Forgotten foods.

[reedcoss]

I'm writing a paper on forgotten/overlooked/underappreciated foods (ingredients or dishes) - stuff you just don't see on many plates these days - and, frankly, I need ideas. So far, I'm stuck in the Brussels Sprouts/Rutabaga areas. I know there are many more. Any thoughts and/or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[PotatoHouse]

(yes it's a box dinner, but it is also a childhood comfort food)

Anybody remember the Kraft Noodle Classics Savory Chicken (originally called Kraft Chicken And Noodle Dinner)?

[demitasse04]

Waldorf salad struck me as dated even in the 70's. Vienna sauages. Turkey tetrazzini. AMBROSIA. I would gladly eat Swedish meatballs and stuffed cabbage again.

[kubasd]

This is funny, I was just talking about waldorf salad and ambrosia yesterday. Yes I'm on the younger side, but I can't imagine either of them either being popular... especially not in restaurants!! It brings to mind a Christmas dinner at an ex's parents' house.... the "salad" consisted of layers of shredded cheese, mayo, and a touch of shredded lettuce

[huiray]

You'll have to be more specific. :-)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambrosia_%28disambiguation%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambrosia

I didn't think either Swedish meatballs or stuffed cabbage ever really was "forgotten" or abandoned?

[demitasse04]

Uh... LoL on all "points" ! Speaking of which, shrimp toast!

[sandylc]

YUM, shrimp toast....when made well.

[alkapal]

homemade ambrosia is fabulous…and waldorf salad, too. one year a friend asked me to make her ambrosia…and i used fresh navel oranges, and fresh coconut, toasted.pecans and fresh pineapple…. it was so delicious, because it was all so naturally sweet and delicious, with contrasting textures.

[Bob W]

I am sadly going to mention the Greengage Plum, the king of plums. From what I can gather, they are just too hard to grow, so with all the other plum varieties out there, people just aren't bothering.

[weem]

My mother periodically sends me jars of her homemade jams, and a few years ago one of them was a jar of greengage plum jam. Much of her produce comes from her rural neighbors, so I'm guessing she got the plums from one of them. So you'll be happy to know that somebody somewhere is growing them, and that they are being enjoyed.

[Bob W]

Thanks, weem. I'm actually surprised not one of the local farmers even sells a few pints of them at the farmers markets. I keep seeing plums I've never heard of. Maybe they are just eating them all themselves. Someone around here has got to have a greengage plum tree!

I think the last place I had them was at a B&B in Delaware, so I know they got them locally, but that was at least ten years ago. Still holding out hope that I will come across some one day!

Looks like I was already lamenting this back in 2008!

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/512283

[foodeditormargaux]

Navarra, Spain:

CARDOON has a very short season, running from December through mid February here in Spain ... I love it ... I like it prepared Sautéed or with almonds in a thick cream soup with a sprinkle of virutas of Iberian acorn fed Ham.

Adore beetroot stuffed with feta, greek yogurt and mint and baked. Also, parsnips roasted in Evoo and sea salt with balsamic vinegar.

Foods, have their fashion, as clothing hemlines or pant legs do. None the less, I like the Medit. classics ...

[Bob W]

Cardoons were a mystery ingredient on an episode of Chopped I watched recently. Always fun to see a food I had never heard of before.

That beetroot dish sounds great. My wife has prepared parsnips like that; excellent. I grew up eating parsnips so I was glad she was willing to work them into the rotation.

[Chowrin]

Syllabub.
True rye bread.
Chulunt
Mutton/goat
Sardines

[Bob W]

I just saw a syllabub on an episode of Chopped featuring four British chefs.

[PHREDDY]

Fricasse...chicken gizzards, with a touch of curry, or a tomato based sauce

[Querencia]

Here's one that was already nearly extinct when it appeared in cookbooks when I was a child, and that was a long time ago: Prune Whip. The recipe was always there but, as far as I am aware, no living human has ever eaten Prune Whip.

[hawkeyeui93]

Allegedly. it was Ike's favorite dish .... http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/cityo...

[The Professor]

I've eaten it, though not recently. Dannon's 'prune whip" yogurt was what got me to taste yogurt in the first place. These days though, I eat yogurt plain (and Dannon discontinued the 'prune whip" flavor anyway).
I still love anything with prunes, though.

[hawkeyeui93]

There's a recipe in the article I attached above ....

[jnk]

I remember the prunewhip yogurt too. Then again I also remember Sen-Sen.

[lcool]

sen-sen is a long memory back

[sueatmo]

Your answer made me remember stuffed prunes; I still love them and occasionally make them. But I have trouble getting anyone to try them. These date from the fifties, I think. Plumped, pitted prunes slit and stuffed with cream cheese and one pecan or walnut half. You know, I could do a goat cheese filling. I'll bet that would be really good.

At any rate, I don't think anyone makes these anymore.

[lcool]

Just put them out.We are a super flexible group of winos and foodies.Thinking sometimes
"just serve it" works best.Ignoring the what is it questions until after someone has commented how tasty whatever is.

Part of a snack tray,week past for a "MADE IN AMERICA" BLUE MOON dinner party included stuffed prunes.Updated a tad,stuffed with a chunky mix of Georgia pecans and MAYTAG BLUE cheese ,they were delicious.All eaten,none left over for our annual "STAYCATION" party on Sunday.Me,anti potlucks will flex regarding apps and dessert with trusted friends,cooks
So popular,that Barb,a guest at both made two variations for Sunday.One with cream cheese,chilies and pine nuts,the other with Taleggio and crispy bacon.

[sueatmo]

Thanks for sharing these. Aren't those sweet prunes good with cheese? You've posted some really interesting variations. So, stuffed prunes have not been (totally) forgotten.

[lcool]

They were unknown to me.Stuffed or wrapped dates were on the radar,not prunes.
As a European we think of Italian or long plums as fresh.Barb from Alabama brings us some great things,like y'all come back sauce or pimento cheese etc.

[sueatmo]

Stuffed prunes were popularized in women's mags in the late fifties, I think, in the U.S.

I am sure that not every family ate them.

[alkapal]

we did not have those stuffed prunes in our household in sw florida in the 60's and 70's.

now, though, haven't prunes been re-branded as "dried plums"?

mmm, i'm thinking now of soaking some prunes in armagnac, then stuffing with manchego, wrapping with bacon and grilling. sweet & salty & umami -- always a winner in a gazillion permutations!

[The Professor]

I think that the re-branding attempt was a flop (as it should be). Some brands seem to be backing away from that silliness and embracing the "prune"

One of the tastiest dried fruits there is...why was the re-branding even necessary?????

[alkapal]

yes, that re-branding did fizzle, didn't it?

for some reason (maybe a BOGO sale), i have two unopened containers of sunsweet prunes in my cabinet. i need to get those babies out and use them in some prune concoctions.

wonder how goat cheese stuffing would work?

[ChillyDog]

"Prune Concoction" would make a great recipe name!

[hill food]

"soaking some prunes in armagnac, then stuffing with manchego, wrapping with bacon and grilling"

god that sounds good. maybe that's my next family potluck oddball dish.

[Tripeler]

I like to stuff pitted prunes with a freshly roasted almond, then coat the whole thing with Dark Chocolate. Sort of like Raisinettes on steriods... very delicious.

[hill food]

hmmm. I generally do savory, but...

[eclecticsynergy]

I used to love plum truffles; there was a place near here that still made them until about ten years ago.

[sueatmo]

You guys are so creative. Please post any prune creations you make. I'm interested in knowing if people will eat them.

If they don't, they are missing something good.

[huiray]

Maybe, but for myself that armagnac-manchego-bacon prune above would not be the first thing I'd pick up, if at all. You asked.

[buttertart]

Armagnac or port-soaked prunes are divine cut up and stirred into nice vanilla ice cream...or just over top of it. Also as a condiment with roast or sauteed pork. I love prunes, period.

[gingershelley]

Nowdays, that would be 'dried Plum' whip :)

[Wawsanham]

I remember milk caramel as an ice cream sundae toping in the 70s in California. At some point it got rechristened as "dulce de leche"--as if it suddenly appeared from Argentina or something. The bizarre thing is that people under 30 don't even seem to understand the word milk caramel anymore.

[Ruthie789]

Veal milanaise, it`s been replaced by veal parmesan, and if available on a menu it is served in a very small portion.

[INDIANRIVERFL]

Wedding present of 1948. The brass and copper chafing dish. Swedish meatballs for the appetizer, chicken tetrazzini for the main dish, and cherries jubilee for dessert. Dessert was my specialty and always made tableside. With flames.

[Ruthie789]

That sounds like an awesome meal. Will you divulge your recipe for the Swedish meatballs? The dessert sounds AMAZING!

[Caroline1]

Swedish meatballs! Wedding present of 1948! If the wedding present is yours, then you're also old enough to remember the omelette craze of the early sixties when Kennedy was president. Where I lived, it was "the rage" to serve omelettes to yor guests at cocktail parties. I only did it once. I couldn't find a caterer willing to make omelettes on demand, so I did it myself. Fortunately there were only about twenty guests! That was one of the experiences that taught me that not all food fads are good for me. Did you do omelette parties in the sixties?

And isn't it interesting how this four year old thread has sprung back to life? I wonder if reedcoss ever finished his research paper?

[ChillyDog]

Watergate salad!

[rinkatink888]

My parents would serve cooked cabbage as the side dish vegetable soak in ham stock once a week in their restaurant. Dad would simmer the ham bones for hours until the meat falls off, then cook the cabbage in the water until soften. I didn’t use to like it until one the servers had me try it with some white vinegar and to me, it was delicious. I haven’t had this for quite some time so maybe I’ll have to make it.

[Ruthie789]

If you had parents with a Newfoundland-Irish background, that was a common meal and the potatoes, carrots got thrown into the pot too!

[huiray]

Inspired in part because of another thread...

Crepes Suzette
Tournedos Rossini
Beef Wellington (has been mentioned already)

Chicken in aspic, etc (also mentioned elsewhere here in the thread)
It is really puzzling to me why it is shunned nowadays - "tomato aspic" etc is but only *one* kind of aspic dish, there are so many dishes of stuff in aspic that are truly delicious - so long as one likes the gelatin texture of the dish, which seems to be something that folks in the US nowadays seem to be particularly squeamish about and which carries over to their intense aversion to similar textures in some traditional Chinese foods...then they complain about those nasty dishes they get when they insist on getting certain "traditional" Chinese dishes...

[Ruthie789]

Can you explain the tornedos Rossini, the name is familiar but can't pinpoint what are the components besides steak.

[huiray]

Medallions of beef tenderloin on toasted bread with thick slices of foie gras and fresh truffles and a Madeira sauce. :-)

From Wikipedia:
"Tournedos Rossini is a French steak dish, purportedly created for the composer Gioachino Rossini by French master chef Marie-Antoine Carême. The dish comprises a tournedos (filet mignon) of beef, pan-fried in butter, served on a crouton, and topped with a slice of whole foie gras. The dish is garnished with slices of black truffle, and finished with a Madeira demi-glace sauce."

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/29/din...

[OldGringo]

I've seen a quite a few things on here that I won't mourn the passing of: Ambrosia, any aspic concoction, anything made with/from Cambell's tomato soup AGGH1 I have not seen any references to a couple of favorites I grew up with (I'm 69yrs old) but I don't think I saw any thing about ham hocks and lima beans, Salad oil cake or biscuts or toast with "Sawmill Gravy" (A white creamy gravy with plenty of pepper) "Graveyard Stew" (Buttered toast with warm milk poured over it) Chicken and dumplings (known as Dough Gods) Hell, as old as I am I could go on for too long, but this is a few to think about.

[buttertart]

Salad oil cake? What else is in it?

