Marguerites Cookbook

A cooking blog all about making vintage recipes from a cookbook we inherited from our grandmother

Fish Fillet Recipe

Fish Fillet Header

Here’s an interesting fact about Marguerite that we recently learned—she was not a huge fan of seafood!  We learned from Aaron’s mother that Marguerite only made fish recipes on Friday’s during lent, and made seafood recipes to appeal to her other family members, such as Aaron’s mom, Mercedes.  She was devoutly Catholic, so Fish Fridays were important to her. After we learned this fact, we flipped through the book and realized just how few seafood recipes there are! We will feature a favorite seafood recipe of Mercedes’ in a few weeks, but for now, on to this fish fillet recipe.

 

Here’s what Marguerite had to say:

Fish Fillets

Aaron typically takes notes while making recipes to denote what time we started and any other pertinent information to refresh our memories when it comes time to write our posts.  This fish recipe was so simple, he completely forgot to write a single thing down!

Fish Fillets

This fish fillet recipe was a little too basic. So much so, that I felt it was nothing special when it came time to try it.  I have since discovered that I don’t care for most mild fish and so far prefer salmon over most all others I’ve tried. It was “meh” enough that I almost wanted to put it on the dud list and not even write about it.

I don’t think Aaron would run out and buy tilapia (like we chose this time) in bulk to make this dish for himself every day, but he did like it more than I.  He enjoys the flavor and consistency that ingredients like sour cream give to a dish, and was very excited to be able to use one of our new found favorite spices, paprika, again.

Fish Fillets

This fish fillet recipe isn’t as healthy as a fillet with lemon juice, salt, and pepper, but it is just as quick and easy to prepare!  So if you want to try a new recipe that won’t take a lot of time, give this a try!

Fish Fillets
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
4 5 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 5 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Fish Fillets
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
4 5 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 5 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Ingredients
Servings:
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Grease baking pan and arrange fish in single layer, salt.
  3. Spread sour cream over fish fillets.
  4. Sprinkle parsley and paprkia.
  5. Bake covered for 30 minutes or until it flakes.
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Pittsburgh Ham Barbecue Sandwiches

Pittsburgh Ham Barbecue Sandwiches

Chipped chopped ham is a Pittsburgh culinary tradition and one of those unique regional things you just can’t find anywhere else. So the fact that we made this recipe from Chicago was a little difficult. Oh? You’re not familiar with the term “chipped chopped ham?” Allow me to explain…

Pittsburgh Ham Barbecue

According to Isaly’s, the premier deli meat supplier in Pittsburgh, chopped ham is made from ham chunks and seasonings, all ground together and then smushed into a loaf. Then, it’s sliced super thin, making it both chipped and chopped. We found thin deli meat very easily, but we could not find chopped ham! We totally could have had some shipped to us here in Chicago, but we have poor planning skills, so we had to settle with ye olde thin ham.

Here is what Marguerite had to say:

Ham Sandwich recipe

Though it wasn’t in the instructions, Aaron decided to cube the ham. Cubing it certainly made it easier to “stuff” the buns more and get more meat on the sandwiches. I highly recommend this extra step.

Pittsburgh Ham Sandwiches

For as simple as the sauce recipe was, it certainly packed a lot of flavor. We we’re both huge fans of these ham barbecue sandwiches and we’re planning on making them frequently (and maybe ordering some chipped chopped ham from Pittsburgh.) Serving them with some potato chips and Pepsi was *muah*

Pittsburgh Ham Barbecue Sandwiches

Her note about purchasing “good buns” for the sandwiches was ignored by us and boy was it a mistake. The barbecue sauce makes the buns beyond soggy. If you’re going to make this, get good buns. Also, it’s very important to use Heinz ketchup in the sauce. Again, it’s a Pittsburgh thing…

Pittsburgh Barbecue Sandwiches

If you’re outside of the Pittsburgh area and don’t want to ship chipped chopped ham in (I totally don’t blame you if you don’t) the regular, thin sliced ham you can pick up in the deli section worked just fine for us. Now go enjoy some ham n’at!

