Recession Delicious – Italian Ground Beef, Peas and Onions and the Three Things Food Bloggers Avoid Discussing

Yesterday, I stumbled upon a video of a 91-year old Italian-American grandmother, cooking pasta and peas just the way her mother cooked them nearly every night for her family during the depression. She used an onion, a potato, and a can of peas,…. all items that didn’t need refrigeration and cost mere pennies.

This took me back to a year ago when I attended a pot luck at the Italian Club in Nashville. Someone had brought this dish that I couldn’t stop eating. It was a saute of ground beef, peas, onions, and olive oil. Out of all the things I could have treated myself to, this dish took my plate back for three helpings.

Before I go any further, I want to talk about three things that “foodie” food bloggers usually try to avoid.

1. Cooking Economically (We are just too into our food to care. We spent 3 x more to buy local and 10 x more to buy artisan finishing salt).
2. Ground Beef (Unless it’s a new twist on a gourmet burger or a one-time post on meatballs).
3. Left Overs (We cook every day. We don’t eat left overs..well, we don’t talk about if when we do).

But, reality hits us hard, as we foodie food bloggers are being seriously hit by the economic recession/depression or whatever you want to call it. I know amazing, smart, sophisticated food bloggers unable to find employment, getting laid off or taking pay cuts. And, I know many serious food bloggers, cooking at home because they can’t afford the restaurant scene. I never thought it would be easy to get a weekend seat at 7:00 p.m. in a restaurant in Nashville, but I never anticipated our 10% unemployment rate.

I am not hear to talk about socio-economic times, discuss politics or to depress you. I’m not a complainer, but I am a dreamy realist. And, I see the world through food.

If we need to adjust our budget (and we do), my first concern is my food budget. After all, I’m a food blogger. I need to go to 3 grocery stores and a farmer’s market every Saturday. I need saffron, King Arthur flour, fresh pricey eggs, organic chicken, heavy cream, real balsamic vinegar, tasty olive oil and valrhona chocolate. I need to purchase kitchen equipment that is always breaking down.

In the first four months of food blogging, I burned through a hand mixer, an emulsifying blender, a food processor and a magic bullet. I NEED to go yard sale hopping every weekend to find unique dishes and I NEED my knives professionally sharpened. I need Marsala wine for zabaglione, Grand Marnier for crepes suzette and amazing red wine for just about everything, cooking or drinking. And, there is no way in the world I can live without several good cheeses that are double digit costly. But I also know I need to find ways to cook and eat food that we can afford.

Ouch. I hate to put food and afford in the same sentence, but we’re all there to some degree aren’t we?

The grandmother in the video made me think of my grandmother, who lived through the depression, but was like me, in that she liked good food good. And, she knew how to make a five minute meal taste like a new culinary invention.

Today is my grandmother’s birthday. She would be 105 years old. She would still be cooking the exact same way…healthy, flavorful, uniquely fast, perhaps influenced a bit by the depression. Don’t try to picture the little Italian grandmother standing at the stove for hours cooking for her family. My grandmother owned her own beauty salon, and cooked exactly once a week on Sunday night, only after all her clothes and sheets were pressed, and her newspapers were read. She was a rare beauty that never stepped foot in town in a “uniform.” She was a fashionista, donning heels, hat and gloves and threw her curvy body on a bus every day to get to down town, making a scene as if the paparazzi were following her. Her allure and charm weren’t cut out from her Sunday night quick fires. Everything she made was authentic, such as spinach fritters, chicken and olives, or crabs and spaghetti, but it was fast, quick, earthy and a bit sexy, always hitting the senses with a surprise.

Ground beef with peas and onions is just exactly the kind of dish she might set before me with a lecture that “americanos” pronounced “ameriganos” don’t know how to eat. I look at their skin and I can smell their hair and know the garbage they are eating. But, you my Angela (pronounced Ahngela) have a grandmother that knows about food. Just look at me and you can see that I eat right.” Yes, she said that.

SInce her day, the American diet has changed in that on one hand it has gotten worse, and on the other hand it has gotten much better. There are two different kinds of kitchens cooking (or microwaving) in America today. I’m grateful my grandmother Rose Dee (mother of Retro Rose) pointed me in her direction and never owned a microwave.

The Process
Ground beef with peas and onions may not exactly be a “depression” dish, but perhaps a bit reminiscent of the peas and pasta dish that blanketed many Italian Americans during the true depression era and even my grandmother’s table.

A sauté of peas and onions is very Italian. You must use olive oil for the right flavor and a good course salt and freshly cracked pepper. Simplicity always requires great ingredients. Peas and onions are good alone, or combined with rice or with potatoes, but with ground beef, it’s dinner.

I will not tell you to mix three kinds of ground meat together to make it more “foodie” or to pretend this is restaurant fare. It’s not. It’s meant to be Sunday night home cooking. You can use whatever ground meat you desire, even ground lamb would be quite tasty, but this is just ground beef and not extra lean. You want good (I mean animal-treated right) good, ground beef that has some fat in it, because that is where the taste is.

I would eat this any time, though because it’s just good food and so would you. Don’t you dare call it hamburger helper or ground beef casserole or I will come and put tape over your mouth and eat this in front of you. It’s rustic, but that doesn’t mean it’s a compromise. It’s good food, in fact, it’s delicious food that will stretch your budget and your view of ground beef and what fast and affordable can be. Just serve with a nice loaf of crusty bread to sop up the juices, and don’t forget that glass of red wine.

It’s even more delicious left over. There I said it. I talked about left overs. Yes, I eat them. I love them. Good food eaten twice for the effort of cooking once. Enjoy!

And Happy Birthday Grandmom. I miss you tons and I cherish every memory… your stories, your charisma, all the upscale restaurants you took me to, and all the clever meals you whipped up as a “way ahead of your time” healthy, career woman, who knew how to bargain for everything, yet live like a queen.