[alkapal]

hamhocks and limas are not "forgotten" in my world.

biscuits with sawmill gravy is biscuits with sausage gravy in our family. sausage gravy has to have lots of good pepper.

[Ruthie789]

Thank you huiray, that is quite a dish, no wonder it does not appear too often on menus, it most cost a fortune to make.

[buttertart]

Back in the heyday of the "gourmet restaurant" the Friar's Cellar in London, Ont., they had it on their menu as a New Year's Eve special. Except the foie gras was liverwurst and the truffle, canned black olive, and the sauce, beef gravy with some sort of wine added. Terrible. I think it was stabs at the dish that were as ill-conceived as this that made it fade from menus.

[OldGringo]

Here you go Buttertart:

SALAD OIL CAKE

2 c. flour
2 tsp. soda
1/2 c. cocoa
1 c. veggie oil, Wesson, Crisco etc, etc
1 c. hot water
2 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. buttermilk
2 eggs

Combine all ingredients. Bake at 350 degrees until done.

Our version usually had chopped walnuts and dates stirred in too. There were seven in the house so we doubled this and cooked it in huge cake pan. This is good with or without frosting..

[buttertart]

Interesting! Sort of a wacky cake relative. Thanks very much.

[EWSflash]

The oil was used in mass quantities to make the cake moist. And it did, too, but...

[roxlet]

We once went to one of those old, grand hotels in the Poconos for a weekend (we're talking some 30 years ago here), and one of the items on the menu was Steak Rossini. Not being familiar with it, we asked the waiter -- who both looked and sounded like Rochester from the Jack Benny show -- and he wrinkled his nose and said, "That? That's with brown gravy, man." It was between that, and chicken cerise, which from the alarming shade of red, was roasted chicken covered with cherry pie filling. The moral of the story? Don't go to the Poconos, and don't agree to American Plan!

[buttertart]

Yikes! The lesson learned from the NYE dinner was never go out for dinner on NYE, the waitstaff hate you and will make you as miserable as possible.

[huiray]

Tragic. Just tragic, what you and roxlet "experienced" as purported dishes of Tournedos Rossini. What travesties. A sublime dish, debased and ripped to shreds by such hacks.

[Ruthie789]

I`m glad we skipped the Poconos!

[Caroline1]

I'm not grouching at you, huiray, but Wikipedia strikes out once again with its description of Tournedos Rossini! A "tournedo" is NOT a "filet mignon!" It's the difference between "north" and "south". In classical haute cuisine, the whole tenderloin is subdivided into TOURNEDOS (plural of tournedo) which are cut from the large end of the tenderloin, the chateaubriand, which is the largest single cut taken from the middle section of the tenderloin where it transitions from large end to small end and is usually cut in the portion of a "mini-roast" capable of serving two or three people, and finally the narrower end of the whole tenderloin is cut into filets mignon, and the entire tenderloin ends in the small "tail" or "tip," depending on what your butcher (or you) decide to call it..

That recipe for Tournedos Rossini in the NYTimes is ABOMINABLE...! SACRILEGE! Serving a Tournedo Rossini without a crouton is like serving Cherries Jubilee without ice cream. If I was served that bare-bones version of Tournedos Rossini in a restaurant, I would send it back and tell them I want the whole dish or none at all! But hey, I'm a crabby old broad who wants things done right. What can I say? The web is laden with misinformation, and (unfortunatley) the NYTimes seems to be joining Wikipedia and the rest of the hordes. <sigh>

[huiray]

Well, one could read the phrase in Wikipedia to be consistent with what you describe - "tournedos of beef" would simply mean "slices of beef", with the "slices" equivalent to your definition of "tournedos" and beef being the tenderloin.

In any case Wikipedia also lists three things that "Tournedos" can refer to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tournedos :-)

I would consider "Châteaubriand" to be the name of a dish in general rather than a specific part of the tenderloin directly.

Uhh...the NYT recipe does include the crouton. The link for the recipe is http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/29/dining/tournedos-rossini-recipe.html which goes to the page where one reads of the pieces of toast being cut to follow the shape of the tenderloin pieces then toasted in the pan with butter.

Here's the slide showing André Soltner preparing the toast in that slideshow demonstrating how to make it: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2012...

It's the *picture* at the top of the article of a serving of the dish at La Sirène that does not have toast.

:::Scratchingmyheadhere:::

Still, whatever the semantics involved it seems you like this dish. Perhaps you also do not see it around much where you are or on your travels - or not as the case may be.

[Caroline1]

My point is that a "tournedo" and a “filet mignon" are NOT the same cut from a tenderloin of beef in classic culinary nomenclature. The fact is there is a marked difference between the portion size of a steak cut from the “head” of a whole tenderloin and the portion size of a steak cut from the “tail” of that same whole tenderloin. So why is this differentiation being discarded? What’s next? Will all cuts of beef soon simply be designated as “meat?” I like calling things by names that clarify. I mean, can I expect to be served a glass of orange juice if I simply order a glass of fruit juice? In the same sense, I don’t want a filet mignon when I order a tournedo.

As for liking it, it has been in my cooking repertoire for about fifty five years now. '-)

[huiray]

Good for you that you have been cooking it for 50 years. Nevertheless, the overall thrust of the thread is about dishes that seem to have been forgotten in the general sense. After all, I as an individual had this in my mind when I proposed it, just as you as an individual have had it in *your* consciousness.

Your point about which cut of the tenderloin is used is well taken, and what "filet mignon" is compared to what just saying "tournedos" is. I might also imagine that which cut of the tenderloin is used for making Tournedos Rossini may depend on the chef :-) and/or on what the understanding of a writer (such as of that Wiki article) may be about "filet mignon". It seems that in practice the term has been used in the broader society (esp. US) to mean various cuts from the tenderloin, including from the head end, from what I see, and the many definitions from your hated internet appear to be all over the place. :-D Here's one that says in the US it would be from the head end while in France it would come from the tail end: http://www.recipetips.com/glossary-term/t--33299/filet-mignon.asp ;-)

In the meanwhile perhaps you have revisited the NYT article and noticed the toast in the recipe and demonstration for preparing Tournedos Rossini.

p.s. Perhaps you might consider editing the Wiki article to clarify the issue. After all, Wiki needs interested folks to contribute to it to keep on improving it. (I've put in my two cents worth in the past, at least as comments, in the "Talk" section of articles.
p.p.s. Here's the Wiki entry on "Filet Mignon": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filet_mignon Note that it does define it as from the tail end of the tenderloin, but also discusses various names for that cut and the variance amongst even butchers in the US. Oh, it also says that cuts from the center of the tenderloin are "tournedos". ;-) The "Talk" section (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Fil...) contains some comments of interest. [The "History" tab of course shows the revision history]

[Ruthie789]

Well I think some of the forgotten restaurant foods are anything flambayed, you don't often see this done anymore even in high end restaurants. I particularily like a dish called Steak Diane which used to be on menus and is no longer.
As for something forgotten, parsnips, which very few people eat. I cooked some at Christmas in a parchment paper pouch and oiled them a bit, they tasted like a spicy, sweet fry. We all had a long discussion about them, the young ones at the told daring to infer that they were Old People's food!

[huiray]

"the young ones at the told daring to infer that they were Old People's food!"
----------
Just dis-invite them to the next such feast. They clearly do not have any appreciation for such "old fogeys' food" and should not be allowed to trash such dishes in the future simply because that is not what they think of as cool and hip to their (soon to be passé) generation.

[Ruthie789]

Believe me they were happy to have a meal cooked for them. I doubt they can carry on the tradition they will probably opt for Sushi at their Christmas meals!

[StringerBell]

From a US perspective, since what's forgotten one place is usually going to still be in common use other places, I would say paw paws, gooseberries and currants, purslane, dandelion greens, medlar, quince, American persimmons, parsnips, fennel bulbs. I don't know for sure, but I get the impression that chervil, marjoram, summer savory, mace, tarragon, borage, and some other herbs used to be a lot more popular in the US. My mom used them growing up and they are common in her old cookbooks, yet I hardly know anyone around my age (30) who has heard of them. I use marjoram in Mexican food a lot and when I tell people what's in it I have to repeat marjoram several times and then they ask "what's that?"

[buttertart]

I have always wanted to lay hands on medlars, as far as I know they aren't grown anywhere I've lived.

[EWSflash]

Marjoram is wonderful- one of my favorite herbs, along with tarragon.

[Wawsanham]

Definitely true about the marjoram and borage. I will add chervil and lovage to that. I had to try to find them in San Diego about 7 years ago, and went to about 7 different shops: supermarkets, herbal specialty shops. In the end, the marjoram could be found, but the rest--gone. What I did notice was that spice and herb parts of the supermarkets haven't gotten bigger (I thought maybe they had), just these old stand-bys had been replaced with newer spices such as various chili or curry types.

[G8trDoc]

Rutabagas forgotten?
Not in my family. We use them (plus turnip roots, parsnips) when a recipe calls for a root vegetables. Like braised lamb shanks. They add texture and flavor while not turning to mush during cooking like potatoes.

[alkapal]

i love rutabagas. mom used to make a ½ cabbage, ½ rutabagas dish -- starting with rendering some chopped bacon in a big pot, adding the peeled and diced rutabaga and enough water to cook, then cooking till tender but firm (so that when cabbage is added and cooked to tender, the rutabagas will be perfectly done (not mushy). i LOVE this dish!

[Crockett67]

Country Captain comes to mind. Never had it, but a LOT of my old Junior League cookbooks have it in there. That and Brunswick stew. Not sure I will ever make that.

I was always a fan of succotash growing up, but no one likes it but me.

Here in Ohio Johnny Marzetti brings a few smiles at my cooking demos. And just mention walking taco gets a big reaction. While not that old of a dish people are reminded of purchasing them as some kid's sports event or church event.

There's always the obligatory Hot Dish casserole. I never knew what those crazy church ladies put in them, probably didn't want to know but yes give me another scoop.

[weem]

It's funny, a while back there was a thread that asked something like "What did you eat in the 1970s", and my answer was "Johnny Marzetti". And my answer was deleted! I guess some board monitor thought I was being obscene. I wanted to say, "Google it! It's a casserole!", but I just let it go. :-)

[Crockett67]

That's funny!!!

[alkapal]

that IS funny! i guess the mods don't know EVERYTHING. LOL

[birder]

Tomato dumplings are a real comfort food. Fill a pot with tomato juice and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, prepare a batch of Bisquik dumplings according to the box directions. Drop dumpings into boiling juice and cook. Serve in bowls along with some of the juice.

[latindancer]

50+ years ago this was the most delicious food @ Girl Scout Camp....the leader made these in a big kettle and cooked them over an open fire. They were the ultimate outdoor/comfor food but i remember them being made with Campbell's Tomato Soup.
Thanks for memories.

[sunkissedbabe43]

dunk-a-roos. if anyone knows where you can find them... let me know =)

[Halie]

canned bread.

[sydthekyd]

Right - canned brown bread!

[ChrisOC]

Scrapple for dinner. It wasn't a breakfast meat when I was a kid.

[Divamac]

Scrapple never went out of fashion in my family. It was a staple of a Sunday breakfast until my Mom passed away a few years ago or on "breakfast for dinner" nights. I liked it with ketchup and butter on a kaiser roll. Back home (Philly) it's in every supermarket, but Mom bought it fresh from an Amish farmer. She even made it herself for a few years from scraps she got from said Amish farmer. Now I am in So. California and find it frozen at my local butcher. Yum!

[mercyteapot]

My Mom collected cookbooks her entire adult life and gave me, the only one of her children who loves to cook, the collection when she downsized a few years ago.

