Marlow's Meat Casserole

This casserole is a version of the great taste of stroganoff. This dish is dedicated to the Elizabethan playwright Christopher Marlowe. Shakespeare is well known and honored but what about his contemporary. Here is an interesting quick story of him for great dinner conversation. An easy to fix hearty meal.

Beef & sausage with mushrooms in a creamy cheese sauce. Served on a bed of pasta. A great recipe to play with once you have it mastered.

Ingredients:

1 (16 oz) package pasta (used whole wheat rigotini)

1 pound ground beef + ½ lbs sausage

½ cup chopped onion

1 pinch salt and ground black pepper to taste

1 pinch garlic powder (Optional)

1 cup fresh mushrooms

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of bacon soup

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese softened to room temperature

½ c milk, plus more to taste

1 cup frozen peas

½ cup shredded carrots

Directions:

Heat the pasta water to a boil and add 1 tsp salt. Add the pasta and cook til “Al Dente”.

Drain the pasta and keep them warm in their cooking pot.

Rinse and slice the mushrooms. Allow to drain well in a colander.

While that cooks, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Start the onions and add the ground beef and sausage that has been cut open and casing removed. Cook until well brown and crumbly. 6 – 8 minutes. Remove to a paper towel lined bowl to drain.

Add a TBS of butter to the remaining grease in the skillet. Sprinkle in the sliced mushrooms and coat with 3 TBS of flour stirring til well mixed. Stir occasionally as the mushrooms lose their water and turn a crispy brown. About 10 minutes.

Stir in the carrots and peas.

Mix the 2 cans of soup in a large bowl with the milk and garlic powder. Add to skillet. 

 

 Dot with the cream cheese. Stir and cook until well mixed. Pour in the cooked beef & sausage. Let simmer for 6 – 10 minutes.

Serve hot on a bed of the pasta with a side of mixed vegetables and enjoy!

Fantastic for a rainy spring evening.

For our music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARZDfcVOwno Its in his kiss

socialslave

To satisfy and restore.

To nourish, support and maintain.

To gratify, spoil, comfort and please,

to nurture, assist, and sustain

…..I cook!

Please buy slave's cookbook:

The Little Black Book of Indiscreet Recipes by Dan White

 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F315Y4I/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_vAT4sb0934RTM via @amazon

=======================================

Christopher Marlowe 

 

 Christopher Marlowe was baptized in February 1564. This makes him about two months older than William Shakespeare.

By age 16, Marlowe attended Cambridge, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1584. In 1587, the university hesitated to award his Master of Arts degree because of a rumor that he intended to go to France, to become a Roman Catholic priest. If true, that would have been a violation of a royal edict issued by Queen Elizabeth I in 1585.

His degree was awarded on schedule when the Privy Council intervened on his behalf, commending him for his "faithful dealing" and "good service" to the Queen. The nature of Marlowe's service was not specified, but the theory is that Marlowe was operating as a secret agent for a Privy Council member Sir Francis Walsingham. Vague wording was typically used to protect government agents.

Marlowe launched his literary career in 1587.

Six dramas have been attributed to Christopher Marlowe either alone or with other writers. Tamburlaine was the first to be performed on a regular commercial stage in London in 1587. Believed by many scholars to be Marlowe's greatest success. It is generally considered the beginning of the mature phase of the Elizabethan theater.

• Dido, Queen of Carthage

• Tamburlaine; Part I

• The Jew of Malta

• Doctor Faustus

• Edward II

• The Massacre at Paris

Also:

Amores, first book of Latin elegiac couplets by Ovid with translation by Marlowe; copies publicly burned as offensive in 1599.

The Passionate Shepherd to His Love, by Marlowe.

Hero and Leander, by Marlowe

Pharsalia, Book One, by Lucan with translation by Marlowe.

Marlowe's plays were enormously successful, possibly due to the imposing stage presence of his lead actor, Edward Alleyn. Alleyn was unusually tall for the time and was a favorite of Marlowe.

