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.
