THE REAGAN FAMILY TABLE

The Reagan Family -- friom CBS's Blue Bloods

Food brings families together -- and for the cast of Blue Bloods, that is certainly true.  These Sunday Dinner scenes have become the show's trademark. There's nothing on Blue Bloods quite like the Reagan family dinners.  From work to love, fights and faith, no topic is off limits when this family dines together.  And these scenes are what makes Blue Bloods our favorite TV show for both me and Steve. 

Blue Bloods centers on the Reagan family, most of whom work in New York's law enforcement. There's Frank (Tom Selleck), the police commissioner; son Danny (Donnie Wahlberg), a detective; daughter Erin (Bridget Moynahan), a NYC Assistant District Attorney.; son Jamie (Will Estes), a beat cop; and Frank's father, Henry (Len Cariou), the retired former police commissioner.  The cast also includes Danny wife Linda and sons Jack and Sean and Erin’s daughter Nicky.

Aside from the criminal aspect, what makes Blue Bloods so special is the family dinner that happens each week. Not only do the Reagans get together -- often butting heads as each member tries to get his or her point across -- it also gives the actors a chance to catch up with one another.

The Sunday supper after attending Mass is the heart of each show.  The Reagans are Irish-Catholic New Yorkers, and their menu reflects that. It’s usually a meat or chicken, always some version of potatoes and a vegetable, salad and rolls. Grape juice replaces the wine on the dinner table for the filming.  When having a Scotch, ice tea takes its place. 

Here are some typical dishes that allows all of us to create our own Reagan Sunday Dinner.  Who knows?  It could become a weekly tradition in your home, too!

POT ROAST          

1 boneless beef chuck roast (about 3 pounds)

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided

6 tablespoons butter, divided

3 cups water

2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules

1 medium onion, quartered

1 celery rib, cut into pieces

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

4 carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces

Sprinkle the roast with 1 tablespoon flour. In a Dutch oven, brown the roast on all sides in half of the butter. Add the water, bouillon, onion, celery, salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour.

Add carrots; cover and simmer 45-60 minutes longer or until meat is tender. Remove meat and carrots to a serving platter and keep warm.  Strain cooking juices; set aside.

In the same Dutch oven, melt remaining butter. Stir in remaining flour; cook and stir until bubbly. Add 2 cups of the cooking juices and blend until smooth. Cook and stir until thickened; add additional cooking juices until gravy has desired consistency.  Serves 6-8.

SCALLOPED POTATOES     
8 potatoes
3 T. butter
2 T. flour
1-1/2 c. milk
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
5-6 small onions, ringed
2 c. grated Cheddar cheese 

Peel potatoes and slice thin. Make a white sauce of melted butter, flour and milk. Cook until thick. Put half the potatoes in a greased casserole. Cover with half the sauce, seasonings and half the onions. Add remaining potatoes, sauce & onion. Put cheese on top to cover. Bake at 350-degrees for about 2 hours. ** I Usually double or triple the sauce ingredients so the potatoes come out very soft.

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE    

There’s just something about the traditional Green Bean Casserole.   If someone is having it, I show up with a fork in my hand!  And I have to have it at all holidays, or it just wouldn’t be Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter!   French-style green beans mixed with fried onion rings and cream of mushroom soup.  It’s the food of the gods! 

1 can (10-3/4 oz) Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon soy sauce
Dash ground black pepper
3 cans Fench cut  green beans
1-1/3 cups French's French Fried Onions

Stir the soup, milk, soy sauce, black pepper, beans and 2/3 cup onions in a 1 1/2-quart casserole.

Bake at 350F. for 25 minutes or until the bean mixture is hot and bubbling.  Stir the bean mixture.  Sprinkle with the remaining onions.   Bake for 5 minutes or until the onions are golden brown.


SALAD     

 Serve over a mixed green salad; can add toppings of chopped tomatoes, chopped hard boiled eggs, sesame seeds, etc.  What better dressing for Blue Bloods than BLUE Cheese!

Blue Cheese Dressing

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon white vinegar

4 ounces blue cheese

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until well mixed and consistency is still chunky. Use immediately or store, covered, in the refrigerator.  Makes 2 cups.

DINNER ROLLS

1 envelope active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup hot milk
1 egg - lightly beaten
4 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons melted butter - for brushing rolls

Sprinkle the yeast over very warm water in a large bowl. Stir until yeast dissolves.

Add sugar, the 1/4 cup butter and salt to hot milk and stir until the sugar dissolves and butter is melted. Cool mixture to 105 to 115 degrees.

Add milk mixture to yeast, then beat in egg. Beat in 4 cups of the flour, 1 cup at a time, to form a soft dough. Use some of the remaining 1/2 cup of the flour to dust a pastry cloth.

Knead the dough lightly for 5 minutes, working in the remaining flour (use it for flouring the pastry cloth and your hands).

Place dough in a warm buttered bowl; turn greased side up. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.

Punch dough down and knead 4 to 5 minutes on a lightly floured pastry cloth. Dough will be sticky, but use as little flour as possible for flouring your hands and the pastry cloth, otherwise the rolls will not be as feathery light as they should be.

Pinch off small chunks of dough and shape into round rolls about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 inches in diameter. Place in neat rows, not quite touching, in a well-buttered 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan. Cover rolls and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 30 to 40 minutes.

Brush tops of rolls with melted butter, then bake in a 375 degree F oven for 18 to 20 minutes or until