April 29 - The Carefree Gourmet
Catsup-Craze
by Joyce McCombs

Catsup has been on my mind this week and on my plate since I can remember. I’ve dunked everything from eggs to oysters in the delicious stuff for years, and it’s never let me down yet. I certainly can’t imagine eating hamburger without catsup, can you? I’m also one of those people who think it’s a perfectly legal to put catsup on a grilled hot dog, though I know several people reading this who consider me terribly rebellious for doing so.

Perhaps the world is divided into mustard people and catsup people, and if so, count me among the catsup lovers forever, and pass the mustard only once in a while.  I am the proud owner of several wacky bottles of catsup that live contentedly on a shelf in my office at the library. They are the result of an advertising campaign from the Heinz Company and my collection was started by our dearly missed library friend, Mrs. Sally Young.

Sally found the first bottle at the commissary at Fort Greely and brought it to the library thinking it would suit my sense of humor, as it said “Instructions: Use on Food” where the usual label was supposed to be. We laughed and laughed, and found out that Heinz had asked people to send in catchy phrases to their web site, and the best ones showed up on a limited edition of bottle labels. “Makes Hot Dogs Wag Their Tails” is still one of my favorites, followed closely by “Can’t Help Brussel Sprouts” and “Made for Meatloaf.” We both got a kick out of hunting for the newest labels, and I never did get to the Heinz web site quick enough to enter my own catchy phrase, despite Sally’s encouragement. The contest ended and the labels vanished for a time, but recently, I read that due to lots of interest, it will be starting again. I may get brave and send in an idea or two – I’ll keep you posted.

In the meantime, here’s what I know about America’s favorite condiment. Not only does catsup outsell every other kind of spread, dip and sauce in the land; it’s been around for more than a hundred years in its present form. The basic recipe starts with very ripe, slowly simmered tomatoes and the various catsup companies guard their secret combination of spices very closely. Flavored catsup is all the rage right now and a web site I checked called ketchupworld.com  features more than sixty kinds from all over the world.

There’s kosher, sugar free, hot chili, sweet onion flavored, garlic laced catsup and more. But for my money, nothing compliments a French fry or a hamburger better than plain old ordinary catsup straight from the bottle.  But how often do we think of using catsup in a recipe? When warmed, catsup reveals a whole new personality you may not even realize is there.  So prepare yourself – some of today's ideas are a little out of the ordinary, but they aren’t complicated, expensive or time consuming – just the kind of carefree things we all need to know about – enjoy!

Rosy Chicken
Chicken and catsup? Not something we think about going together very often, but here are three different sauces for poultry featuring catsup that you can make ahead of time and use as needed. They’d also work well for barbecuing – just wait and baste the last five minutes of grilling to prevent scorching.
1 3 pound chicken, cut up
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 cup catsup
1/4 cup corn syrup
1 pinch garlic powder
Place chicken in a single layer and skin side up, in a sprayed 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Combine the soy sauce, catsup, corn syrup and garlic powder, pour evenly over chicken. Bake uncovered at 350 for about an hour, basting every 15 minutes.

Garlic Glaze
1/2 cup catsup
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons olive oil
6 cut up chicken pieces

Combine the catsup, honey, vinegar and garlic and set aside. Sear the chicken in the olive oil two to three minutes, then transfer to a 9x13 baking dish and cover with sauce. Bake at 350 for 35 to 45 minutes, basting every 15 minutes.

Curry Chicken Baste
Tomato and curry go so well together that you almost don’t need the cayenne in this – you can add more or less, depending on how much heat you can stand. If it seems to thick, just thin it with water.
1 cup catsup
3 level tablespoons curry powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
8 chicken legs
Combine the catsup, curry powder and cayenne powder until smooth. Add chicken pieces and turn to coat. Bake at 350 about 35 minutes, basting with sauce occasionally.

Manly Meatballs
Just the thing to serve the Mister during the big game, or after the big fishing expedition, or other manly pursuits like hauling in your potting soil or changing the oil in your car, bless your heart, honey.

1 (28 ounce) bottle catsup
24 fluid ounces beer (dark is best)
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 yellow onion, finely minced OR
1 package dry onion soup mix
Place the beer and catsup in a slow cooker on high setting, mix well and bring to a simmer. Combine the ground beef, garlic powder and onion, mixing well. Form into meatballs. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes until brown and crisp. Transfer meatballs to the slow cooker, stir gently to coat with sauce and simmer for 3 hours; sauce will thicken as it cooks.

