As our family and friends gathered here in Eureka Springs two weeks ago, the conversation turned, as it often does when families reminisce, to the comfort food of childhood. One of my children's favorites was, and is, Bologna Cups. Doesn't sound very appetizing? Maybe that's because it's a Memphis Thing. I think that's why my sons' ladies fail to appreciate the appeal of that tasty dish. They are from barbaric areas of our fine country.....California, Virginia, and Texas..... and just don't see it. Most born-and-bred Memphians love Bologna cups, having been introduced to them at a very young age by the school system.
I remember well the first time I ate a Bologna Cup. It was in the cafeteria of Rozelle Elementary School which I attended from the first grade through the first half of the fourth. I had never tasted anything so delicious in my life! What a fantastic idea! I loved Bologna, and I loved mashed potatoes. Here were my two favorites combined! It just didn't get any better than that.
Bologna, or baloney, as it's pronounced in good Southern homes, was a staple at our house, as was ground beef and canned meats such as Vienna Sausages, corned beef, and potted meat. These "meats" grew to favor during the Great Depression because they were dirt cheap. My parents' families were poor before the Depression, and during and after, they sure didn't have the money for steaks. When my parents married, they carried on the fine tradition of serving up cheap meats in cans and frying ground beef in all sorts of ways in pure lard. Yum. Yum. Bacon grease was saved to season vegetables. In those days, I'm surprised that anybody's heart was able to pump blood through blocked arteries longer than 40 years, but, I'm telling you, the food was delicious!
But to get back to the Bologna Cups.... every time the subject comes up, our children rhapsodize about them, but the family members, who don't actually have our blood coursing through their veins, sniff with disgust and roll their eyes. Bologna Cups! Whoever heard of such a thing? That sounds disgusting!
Our children love them, and our boys would like for their ladies to dish them up occasionally. Well, I don't think Jason expects Erin to cook them because she's a vegetarian, and he is sensitive to her feelings about that. Tom, along with Robin, does eat vegetarian most of the time, but he still appreciates a good Bologna Cup every now and then. He's had to master the delicate technique and learn to cook them himself. Keith's wife, Brandi, doesn't understand all the excitement about them. I think she has prepared them a time or two, but she'd really rather not, and she'd rather take a beating than to eat one.
If you don't know exactly how to prepare Bologna Cups, but your mouth is simply watering at the prospect of eating them, here's what you do:
First, you make a big pot of mashed potatoes. I use an entire 5-lb bag for this because I want to make enough Bologna Cups to last for a while When the potatoes are boiled and mashed, you grab a package or two of all-beef Bologna. Heat up a skillet.... an electric skillet is best because you can cook more pieces at a time and start gobbling them up sooner. Drop the Bologna in the skillet and stand back and gaze in wonder as it curls up into cute little bowls. Is that not the neatest thing you've ever seen? Some sort of mysterious scientific principle is involved here, but I can't explain it. Suffice it to say, that it's miraculous! After a minute or so, flip the Bologna over and let the little bowls curl up the other way. It's really fun to watch them, but try to contain yourself and only do it twice. You don't want to scorch your Bologna.
Now, here's the trick: Quickly, before the Bologna loses its shape, start slapping big spoonsful of mashed potatoes in the bowls. Use your own good judgment as to how much to pile on each one. When each Bologna bowl has taters, it's time for the final touch: Kraft's American Cheese slices. Place one-half slice on each Bologna Cup. Then, place the cover of the electric skillet over the skillet for a few minutes so the cheese will melt. Ah..... a Southern gourmet meal. Voila! Bologna Cups! That's some mighty fine eating!
Other family culinary delights are salmon croquettes, made sort of the way Mama made them... although I changed the recipe slightly.... and boiled peanuts. We are still in the process of convincing the ladies that those dishes are delicacies. We've tried for years, but they just don't get it. We can only pity them. They just don't know what they're missing.
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4 comments:
Yummmmmmm Yummmmmmmm the first time I tasted these in grade school, I thought I was in heaven!!! The only difference in the ones I remember is that the potatoes were put in the bologna cups then an indention was made in the potatoes and a spoon full of green peas were added, then cheese was put on top. Of course I grew up with a grandmother who was mexican, married to my grandfather who was greek, he owned many Memphis restuarants. He was a wonderful cook as well as my grandmother. We had wonderful food in my family but a piece of bologna never entered our house, so it was a real treat to me when we had it at school. Therefore I still love it today. I also loved the pizza we had in school each serving had a slice of cheese melted on top. Good memories June.
My mother stirred English peas into her mashed potatoes occasionally. I had forgotten all about that! I loved cafeteria food. I even love hospital food. I would eat anything anybody set before me. Do yo remember the vegetable soup that they served in the schools? It was delicious, and they would make these little peanut butter log things to serve with it. They would mix peanut butter and applesauce, I think, then roll the mixture into little logs and coat with powdered sugar. The only thing I would not eat was the liver. I really hated Liver Day at Sherwood Elementary! Those were the days when the teachers patrolled the cafeteria and made us take three bites of everything on our plate. So, we had to outsmart her. We'd cut off approximately three bites from the noxious "meat" and stuff it into our little empty milk cartons. You had to be crafty and sly in those days!
What restaurants did your family own, Linda? I bet my family ate at one or two of them. My favorite Greek restaurant in theMemphis was, and still is, Jim's Place East.
Robin will cook bologna cups for me. And she even likes eating them though I don't think she'd be cooking them just for herself. I get to have a "White Trash" night about once a week and I often request these. She cooks Salmon Croquettes too---a couple of years ago she even made them for Christmas dinner!
I'm thinking of making Robin and honnorary Memphian as soon as she admits that MEMPHIS Bar-B-Q is better than that stuff that they CALL Bar-B-Q in north carolina (notice I didn't even capitalize the name of the state to show my disdain.)
Oh man! We called these Mexican Hats when I was in elementary school! The funniest thing, though, is that NOBODY I've ever met knew what the heck it was! Then I met my boyfriend, and we were driving home from dinner one night and I said, "you know what I used to LOVE to eat in elementary school from the cafeteria?" And he said "MEXICAN HATS!!" I knew we were meant for each other!!
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