Amongst the treasures to be found: a recipe for "city chicken", which was one of my favorite meals as a child. The irony to this recipe, which calls for seasoned pork and veal cubes to be cooked on bamboo skewers is that it is now much more expensive to make than chicken, which when this recipe originated was hard to find and expensive for city dwellers.

Two other favorites from those years: fritters (corn, blueberry, banana, etc) and "mountain pies" which were a campfire snack in which you assembled buttered white bread and canned pie filling into a sandwich and cooked in pie irons. I'm sure the magic would be lost in an oven or panini press.

[httpmom]

OMG...the memories came flying with your post of "City Chicken"...my sister used to call it _hitty Shicken because she could say C words yet...made us all laugh. I remember going to the butcher with my mom and she would always have him wrap a few pounds of these, usually veal (can you imagine?) for the "cheap" dinner. She dredged them in flour and fried them...really good stuff! We thought it was great to eat them off a stick!

[mercyteapot]

__itty chicken! That's funny! Almost as funny as the notion of veal being an economical alternative to chicken.

I still think it's fun to eat food off a stick!

[danhole]

Put just about anything on a stick and my picky DH will eat it. Do you think you could post that recipe on Home Cooking or lead me to a source? Thanks.

[httpmom]

Well of course I could...and I wouldn't mind at all to post it BUT...it wasn't anything difficult and it would cost you a small fortune to make it. The veal came in chunks as big as beef Kabobs back then. I am not even sure you can get veal like that anymore. The recipe was just seasoned flour dusted on the veal and fried in butter. We used to dip it in Tomato Ketchup...yuck!

[Catskillgirl]

Oh, I remember those! We knew it as "mock chicken" and it was, amazingly enough, a budget meal! Mom also had a version of "mock steak" which was made with ground chicken. Both on sticks and quite tasty!

[Catskillgirl]

And fritters! What ever happened to fritters? We were taught to make corn and banana fritters in Home Ec. Ummmmm. I need to dig out some old recipes.

My bakery sells something called apple fritters, but they are nothing like the original - just a large donut filled with apple pie filling and deep fried.

[sarah galvin]

I think fritters are coming back into vogue.

[kpaumer]

Chicken or Salmon Croquettes. I felt SO grown-up when I first ordered them. Boiled Turnips cooked in chicken broth.

[httpmom]

Here are a few that were very popular when I was young and hardly ever seen on a menu or eaten now:

Scrapple or Pon Haus
Borscht was very popular in the 60's
Old Fashioned Lemon Dainty Cookies
Beef Tongue
Watermelon Pickle and/or pickeled veggies like Chow Chow
Divinity Fudge

And I agree...i LOVe beef wellington and still make it a few times a year.

[Nanzi]

Scrapple is still well and in abundance in Delaware. There is an Apple-Scrapple Festival every summer.

[mpalmer6c]

There was an old song I once heard: Give me a pig's foot and a bottle of beer.

[revsharkie]

Billie Holiday!!

You can have my share of the pigfoot, though. I'll just have the beer.

[buttertart]

Bessie Smith.

[sarah galvin]

Ambrosia Salad with mini marshmallows, canned fruit cocktail, some mayo

[byrd]

Green Godess Salad Dressing

[Candy]

Never forgotten in my home. Wonderful with so many things. I think there was a thread about GGD last year.

[alkapal]

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/298313

[Crockett67]

We have a local Greek place that makes it fresh. My favorite dip/dressing!

[EWSflash]

Mine too!

[Passadumkeg]

Boy, this thread reminds of what a Russian ethnic upbringing I had.
Southern fried chicken w/ Uncle Ben's rice w/ canned corn was about as American as we got.
Meat loaf / mashed potatoes? A good old pot of Italian meatballs in tomato sauce over spaghetti? Minute steak or western egg sandwiches?

[Catskillgirl]

Mmmmmm minute steaks. I assume that's the same as cubed steaks? Love 'em on a kaiser roll with mayo and sometimes cheese.

or did you mean the Steak-umm kind of shaved meat? I do enjoy those too.

this thread is bringing out the worst of my food tendencies. I just know that I'm going home to Kraft mac & cheese - I've been fighting the urge for days now.

[betsydiver]

I discovered that cubed steaks cooked in speidie sauce (upstate ny specialty

I've discovered that cubed steaks cooked in spedie sauce (upstate ny specialty)
is pretty delish!

[Scargod]

OMG! I'd forgotten when we had fried egg sandwiches, for school lunch sack, when we had run out of everything else....
What's a "Western" one? Salsa on it?

[GretchenS]

As I recall, a Western egg sandwich was made with a Western omelet folded up in a roll. Western omelet = chopped green pepper, onion and ham cooked right into the egg sort of frittata-style. We had both the omelet and the sandwich on the menu at the IHOP where I waitressed in college (late 70s) but we called them "Denver" instead of Western. Classier I guess ;)

[httpmom]

Egg sandwiches have never gone out of favor at our house. It's a favorite late night get back from a long day quick fix meal.

[Shirley]

I havent had a good egg foo young in a long time. I still see it occasionally on some take out menus, but I don't think the newer generation of Chinese take out places still make to good old school Chinese American fare anymore.

[Catskillgirl]

Oh, this reminds me of another fun fad of the 60's - chop suey. I know it was popular in the 40's at Chinese-American restaurants, but making it at home was so "exotic". LOL! Don't forget - LaChoy makes Chinese food... SING American! Or whatever that jingle was. My mom thought it was pretty cool - I remember it came in a can with a packet of chow mein noodles attached.

[Crockett67]

I was thinking of Chop Suey as well. I saw it in some little Chinatown restaurant in NYC but no place out here in OH.

[mrbozo]

Neon purple sauced, heavily battered, sickly sweet "pineapple" chicken.

Bone dry, sickly sweet "garlic" (extremely) spare ribs.

Fat, sickly greasy egg rolls, with 75% cabbage, 20% carrot, and 5% itsy-bitsy pieces of mystery meat. Delivered with the ubiquitous sickly sweet "plum" sauce.

Fried rice that gave Dainty Rice's canned version a good run for its money.

Good times, good times!

[Wawsanham]

Come down to Chile! Those egg rolls, know as "arrollado primavera" are alive and well here, and all over the place!

[ipsedixit]

Sun dried tomatoes

Jell-O fruit salad

Salisbury steak

Tang

Beef Wellington

Carrot raisin salad

Beef barley soup

[MMRuth]

Just made a sandwich with sun dried tomatoes on Saturday. Not an ingredient I use often, but was making a COTM recipe and the sandwich was great!

[ipsedixit]

Don't you recall, maybe it was back in the late 80s or early 90s, when sun dried tomatoes was basically an ingredient on every other item in finer dining establishments.

It was like crab cakes with sun dried tomato pesto, baked pork chops garnished with sun dried tomato chutney, sun dried tomato vanilla pudding tarts, etc ...

[MMRuth]

Oh - I do recall, which is why I wasn't a big fan of them - but this sandwich was wonderful:

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/51482...

[mrbozo]

Living in an Italian neighbourhood sun-dried tomatoes are omnipresent.

Got homemade beef barley soup in the freezer.

But Tang: well, the space program just isn't what it used to be.

[Catskillgirl]

Alright, my age is definitely showing, but I still make carrot raisin salad often (love the stuff!). I eat beef barley soup as frequently as possible in fall and winter, and I still love Beef Wellington. Salisbury steaks deserve to be dead and buried, but I do still see them around. And somewhere I have a recipe that I need to make again for an apricot jello salad that is just too good not to pig out on! And I have fond memories of Tang. :-)

[sydthekyd]

Recipe for apricot jello salad, please?

[mollyomormon]

I still drink hot Tang every winter!

[cimui]

i actually love and miss so-called "friendship tea" made with orange tang, ice tea mix, and a few other various and sundry ingredients. my mom would make it warm for my friends and i to play tea party with.

[mollyomormon]

Me too! The version I grew up with also has some powdered lemonade.

[cimui]

gosh, honestly, it makes me smile just to think of it. =D

i came across some mango flavored tang at a teeny latino grocery in my nabe just the other day. i'm thinking that would make a pretty nice variation.

[EWSflash]

Tang is really, really tasty stuff if you mix it up at twice the recommended amount of Tang to water, I've mixed it even stronger. I love superTang.

[buttertart]

Best snuck by the spoonful behind your mom's back. Dry.

[AndyGanil]

They used to put cabbage in burgers, crunchy and tasty, now its soggy bland, dressing soaked ice berg lettuce.

[Honeychan]

After thinking about this topic for a few days, another food hit me, as "lost" as far as I know: Summer (aka Patty-pan) squash. Growing up in the 1970's, this was practically my favorite veggie, and ate it at least 2 times a week. In the 90's, it became harder and harder to find, in So. California. Now living in Las Vegas, I have -NEVER- seen it, and have looked religiously for it. 2 years ago, in Burbank CA, I found at a small mom& pop grocery, a small amount of it! In a near-hysterical lunge, I bought them all, went home to Mom's and cooked them- just like we used to make in the 1970's. It was ambrosia, and we all were so happy to taste our past.

Food trends can be wonderful, but very disheartening, when your favorites are no more!

[Caroline1]

Yes! I LOVE summer squash! And a pox on all the farmers who have quit growing it. Dirty birds! (A 70's epithet)

[cayjohan]

For Honeychan and Caroline1,

I get the squat little patty-pans in my farmers' market midsummer. If you have those resources, check into it. (In particular, look to growers who may have zucchini - same growing season.) We grill them. Delicious.

But to keep on topic, I think the patty-pans peaked around the "Bonfires of the Vanities" era(cored and filled with crab salad, say...). Too bad - nice veggies, treated well. Get 'em while you can, folks, and ask for them.

Best,
Cay

[Honeychan]

Thanks for the heads-up on the possibility of getting my beloved summer-squash! LV does have a farmer's market, as well as Henderson (alot nearer, truth be known) and I will have to check it out, when the season is finally here. This whole lack of summer-squash had me thinking about -growing- my own, the local nursery had nothing! The search continues...

Another food that seems to have been forgotten: Rabbit. I remember being able to find it in the market, in the 1970's. Now, special order only, and you better have a really good butcher to boot. I guess that's what the internet's for, huh??

[Caroline1]

Thanks, Cay. If I can find it, I'm going to buy 10 pounds and come home and feast!

[Scargod]

green bean casserole. The one with cream of mushroom soup and canned fried onions.

[azhotdish]

Scargod - if this is forgotten then i'm reminded 3-4 times a year at family functions. Hailing from northern-MN, this is a staple pot-luck dish that never seems to go out-of-style (like it or not).

[Scargod]

For me, that was passe 20 years ago along with chicken a la King.
I remember when my bachelor friend would invite me over for dinner and he would buy a big package of chicken thighs and start opening cans. Pretty soon, out of the oven came Chicked a la "Boppin' Bob" (He was a DJ). He would eat that stuff all week!
Devilled eggs! Let the Devil have them!

[alkapal]

blasphemy against deviled eggs! but....nobody expects the spanish eggs-quisition!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gldlyT...

[Caroline1]

Did you miss the thread about them last Thanksgiving? Green bean casserole is alive and persevering all across America! Thankfully, I can say I've never tasted it.

[EWSflash]

I recreated the recipe for the tired old green bean casserole using barely-steamed green beans, fresh sauteed mushrooms, alfredo sauce that uses the exuded mushroom juice, and fried shallots as the topping. I could eat it every day for a long time without getting tired of it.

[Passadumkeg]

Canned sardines. A generation ago there were 43 sardine canneries in Maine, now 1 or 2. Sardines used to be a regular in the old lunch box. My wife got grief eating them at work last month, because of the "smell" (They were cold, not cooked.).

[MMRuth]

We also eat and cook sardines regularly.

