’t think of anything that I would like to eat less.

 

 

The Roast Beef would have been so much better as a sandwich with olive spread, mustard, mayo and tomatoes!  Actually I did save a few pieces and that is what I will have for lunch tomorrow while Ev eats the leftover Creamed Beef!