 

Pittsburgh Ham Barbecue Sandwiches
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
8 sandwhiches 5 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes
Servings Prep Time
8 sandwhiches 5 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes
Pittsburgh Ham Barbecue Sandwiches
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
8 sandwhiches 5 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes
Servings Prep Time
8 sandwhiches 5 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes
Ingredients
Servings: sandwhiches
Instructions
  1. Combine the ketchup, water, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, and cinnamon.
  2. Put the barbecue mixture into a saucepan and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
  3. Add the meat and simmer another 10 minutes.
  4. Serve on sandwich buns.
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Rice and Broccoli Casserole

Rice and Broccoli Casserole

Now I like broccoli, rice, and especially cheese as much as the next person, but I can’t say I particularly love them all mixed together. However, this rice and broccoli casserole was not a bad way to mix them.  This particular casserole was introduced to Marguerite by an elementary school colleague, Sylvia Camp.

ricecasserole

Here is what Marguerite’s cookbook had to say:

Casserole

As you can see, this rice and broccoli casserole is another extremely simple recipe which includes quite a few of the same ingredients that a lot of Marguerite’s recipes employed. Casseroles were a staple of hers. This must have made making any number of different recipes easy depending on what she had on hand.  Mixing all these “cream of” soups together went a little better for us than it did for our Chicken and Broccoli Casserole.

ricecasserole

Like I mentioned earlier, I am not a huge fan of casseroles. This one was just okay, in my opinion. Aaron also enjoys carbs and cheese, and at times only wishes to tolerate vegetables. He had this rice and broccoli casserole along with our protein of choice for a few meals, but he didn’t necessarily feel the urge to go up for seconds. For two people who, outside of Marguerite’s meals, were used to having a pile of vegetables next to a pile of starch, this was a clever change of pace. Aaron found some value in a casserole as a different way to prepare these accompanying food groups, and will likely want to try this again with some improvements.

ricecasserole

Rice and Broccoli Casserole
Print Recipe
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Rice and Broccoli Casserole
Print Recipe
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Ingredients
Servings:
Instructions
  1. Butter the bottom of a casserole dish.
  2. Put cooked rice in casserole dish.
  3. Sauté onions in butter until light brown.
  4. Mix the onions with the cooked and drained broccoli and the three different soups.
  5. Pour the mixture on top of the rice.
  6. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
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Grilled Flounder

Grilled Flounder

This is a great flounder recipe that can be either baked or grilled. We choose to do a baked version of this recipe, but it can be made on a Foreman or a regular grill.

Grilled Flounder

Here is what Marguerite had to say:

Grilled Flounder

One of the best parts of this grilled flounder recipe is how few ingredients it takes to make the sauce. Simplicity is always a plus for us. Aaron was surprised that cocktail sauce plus mustard equaled barbecue flavor, however he hates flounder. He wants to try it again on another white fish. I want to try it again on a grill.

Grilled Flounder

This grilled flounder has a nice, tangy consistency to it. It’s the perfect flavor for a summer meal and definitely one we’ll try again as the weather warms up.

Grilled Flounder

Grilled Flounder
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
4 4 oz 10 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 4 oz 10 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Grilled Flounder
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
4 4 oz 10 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 4 oz 10 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Ingredients
Servings: 4 oz
Instructions
  1. Lay fish in baking dish.
  2. Mix other ingredients and spread on fish.
  3. Bake 20 minutes at 450 degrees.
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Basil Burgers

Basil Burgers

A flavorful burger in the middle of winter? Why not!

As excited as we are to try these again in the summer, these basil burgers were a great meal to enjoy on a cold, Chicago night. We also live in an apartment and have no outdoor space to grill, so trying these in the summer won’t make a huge difference.

Here is what Marguerite had to say:

Basil Burgers Original

Last week I mentioned we hosted our parents for a “try our blog food” dinner. Technically, my mother hosted and we cooked because we live 500ish miles away from our parents and needed a place to host while we were in town. In addition to the zucchini bread, the basil burgers were on the menu for the main course. Again, total hit. That was a huge compliment especially from my dad who is the grill master.

Basil Burgers

These burgers have a nice hint of basil which compliments the onion flavor. Neither Aaron nor myself is a huge fan of heavy onion, but paired with the ground beef and turkey it packed a positive punch.

The addition of parmesan cheese “made it” for Aaron. He loved how that flavor worked with the basil and felt like it added that something special to the burgers.

I loved how the basil burgers were 50% beef and 50% turkey, making them just a little leaner and  healthier.

Basil Burgers

When we made these for ourselves, we cooked them in a skillet on the stove. For our parents, we used my mother’s George Foreman grill. We also have one at our place, but forgot to use it until after dinner was ready. Both methods of cooking worked well and there wasn’t a noticeable difference in the flavor, however the grilled burgers had a more consistent texture. Which is to say they were less charred on the outside. If you prefer a more blackened burger, go for the skillet!

Basil Burger

Again, I have a feeling we’ll be throwing this recipe into the regular dinner rotation.