[Passadumkeg]

I still make a wicked good shrimp and sweet pea aspic.

[cimui]

That's funny. My secretary just got some grief from his supervisor for eating sardines at work. I told him he could eat them in my office any time as long as he shares. Love them, especially the ones in slightly hot tomato sauce. I really only find them at grocery stores in neighborhoods with more S. and Central American immigrants.

[MMRuth]

When my husband was in business school in the US in the early 80s, he had an assignment in his marketing class to develop a marketing plan "sell" anchovies in the US. My husband was completely baffled by why one would have to "sell" anchovies.

[cimui]

anchovies i've never really gotten the hang of, actually. i bought a big can at the chelsea market italian grocery store, but they've been sitting around for ages. i try throwing a few in soup every once in a while, but i'm sure there are better ways to dispose of them. i'm open to suggestions!

[mrbozo]

Two of my favorite anchovy recipes are:

1) a pasta sauce made by softening garlic in olive oil, adding some chile flakes, stirring in a few anchovy fillets until they dissolve; toss your pasta of choice with the sauce and chow down - but do NOT add cheese.

2) sautee garlic in olive oil, stir anchovy until dissolved, cook washed fresh spinach until wilted; serve as a condiment for pasta or as a side to other dishes.

[cimui]

Thanks, mrbozo! Sounds like the trick is to dissolve them.

[mrbozo]

They function as a flavouring agent, much like fish sauce (which is anchovy based) in Asian cuisines. A little dab will do ya and adds a certain enhancement without a fishy taste.

Of course you could also put a couple on a crostini/toast for a snack.

Another use just came to mind. A fillet perched atop a boiled egg.

[thew]

ot the other extreme = jaques pepin's cababge salad w/ anchovies

this recipe is from
http://www.jacquespepin.net/members/r...

Cabbage Salad

This is an unusual and highly flavored coleslaw. It can be made with white or red cabbage or, as we have done, with both, seasoned separately and then combined.

This cabbage salad can also be made with iceberg lettuce or any other crunchy, slightly tough salad green such as escarole or curly endive (chicory). The advantage of cabbage is that it does not wilt as fast as lettuce, so it can be prepared an hour or so ahead.

9 cups shredded red or white cabbage (approximately one small head), or half red and half white
4 or 5 cloves garlic, peeled, crushed, and chopped very fine (1 tablespoon
)1 two-ounce can anchovy fillets
1 tablespoon wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil or vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cut the cabbage in half and remove the core. Cut across with a long knife into -inch slices. (In a professional kitchen, the electric ham slicer is used to shred the cabbage.)

Crush and chop the garlic and anchovy fillets into a puree. Stir the puree into the vinegar, oil, pepper, and salt. Do not make the sauce in a food processor, because it will thicken too much, like a mayonnaise, and will cling to the cabbage, "dirtying" it. You want a transparent dressing, the consistency of a vinaigrette, that makes the cabbage glossy and enhances the color and shape of the salad. Mix the sauce with the cabbage.

If you use both red and white cabbage, mix them with the dressing in separate bowls. Place the red cabbage in a pretty glass or crystal bowl, and make a well in the center to form a nest. Mound the white cabbage in the center. Decorate all around with little sprigs of parsley, and in the center place a rose made of a strip of tomato skin rolled into a scroll.

6 SERVINGS

[Eat_Nopal]

The original Cesaer Salad as still served at Cardini's in Tijuana features a few whole anchovies... the Spanish have them on toast with Garlick Mayo... not a bad way either.

[Caroline1]

oooh, I hate to break in with corrections like this, but in the interest of public records.... '-)

Caesar Cardini never used anchovies. But he did use Worcestershire sauce, which does have anchovies in it.

[thew]

beat me to it caroline

[Eat_Nopal]

You are right the first recipe (with whole leaves, hard boiled eggs, dressing & parmesan from 1924 did not have anchovies) ... it was his brother Alex who added them & croutons in 1926. However... the name Cesar Salad was first coined by brother Alex and did have the Anchovies & Croutons... so we are both correct =)

[Caroline1]

Well, there are so many versions about how Caesar salad came into being that the "real" truth is now whatever one chooses to believe. I have never heard of any "original" version of Caesar salad, aviator's salad, or any of the other variations of the creation and origin of the salad containing hard boiled eggs. Always coddled eggs, which are basically dunked in boiling water just long enough for the whites to begin to coagulate next to the shell. It freshens the egg, but many "autheniic" recipes use raw eggs.

As a kid, I did have Caesar salad made by Caesar Cardoni at Caesar's Hotel in Tijuana on one occasion, probably circa 1940. He was a friend of the family friends we went to lunch with. And I can pretty much guarantee that on at least that one occasion, NO anchovies...! Why am I sure? Because I watched him make it, then I ate it, and as a kid, even God could not get me to eat a raw onion OR an anchovy!

For the record, I am aware that Cardoni's daughter told Julia Child that anchovies were used when JC called her to ask about the recipe some time after Cardoni died. I don't know. I do know there were a lot of things my dad did or didn't do that I don't know that much about. But I do remember the Lea & Perrins when Chef Cardoni made the salad because it was a familiar condiment on our breakfast table at home. My grandfather loved it on fried eggs.

Despite all this, I DO use anchovies when I make my own Caesar salad. I've tried it both ways and prefer the anchovies and dry mustard in mine. My one major "innovation" is that I use Pecorino Romano instead of Parmisano Reggiano. Hey, I'm an iconoclast. So sue me! '-)

[Eat_Nopal]

You got me again... you are right about the Coddled Egg... I mistranslated that... I did back off on Caesar accepting Anchovies... it was his brother who prepared it that way and apparently Ceasar wasn't happy about it.

[Eat_Nopal]

Restating.... the 1st variation on the Cesar Salad (by Alex Cardini) featured whole anchovies.

[EWSflash]

That sounds wonderful. Tomorrow I will go buy cabbage.

[Passadumkeg]

I used to go the the cannery and get a case of 48 Port Clyde herring steaks w/ no labels painted on for $4! You never knew what type you were opening, but who cares. Such a cheap, healthy and delicious food.

[cimui]

I think I'd actually enjoy the element of surprise. Was this in Maine? Does that cannery still exist?

[soupkitten]

"element of surprise"-- that actually strikes a nerve.

my dad grew up on the south side of chicago, and his dad, being an immigrant, worked at the union stockyards-- basically made dog food for his whole life. anyway there were many canneries in the city. my father's great aunt worked as a domestic servant for a convent-type place for christian deaconesses, and part of her job was to sort and help distribute the cases of canned donations. she'd always bring a large box of the unlabeled canned goods to my dad's house when she visited, and once a week, the family would have "mystery dinner"-- the rules: the whole meal must be composed of "mystery" canned goods-- the kids select the cans, and the mom pulls an iron chef on the ingredients. the kids learned enough about the stamped codes on the bottoms of the cans to be able to distinguish vegetables from meat and fruit, and my dad recalls that they had some decent meals, although they sometimes screwed up and were stuck with pickled fish paired with pumpkin when they meant to select ham and peaches. . . everything had to get eaten no matter how strange the combo, though. my dad said the game was fun when he was little, and it got less and less fun as he grew up.

[cimui]

i know it must not have been very fun to live through, esp. as a teenager, but boy that makes for a good story! what would iron chef have done with pickled fish with pumpkin, i wonder...

[Passadumkeg]

The cases of sardines were in Tenant's Harbor in the late 80's. One could still get "deals" at the Prospect Harbor cannery until Bumble Bee bought them out a few years ago and now nada. So it goes....

[cayjohan]

Oh, and then there are tins of smoked oysters. I know *someone* else must be eating them, as they're still in the stores, but I know no one who would deign to taste.

Well, except for my 15 y.o. daughter, who thinks a tin of oysters and a toothpick to eat them with is one of the best snacks.

There are some that will remember these foods...and since I live in 15 y.o. girl land, probably demand them!

Cay

[moh]

I have a fabulous recipe from a friend who puts tinned smoked oysters in a cream cheese pastry and bakes them. It is to die for. So yes, "someone" is still eating them!!! These things are so decadent...

[cayjohan]

Um, moh? If I let DD know of this, I will have to bake. ;-) Can you post any particulars on Home Cooking, as I *know* I will have to tell.

Well, and eat. Just to make sure it should not be forgotten!

Cay

[moh]

Cay, give me 5 minutes, and it shall be up. I'm telling you, these things are crack.

[moh]

The recipe is up. I think DD will love these:

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/516261

[EWSflash]

A can of smoked oysters, a little kosher salt, and a bamboo skewer is one of my favorite all-by-myself dinners.

[charlesbois]

turkey tetrazzini
cream puffs
shrimp creole
all I have found to be largely forgotten foods

[Querencia]

Actually, I make 24 large cream puffs for my regular donation to my church's dinner for the homeless. Filled with instant vanilla pudding (don't say it) they are nourishing and relatively cheap to make and are always well-received.

[Sam Fujisaka]

Do people still eat quail eggs on toast? Ham hocks and black eyed peas? Steak tartare? Fried bluegills? Rabbit stew?

[MMRuth]

I certainly eat steak tartare regularly, served quail eggs on toast on top of a salad a couple of weeks ago, have cooked rabbit stew on occasion though I'm not a big fan of rabbit, and ham hocks have been known to go into certain Dominican dishes cooked by my husband, albeit w/o black eyed peas.

[cimui]

I was thinking about your Artisinal steak tartare review as I read Sam's post.

Now steak tartare with raw quail egg would be pretty good, I think...

[MMRuth]

I have both duck eggs and quail eggs in my fridge that need to be used up!

[cimui]

This is not the first time I've wished we could trade refrigerators. :)

[Sam Fujisaka]

Love it. There are no forgotten foods. You and I are on the same page. I prepare carpaccio rather than steak tartare and do my soul food version of ham hocks and black-eyed peas.

[Candy]

I've been considering making Scotch Eggs with quail eggs. Appetizer sized bites. One of my locak Asian groceries is carrying them fresh. I may have to get to it soon.

[moh]

Sam, in the last several months, I've had deviled quail eggs, steak tartare, and "lapin a la moutarde" (rabbit in mustard sauce), which is not quite rabbit stew but close. Although I haven't had ham hocks and peas recently and also lost an opportunity to have some down south, I have had various ethnic versions of this dish, and I always welcome the combination of pork and beans. Sadly, I have put my steak tartare ways on hold for the next little while.

But what is bluegill?

[Sam Fujisaka]

Small perch.

[moh]

I haven't seen perch here, but we do get deep fried smelts or whiting (in French, eperlans) or something. They come head and all, with roe and guts still inside and you eat them whole. Delish...

I can tell you eat very well! Bon appetit...

[mrbozo]

Mmmm, floured and fried smelts.

Anyone recently have the once ubiquitous tavern meal (in Montreal at least) of boiled pig's knuckles and boiled potatoes, served with hot mustard on the side?

[spellweaver16]

Blue gills are teeny little fish that are easy to catch and reel in. The Department of Natural Resources use them and bass to stock ponds in the countryside here (in Iowa). They're about the size of your palm. If you have a somewhat small palm.

[Eat_Nopal]

Iowa? I think Blue Gills and Sunfish are in every pond & recreational lake in North America! Ah the memories... in East L.A. they would stock our local pond after the Bass spawning season (damn that little 2 acre pond had some 15 pound large mouths... huge cats, carp and koi in addition to the dead bodies).... as kids we would easily catch 20 to 30 a piece in a single sunny summer day... usually we would release for next year.... some people would actually eat them! Small palm.... the strong little buggers that would survive a couple of years would actually get to be about a pound!

Similarly in Highlands Jalisco they would get stuck in 10 foot deep "puddles" after the Summer rains would pass... and from those clean waters we would have incredibly tasty deep fried bluegills (some of them rather sizeable).

