Manic Monday - Chip

Sorry to all of you in the military but I thought of the infamous "Chipped Beef," or as it's more commonly known, "Chit on a Shingle," for my use of the word for today. Now, my mom made a mean SOS. I actually grew up liking the stuff! She used button mushrooms, pimientos and good sour dough bread. Okay, as a kid, I'll admit I picked out the mushrooms and pimientos, but as an adult that's the way I fix it. When I was a kid, the women in the cafeteria used wallpaper paste as a base and that's how I image you military guys get it, so you have my sympathies!

Fancy Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast

(4 servings)

• 4 Tbs (60 ml) butter
• 1/2 lb (250 g) mushrooms -- sliced
• 6 oz (170 g) dried chipped beef
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1 Tbs (15 ml) Worcestershire sauce
• 1 recipe cream sauce (see below)
• 4 to 8 slices toasted white bread
  
• Cream Sauce
• 6 Tbs (90 ml) butter
• 6 Tbs (90 ml) flour
• 1 cup (250 ml) beef or chicken broth -- or milk 1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• A grating of fresh nutmeg

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over moderate heat. Add the mushrooms and saute for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the chipped beef and Worcestershire sauce and stir to combine.
Remove from the heat. Taste for seasoning with salt and pepper - the chipped beef may already be salty enough. Combine with the cream sauce and spoon over toasted white bread.

Cream Sauce:

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over moderate heat. Stir in the flour and allow to bubble for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the liquids and the seasonings and stir constantly with a whisk until thick and creamy. Makes about 2 cups (500 ml).