His plays flourished throughout the 1590s. However, Marlowe's translation of Ovid was banned and copies were publicly burned as part of Archbishop Whitgift's crackdown on offensive material.

Little is known about Marlowe's adult life. Much has been written, including speculation of: his being a spy for the royality; his private same-sex interests; and the puzzling circumstances surrounding his death.

An informer called Richard Baines submitted to the authorities a "note containing the opinion of one Christopher Marly concerning his damnable judgment of religion, and scorn of God's word". Baines attributes to Marlowe a total of eighteen items which "scoff at the pretensions of the Old and New Testament" such as, "Christ was a bastard and his mother dishonest [unchaste]", "the woman of Samaria were whores and that Christ knew them dishonestly", "St John the Evangelist was bedfellow to Christ and leaned always in his bosom" and "that he used him as the sinners of Sodom".

At that time, plays had to be approved by the Master of the Revels before they could be performed and the censorship of publications was under the control of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Authorities did not consider any of Marlowe's works to be unacceptable other than the Amores.

It has been stated that Marlowe was homosexual. Marlowe is reported as saying: "all they that love not Tobacco & Boies were fools".

Many point to how many times Marlowe explores homosexual themes in his writing: in Hero and Leander, Marlowe writes of the male youth Leander: "in his looks were all that men desire..."

Edward the Second contains the following passage enumerating homosexual relationships:

The mightiest kings have had their minions;
Great Alexander loved Hephaestion,
The conquering Hercules for Hylas wept;
And for Patroclus, stern Achilles drooped.
And not kings only, but the wisest men:
The Roman Tully loved Octavius,
Grave Socrates, wild Alcibiades.

On Wednesday, 30 May1593, Marlowe was killed. One published report said Marlowe was "stabbed to death by a bawdy serving-man, a rival of his in his lewd love".

The coroner's report was discovered in 1925. Marlowe had spent all day in a house, together with three men: Ingram Frizer, Nicholas Skeres and Robert Poley. All three had been employed by members of the Privy Council. These witnesses testified that Frizer and Marlowe had argued over payment of the bill. In the ensuing struggle, according to the coroner's report, Marlowe was stabbed above the right eye, killing him instantly. The jury concluded that Frizer acted in self-defense and was pardoned. This description has been disputed and outcome as impossible. There is doubt that such a wound could have resulted in instant death.

It was well known that the witnesses were professional liars. There have been some interesting theories:

• Jealous of her husband Thomas's relationship with Marlowe, Audrey Walsingham arranged for the playwright to be murdered.

• Sir Walter Raleigh arranged the murder, fearing that under torture Marlowe might incriminate him.

• The Queen ordered his assassination because of his subversive atheistic behavior.

• Frizer murdered him because he envied Marlowe's close relationship with his master Thomas Walsingham.

• Marlowe's death was faked to save him from trial and execution for subversive atheism.

It is unlikely that the full circumstances of Marlowe's death will ever be known.

Marlowe was buried in an unmarked grave in the churchyard of St. Nicholas, Deptford immediately after the inquest, on 1 June 1593.

In July 2002, a memorial window to Marlowe, a gift of the Marlowe Society, was unveiled in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey. Notice the question mark!

Stoker Swiss Steak

This easy version of Swiss steak is named in honor of Bram Stoker who wrote Dracula! Read about this tormented guy after the recipe.

Cubed steaks roasted in the oven with green pepper, tomatoes, and celery. One pan clean up and an all day taste. Perfect for those days of spring showers.

Ingredients:

2 lbs of cubed steak

¾ cup flour

2 tsp salt

2 tsp pepper

1 tsp seasoned salt

¼ – ½ cup vegetable oil

1 large onion thinly sliced

1 green bell pepper diced

2 stalks celery finely diced

2 cloves garlic minced

28 oz. can of stewed tomatoes

1½ cups beef broth

1 TBS ketchup

½ tsp oregano

1 tsp paprika

1 TBS Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

Pre heat oven to 350. Spray a dutch oven and set aside. Make sure it fits on the oven rack!