A friend in MSP says there are couple Mex restaurants that offer Blue Gill tacos on Fish Fry Fridays.

[mrbozo]

Sunfish? We always threw them back and continued, hoping for bass, or, hope against hope, brook trout.

[Eat_Nopal]

Bummer... these little critters, while scarce on flesh, are some of the tastiest little critters that live in water.

[spellweaver16]

I didn't know bluegills were that widespread!

[Dcn4Jesus]

Yes to the fried bluegills.....if you're talking about fish! Ha!

[Scott D]

I remember what seemed like every restaurant garnishing the plate with a cinnamon apple ring with a sprig of parsley in the center.

edit - And ditto on devilled eggs. I don't know that I've ever seen them in a restaurant, but my wife, with the passing of her grandma (and passing along of the "egg plate") is the designated egg deviller. But no piping and her garnishes aren't traditional... habanero stuffed olive rings.

[fromagina]

If I'm remembering my sequences correctly, the cinnamon apple slice was preceeded in time by the little pickled red crabapple. That was right around the time of the classic steakhouse salad of a crisp wedge of iceburg lettuce topped with either Blue (not bleu!) cheese, Thousand Island, or Russian dressing. I notice that wedge salad is making a comeback as a kind of "retro" salad.

[Catskillgirl]

I still see the crabapple slice occasionally. It's so pretty! Dinner plates at my maternal Grandmother's were not complete without a slice of crabapple.. She disliked the taste, but loved the color.

[pine time]

I tried making the cinammon apple rings last year, using red hot cinammon candies. Disaster.

[hawkeyeui93]

Better yet, I have run into Green Goddess salad dressing at older steak houses and older supper clubs in my part of the Upper Midwest. Had to ask my parents what was in it [and I am in my early 40's].

[azhotdish]

We have a local bbq resto that does a deviled egg amuse bouche - i've always found it hilarious (and delicious).

Another thing that that's harder to find on menus these days is shad roe.

[betsydiver]

here in the hudson river valley shad roe is a spring delicacy, served at special shad festivals. usually the first weekend of may, after they "run"...

[mrbozo]

Chicken a la King. Deviled eggs.

[cimui]

I was going to mention deviled eggs, too. But some of the 'trendier' places in NYC have started to serve them, so I can't complain as loudly. No one does the piping and paprika quite like Mom does, though. :)

[fromagina]

Yep.. deviled eggs have maintained their power underground in the Pot Luck circuit. I attended a pot luck last week where there were, out of the offerings of 26 attendees, 6 different platters of deviled eggs.. none as good as MY mother's were, but I did try them all. Of course, the fact that this was a gathering of senior citizens might explain the preponderance of deviled eggs! No Chicken a la king though! I do believe that one has (deservedly) faded from the foreground of common culinary offerings.

[cimui]

One of my friends (in her early 30s) brings devilled eggs to our T-giving potluck every year -- so it's not just senior citizens who love them (tho quite possibly I'm a sr citizen at heart.... :)

[Caroline1]

Considering the number of special deviled egg plates and platters I see in catalogs and on-line cooking sites I find it difficult to believe deviled eggs have ever lacked a following. Last Easter I got spammed by about five on-line cooking stores featuring deviled egg trays.

[alkapal]

deviled eggs rule forever!!!!

(now, deviled egg lovers, beware! this thread will cause you to get up, put some eggs on, get out the mayo, and...make the tasty critters to eat today, asap: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/471982

)

and this thread is tucked into my favorites: (foods from 40 years ago...) http://www.chowhound.com/topics/457777

[beelzebozo]

deviled eggs are alive and well in kentucky, especially around the holidays.

same goes for ham salad--my mum makes it every time we have leftover ham.

what about AMBROSIA SALAD? i love it, and we make it probably once a year. does anyone else?

[alkapal]

i made one from all fresh fruit once. it was indeed "food of the gods."

wiki sez: "In ancient Greek mythology, ambrosia is sometimes the food, sometimes the drink, of the gods, often depicted as conferring ageless immortality upon whomever consumes it. It was brought to the gods in Olympus by doves (Odyssey xii.62), so may have been thought of in the Homeric tradition as a kind of divine exhalation of the Earth"

[beelzebozo]

it earns its namesake. my grandma still has to make a double batch every christmas. i go medieval on it for a solid week.

[alkapal]

beelzebozo, does your grandma use fresh navel oranges? what else?

slightly ot, but beelzebozo, did you perfect your smoked salmon dip smokiness?

[beelzebozo]

to your first question, no, she's always used mandarin oranges. i presume she uses ones from a can, but i'm not entirely sure.

to the second question, i'm getting a lot closer. after eating there again and examining the dip a bit closer, i noticed some small green flecks i discerned were jalapeno, and also noticed that what they used where the salmon was concerned was not what you can buy in a store as "smoked salmon." it seemed more like a cook salmon filet that was then flaked into the dip (may or may not have been smoked). very chunky and substantial, where the smoked salmon i tried from the store seemed to more easily "dissolve" (so to speak) into the cream cheese. the liquid smoke seems to be a good way to get that smoky flavor without resorting to building a smoker at home, but i'm thinking of trying to find a place that sells big country smoked salmon filets and ordering some. i appreciate your advice though--it's come a long way!

[alkapal]

please post your recipe when you have it down, ok? thanks!

[Querencia]

Every time I serve deviled eggs two things happen. First, somebody makes a snotty remark about the fact that I'm serving deviled eggs, which somehow have fallen from grace. Second, they all get gobbled up.

[hawkeyeui93]

Deviled eggs, especially ones made with more than just mayo and egg yolk blended together, are timeless. As far as the snobbery, tell them something goofy like you made it with free range eggs and used truffle oil. I would love to see if that changes the snide commentary ....

[Ruthie789]

That is a great answer!

[alkapal]

oh heck, i'd tell them, " well, i guess you won't be eating any!"

[kubasd]

more for me!! I do love me some deviled eggs, even the crappy grocery store deli versions... with a trip to the salad bar to augment it, a yummy easy and close enough to healthy lunch!

[alkapal]

never been anywhere that the deviled eggs aren't among the first things to get inhaled…..

[The Professor]

Same here. Deviled eggs seem to be eternally popular.

[jw615]

Agreed. My husband loves them, and deviled eggs are the only egg based thing that I miss since becoming allergic to eggs.

[Caroline1]

Had to chuckle at your first link in which the OP is asking for a "crunchy" devilled egg recipe. My mother's deveilled eggs and egg salad were *always* crunchy. She always left in bits of shell!

Her favorite breakfast was egg salad on cracked wheat toast, and she could never understand why I wouldn't have some too. Do dentures make it easier to chew egg shells? They set the nerves in my teeth on end! Pass on crunchy.

[EWSflash]

I think dentures must make a difference, your description of the crunchy shells is spot-on, really sets the nerves on edge. Not having your original teeth would probably deaden that sound/feel quite a bit.

[Catskillgirl]

Hey! Don't mess with my chicken a la king. I still make it a couple of times a year and really enjoy it. Comfort food comes in many forms. For me, the pimento pieces really make the dish. Yummy yummy chicken a la king! I like turkey this way too, along with turkey tettrazzini.

Edited for misspelling!.

[mrbozo]

On egg noodles, or rice, or mashed potatoes?

[Catskillgirl]

Yes. LOL! Preferably on noodles, but rice is fine too. Mashed potatoes definitely has potential!

[cayjohan]

Blasphemy! <grin>

Chicken a la king demands toast! Mmmmm...toast.

Smiles,
Cay

[alkapal]

puff pastry shells for my chick a la king!

[Caroline1]

There you go. Voul au vent! Another forgotten food presentation.

[alkapal]

it makes me feel quite special ;-)

[Caroline1]

Yeah, it does fit right up there with foi gras and baked Alaska! And now that we can buy frozen puff pastry.... '-)

[Catskillgirl]

Oooooh, never thought of that! We've got boxes of the stuff in the bakery freezer - the bakers use it for fruit turnovers. I'll be taking my chicken a la king to new heights!

[Caroline1]

Google both "voul au vent" and " vol au vent" and you'll find tons of recipes. Traditionally a vol/voul au vent is filled with savory sauces with pieces of meat or sea food in it, but today the whole culinary language is in a state of major decay and you'll find sweet "vol au vents" listed as well. Anyway, chicken a la king type fillings are classic. Veloutes with seafood. Escoffier even lists one in his cookbook filled with brains. I pass!

If you're using a whole puff pastry sheet, use a saucer or plate or something the size you want the vol au vent to be. A savory vol au vent is larger than a dessert pastry size. Cut the pastry by running a sharp knife around the edge of the plate. Then cut a smaller circle inside that being very careful not to cut through all the way. About a third to half way is plenty. As the pastry puffs and cooks, this inner circle will form the lid. You can crimp the edges of the outer circle a bit if you wish, and press a few designs in the "lid".

Bake on a moistened cookie sheet (to help the bottom stay flat) in a fairly hot oven, or whatever the package directions say. Then as soon as you take it out of the oven, remove the lid with a sharp knife and then scrape out the soft parts in the full casing to make plenty of room for your chicken a la king. And eat fast and in a corner with your back to the room because when the bakers see what you've made, theyll want some too...!!!

[EWSflash]

Dang- now I'm craving chicken a la king... on egg noodles or puff pastry.

[Ruthie789]

Put a plate of deviled eggs down and swarms of men hover around the buffet table they love it...

[encoretraiteur]

i have to say, that i make chicken a la king all the time, only i call it chicken stew with biscuits, and i bake the stew in the oven with baking powder biscuits on top...so yummy!

[soupkitten]

linking the huge & interesting "regional cakes" thread

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/464253

[cimui]

I'm not sure how much of this I can chalk up to regional differences (I live in NYC, now, but grew up in the midwest / south). In my experience, though, I've noticed a dearth of:

1. hominy (grits are in, but no one seems like love hominy in quite the same way I do, 'round here)

2. "country ham"

3. friendship bread / friendship tea

4. chess pie

5. boiled peanuts (my mother's, made Chinese style with five spice, is absolutely wonderful)

6. in NYC restaurants, cream of ___ soup

7. pork liver

8. a really beautiful, simple baked potato

I feel like I haven't seen baked potatoes on restaurant menus in quite a long time, except perhaps at steakhouses (or Wendy's). You find potatoes in a lot of other forms, of course -- roasted with rosemary or mashed with wasabi, for instance -- but not like you found at even 'fancy' restaurants in my hometown, growing up. We used to drool over baked potatoes we got at restaurants, where the skin was nicely crispy, and the softball sized potato was gorgeously dripping with butter.

9. malt as a flavoring

10. saltines

11. iceberg lettuce

[For your paper, I think that perhaps you'll want to narrow it down to very specific geographic regions.]

[alkapal]

when i crave hominy, i just nuke it (from the can), and add salt and butter!

[cimui]

mmm.... hominy with butter is such lovely, simple comfort food. there's a peruvian corn dish, served in one restaurant i know of as an appetizer, that's sort of similar.

(i've never seen it canned!)

[alkapal]

cimui, i'm sorry to say that is the only kind i think i've had -- as an adult. maybe when i was a kid, i had it from the source (not quite "fresh" -- i mean, that's not the word for lime-slaked, is it?)

here is a little primer on hominy, for those who might want to try it: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgur...

[Passadumkeg]

I can't even find canned, here in rural Maine!!!

[cimui]

wow, fascinating. i feel rather slow for not making the connection myself that posole is essentially the same thing. good link.

[reedcoss]

I have a can of Hominy in my cupboard as I write this. And yes, I'm from the south. I love bolied peanuts, too. My dad turns rabid when he hears the words "Chess Pie." Thanks for those ideas.

