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\nFrizzled Beef<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/div>\nSince I\u2019ve spent so much time mulling over the past year recently today\u2019s recipe naturally falls into the What We Just Ate category (although it\u2019s also highly eligible for Comfort Food!).<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/div>\nMy mother and I\u00a0invited friends to supper Saturday night. What with snow falling outside and lots of work to do, we didn\u2019t have much opportunity to shop or cook that day.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/div>\nSo we ended up with Frizzled Beef (a.k.a. chipped beef, a.k.a. S.O.S. or Same Old \u2026 um … Stuff).<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/div>\nOur local general store, Avery\u2019s, stocks lovely dried beef at this time of year. The nice folks behind the meat counter will slice as much or as little as one likes.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/div>\nThe beef saves for weeks so it\u2019s a great fallback food on snowy days. And it cooks up in minutes.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/div>\nThe recipe I used for the beef came from Gam, our neighborhood matriarch, as did Saturday\u2019s oyster recipe<\/a>. (I used to stay at her house a lot at this time of year so I guess I\u2019m thinking of her!)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/div>\nIf you want to vary it, you may saut\u00e9 a little onion and\/or celery in butter in your frying pan before you add more butter and the dried beef.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/div>\nYou may also throw cooked peas and\/or a pinch of thyme into the final product.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/div>\nFrizzled beef may be eaten over biscuits, puff pastry, cornbread, or a baked potato. My mother and I had just\u00a0baked some fresh oatmeal bread<\/a> the other evening so we served it on toast. A salad and brownies completed our supper.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/div>\nThe guests didn\u2019t complain about the simplicity of the meal. It was warm and tasty. And it was enhanced by candlelight and conversation. (Don\u2019t forget those important ingredients when you serve it yourself.)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/div>\nIngredients:<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n1\/2 pound dried beef
\na pat of butter the size of an egg
\nflour as needed
\n1 egg yolk beaten into 1 cup milk (plus a little more if needed) and 3\/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
\nfreshly ground pepper to taste<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n