Family traditions, especially cultural food traditions, are often passed from parents to children to preserve ethnic identity and heritage. Occasionally, however, a memorable event provides a basis for establishing a new family tradition.
The first year I was an associate at Reuben & Proctor, a Chicago law firm, my husband Weldon and I were invited to lunch by Don Reuben, the Firm’s name partner, for lunch at Elephant’s Rest, his country home in Indiana Dunes on the southern shore of Lake Michigan. Don invited all freshmen associates in turn; my turn came in May 1980. “Just a casual Memorial Day family picnic and to watch the Indy 500,” Don said. I was surprised to learn that Don was an auto-racing fan.
I was excited by the invitation and couldn’t wait to see what a Reuben family picnic entailed. The Reuben’s Christmas holiday party was an elegant catered affair, but when Don said casual picnic, I assumed the meal would be the usual mid-western picnic fare – hot dogs, hamburgers with fixings and summer salads.
We arrived at Elephant’s Rest at the allotted time and were met at the door by Jeannette Reuben, Don’s wife, an heiress to a manufacturing fortune and a gracious, classy blond woman of a certain age. Jeannette showed us through the beautifully appointed home filled with elephant motifs, past the TV which was tuned in to the Indianapolis 500 and down a steep sand dune to a gazebo overlooking Lake Michigan where we met the other guests, Leonard and Donna Ring, already enjoying drinks while Don was regaling them with stories of his latest legal conquest.
Don was a multi-faceted litigator, already a Chicago legal legend in this 40s. Over his long career, he tried a wide range of cases, but he was particularly known for his First Amendment representations in over 700 libel and First Amendment cases. He represented the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Time, Life, Look magazines, as well as all major television networks, the Halas family (owners of the Chicago Bears), the Catholic Archdiocese and even Zsa Zsa Gabor in a divorce.
Don was reputed to be the most powerful, zealous and hard-edged advocate in Chicago’s legal community, a reputation for tenacity that brought him dozens of blue-chip clients but struck fear and loathing in opponents whose complaints about Reuben’s aggressive tactics and ruthless advocacy were often reported by local newspapers. I once asked him whether he was concerned about his constantly nasty press, and Don replied: “I would be more concerned if they stopped talking about me! For those of us who worked with him, we admired his legal brilliance, learned much about law practice and enjoyed his sense of humor, especially his hilarious pranks — he once sent an expensive call girl dressed only in a mink coat to visit a prominent Chicago CEO who just had prostate surgery; Don paid the girl to walk into the CEO’s hospital room and open her coat and then leave!
Leonard Ring, at the time a renowned Chicago personal injury attorney, a victim’s legal rights advocate and a champion of “no fault insurance,” also had broad litigation experience. Like Don and other lawyers of their generation, Leonard was willing to litigate any matter that came his way.
Leonard and Don were close friends of many years. They were an odd pairing. Don was a tall, thin man who watched his diet carefully, a hypochondriac who wore English-tailored bespoke clothes which he ordered by the dozen each year. When Don appeared in court, he was intense and in full command of the issues. Don had an uncanny ability to anticipate what issues the adversary would raise and came prepared with appropriate counterarguments.
Leonard was short and round. His clothes never seemed to fit well and looked like they came from JC Penney. In court, Leonard appeared as a disheveled, bumbling hick often with stains on his tie, but many opponents who thought Leonard’s sloppy appearance indicated a disorganized or undisciplined mind were unpleasantly surprised in Leonard’s well-prepared cases. Don and Leonard often appeared in cases opposite each other, both trying to outsmart the other. But their friendship outlasted any competitive struggle. While both Don and Leonard loved being lawyers, both enjoyed a good laugh about the pomposity of legal colleagues who they thought took the practice of law too seriously.
As we sat enjoying our drinks by the lake, Don and Leonard told fascinating tales of local politicians, especially “Fast Eddie” Vrdolyak who was President of Chicago’s City Council and who excelled in back-room deal-making, occasionally skating close to the line if not over it, which earned him the “Fast Eddie” moniker. In 1979, Vrdolyak managed the re-election campaign of Mayor Michael Bilandic who lost in a colossal upset to Jane Byrne, Chicago’s first woman mayor and to this day the only female mayor of a major American city. In 1980 Byrne stripped Vrdolyak of all powers except this aldermanic seat and the two of them battled openly in the City Council and in the press. Don and Leonard were friends of Vrdolyak and other aldermen, and willingly provided backstories to these political battles. Weldon and I, both political junkies, were entranced to learn the subtext details behind the public stories.
Fascinated by Don’s stories for several hours, we eventually realized that, aside from drinks, there was no food in sight, nor were there any of the typical aromas of picnic food being prepared. Jeannette, who had heard all Don’s stories many times, kept drinking martinis and running back to the house ever so often, and though she was not known as a cook, I assumed she was supervising meal preparation. During one of Jeannette’s absences from the gazebo, Don explained that Jeannette was monitoring the Indy 500. She was very anxious because her son Hurley, an endurance race car driver, was racing at Indy 500. (He placed 18th that year.) When Jeannette returned, she announced that lunch was ready.
Up at Elephant’s Rest, the table was set for six. When we were seated, Edna, Reuben’s family cook, served us Don’s favorite picnic lunch – a huge juicy hamburger with a Bloody Mary Aspic – so 1950s — surrounded by chunks of avocado. Definitely not the usual Memorial Day picnic we were expecting.
