Cookin' With Leo

By Leocthasme

Ya'll should know, by now that is, that I ain't no French Chef, even if I did use that fancy French title on this fine, scrumptious, offering. An' it wasn't a Frenchman who invented it either. It ain't even one of my original creations. Nor even a virtual inspiration from my Dear Sweet Italian Fairy Godmother. This really is a ol' South Saint Louis German Neighborhood recipe an' dates back to the days of wine and roses, whenever. Or maybe to my youthful years in South Saint Louis which might be pretty well described in a Johnny Paycheck rendering of "All The Spirits In Saint Louis Cain't Get You Off'a My Mind" or maybe "All The Spirits In Saint Louis Never Got Nuttin' Off'a My Mind" whatever. However, this recipe was first put in print a long time ago, by my good friend and mystery writer, Elaine Viets, www.elaineviets.com an' the ingredients may be somewhat of a mystery to those of you who ain't never been to the Midwest or brung up in a nice ethnic neighborhood like me 'n her was. Elaine also was a feature writer for the Saint Louis Post Dispatch, way back when. So, dear readers, this is actually an old South Saint Louis recipe from a fine Midwestern Establishment known as White Castle. That fine establishment and I came into existence at about the same time, so we sort'a grew up together especially later on when I learned where all the Spirits in Saint Louis were. Thus White Castle was where I, and all Spirit lovers, went when the neighborhood Spirit Shops locked up for the night. After a belly full of Budwieser you really needed a 'belly bomber' (a sort of endearing Trademark placed on the White Castle Hamburger by the local patrons), but no one ever ordered just one belly bomber, about half a dozen would be a standard order to shape you up more or less.. So here is one of Saint Louis' finest offerings from one of Saint Louis' finest establishments, whichever..

Take home a sack of 15 White Castle Hamburgers* with pickle and onion and bun and all. Blend the burgers, just the way they are in a blender, three at a time, scraping the sides and adding a little water (a bit of Bud works too) as needed for blending. Pour into a lightly buttered loaf pan.
If desired, lay raw bacon slices in the pan first. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove from pan and cool. Serve with a mixture of sour cream, yogurt and chopped parsley. Garnish with additional parsley, as desired. An', Pop a Top of Bud to wash it all down.

*For those of you who do not live in the Midwest, where there are White Castles in the finer sections of your local towns, you will find White Castles in most frozen food sections of your local Super. They are packed 12 in a white box with black lettering And, to my friends who can't find them, have some of your Midwestern buddies ship you a couple of boxes. Whatever you do, DO NOT use any other burgers. Big Macs won't work at all. And to my Texas neighbors, whatever you do, don't use any Texas burgers as they usually weigh several pounds each, even without the Texas sized buns and other stuff, and one complete White Castle only weighs about 5 ounces each.