Do your cutting: cut the onion, bell pepper and celery. Cut the steak into strips.

On a plate mix the flour and seasonings

Dredge the steak in the flour.

Heat oil in the dutch oven and brown the strips turning to cook both sides. They don’t have to be fully cooked. They will finish in the oven. You are just going for color and flavor here.

Once all steak is browned, remove to a plate. Add a little more oil if needed. Add celery and bell pepper and cook to soften and get a little color on them. About 4 mins.

Add your garlic and cook for another minute.

Then add your stewed tomatoes with their liquid, ketchup, paprika, oregano and beef broth and mix well. Return the strips to the pot.

Bake in oven @ 350° for 1½ - 2 hours. Stirring gently after 45 minutes and taste for seasoning to see if you need to adjust.

Serve over buttered noodles. This goes really nice with a zapped mixed vegetable, but I suggest to pick one with no sauce.

What a meal.

For our music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FThZ2ZvY_LE Blue Moon

So happy to be serving my Master Indy

socialslave

To satisfy and restore.

To nourish, support and maintain.

To gratify, spoil, comfort and please,

to nurture, assist, and sustain

…..I cook!

Please buy slave's cookbook:

The Little Black Book of Indiscreet Recipes by Dan White 

 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F315Y4I/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_vAT4sb0934RTMvia @amazon

================================

Bram Stoker

Bram Stoker was born on 8 November 1847 on the north side of Dublin, Ireland. He is best known as the author of Dracula. This tragic gay man was also successful theater critic, theater manager, historian and speaker. Stoker would go on to publish 17 novels in all, but it was his 1897 novel that eventually earned him literary fame and became known as a masterpiece of Victorian-era Gothic literature.

He was bedridden with an unknown illness until he started school at the age of seven, when he made a complete recovery. He was educated in a private school.

He grew up without further serious illnesses, even excelling as an athlete at Trinity College, Dublin. He graduated and pursued his MA in 1875. He was auditor of the College Historical Society and president of the University Philosophical Society.

Stoker became interested in the theater as a student. He became the theater critic for the Dublin Evening Mail. In December 1876, he gave a favorable review of Henry Irving's Hamlet at the Theatre Royal in Dublin. Irving invited Stoker for dinner at the Shelbourne Hotel where he was staying, and they became “friends”.

After moving to London, Stoker became acting manager and then business manager of Irving's Lyceum Theatre, London, a post he held for 27 years.

                        

The first copies of his greatest novel Dracula, appear in London bookshops on May 26, 1897.

Upon its release, Dracula enjoyed moderate success, though when Stoker died in 1912 none of his obituaries even mentioned Dracula by name.

Dracula is written as a collection of realistic but completely fictional diary entries, telegrams, letters, ship's logs, and newspaper clippings, all of which added a level of realism to the story.

The stature of the novel grew steadily after publication. Stoker’s other attempts at literary success were less successful. Sales began to take off in the 1920s, when the novel was adapted for Broadway.

The first film adaptation of Dracula was Nosferatu, released in 1922. Stoker's widow Florence sued the filmmakers. Her chief legal complaint was that she had neither been asked for permission for the adaptation nor paid any royalty. Mrs. Stoker demanded the destruction of the negative and all prints of the film. The suit was finally resolved in the widow's favor in 1925. A single print of the film survived, however, and it has become well known.

Dracula mania kicked into even higher gear with Universal’s blockbuster 1931 film, starring the Hungarian actor Bela Lugosi. Dozens of vampire-themed movies, television shows and literature followed, though Lugosi, with his exotic accent, remains the quintessential Count Dracula. 

 

It is important to remember at that time the portrayal was considered to be overtly sexual.

Stoker was a deeply private man, but his almost sexless marriage, intense adoration of Walt Whitman, Henry Irving and Hall Caine, and shared interests with Oscar Wilde, as well as the homoerotic aspects of Dracula have led to the conclusion that he was gay.

