Destination # 9 - Michigan
My knowledge of Michigan can be wrapped up in a 5 minute synopsis of the movie "8 Mile" starring Eminem. I thought Eminem was a superb douche-bag, punk-ass-mofo but I do recall liking the movie despite the protagonist. I'm also quite partial to assembly lines (thanks for that, Henry Ford!) and to recreational boating, which I understand is quite popular out there in Michigan. In my *extensive* research on Michigan I learned that the state is literally bounded by four of the five Great Lakes plus another lake called Lake Saint Clair, which clearly isn't great enough to be worthy of the title. Now I'm a bit curious as to what exactly is the criteria to being considered a "great" lake but alas 30 seconds of deep diving into Michigan is about all my addled little brain cells can take for one night. According to the "think tank" that is Wikipedia, the state of Michigan has 64,980 inland lakes and ponds. Holy Hell, almost 65,000!!!!!!!! WOW! If I were a resident of said state, I would make it my personal mission to either swim and/or pee in every single one of them. Twice. A person chillin' in Michigan is never more than six miles from a natural water source or more than 85 miles from a Great Lakes shoreline. I could totally dig that. I'm officially intrigued. Here's one last interesting tidbit on Michigan, however, before I launch into what's really important (ie, THE FOOD!). The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake". See right there? I bet you non-Michigan residents did NOT know that before!
As per usual, we did a survey of our well-traveled and/or reformed Midwestern friends as to what on earth to make that would represent Michigan well and we were told Pierogis and/or Goulash. Pierogies sounded complicated and a little freaky so we went with Goulash.
Classic Goulash - recipe courtesy of Allrecipes.com
2 pounds lean ground beef
2 large yellow onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 cups water
2 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce
2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons dried Italian herb seasoning
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon seasoned salt, or to taste
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
1) In a large Dutch oven, cook and stir the ground beef over medium-high heat, breaking the meat up as it cooks, until the meat is no longer pink and has started to brown, about 10 minutes. Skim off excess fat, and stir in the onions and garlic.
2) Cook and stir the meat mixture until the onions are translucent, about 10 more minutes.
3) Stir in water, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, soy sauce, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, and seasoned salt, and bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4) Stir in the macaroni, cover, and simmer over low heat until the pasta is tender, about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, discard bay leaves, and serve.
The Discovery of Goulash - a personal anecdote:
I must confess that I was sooooooooooooo not at all excited about this meal. Not even one iota of a little bit. We made this on Sat. and I had gone fishing earlier in the day hoping to catch a salmon and switch the meal plan to fresh sushi so as to avoid having to eat something as horrid sounding as Goulash. So while I was fishing for our salvation supper, I popped a couple of beers (every good fisherman-lady knows that drinking beer helps to attract the fish) and accidentally wound up totally schnockered which I would like to note was not at all my fault as they should have made that 10% ABV sign a WHOLE LOT BIGGER on the damn beer can, you see, and so because of the circumstances being what they were, I actually took no part in cooking this dish what-so-ever. Drake thought that my wielding a large kitchen knife would not have been advisable at the time. Obviously she does not understand that I am a secret Ninja and a Master at knife handling but we can let that remain a mystery to be discovered at a later date in our relationship. An hour or so later, after much spirited singing and playing of my Ukulele and brief lapses of consciousness, Drake handed me a big bowl full of steaming hot Macaroni in a Bolognese sauce. I was surprised and delighted to have been spared the nasty sounding Goulash. After examining the contents of my bowl I think I exclaimed something like "Macaroni alla Bolognese! You are a GENIUS!" Well, apparently the Hungarians are geniuses because Goulash is just a clever word for "Macaroni alla Bolognese. Macaroni in a tomato based meat sauce. Comfort food at it's finest. To end a long story, we ate and rejoiced and made wild eyed gestures at each other that expressed words of "hey this ain't too bad at all!" All in all, another successful state down. Cheers to Michigan!
Best served with just about anything other than a 10% ABV beer (or three).
As per usual, we did a survey of our well-traveled and/or reformed Midwestern friends as to what on earth to make that would represent Michigan well and we were told Pierogis and/or Goulash. Pierogies sounded complicated and a little freaky so we went with Goulash.
Classic Goulash - recipe courtesy of Allrecipes.com
2 pounds lean ground beef
2 large yellow onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 cups water
2 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce
2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons dried Italian herb seasoning
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon seasoned salt, or to taste
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
1) In a large Dutch oven, cook and stir the ground beef over medium-high heat, breaking the meat up as it cooks, until the meat is no longer pink and has started to brown, about 10 minutes. Skim off excess fat, and stir in the onions and garlic.
2) Cook and stir the meat mixture until the onions are translucent, about 10 more minutes.
3) Stir in water, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, soy sauce, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, and seasoned salt, and bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4) Stir in the macaroni, cover, and simmer over low heat until the pasta is tender, about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, discard bay leaves, and serve.
The Discovery of Goulash - a personal anecdote:
I must confess that I was sooooooooooooo not at all excited about this meal. Not even one iota of a little bit. We made this on Sat. and I had gone fishing earlier in the day hoping to catch a salmon and switch the meal plan to fresh sushi so as to avoid having to eat something as horrid sounding as Goulash. So while I was fishing for our salvation supper, I popped a couple of beers (every good fisherman-lady knows that drinking beer helps to attract the fish) and accidentally wound up totally schnockered which I would like to note was not at all my fault as they should have made that 10% ABV sign a WHOLE LOT BIGGER on the damn beer can, you see, and so because of the circumstances being what they were, I actually took no part in cooking this dish what-so-ever. Drake thought that my wielding a large kitchen knife would not have been advisable at the time. Obviously she does not understand that I am a secret Ninja and a Master at knife handling but we can let that remain a mystery to be discovered at a later date in our relationship. An hour or so later, after much spirited singing and playing of my Ukulele and brief lapses of consciousness, Drake handed me a big bowl full of steaming hot Macaroni in a Bolognese sauce. I was surprised and delighted to have been spared the nasty sounding Goulash. After examining the contents of my bowl I think I exclaimed something like "Macaroni alla Bolognese! You are a GENIUS!" Well, apparently the Hungarians are geniuses because Goulash is just a clever word for "Macaroni alla Bolognese. Macaroni in a tomato based meat sauce. Comfort food at it's finest. To end a long story, we ate and rejoiced and made wild eyed gestures at each other that expressed words of "hey this ain't too bad at all!" All in all, another successful state down. Cheers to Michigan!
Best served with just about anything other than a 10% ABV beer (or three).
posted by E-Rae | 9:22 PM
3 Comments:
This is cheap food. My mother served it to me on a weekly basis as a kid. She, however, lacks a certain creative knack and it was always boring - and the noodles were overcooked. I do NOT like overcooked noodles (does anyone?) and as an adult have cooked my fair share of this dish ...but I never follow a recipe and I always add something different. Anyway, I LIKE this recipe and am happy to see Drake's concoction was a success. Maybe you can do sushi next time. ;)
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Brings back memories of my childhood growing up a couple miles south of the Michigan border. Had lots of goulash, but never with macaroni, interesting. Looks yummy!
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