The hamburger was round, almost the size of a tennis ball, beautifully crusted and smoky, but probably cooked in a frying pan as there was no smell of a charcoal fire. The excellent beef was seasoned only with salt and pepper and served without sauce or bread. The tomato aspic was refreshingly tangy and spicy, a lovely pairing with creamy avocado. Dessert was a bowl of luscious dark chocolate ice cream.
As the Rings and Johnsons raved about the food, Don announced that the meat mixture was his “secret” recipe and that he made the rich chocolate ice cream. I don’t know if Don actually had a recipe for the burgers or made the ice cream, but his claim added to the ambiance of that day.
For reasons I can’t now explain, perhaps it was that day’s companionship or the conversation or the setting or my impressionable youth, but that incredibly delicious “picnic food” made a lasting impression on both Weldon and me. Don would not share the recipes, but the taste of that memorable meal lingered with us and launched my hunt to replicate it.
Don was my mentor at Reuben & Proctor and we remained friends after he retired and I moved on to other firms. But picnic á la Reuben became one of our family’s Memorial Day weekend traditions. On each subsequent Memorial Day weekend, we would relive the conversation and reproduce the tastes of that May 1980 Sunday at Elephant’s Rest with the Reubens and Rings.
Leonard died in 1994 at age 70. Don died in 2014 at age 85. Yet, the food and memories of that special afternoon continue to this day.
Hamburger á la Reuben
Through trial and error, I discovered that the best hamburger blend requires at least 20-25% fat for proper juiciness and mouthfeel. So I usually buy 80%-20% ground chuck, organic if available. In a June 23, 2014, NY Times article, Deconstructing the Perfect Burger, Sam Sifton provides other possible meat combinations and a description of several cooking methods. The frying pan on the grill method seems to work best for me as it concentrates the beef juices and prevents them from dripping on the coal, but nonetheless adds a smoky taste to the burger.
42 oz or 2.6 lbs (1.02 k) ground chuck
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper, freshly ground
With wet hands form the meat into 6 slightly flattened balls, each about 7 oz (198 g) about 3 inches in diameter, but do not flatten into thin patties. Store uncovered in the refrigerator. Take patties out 1 hour before grilling so that they come up to room temperature.
Clean the grate on the grill and light the charcoal. When charcoal is ready, pre-heat grate. Then place a cast-iron skillet to pre-heat.
When skillet is hot, salt and pepper hamburgers on both sides. Place hamburgers in hot skillet and grill undisturbed on one side until crusty – about 5-6 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side for another 5-6 minutes for medium doneness. Remove hamburgers to plate and let rest, covered, for 5 minutes before serving.
This Bloody Mary Aspic has the flavor of the spicy cocktail without the alcohol as it was served at the Reubens. For adult tastes, vodka may be added with the remaining ingredients after the gelatin is dissolved, but should be limited to no more than ½ cup for proper jelling. This recipe should be prepared a day ahead and chilled overnight before serving.
Bloody Mary Aspic
7.5 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
4.5 cups tomato juice
3.5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish (optional)
1 teaspoon Louisiana Hot Sauce or Tabasco
1 ½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
½ teaspoon celery salt
½ cup vodka (optional)
|Freshly ground pepper and salt, to taste
4 ripe avocado, sliced or chunked
Garnish: celery tops and sticks (optional)
Sprinkle the gelatin over ¾ cup of the tomato juice in a small saucepan. Stir to combine until gelatin is softened. Add 1 cup of the remaining tomato juice and heat on low until simmering, stirring constantly with a heat-resistant spatula. Remove from heat when no gelatin granules appear on the spatula Stir in the remaining tomato juice and all other ingredients except avocado. Adjust flavor to taste.
Spray a six-cup mold or 6 one cup molds with cooking spray. (I use silicone molds for easy release.) Pour gelatin mixture into mold(s) and chill overnight until set.
To unmold the gelatin, if using silicon molds, cover the mold with a plate and flip so aspic unmolds. If using glass or metal molds, place the bottom of the mold in warm water for about 30 seconds, cover with late and unmold. Surround with avocado. Garnish with celery tops and sticks.
Chocolate Ice Cream
The best chocolate ice cream recipe, and closest in the intensity of chocolate flavor to that which was served at the Reubens is found in The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz. This recipe should be prepared a day before serving.
Makes about 1 quart
2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
1 cup whole milk
¾ cup granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Warm 1 cup of cream with cocoa powder in a medium saucepan, whisking to thoroughly blend the cocoa. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer at a very low boil for 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate, stirring until smooth. Then stir in the remaining 1 cup cream. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, scraping the saucepan as thoroughly as possible, and set a mesh strainer on top of the bowl.
Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in the same saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolk. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
Stir the mixture constantly over the medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula (170°F on an instant-read thermometer). Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the chocolate mixture until smooth, then stir in the vanilla. Stir until cool over an ice bath.
Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. (If the cold mixture is too thick to pour into your machine, whisk it vigorously to thin it out.)
If your ice cream maker, like mine, stops when the ice cream is half frozen, transfer the ice cream from the ice cream maker into a sealable freezer container, packing tightly to remove pockets of air. Cover and freeze overnight. Ice cream will be ready the next day.
Photo credits: Sloava Johnson