Stoker was understandably “circumspect” following the trial of his friend Oscar Wilde.

He was a member of Wilde’s literary group. Stoker’s wife, Florence was more of his literary executrix than a wife. She had been seriously courted by Oscar Wilde for marriage first.

The missing parts within Stoker’s surviving letters and diaries are maddeningly wide. Most families of this era had a desire to destroy unseemly evidence (his wife outlived him by a quarter of a century), as well as Stoker’s own reluctance to expose what was considered criminal vice at the time.

Still, there is evidence in Stoker’s lifelong association with Hall Caine, one of the 19th Century’s most famous British authors. It was either a love affair or close to it.

More proof of his sexuality, can be found in his gushing letters to Walt Whitman:

I would like to call YOU Comrade and to talk to you as men who are not poets do not often talk. I think that at first a man would be ashamed, for a man cannot in a moment break the habit of comparative reticence that has become second nature to him; but I know I would not long be ashamed to be natural before you. You are a true man, and I would like to be one myself, and so I would be towards you as a brother and as a pupil to his master. In this age no man becomes worthy of the name without effort. You have shaken off the shackles and your wings are free. I have the shackles on my shoulders still-but I have not wings.

Like Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker died of syphilis. Most of his personal life had been repeatedly wiped clean by embarrassed family, personal fear, and public ignorance.

He lived in a time when society and he himself believed that sexual energy must in fact be evil. Count Dracula and his “creatures of the night” lured victims by their powerful sexuality. Stoker must have fought his own natural sexual energies and knew they were killing him.

Like Jack the Ripper stalked the prostitutes of Whitechapel, gay Victorians were hunted by more than the fear of discovery and rejection.

After suffering a number of strokes, Stoker died in London in 1912 to tertiary syphilis.

He was cremated, and his ashes were placed in a display urn in north London. The ashes of Irving Noel Stoker, the author's son, were added to his father's urn following his death in 1961.

Succulent Slow Cooked Swine

This seems like a good night for slow cooked pork. So a package were purchased. These are thick and perfect for our crock pot meal tonight.

This is a variation of a favorite recipe, but instead of using Worcester sauce, this features Hoisin sauce & ginger for just a hint of something different. It still makes the most wonderful gravy, so rice with mushrooms rounds out this filling meal.

Ingredients:

2 lbs pork steaks (sliced pork butt)

1 large can condensed cream of chicken soup

2 yellow onions

4 tbs hoisin sauce

½ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp ground garlic

Directions:

I always suggest you do the cutting the night before when fixing a meal for the crock pot. This meal will take 7 hours so just count back from when you plan dinner. (5 O'clock dinner means start the slow cooker by 10AM)

Any time you use a mandolin slicer PLEASE use the food holder! It cuts far too quickly and easily.

The morning of the meal:

Lift out the slow cooker, wipe it out well and spray it with cooking spray. I always set it on low with the lid on the empty pot to let it warm while the meal is prepared. (that way silly slave does not forget to turn it on!)

Sprinkle the onions with 2 Tbs paprika and put half of them in cooker to form a light bed for the meat.

 

Trim the pork of extra layer of fat. It will just make the pot greasy.

Warm some oil on high heat in a large skillet and brown the edges of the pork. You want it to sizzle when in touches the pan. This will only take about 4 – 5 minutes per side. This just starts caramelizing the exterior proteins on the meat for optimum flavor as well as making it look more appetizing.

While that browns, mix the soups, sauce and seasonings in a large bowl with a whisk to combine.

Note: if the bowl is too full: twirl the whisk between your fingers to mix it up. That way you wont slouch it all over the place.

Arrange the meat on the bed of onions and cover with remaining slices and rings.

Smooth the soup mixture over the top with a spatula to cover well.

 

 

Let this cook on LOW for 7 hours. Much more than that and the meat will start to fall apart!

