553823 Mon Sep 01 06:53:13 -0700 2008 516 31 Home Cooking 0 4001124 inspired by hill food's post about his mom's, um, "unorthodox" meat loaf technique, http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/552999#3995312 i thought it would be fun to hear some of your mom's (or any other family member or friend's) food concoctions, weird techniques, odd serving habits, strange "traditions" with food..... with sauerkraut and porcupine meatballs (recipe to follow later), my mom serves boiled potatoes with mayonnaise. it is quite good. i never buy pork chops today because my mom always turned them into something akin to pig hide. she likes boiled tongue, but i could *not* get past the taste buds! eeeuuuw. friday nights growing up was always spaghetti with meat sauce night. she served it with white bread and butter, with a fresh lettuce ,tomato and cucumber salad -- and, iirc, thousand island or french dressing. (when we ate out, dad liked roquefort dressing. mmmm.) i'd get to sit in front of the tv and watch the wild, wild west, with my heartthrob, james west. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058855/ every. friday. night. (and i was happy about it, too)! (the only celeb pic i ever asked for!) to be fair, mom used to make a mean lane cake running up to christmas holidays, dousing it periodically with a little bourbon, then wrapping it back in saran wrap, then foil, then stored in the tupperware cake container. other than the occasional pound cake (which is **quite** good, if i do say so myself) http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/477189#3298443 and birthday cakes from a mix, that was the extent of her baking sweets. mom is 86 years old now, and doesn't really cook at all. she has a bad habit these days of eating ice cream and peanut butter after her nap, and not balanced nutrition and veggies. <sigh>. i get nostalgic. anyhow, enough about moi. tell me your funny stories, please! Mon Sep 01 06:53:17 -0700 2008 105717 alkapal 1 4001178 Up untill three years ago I thought that ribs were just bones with a hunk of charred meat on it. I never understood why people wanted to eat ribs since there was nothing on them and it would take 5 minutes to gnaw off a burnt piece. My poor Dad used to flambe the #@#@ out of ribs. Imagine my surprise when I moved to Texas :) LOL. He makes a mean cobbler in his dutch oven though :) Mon Sep 01 07:23:45 -0700 2008 4001124 195113 jenwee 2 4712322 I'm fairly young but my Mom is obsessed, absolutely obsessed with making the perfect tofu cheesecake. I think she got the original recipe from the moosewood cookbook, there have been a thousand variations on it. Most are disgusting.One with pears was divine. The chocolate one was an unmentionable abomination that would have been kept chained in the cheesecake family basement (if such a a thing existed). Lately she brags to me that she's perfected it. I tried it, nothing special. I don't know why she's been into this for over ten years. Mon May 25 04:33:52 -0700 2009 4001178 322213 YAYME 3 4712519 Because she is on a quest - and like all quests, it comes from within, albeit it may be scorned, derided, or loathed by others. Pretty weird quest, however. Mon May 25 07:11:33 -0700 2009 4712322 36661 Sam Fujisaka 3 4762668 My mother once made a lasagna with tofu substituting for cheese and strips of zucchine subbing for noodles. Awful Thu Jun 11 06:39:03 -0700 2009 4712322 155855 MARISKANY 4 4950397 But low in fat and good for you. :>) Sun Aug 16 08:01:32 -0700 2009 4762668 24468 chicgail 4 4950414 i've done that before..... and it came out amazingly tasty. Huh, maybe she just didn't adjust the spices? did she crumble the tofu to resemble cottage cheese? or did she just use extra firm.... Sun Aug 16 08:12:01 -0700 2009 4762668 264146 kubasd 3 5075745 My daughter- in-laws mom is a vegetarian and makes tofu-turkey for Thanksgiving! Fri Oct 02 20:15:07 -0700 2009 4712322 1106154 Hollyhock 1 4001188 Spaghetti with meat sauce on Fridays, that's too funny! Of all the days to pick to serve Italian-ish meat... Oddities in my family are tiramisu made with an anisette. Also, no idea how common it is, but serving things like tongue or squid to be carved at the table ... it would certainly freak out guests less if they were cut up in the kitchen. Oh, and no bbq is complete without a pizza on the grill. No cheese, of course. No matter what you do, kids *will* smear bbq sauce onto that cabbage-stuffed pizza. Mon Sep 01 07:27:58 -0700 2008 4001124 177724 tmso 2 4001237 one acronym to explain that meat sauced