Basil Burgers
Print Recipe
A simple yet flavorful burger recipe.
Servings Prep Time
8 Burgers 20 minutes
Cook Time
10-15 minutes
Servings Prep Time
8 Burgers 20 minutes
Cook Time
10-15 minutes
Basil Burgers
Print Recipe
A simple yet flavorful burger recipe.
Servings Prep Time
8 Burgers 20 minutes
Cook Time
10-15 minutes
Servings Prep Time
8 Burgers 20 minutes
Cook Time
10-15 minutes
Ingredients
Servings: Burgers
Instructions
  1. Combine and mix well the following ingredients: Egg, onion, parmesan cheese, basil, ketchup, garlic, salt, and pepper.
  2. Add the ground beef and ground turkey and mix well.
  3. Cook.
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Breaded Veal Cutlets

Breaded Veal Cutlets

As far as easy dinners go, these veal cutlets definitely make the list.

In an attempt to be real adults, we’re always on the lookout for “real” food to make for dinner. By real food we mean basically anything that isn’t EasyMac. This veal recipe is one to add to our regular dinner rotation and not just as part of our adventure in cooking through Marguerite’s book. Few ingredients, lots of flavor, and a quick prep time equate to a perfect meal for us and this veal brings it.

Veal Cutlets

Here is what Marguerite had to say:

IMG_0262

Another reason we love this recipe is because it could be very easy to try with other kinds of meats. Veal is pricey and we usually have other meats in our freezer for everyday use. Basically any kind of beef cut would compliment this recipe well, as well as chicken. Pork perhaps? We’ll have to try a few and report back.

Veal Cutlet Recipe

The preparation of the meat was very simple, which is a huge factor for us when making dinner every night. It was also super flavorful, despite the meat being a little tough. That, of course, had to do with the meat we selected, and not the recipe itself.  All-in-all, another success!

Breaded Veal

The only issue we ran into with this dish was actually finding veal cutlets. Hence why the meat we picked was so tough. We went to 3 grocery stores before we found anything, and even then the selection was not so fabulous. So if anyone is aware of a good butcher in the Chicago area, let us know!

 

Breaded Veal Cutlets

 

Breaded Veal Cutlets
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
4 People 10 minutes
Cook Time
1 hr 15 minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 People 10 minutes
Cook Time
1 hr 15 minutes
Breaded Veal Cutlets
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
4 People 10 minutes
Cook Time
1 hr 15 minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 People 10 minutes
Cook Time
1 hr 15 minutes
Ingredients
Servings: People
Instructions
  1. Salt and pepper veal to taste.
  2. Dip in skim milk then dip in break crumbs.
  3. Grease baking dish well with margarine and place veal in dish.
  4. Grease skillet well with margarine.
  5. Stew tomatoes with onion flakes, sugar, salt, pepper, and margarine.
  6. Put over veal and back for one hour and 15 minutes at 325 degrees. Cover tightly.
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Homemade Spaghetti Sauce (Meatless)

Homemade Sauce

If you’re looking for an easy homemade sauce recipe, this is about as easy as it gets. The ingredients are few and the steps are simple.

My Italian roots came out in full while making this. You know that Family Guy episode where Peter thinks he can speak Italian and just shouts “Boopa-dee bappa-dee” at people? That was me the entire time we were in the kitchen making this. Aaron was not amused.

Here is what Marguerite had to say:

Meatless Spaghetti Sauce Original

We’re pretty sure the above recipe meant she was using canned tomatoes most of the time, but we wanted to do this “right” so we went for fresh ingredients. Neither of us knew what to do with the tomatoes, and Marguerite, being an accomplished cook, did not need to leave herself notes on the subject for when she was using fresh tomatoes.

Fresh Pasta Sauce Ingredients

Look at those fresh ingredients!

Google and our mothers proved to be immensely helpful in figuring out how to start on this homemade sauce.

After figuring out how many tomatoes we needed and how to peel them (more on that later), we were able to get on with the sauce.

Pasta SauceFor our version, we only used one onion instead of the three originally called for. We’re assuming back in the day onions were quite a bit smaller because a lack of pesticides and such.

Next time we make this, we’ll probably cut back on the green pepper as well, because it overpowered the other flavors. We’ve noted in our version below to only use half a green pepper instead of a whole. We’ll also try to cube the tomatoes a bit smaller because the sauce was a little too chunky.

Homemade Pasta Sauce

Our whole apartment smelled delicious while we made this (as did our entire floor. You’re welcome, neighbors!) We started a batch of spaghetti just as the sauce was finishing so we could enjoy it right away. When everything was cooked, we poured on the sauce, topped it all with basil and parmesan, and enjoyed a delicious meal.

Meatless Sauce Recipe

 

We had plenty left over, which we promptly jarred up and froze for later use.