[MsRetro]

Here in Florida, you can get boiled peanuts in any corner store. Good stuff.

[chef chicklet]

I don't see these much anymore, however I do love them.
Sloppy Joes
Pepper Steak
Salmon patties
Spam sandwiches

Anything with Kaluhua in it..

[goodhealthgourmet]

pepper steak was the first thing that came to my mind too.

that, and london broil.

[mrbozo]

I was out in Vancouver, British Columbia, a couple of months back: the salmon patty is alive and very well.

Pepper steak? I'm from Montreal and many bistros worth their, uh, salt, have pepper steak on the menu.

Spam lives a secret yet flourishing underground existence (and, based on recent estimates, accounts for 95% of all email sent world-wide).

[revsharkie]

We had spam for supper last night! My favorite way to make it is to cut it up in chunks, thread it on sticks with onion, green pepper, and pineapple, and cook them over charcoal.

[Caroline1]

It seems to me that about a gazillion years ago, Spam came in a large size and the one that's still around today. Anyway, I used to put two together, score the top like a ham and dot with cloves, cover with pineapple rings and maraschino cherries, pack with a mustard, brown sugar, maple syrup glaze and bake surrounded by yams. Gosh, I don't even have the pan I made it in anymore, and I hardly ever throw away a pan. Anyway, it was good. Or maybe the extreme poverty of being married to an Air Force student made everything taste better... '-)

[mrbozo]

When you're hungry food and its flavour take on a whole new meaning. Can't stand to hear people who have never actually gone hungry complain that they're "starving": oxymorons.

[Nanzi]

Our kids to this day call it spamham because I told them it was like ham. And I made it as a baked ham-like main dish too. I just bought a can an hour ago shopping.

[thew]

i don't think she meant steak au poivre....

i think she meant the old chinese dish

[mrbozo]

How many old chinese does it take to make the dish?

[thew]

one to put it in the pot and...... um......

[tocsin]

At least in the United States, offal/variety meats/organ meats are difficult to find on "mainstream" plates these days. Liver and onions included.

[Caroline1]

reedcoss, don't know how much depth you'll be going into in your paper, but as Cay and others have mentioned with old cookbooks, they are a great resource. But! You may also want to cover the WHY of what pushes many dishes out of fashion. The plain and simple answer in that department is "education." Right at the time when more and more mothers were working moms and didn't have time to teach their kids how to cook, the educational system dropped mandatory home ec classes too.

And then there is always the "leading edge" segment of home cooks who emulate the best restaurants of their day, so if you really want to dig into what drove the party dishes people put on their tables in the early to mid twentieth century, do a bit of research on the dishes of Careme and Escoffier. That's where the aspics and fancy molded foods originated. And it was not Julia Child in solo who made French cooking popular in America. She had a very important partner: Jackie Kennedy! Her influence is still with us in the form of creme brulee, her favorie dessert.

As one who had been there and done all of that, I can only say that in my opinion we've lost so much!

[thew]

but we have gained so much as well

[fromagina]

LITERALLY! (LOL) But most of the Larding of America has to do with fast foods.. and most of the move toward fast foods has been nicely explained by Caroline1.

[Caroline1]

When it comes to food history, one of the important factors that few, if any, seem aware of is that prior to the impact of the Great Depression and World War II, it was considered downright rude and bad manners to clean your plate. Which goes a long way to explain the wasp waistlines of ladies of the late 19th and early 20th centuries when compared with the extremely elaboborate twenty course banquets that were the standard of the day. Even a "light" dinner at home would be six to nine courses. People were served full plates but ate the quantities of an amuse buche. Well, maybe two bites. I know. Sounds really freaky by today's standards.

[fromagina]

Yes.. and those wasp waisted ladies were of the same class as the bone-thin women of today. I suspect the middle and skilled working classes of yesteryear tended toward proudly "I can afford to be" plump. I believe the "underclasses" of the last two centuries were pretty skinny and prone to diseases of malnourishment. Today, the diseases related to obesity have become the scourge of the very poor.

Of interest to me, in the "forgotten foods" line, would be plotting the "trickle down effect" of foods from the tables of the very wealthy to the lower classes. And there's also the "trickle UP" effect of foods from the peasant classes to the ruling classes.. oysters and lobster were once considered foods for your servants and there were humane treatment laws related to how many times a week you could subject your servants to lobster! The history of foods and eating habits IS fascinating. I hope reedcoss publishes the Forgotten Foods paper here for us to read!

[mrbozo]

Not to steal any thunder from reedcoss but Margaret Visser's books on food are great, informative reads.

[Caroline1]

Those wasp waisted ladies of the 1890;s didn't just get their wasp waists from diet and whale bone corsets. They had their bottom ribs surgically removed! As for middle and lower class, there wasn't as much of a middle class then as there is now, but the work for both -- well, for everyone actually -- was the likes that people today can't imagine. Laundry was a two day process, with washing and starching all day on Monday, ironing all day on Tuesday.

Even in the early years of electric lights in people's homes, few had electric appliances. Toasters were devices that sat on top of a gas burner and you leaned bread against the sides and had to make sure it didn't burn. Nothing popped up! No vacuum cleaners. Carpets had to be swept.

And all cooking -- three full meals a day -- was from scratch. Made their own bread, for the most part. Did their own canning in glass Mason jars. Many milked their own cows, churned their own butter, and considered flour a "convenience food" because they didn't have to grow, harvest, and mill the wheat themselves.

With the kind of workload people had then, it wasn't hard to eat big meals and stay thin. If people then could see how we live today, I think the thing they would find most bizarre are treadmills and stair-steppers or whatever you call those exercise machines). And they would probably think our food tastes disgusting. '-)

[Candy]

Actually at the turn of the century there were "vacuum cleaners" of a sort. They had to be hand pumped. Even more work than sweeping or beating.

If reedcross can lay her hands on a copy, Sheila Hibben wrote a very sophisticated little cookbook on Regional American Cooking. I think it was published about 1947 with a foreward by Duncan Hines. It is quite fascinating to read and not bad to cook from either.

[Caroline1]

There were several "modern" (in concept, if not design) appliances available then, including vacuum cleaners, washing machines, and such, but few people actually owned them. As you say, they were often more bother than just doing it the "old fashioned" way. I didn't mean to imply they weren't available, just that they weren't found in the average home of middle and/or lower classes. Probably not in a lot of upper class homes either, truth be known.

[alkapal]

the types of foods (whole grains, less refined foods) actually served the health of the so called "underclasses." and physical exercise. the unwitting health nuts of the 19th and 20th centuries!

an interesting read on the evolution of "peasant food," from our very own hounds: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/404271

[betsydiver]

what i learned in home ec (circa 1965) was how to make broiled grapefruit for breakfast (never heard of anyone serving that before or since!

[sandylc]

love broiled grapefruit

[lcool]

and if you blink it's burned
We have broiled grapefruit every Boxing Day done on my grandmothers 10 sided,14"
REGAL WARE TRAY

[Sharuf]

I have a Sunset Magazine cookbook ca. 1950. It has recipes for half a dozen versions of tamale pie, which was a potluck buffet standard of the era. In the '60s cooks moved on to other things, and lasagna usurped tamale pie on the buffet table.

[fromagina]

More memories returning re. "Forgotten Foods".. The lettuce leaf (iceburg) topped with a scoop of cottage cheese topped with half a canned peach topped with a dollop of Thousand Island dressing; this was classic luncheon fare in the 50s.

I remember a pot luck in the wilds of Nevada ranch country in 1979 when everyone who wrote their neme in the "SALAD" column brought some form of Jello.. as in Jello Salad. The most primitive was lime Jello with canned "Fruit Salad".. those cubed over-sweetened fruits with the few precious red red cherries. There was the classic cherry Jello with canned fruits and a layer of mini marshmallows entrapped in the top layer. Then there were a few of the crafted Jello salads with different layers of color and at least one layer was opaque with something like Cool Whip. The Martha Stewart of the back country brought a fetching number that was quite clever. She had somehow entrapped cubes of one color of Jello into a matrix of another color of Jello.

My mother made a true Jello salad that I make to this day. She mixed grated carrots, thinly sliced celery, grated Golden Delicious apple, and chopped pineapple chunks into a matrix of lemon or pineapple Jello. This is mostly veggies with barely enough Jello to hold it together. I love it.

[Nanzi]

My mom who is 92, used to make that salad too. Wasn't my thing, and neither was the aspic salad she made for company.

[eclecticsynergy]

Yep, end-of-the-week Jello salad.

[betsydiver]

In the 90's while on weight watchers, i frequently made that grated carrots and cabbage salad in low-calorie either lemon or lime jello in a circular mold unmolded on a bed of arranged lettuce leaves, particularly for church pot lucks where most of the fare was carb heavy. this was at least one thing i knew i could have as much as i wanted with almost no diet damage... enjoyed by others as well, i guess i "borrowed" from my 95 yr old mother, also!

[Dcn4Jesus]

Ooooh....we had the cottage cheese with pineapple or pears....never heard of the thousand island part....but that sounds yummy! Love a little tang with the sweet!

We also loved a pineapple slice with a dollop of miracle whip and then topped with grated cheddar cheese....makes my mouth water just thinking about it!

[alkapal]

my mom would do that with a canned pear half, on a lettuce leaf, with the mayo and the shredded cheese. called it "pear salad."

pineapple and cottage cheese is darned delicious. try the trader joe's canned pineapple chunks with some good cottage cheese -- like no guilt cheese-cake! and it tastes so good. the tj's pineapple is something special.

[Dcn4Jesus]

Thank you! good to know!

[alkapal]

haha -- even re-reading my post makes me hungry for it. maybe i'm crazy…or maybe it is because it is 4 a.m.

[Dcn4Jesus]

no.....it would stll be good at 4 a.m.....ha!

[cayjohan]

As a kid, I was a devotee of the "Bunny Salad" from the Betty Crocker "New Boys and Girls Cookbook." Canned pears and cottage cheese and, well...bunny-fication. Take a look: http://www.2cleverblog.com/2cleverblo...

My youngest discovered the cookbook on the shelves, and we had a string of years when bunny salad was a regular on the table. And you know, I find myself craving some canned pears and cottage cheese now too. I'd even take the cutesy bunnies for old times' sake!

[Dcn4Jesus]

So cute! Wish I had known to do that when my son was little!

[cayjohan]

There's still time! Aforementioned youngest made a special request for bunny salad for her going-away-to-college "last meal!" Ooooh, the cuteness.

As an aside, whenever Mr. Cay and I catch an episode of "Chopped," his solution to every mystery basket is either a riff on bunny salad, or a smoothie. Those pear bunnies have become firmly entrenched in our family psyche.

[Dcn4Jesus]

Very funny!

[tracylee]

I just checked my cookbook shelves and I still have that cookbook! Loved it growing up.

[roxlet]

It looked a bit more like a mousie salad at first glance. Very cute.

[hsk]

Off the top of my head: angel food cake, jello with canned fruit, anything made with evaporated milk. Not that I miss them. Although maybe I just don't hang out in the right places.

[Ruthie789]

Evaporated milk gets a bad rap. It can create creaminess in a recipe and has less calories than heavy cream.

[meatn3]

Very true! I use low fat evaporated milk for chowder sometimes to cut calories and the difference in taste/mouthfeel is very slight.

[nofunlatte]

Kohlrabi is certainly an underappreciated/overlooked ingredient. Growing up, I was the only person I knew (besides my family) who even ate the stuff. My German Great-Aunt Resi made this amazing creamed kohlrabi--used the bulb and the greens, with butter, salt and pepper. I've moved to another part of the country and I do occasionally find it in the farmer's market or supermarket (never bought it commercially when I lived in the Mid-Atlantic).