At the 6 and a half hour mark, Rinse and slice the mushrooms. Add oil to a large skillet and heat. Stir in the mushrooms and sprinkle with 3 Tbs of flour. Stir, let the mushrooms start to turn a nice crusty brown. Ladle out about 1 cup of cooking liquid from the slow cooker and add to skillet. Stir well and let thicken to a nice gravy-like texture. You want them to cook but not turn to mush.

Remove from heat.

Use this time do fix your rice and side vegetable.

Carefully remove the pork from cooker. It may be falling apart. Cut into bite sized chunks and add with the onions to the skillet of mushrooms and sauce. Serve over a bed of rice with the vegetables on the side.

A wonderful feast that cooks by itself, 'cuz you have other things to do! Wink Wink!

For our music, how about: https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=LlLsbL2LJKw

Feels so good to have the honor of serving my Master Indy

socialslave

To satisfy and restore.

To nourish, support and maintain.

To gratify, spoil, comfort and please,

to nurture, assist, and sustain

…..I cook!

Please buy slave's cookbook:

The Little Black Book of Indiscreet

 Recipes by Dan White

 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F315Y4I/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_vAT4sb0934RTM via @amazon

Puebla Poseidon Pasta

 This pasta dish calls for an avocado based dressing, which makes it extra creamy. Whole-wheat pasta and fresh vegetables lighten up this healthy salad that you'll be making all summer long. The name derives from the Mexican city of Puebla. Well known for the production of wonderful avocados, and of course “Cinco de Mayo”. Poseidon was the Greek god of the sea to honor the taste of lobster. He is now also the god of salads.

It’s hard to think of a better pasta dressing for you. Avocados are packed with healthy fats, fiber, and vitamin K. Avocados help the body to absorb two key antioxidants—lycopene and beta-carotene. Just add some avocado or this dressing and your body will soak ’em right up.

The healthy avocado fats and yogurt helps the digestive tract, helps keep inflammation down and help to lower the risk of heart disease. You can't say the same thing about mayonnaise!

Ingredients

10 oz imitation lobster meat

8 ounces whole-wheat pasta(about 2 cups)

1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

1 cup sliced celery

1 cup cubed colby jack cheese

2 green onions, chopped

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Dressing*:

1 ripe medium avocado

5oz nonfat yogurt

zest of a lime and its juice

½ tsp dried minced garlic

1 Tbs cilantro

¾ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

*This makes a great salad dressing, a sauce for roasted vegetables, even a dip. You can use it in place of mayonnaise in chicken, ham, or egg salad.

Directions:

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water according to package directions. While that cooks, do your cutting: chop the onions, bell pepper, and celery.

When cooking pasta please note that if it were to be served hot, you want it to be cooked to “al dente” or slightly firm – then not rinsed. However for pasta salads, it is served cold. So please cook it 2 minutes PAST “al dente”, then rinse well under cold water. For the kitchen scientist, look up the process called retrogradation, otherwise: just do it and take the compliments!

Drain, rinse pasta with cold water; drain again. Transfer to a large bowl. Add bell pepper, celery, green onions and cilantro.

Stir in the lobster meat. Cover and place in refrigerator for an hour to blend flavors.

Cut the lime in half first, then cut the avocados.

 

  

 

 

Cut into the avocado down to the pit.  Run the knife around from top to bottom, remove pit and scoop flesh into a food processor. Add yogurt, garlic, cilantro, lime zest and squeeze some juice in.

Process until smooth. You want a thick dressing. Taste to adjust with salt & pepper.

Just before serving, add the avocado dressing to the large bowl with the salad and stir until well coated. Keep salad covered to slow any browning of the avocado.

Serve with some bake-it-yourself bread. Perfect summer fare.

For our music: https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=05w5ch9l6zI Mas que Nada

What a treat for my Master Indy.

socialslave

To satisfy and restore.

To nourish, support and maintain.

To gratify, spoil, comfort and please,

to nurture, assist, and sustain

…..I cook!

Please buy slave's cookbook:

The Little Black Book of Indiscreet Recipes by Dan White 

 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F315Y4I/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_vAT4sb0934RTM via @amazon