Homemade Sauce in jar

If you try this recipe, let us know how you adjusted the ingredients to suit the pasta sauce to your taste!

Homemade Sauce

 

 

Homemade Sauce
Homemade Sauce (Meatless)
Print Recipe
A traditional, homemade sauce. Uses all fresh ingredients and no meat.
Servings Prep Time
4-6 (depending on how much sauce you like on your pasta) 25 minutes
Cook Time
1.5 hours
Servings Prep Time
4-6 (depending on how much sauce you like on your pasta) 25 minutes
Cook Time
1.5 hours
Homemade Sauce
Homemade Sauce (Meatless)
Print Recipe
A traditional, homemade sauce. Uses all fresh ingredients and no meat.
Servings Prep Time
4-6 (depending on how much sauce you like on your pasta) 25 minutes
Cook Time
1.5 hours
Servings Prep Time
4-6 (depending on how much sauce you like on your pasta) 25 minutes
Cook Time
1.5 hours
Ingredients
Servings: (depending on how much sauce you like on your pasta)
Instructions
Fresh Tomato Prep
  1. If you're using canned tomatoes, skip these steps. If using fresh tomatoes, you'll need to peel them. We used the boil method.
  2. Bring a pot of water to boil. Next to the stove, have a bowl of cold water (as cold as you can get it. Maybe even add ice cubes.)
  3. Cut off the stems and things from the top of the tomatoes. Cut an x in the bottom of each tomato.
  4. Drop a few tomatoes at a time into the boiling water. Spoon out after 25 seconds (don't leave them in any longer) and drop into cold water.
  5. Once they're in the cold water for a few seconds, the x on the bottom should already begin the peeling process. Remove them from the cold water and peel the rest of the skin right off.
  6. Cube the tomatoes. How small you cube them will depend on how chunky you want your sauce.
Main Instructions
  1. Once your tomatoes are prepped, put them in a pot with the paste and sugar. Salt and pepper to taste.
  2. Simmer while you prep the other ingredients.
  3. Chop onion, pepper, and garlic. Steam and slightly brown in a pan with butter.
  4. Add to the tomato mixture. Turn your stove top to a low/medium heat. Cook for an hour and a half.
  5. If you're planning on using this right away, start the water for your pasta with about 20 minutes left on the sauce. Preserve any leftovers in a jar and refrigerate or freeze.
Recipe Notes

Be sure to use a larger pot so the sauce is more evenly spread over the heat and doesn't burn on the bottom. Also be sure to use a low enough heat.

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Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

This recipe was a great place for us to start in the cookbook. It was easy, fast, and great for these chilly nights. It’s basically a left-overs casserole, which is going to be a great thing to try again when we don’t feel like eating the same thing two nights in a row.

Here’s what Marguerite had to say about it:

Grandmas Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Isn’t her handwriting beautiful?

We were kind of confused for about two seconds until we realized the chicken needed to be pre-cooked. Thank goodness Aaron’s mom is just a quick phone call away to clarify. She explained Marguerite used this as mostly a left-overs thing. So we had to go through the extra step of cooking and slicing some chicken.

We chose to do a very basic chicken in olive oil in the oven, since we figured the casserole would provide tons of flavor.

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

 

Modifications we made from the original: We choose to layer the cheese on top of the broccoli instead of adding it to the casserole mixture.

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

The soup mixture left me (Shannon) feeling a little nauseous, as it did not look appealing when being mixed. Once cooked over chicken, however, it was amazing.

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Overall, we really liked this one. It was comfort food and delicious. It would have tasted better if the entire bag of broccoli we used wasn’t almost all broccoli stems. Aaron especially love the extra kick from the curry powder.

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
4 15 (if the chicken is pre-cooked)
Cook Time
5-10 Minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 15 (if the chicken is pre-cooked)
Cook Time
5-10 Minutes
Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
4 15 (if the chicken is pre-cooked)
Cook Time
5-10 Minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 15 (if the chicken is pre-cooked)
Cook Time
5-10 Minutes
Ingredients
Servings:
Instructions
  1. If you're not using leftover chicken, cook two breasts to your liking and slice into strips
  2. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees (farenheight)
  3. Mix together soup, mayo, lemon juice, and curry powder
  4. Microwave the broccoli, arrange in a casserole dish
  5. Layer as much grated cheese on top as you want. In my opinion, the cheesier the better!
  6. Lay the chicken strips over the cheese and broccoli
  7. Pour in the mixture and spread into an even layer over the chicken
  8. Top with bread crumbs and bake for 5-10 minutes, until bubbly and hot
Recipe Notes

Marguerite recommends serving over rice. We had it by itself and it was delicious.

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