Forgotten foods (if you include forgotten drinks!)--any number of 60s and 70s cocktails, especially Harvey Wallbangers and Mai Tais. I suppose the Cosmopolitans and mojitos have kicked them aside. And there's always the Harvey Wallbanger cake--though I can't remember what was in it.

[torty]

Actually kohlrabi has had a resurgence in areas with SE Asian farmers at their markets. I saw lots of people snapping it up at my greater Los Angeles farmers market today- people of all ethnic backgrounds.

Also the OP mentioned brussell sprouts- they have become something of a culinary favorite as far as I can see since the advent of different techniques like roasting or saute with bacon as opposed to the old boil till they stink.

In terms of lost stuff, I do not see liver and onions as a weekly special anywhere in my area.

[nofunlatte]

Interesting--no problem getting liver and onions where I am. There certainly is a regionalism to forgotten/overlooked foods!

[cayjohan]

reedcoss,

You've had so many answers I wholly agree with, especially the "things in aspic" citations (I must admit a love of jellied meat items...or aspiced anything, really).

I'm thinking you might want some source suggestions. I can only cite a few I have. One is "The Gourmet Cookbook" (1950), from Gourmet magazine. A treasure trove of things jellied and aspiced and chaud-froid-ed! It seems we don't enjoy molded food as much as we did a half-century or so ago. Maybe we should! Next, if you can every find a copy of "Army Food and Messing" (1943, Military Service Publishing Company, Harrisburg, PA) in an archive, you will find much underappreciated "wet" stuff that gets poured over toast or potatoes - IMO, chicken ala king gets a bum rap after all the Boil-n-Bag incarnations of the 70s. And creamed tuna on toast? Be still, my heart! (In the "Mess" book you also get a lot of "Leftover turnips with salt pork" as well. Finally, "Betty Crocker's Picture Cookbook" (mine is 1959), is a lovely little peek into the pantries, kitchens, menus, and social considerations that many of aren't exposed to currently.

Oh, one more - check out any church cookbooks you can find. The older ones are at turns amusing and fascinating. And have some great recipes.

Good luck!

Cay

[thew]

baked alaska

[Caroline1]

You like to make people think, don't you! Add to that the fact that food goes in and out of style, just lke everything else. That said, produce choice has always depended on availability. Well, that and exposure. Most people tend to eat what they grew up eating, except for Chowhounds.

One of the things I find has fallen by the wayside is soup as a course. Soup as a meal is still around, but when people do formal at-home sit down dinners, you rarely find a soup course any more. At least judging by the dinner menus shared here.

The types of foods used for socializing by teens has changed a lot too. If you want to go back sixty years to my early-to-mid teens, taffy pulls and hay rides were pretty much standard for my birthday parties. Kids today -- or at least those I talk to -- are so amazed when I tell them you can actually make taffy!

Obviously, a lot of "home cooking" consists of thawing and nuking, with mostly Chow types cooking from scratch. That has radically changed (as in homogenized) the flavors of many foods. Sad.

In the '30s and 40's -- maybe the 50s too, but I don't remember for sure -- people ate a lot more rabbit than they do today. And way back then, "veal" really was veal. It's all pink fleshed today as opposed to white. Tastes differen too.

Hot dogs! Time was they ALL came in natural casings. Today there are very limited brands available, some of which are just plain awful, and if you want the natural casings, you may have to order from the web! Who needs ten pounds of hot dogs? Many brands of skinless hot dogs are so mushy that when you bite into them, they are the same texture as the bun. Sad.

Bacon and ham have changed. Try finding real sugar cured bacon today. Many brands now come in 12 ounce packages instead of a pound. Which is okay with me, since not much bacon really tastes like bacon any more.

Tapioca! Try to find large tapioca today! Gotta special order ity. Whether in restaurants or in those little ready-made supermarket brands, tapioca today just doesn't have much tapioca in it. And I strongly prefer the really big tapioca my grrandmother used to make for me. "Fish eyes."

Then there is the "evolution of contents" that has happened to practically all "old stand-by" prepared foods. I used to love Campbell's tomato soup, but thanks to evolution of contents, it doesn't taste the same any more, and tastes just awful.

Well, don't even get me started on corn syrup, whether hfcs or just plain old "Karo." I want my sugar back! In soft drinks, in pickles, in bread, in everything! I'm all for burning up all the corn in the country in ethanol if it will bring sugar back.

I have always pretty much steered clear of margarine due to allergies. But besides that, the great advantage of butter is that about all they've managed to do to it is add more water. At least something is steadfast.

Interesting topic, reedcoss. I'm sure I'll think of a dozen or two more things as soon as I post this.

[cayjohan]

Caroline1, try an Asian market for the large tapioca pearls. They're used in the "buble teas."

Cay

[Caroline1]

Oh, calories, here I come! Thank you, Cay!

[Ruthie789]

Alas soup turreens are hard to find but soup is so good especially in the fall, and not out of a can.

[Caroline1]

Actually, I just spent a little time web browsing and my finding is that reasonably priced tureens are hard to find. Expensive ones are all over the place! So I guess I'll continue using a sauce pan for smaller amounts of soup. Oh, well...

[lcool]

Hit the thrift stores and estate sales in tony,upscale neighborhoods
I snagged one,Villeroy & Bosche with original ladle and nary a chip recently.

[Ruthie789]

I go to quite a few thrift stores and moving sales, I hardly ever see soup tureens, but do think that they are so pretty and elegant on the table or on display.

[alkapal]

i agree that tureens are rarities -- most have had their lids broken and tossed. most also are pretty fragile in my experience…..

[sr44]

And light corn syrup is flavored with vanilla. Why?

[sandylc]

Bacon and ham, bacon and ham......well, meat in general doesn't taste like meat anymore - it's too lean and fed unnatural foods and drugged up and it just isn't as tasty now!

Corn syrup - corn is an unnatural occurrence in itself - and as much as I like sweetcorn, I regret the chain of events that has led to corn, corn, everywhere and in everything. Soy has gone the same way.

Tapioca pudding! Yum! I will now have to make some!

Does anyone out there remember dilly bread? I just made some yesterday....yummy.

[DockPotato]

Ham Salad Sandwiches.

[danhole]

I still make ham salad on a regular basis. But now Ham Loaf is another story. There was also Chicken loaf. Didn't like either one.

I have missed the procupine balls, but my mom used a brown gravy instead of tomato. Also Salmon croquettes. I thought I didn't like salmon, but then I remembered tose croquettes. Gosh they were good. My mom didn't make them, but I worked at a day care at 13, and the cooks would save some for me so I had something to eat after school, which is when I went to work. Wish I knew how they made them.

[alkapal]

my mom, and now i, make sauerkraut and porcupine meatballs. it is always a feast. and served with boiled potatoes, and mayo! (i don't know where she got the recipe, but it is so delicious.)

[Nanzi]

Could you post that recipe please for the sauerkraut porcupines? We're doing low carb, and altho I love, love, love porcupine balls, the rice is heavy carbs. And if I make a whole pan of them, I will have NO willpower over them. This is a childhood memory/comfort food. Thank you.

[alkapal]

i have it here on chowhound! http://www.chow.com/recipes/13527-geo...

re low-carb, there is not that much rice in the meatballs, so i wouldn't worry about it, but i don't know how much you can eat, of course.

the KEY is not letting the meatballs get a crust. mom was always a hawk watching when i made them. ;-).

[melpy]

My boyfriend makes salmon cakes from just canned salmon and an egg.
I couldn't bring myself to eat them.

[The Professor]

Why not? Are you adverse to the salmon, or the egg?

[Candy]

How about Parsnips? I was shopping in my local grocery last weekend and a young woman was on the phone talking to her mother. Her mom had sent her to the store for fresh horseradish root. I overheard the conversation, daughter nearly bought a parsnip until I shook my head and told her what she had in her hand was a parsnip and in scanning the produce dept. told her there was no fresh horseradish. So I guess both veg apply.

[cimui]

I dearly love my parsnip (and related root vegetables). I actually think I see a lot of it on restaurant menus around where I live (NYC) -- in roasted or pureed form. I serve it mashed with potatoes, butter, salt and pepper at dinners for friends fairly frequently.

[Catskillgirl]

That's funny - a couple of weeks ago I was moved to buy and grind some fresh horseradish. So there I stood in the produce department confronted with several different roots (including parsnips and turnips) and was totally unable to tell which was which. No produce clerks there, of course, so I bought the jarred horseradish sauce. Which is fine, but I felt like a doofus!

[BobB]

Horseradish is the biggest, ugliest root in the market. It's brown and dirty-looking, kind of like a carrot that decided to become The Incredible Hulk and turned brown instead of green, with a big gnarly knob at the top.

Definitely worth making your own, though. Just carve off all the brown exterior, cut the white interior into chunks, and throw it in your food processor. Puree it to the desired texture, then add some white vinegar to get the consistency you want, you don't even need to add salt. And be careful when you open the bowl, the fumes are POWERFUL.

[Catskillgirl]

Thank you so much! Perfect description - now I know which one it was. I heart horseradish in any form - I'm betting the homemade will be so, so good. And how nice to get my sinuses clear - it's spring allergy season here! Just another benefit of horseradish. *G*

[Dcn4Jesus]

I was eating at the German Restaurant at Epcot and they had a great parsnip and carrot slaw in a vinegar dressing. I tried to find a good copy of the recipe after I got back but couldn't. I had never had parsnips before but I really liked it!

[weem]

Check out this recent NY Times article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/30/din...

[reedcoss]

Excellent. Thanks for the link.

[weem]

My pleasure. I'm not much of a cook (though I'm getting better, thank you), but I love reading old cookbooks and books about culinary history. They can be revelatory. We in the US grow up with supermarkets where there's a set group of products year-round. So imagine my surprise reading Edna Lewis and discovering that meat was traditionally considered as seasonal as plants. Or imagine ancient Italian sauces without tomatoes, since they're native to the New World (I've read that eggplant was used where tomatoes would now be used). Similarly, read some "quick and easy" cookbooks from the 1960s or so, and you'll find ingredients you don't see today, like canned Spanish rice or canned German-style potato salad or a stick (stick?) of pie crust mix. It's all so fascinating.

[Honeychan]

Wow, and I thought I was alone in my addiction/love of old cookbooks and culinary history! I cannot get enough of these types of books, and re-read them many times. I find some of these in odd places, for mere pennies. (it seems, but i've also paid ALOT more for others) Used bookstores can be treasure-troves for them, but so can Goodwill shops.

Food history- why we have eaten, or do eat things things are utterly fascinating to me. The ritual involving foods is really interesting as well.

[Catskillgirl]

I love them too. I actually love old Home Economics books, when I can find them - it's like a window on the past. Not just the recipes, but the whole outlook on food and its preparation are different!

[danhole]

I inherited a bunch of old cookbooks from my husband's grandmother, and they are a hoot! A lot of them are little paperback type books, that she must have sent for, because they feature a certain flour or other product. Some of them have do's and don't's that are so funny to see now. How different things were back then. And talk about using everything you could! No waste in these books.

[Ruthie789]

How true, sugar and fat back in the 60's were not sinful, the current recipes have really cut back on these two items.

[The Professor]

right...they cut back on them, more often than not to the detriment of the dish. :-(

[hill food]

yeah I found my Grandma's handwritten recipe book, mostly desserts that start with a dozen eggs, a pound of butter and 6 cups of sugar...

I scanned it page by page at a high dpi.

[PrincessBakesALot]

My mom used those Betty Crocker pie crust sticks. Her pies were so good, really!
Thanks for the memory!

