Old Timey Southern Hot Dog Chili
You want to make Carolinians happy? Give them great hot dog chili. One of the most famous hot dog chili recipes in North Carolina was made by the late Mabel Morgan of Wilson, NC. Mabel was the one who made the chili for her family’s hot dog stand, called Bruce's Hot Dog Stand. I tried to get her recipe for years and I was finally able to get it from Mabel's daughter, Millie. This is her exact recipe - and it is goes perfect with an "All The Way", Frosty Morn hot dog.
- 1 1/4 lb ground beef
- 1 large onion (About 1 cup chopped)
- 1 (6-oz) can tomato paste
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1 tbls chili powder
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp cider or white vinegar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper (optional)
Place the beef, onion and 2 cups of water in a Dutch oven or soup pot over very high heat. Bring the water to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and stir to begin breaking up the meat. Add the tomato paste, ketchup, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, salt and pepper, if using. Stir well until the tomato paste and ketchup are dissolved and the meat is mostly broken up. Continue to cook at a simmer, stirring about every 5 minutes, about 15 minutes. As the chili thickens, you may need to reduce the heat to med-low or low so it doesn't stick. Refrigerate, covered, up to 2 days, or freeze in small freezer bags up to 6 months. Thaw or reheat in a microwave, stirring often. Makes about 1 qt.
Alice Gurkin's Mashed Potato Cake
I don't think I have ever seen a recipe for Mashed Potato Cake. It's just not something you would think of. However, I grew up eating this at least once every two weeks or so. Mom would take some day-old mashed potatos and a few odds and ends and make something that was truly delicious. Here is Mom's old southern recipe for mashed potato cake and I believe my Mom got her recipe from my grandmother, but wouldn't swear to it.
- Some flour (on a plate)
- Some leftover mashed potatoes (cold)
- Some butter
- Salt and pepper to taste
- (Don't you just love these exact amount ingredients in old recipes? But this is what I have to work with from many of these old recipes. And temps would generally be low, moderate, med, med high, high, etc. Depending on if you were cooking on top of the stove or in the oven, the temps would vary a lot in degrees.)
Divide the mashed potatoes into portions and then make them into balls. Flatten the balls into a "cake" and then flour both sides of the potato cake. Fry the potato cakes in butter (med heat) until you get a golden crust on both sides. Use a bit of salt and pepper on them. I bet you will end up making extra mashed potato's just so you can make potato cake before you get done with this recipe. These are good with gravy, without gravy, with meat, without meat. They are just good.( Note: You can extend the potatoes by mixing in an egg and some flour. But that's messy. You still have to flour the cakes and fry them.)
