Doggie Bag or Doggy Bag!

Have you ever been to a restaurant and had so much that you couldn't finish your meal ?

Recently that happened to me, I asked to take the rest of the food home in a doggie bag. It was Chinese food and funny enough it wasn't a doggie bag but a plastic container that I took my food home in.

This made me think, how and where did this start?

Most people say the doggie bag started around World War II. People wanting to take home their steak bones for the dog. Restaurants in America started to accommodate the customer by doing so. 

One story I read from 1949 was a restaurant named "Dan Stampler's Steak Joint" in Greenwich Ave, New York. 

It is believed the restaurant always served large meals which customers often could not finish.

Mr Stampler knew most of his customers would be too embarrassed to ask for doggie bags, so he encouraged them to take the bone home for the dog.

He was clever and had a doggie bag created for his restaurant. He designed a bag with an image of a Scottish terrier and called it a "Doggie Bag". A company in Chicago manufactured them for him. The bags were grease proof, so no other container was needed.

The company manufacturing the bags was the Bagcraft Corporation of Chicago. It is said Albert Meister and Norman Ressner company partners came up with the idea and put them into general distribution with restaurants. The co founders wife, Jane Meister wrote a poem for the doggie bag, which has been reprinted over 150 million times.

The poem:

Oh where, oh where have your leftovers gone?
Oh where, oh where can they be?
If you've had all you can possibly eat
Please bring home the rest to me! 

So next time you are at a restaurant and take home a doggie bag, remember this story.

Something delicious you can have with your steak is my sauce recipe. I don't think you'll need a doggie bag for my food! 

Shallot and Red Wine Gravy

Ingredients

250grams of shallots, sliced thinly
4 tablespoons of olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
A sprig of rosemary
5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
400 mls of red wine
400 mls of beef stock
1 tablespoon of butter
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Method

 In a medium saucepan on a low heat, place the shallots and oil, cook for about 3 minutes stirring until light brown. Season with a little salt and pepper, then add garlic and rosemary. Cook for a further couple of minutes always stirring to stop the shallots from burning.

Pour the vinegar in and cook until reduced to a syrup, then pour in the red wine and cook until reduced by two thirds.

Lastly, pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Simmer until reduced by two thirds. Remove the rosemary sprig. Then place in the butter and whisk.

This is a rich sauce and delicious with steak. I place it in a gravy jug so people can add how much they would like. Serve with steamed vegetables and Potato Noisettes.

Enjoy!!!