[StringerBell]

They still sell canned German-style potato salad here. They even have it at Walmart. I tried it once out of curiosity. It tasted like diced potatoes in Italian dressing with extra sugar. It was absolutely horrendous. I get the heebie jeebies just thinking about it.

[eclecticsynergy]

I'm told squab used to appear on most restaurant menus right alongside chicken. But it's too late to bring back the passenger pigeon.

[AmyH]

You never hear of people cooking capon anymore. My grandmother would occasionally cook them, many years ago. I've seen them (frozen) in the grocery store but never got up the nerve to buy one. I've only ever seen one or two recipes for it.

[Ruthie789]

You hardly see them anymore and they are expensive. Same cooking as chicken.

[huiray]

Many, MANY years ago in England, when my sister was still learning the food terms used there after moving to the UK, she wanted an intact rooster with head+comb and clawed feet etc - i.e. the whole and complete bird, to cook for a Chinese New Year meal - where the intact bird has symbolic significance. Up till then, all she had seen were the typical feet-less, headless capons, which were the larger chickens widely available all over the place then. So...she went to the local butcher and asked for a MALE CAPON. The butcher gave her a long look and slowly recited, "You...want...a...male...capon..." as she related to me afterwards. Heh. Long story short, after she explained and described what it was she wanted the butcher obliged (I like to think with a smile) although it became a special order that she could pick up only the next day. :-D

[AmyH]

Cute!

For those who don't know (from WiseGeek.com):
A capon is a castrated rooster. Capons are considered by many people to be a boutique and old fashioned sort of food, and they tend to have more tender, flavorful flesh as well as a higher fat content. The markedly different flavor profile of a capon is distinctive to consumers once they taste it, especially when the capon has been conscientiously raised.

[AmyH]

I've heard they're a bit greasier and more like cooking goose. It's the price that keeps me from trying one. Maybe this year I'll be brave.

[Ruthie789]

There is more meat on a capon. I do not remember it being greasy at all. A goose is another story grease laden for sure.

[AmyH]

I think I may just have to get one when the weather gets cooler!

[buttertart]

Capon isn't greasy, it just tastes much more chickeny than chicken. I'd have one in a minute if I could find one (apologies to Little Guy and Hef, 2 intact roosters of my acquaintance).
Goose meat itself isn't greasy either -- a lot of fat renders as you cook it (and should be poured off to cook other things in, such as the most sublime fried potatoes you'll ever have). The meat itself is more like beef brisket than like dark meat chicken or turkey. Awfully good, and awfully expensive in these parts.

[lcool]

You are correct,goose flesh is very lean.The fat layer however is formidable.

Pricey yes,without a great meat to bone ratio.The Mrs. raises one brood a year and we have to husband them year round.My big Toulouse Greys aren't noted for niceties.

My #1,favorite method is 13# goose on a spit dripping into a pan of 2" cubed potatoes and halved onions.

[hill food]

one sad thanksgiving eve in DC some guy hadn't ordered a bird ahead of time at the poulterer and all they had left was capon and I had to explain what the heck it was (English was not the vendor's first language) "yeah it's a chicken, it's a male chicken with his balls chopped off, that's why it's fat, y'know like castrati (lost him there) or a harem eunuch (still lost)" "yeah you cook it like a regular chicken it's just bigger"

and at 5 PM on that November Wednesday it was "il quest o gatz d'it l'papagalle". (sp?)

[fromagina]

Do people still do Tuna Casseroles? I remember when baked custard in little custard cups followed many meals. Do people make Ritz Cracker Mock Apple Pie anymore or was that a Great Depression dessert? Chipped beef in a jar (that we kept as a juice jar) made SOS (if you had a WWII vet in the house)) or Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast if you were Pinky Finger Poor. Welsh Rabbit was another day-before-payday meal. Rhubarb seems to be slowly fading out of "mainstream" kitchens. Bundles of blanched Cardoon (related to artichoke.. you eat the stems) used to be pretty common in Mediterranian neighbohood stores. Devilled Ham and liverwurst were common in the sandwiches of my long-ago youth. Tomato aspic in some form or other appeared at most buffet parties in the 40s and 50s.

[moh]

"Tomato aspic in some form or other appeared at most buffet parties in the 40s and 50s."

Savoury gelatin dishes have seriously fallen from favour in the Western diet. I love the gelatin layer on the top of pates, but not many people seem to share my appreciation for this part of pate (which is fine. They leave all of it on the serving plate, and I come and finish it off.) I had a great tongue-in-gelatin sausage the other day, another great item that isn't very popular in mainstream restaurants. I miss the jello salads from the 1950/1960s. And of course, gelatin is a key ingredient in my beloved soup dumplings. Anything jelly-like is good in my books.

Now I have started seeing small flavourful cubes of jelly in fancy restaurant desserts, usually passion fruit flavoured. But in general, jelly-like substances are largely ignored in Western cuisine these days :(

Fortunately, in Asian cuisine, gelatin/agar desserts are still very popular, and gelatin textures are still common, as evidenced by the continued popularity of items such as thousand year old eggs and Korean Mook.

[Honeychan]

I've been collecting Scandinavian/Swedish cookbooks for about a year, and aspics of all types were seemingly necessary for any type of smorgasbord in the 1950's-1970's. The varied types are mind-blowing to me! They did many different seafood/herring aspics, meat ones...egg ones..I've got probably 30 different types in my varied cookbooks. I wonder, if they were more a product of their times, versus culture? I'd never, ever heard of an aspic till getting that first 1950's Swedish cookbook, and was puzzled. Had to ask a professional cook friend (much older than me!) that remembers making them along time ago. My Grandmother fessed up, and admitted making them alot in the 1960's, for her luncheon parties.

[reedcoss]

Herring aspic . Whew, sounds ... interesting. And yes, it seems you all are right about gelatins falling out of favor. However, my grandmother always seems to sneak a cranberry jell-o mold onto the table every year when I go back home for the hoidays. Thanks for the suggestions.

[mrbozo]

Mmmm, head cheese and gefilte fish like mom used to make.

[danhole]

I have an old cookbook from 1952 which has Aspic with frankfurters, hardboiled eggs, and diced celery. The photo looks pretty gross! It also has aspic with sliced veal, another with tongue mousse, and how about some jellied tuna? Glad these are forgotten.

[cimui]

aspic with sliced veal and tongue mousse sound delicious!

[danhole]

Well I've got the recipes! LOL!

[cimui]

If it's not a lot of trouble, would you post them (I guess on Recipes and link from here)? I'm not kidding. They really do sound great!

[danhole]

Here you go:

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/516149

[mrbozo]

Mmmm, pickled tongue on light rye with yellow mustard; a half-sour on the side.

[j0b0sapi3n]

ooh, that sounds delish

[The Professor]

Sounds incredibly delicious.
My grandmother used to frequently make 'kacsona', an aspic of pork...redolent with garlic. Incredibly delicious stuff.

[Querencia]

Recently in a book on the history of convenience foods I read that gelatin salads and desserts became fashionable, as for ladies' luncheons, in the early days of electric refrigerators. You had to have one in order to make gelatin set and they were expensive to buy so being able to serve jello items was actually a status thing. Now jello is passe' but it's very good for two things: 1) it's sometimes the only thing sick child will eat (especially if it's red) so it gets liquid and a few calories into the small feverish one; 2) if you have some grapefruit that's too sour to eat, put it in Black Cherry Jello and it ends up tasting sort of like black cherries, a nice change in midwinter.

[Caroline1]

hmmmm... Be cautious with "history" books on just about anything, but in this particular case, I seriously doubt that refrigerators promoted the popularity of gelatin dishes. They are classic, and were popular long before refrigerators became a fantastic replacement for the iceman. For those with no clue as to what I'm talking about, "iceboxes" were important kitchen appliances before refrigerators replaced them. An icebox had one compartment reserved for a huge block of ice that was delivered daily by "the ice man." I remember ice trucks as late as the 1930s. Customers were supplied with a square card with a suction cup that was hung in the window, Each corner of the card had a number that when positioned at the top of the card, indicated how many pounds of ice the customer wanted. Ice men were geniuses at carving out just the right size. During the summer, every kid in the neighborhood would follow the ice truck (or cart) around the neighborhood begging and waiting for chips of ice. The block of ice went in one of the top compartments of an icebox because cold flows down and settles in the bottom compartments. Gelatins were put in the bottom compartment directly under the ice compartment to set.

In addition, many homes had cellars (basements were warmer than cellars) that were cold enough to set gelatin. In 1957, my grandmother and I flew from California to England, to visit family. Our first stop was at Cousin George's home in Manchester. He and his wife had recently purchased a two or three hundred year old home (I forget the actual age, but it was in the National Registry, or whatever it's called) that was drop dead gorgeous with incredible carved plaster work in all rooms, coffered ceilings in some, and a fire place in every room of the house. But the house had extremely limited "modern conveniences"! Lina's basement had a cellar in it in which she chilled foods. For our arrival dinner, she made an incredible pressed beef and several gelatin molds.

As for the "food history" of gelatins as I remember them in my lifetime (I was born in 1933), molded gelatin salads have been around all of my life, but they went from "standard occasional fare" to "rage" in the late 1940s and 1950s. The church of my childhood held potluck dinners every month, and I remember one time when the vast majority of the dishes people brought were gelatin salads. That's when a food coordinator was appointed, and church members were asked to contact her in advance to let her know what they were bringing. I remember tons of lime Jell-O set in layers that contained [pineapple rings and maraschino cherries on the top (unmolded) layer, grated carrots, cottage cheese, chopped cabbage and diced Delicious apples with red peel in successive layers, and the bottom layer contained mayonnaise. And then there were the raspberry or cherry Jell-O dishes with canned fruit salad and such suspended in them. Some quivered more than others because there was a tad too much water in the gelatin. And then there were gelatins with chicken and canned peas (blech). Overall, it made for some pretty yucky eating when all you got for dinner was a plate full of at least a dozen different kinds of Jell-O salads so you didn't hurt anyone's feelings. I also remember begging to stay home on pot luck supper night... '-)

[weem]

Querencia, your comment made me pull a book off my shelf of vintage cookbooks called "Electric Refrigerator Recipes and Menus - Specially Prepared for the General Electric Refrigerator", by Miss Alice Bradley, from 1927. I gotta say, there's a lot of recipes for jellies, aspics, and other things involving "gelatine", including the general suggestion that jellied dishes are a great way to use up leftovers.

[huiray]

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/8599...

[hill food]

I once made a borscht aspic that was, well, actually Russe-Mex with the addition of jalapeno and cilantro and a dollop of creme fraiche. it was sort of back-to-the-future Betty Crocker storms the Iron Curtain.

I liked it.

[Dcn4Jesus]

I was at an older ladies' luncheon a few years back and one of them had made tomato aspic. It was fabulous! I've been copying aspic recipes ever since but haven't made any yet.

[BuildingMyBento]

I don't know about "fortunately," but I did see aspic in a Shenzhen dinner buffet. It's contents were carrots and broccoli, but what threw me a loop was that they were cut into squares. I tried it, but the shape for some reason...

[revsharkie]

I made a tuna casserole a couple weeks ago. I was just off the flu and that's what sounded good. And a few weeks before that I had some leftover cheese sauce (too much cheese, not enough mac), so I made some extra toast at breakfast, let it dry out, and made a Welsh Rarebit for lunch. Rhubarb isn't fading out of anything here in the Middle of Nowhere, Iowa, although I personally don't eat it. My neighbors have four or five rhubarb plants in their backyard.

[hill food]

rhubarb truly needs to be retained and remembered.

[Eat_Nopal]

I think the OP was asking about underappreciated foods... not just forgotten disasters! =()

[susancinsf]

rutabaga perhaps, but brussel sprouts are quite common at my house and at restaurants around the bay area....