Lemon Chops
You definitely need rice on the side with this, and I’m thinking asparagus would be perfect alongside, too.
6 (4 ounce, 1/2-inch thick) pork chops
1 lemon
3/4 cup catsup
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
Brown pork chops lightly on both sides. Remove to shallow baking dish.
Combine the catsup, brown sugar, and vinegar. Pour mixture over chops, spreading to cover evenly. Cut 6 slices from the lemon, and lay one slice on top of each chop. Squeeze the juice from the remaining portion of lemon over the chops. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 minutes more.
Finally, here’s four catsup based sauces that work with things that are dunkable like: tiny meatballs, cocktail wieners, fried shrimp, Polish sausage chunks, chicken wings or even vegetable tempura.

Simple Sweet and Sour Sauce
A traditional sweet and sour sauce that’s handy to have on hand and takes practically no time to put together.
3/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup white vinegar
2/3 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons catsup
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Combine everything in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil. Stir with a wire whisk continuously until the mixture has thickened. Add pineapple bits, thin carrot slices or bits of red or green pepper for color if desired. Serve warm.

Berry Basting Sauce
This is similar to that glow-in-the-dark currant jelly and mustard sauce that has floated a million meatballs over the years, but it has way more zip.
1/2 cups blackberry preserves
1 1/2 cups catsup
1/8 cup packed brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Combine everything in the blender until smooth and use to baste chicken wings or glaze meatballs. Or serve at room temperature drizzled over a block of good cream cheese and some sturdy crackers.

Sassy Sauce
This is the best sauce for any kind of sausage chunks or cocktail links. It’s spicy and a bit sweet to compliment the salty flavor of the meat. Make a double batch, since people tend to sneak spoonfuls of it when you’re not looking.
1 cup catsup
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup beer
Heat everything together over low heat until sugar dissolves. A little minced onion is good, and so is a shot of Tabasco sauce if you like it.

Ring Toss Sauce
The second best sauce and one that’s been around for years, simply because you can’t improve on a classic. It’s a great serve-it-yourself appetizer and people are always happy to find this waiting for them in the slow cooker.
2 pounds sausage, sliced in one inch rings
2 cups catsup
2 cups grape jelly
Combine jelly and catsup over low heat and stir occasionally until mixture forms a thin glaze. Add the sausage, cover and let simmer 15 to 20 minutes.

  

Index to Carefree Gourmet Articles

Sourdough Sensations June 29, 2007

Kitty Treats June 29, 2007

Dog Treats April 20, 2007

Sandwich Plan March 23, 2007

Carefree Wacky Ingredients March 8, 2007

Homestead Hearth January 25, 2007

Carefree Cooking 101 January 11, 2007

Holiday Punch December 23, 2006

Holiday Treats December 12, 2006

Thanksgiving II November 20, 2006

Standby Favorites October 16, 2006

Cabbage October 11, 2006

Apples September 22, 2006

Kids Cook July 6, 2006

Wacky Tips June 8, 2006

Graduation May 11, 2006

African Cuisine April 13, 2006

A Bit of Irish March 23, 2006

Crazy for Carrots March 9, 2006

February Vacation February 23, 2006

Easy Budget January 12, 2006

Christmas Treats December 22, 2005

Sweet Surprises December 8, 2005

Turkey Times  November 22, 2005

Grand Champions - Part 2 - October 13, 2005

Janet Boyer September 22, 2005

Grand Champions September 5, 2005

Blueberries  August 12, 2005

Halibut and Zukes July 28, 2005

Orange Juice July 14, 2005

Happy Birthday June 30, 2005

Honey June 9, 2005

Picnic Dishes May 26, 2005

Celebration Salads May 12, 2005

Kraft Foods April 21, 2005

Shrimp April 7, 2005

Carry on Airline snacks March 25, 2005

Sandwiches March 10, 2005

Back from Vacation February 24, 2005

Super Bowl Snack Attack  January 14, 2005

Ginger Snaps December 29, 2004

Christmas Memories - December 12, 2004

Thanksgiving November 23, 2004

Glen and Meat  October 29, 2004

Blueberry Pie Champion  September 30, 2004

Fair Winners  September 2, 2004

Glen's Knives June 11, 2004

Aunt Aggie Tells All... May 13, 2004

Crazy About Catsup April 29, 2004

Carefree Clearance Special April 8, 2004

Seattle Adventure March 26, 2004

Vegas, part 2 March 12, 2004

Vegas Wind February 12, 2004

Casserole Bonanza January 11, 2004

No Fuss Dishes  December 19, 2003

Fake and Bake Christmas  December 11, 2003