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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Melanie Munk, Features Editor munk@heraldnet.com   Published: Monday, July 7, 2008 The Forum: Can't get enough 'meat blanket' By Judyrae Kruse Herald Columnist If the three-day weekend or the weather, or both together, had you pretty muchly snacking your way through, from start to finish, maybe a comfy sturdy supper tonight would be just the ticket. Something fast and easy would come in handy, too. Hmmm. How about mashed potatoes with, what else, hamburger gravy? Here we go again, then, with another helping of Forum cooks' reminiscences and recipes answering Judy Miller's heartfelt request for the how-to for this fondly remembered Seattle schooldays cafeteria offering. Christine Javier writes, "I read the recent request from the woman who wanted to know how to make the hamburger and mashed potato dish that was served in the Seattle Public Schools. "I went to John Marshall Junior High and also Lincoln High School in the 1960s-1970s. I was also crazy about the dish and have often tried to recreate it. "The name of it was meat blanquet. I'm trying to find the recipe from a former Seattle cafeteria worker and will e-mail you back if I am able to get it. Man! It was good! "The closest I've gotten to figuring it out was ground beef, onions and cream of mushroom soup with sour cream stirred in. It's still not the same, but fairly close.'' Anita Venema of Edmonds says, "Judy Miller is salivating over meat blanquet/meat blanket and my children, especially my five sons, ate it often in the northend Seattle schools in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. It was a white sauce to which generous portions of cooked hamburger bits were added. "I never saw it, but if it was a brown sauce in the schools, there must have been an additive to give it the brown color and, possibly, enhance the taste. The GIs in World War II were fond of this and had an unprintable name for it.'' Anita adds, "My husband of 62 years and I live on our own. At age 82, I don't cook large meals any more, but we enjoy whole-meal salads. My husband tells me he heard that we at-home ladies can title ourselves household CEOs." Next, Snohomish cook Joanne Hiersch tells us, "In your May 12 Forum, reader Judy Miller of Meridian, Idaho, asked about a hamburger recipe used in the Seattle schools during the 1950s. "My husband and I both attended Ballard High School and graduated in 1952. For over 50 years, I have used a recipe that I believe is very close, if not exactly the same. I usually add mushrooms and serve the gravy over mashed potatoes. I hope Judy likes it." LIKE BALLARD HIGH'S HAMBURGER GRAVY 1 pound ground round 1/2 large sweet onion, chopped 3 tablespoons flour 1/2-3/4 cup water 1-2 tablespoons Kitchen Bouquet browning and seasoning sauce Mushrooms (optional) Mashed potatoes In frying pan, brown ground round and onion. Remove all but 3 tablespoons of the drippings. Make a roux by combining the flour and water; add to meat mixture and cook until it reaches a gravy-like consistency. (You may have to add more water, if too thick.) Stir in the browning and seasoning sauce. If desired, mushrooms can also be stirred in. Serve over mashed potatoes. SOS: Lynnwood reader Tina Gilles says she loves the coleslaw served at a Pike Place Market restaurant because of the dressing. "It's more on the vinegary, not mayonnaisey side," she says. "And the slaw is not smothered in the dressing, but has just enough to make it taste wonderful!" SOS: You know those recipes that direct you to "remove the soft insides" from French bread, crusty hoagies or baguettes, and "reserve removed bread for another use''? Well, we penny-pincher types, those of us who are glued to the "waste not, want not'' philosophy, are wondering what other use are there for these globs of bread? If you can share a recipe for the vinegary dressing or a use for those "reserved'' bread crumbs, please write to Judyrae Kruse at the Forum, c/o The Herald, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206. The next Forum will appear in Wednesday's Good Life section.

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