spaghetti: wasp. Mon Sep 01 07:55:06 -0700 2008 4001188 105717 alkapal 3 4002601 Count me in as WASP progeny with a weekly serving of spaghetti and meat sauce. In our house, the dish itself was called "spaghetti", as if topping a plateful of noodles with a quart of tomato-ground round-dried oregano sauce was the *only* conceivable way of consuming the pasta. Mon Sep 01 21:36:10 -0700 2008 4001237 106932 Agent Orange 4 4002790 Yep, same meal, same name. If we were lucky with a side of Texas Toast toasted with butter and garlic powder Tue Sep 02 03:17:03 -0700 2008 4002601 165021 Firegoat 5 4002918 yes, we called it simply "spaghetti" too. Tue Sep 02 06:27:30 -0700 2008 4002790 105717 alkapal 5 4003896 Yes, how could I forget the Texas toast (although we just called it garlic bread.) Sometimes it was Wonderbread, other times it was a slice of grocery store "French bread." Always with a big schmear of butter and a heavy sprinkling of McCormick garlic powder. Wouldn't be spaghetti night without the garlic bread. Tue Sep 02 13:28:51 -0700 2008 4002790 106932 Agent Orange 6 4787852 You know, I've actually TRIED to make 'garlic bread' the way Mom did, and it's never right. I don't know what I"m doing wrong - maybe my garlic powder's too fresh? Fri Jun 19 10:57:45 -0700 2009 4003896 1085037 aimless1 7 4839290 My Mom made garlic bread with garlic salt, Mix it in the butter with parsley flakes and spread it between the slices on the loaf. Heaven! Wed Jul 08 08:11:31 -0700 2009 4787852 118813 protzman 8 4950404 You're right about the garlic salt thing. I think salt brings out the flavor really well. But I think there are (at least) two schools of garlic bread: There's the keep the bread soft in the middle with butter and garlic school. And then there's the crisp it up by putting it under the broiler school. Being a fan of anything that includes garlic, butter and good bread, you can get me with either one. Sun Aug 16 08:04:01 -0700 2009 4839290 24468 chicgail 9 4950423 ya know, i'm actually nostalgic right now for my mom's garlic bread.... buy a loaf of italian bread from the grocery store, cut slices, smear loads of margarine (yes margarine, my mom never ever used butter) between the slices. sprinkle with garlic powder and dried parsley (if you were feeling fancy). wrap whole thing in foil and stick in the oven. Gooey soft and delicious..... Sun Aug 16 08:16:46 -0700 2009 4950404 264146 kubasd 7 5003512 Maybe she made it like my mom did. I think it's McCormack that makes a "garlic spread" in a little spice jar. My mom mixed that half and half with melted butter and spread it on slices of Arnold bread toast. I used to LOVE it! Thu Sep 03 17:10:36 -0700 2009 4787852 1106722 patmatw 8 5010526 I read it somewhere else in here, it was Lawry's that makes that spread. That garlic toast recipe went so well with the spaghetti and meatballs that it was served with. Yes, the kind that is served all mixed in a bowl already. Green can of Kraft "grated cheese" passed around the table... Mon Sep 07 06:02:12 -0700 2009 5003512 1106722 patmatw 9 5010845 http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/412p0%2BzrdeL._SL500_AA280_PIbundle-12,TopRight,0,0_AA280_SH20_.jpg look familiar? apparently, this replaced it: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0012ZW5TG/ref=asc_df_B0012ZW5TG902164?smid=A3BIKWL5LCRV0H&tag=shopzilla_mp_1006-20&linkCode=asn&creative=380341&creativeASIN=B0012ZW5TG Mon Sep 07 08:59:10 -0700 2009 5010526 105717 alkapal 4 4004353 Yep. Or if you used elbow macaroni instead of spaghetti and then baked the concoction until almost dry it was "gouloush." Tue Sep 02 16:43:26 -0700 2008 4002601 166380 ldkelley 4 4006811 This brings back memories of a receptionist that worked in my office who used to rave about how her husband just lovvvvvved her spaghetti. He begged her to make it at least once a week. She finally brought some to work so that we could all bow down before the alter of her spaghetti. It was just awful, nothing but boiled spaghetti covered with a sauce that must have been made solely of ground beef that was just added raw to some tomato sauce. There was no seasoning except for salt. We, of course, being the polite little liars we were, said it was very good. My mother used to put chopped green apples in her spaghetti sauce later in life. It was actually quite good. That was probably because her spaghetti sauce (meat sauce) was very good in the first place. Wed Sep 03 16:08:52 -0700 2008 4002601 10245 oakjoan 5 4009069 My mom always put Kraft singles on spaghetti. Go figure! Thu Sep 04 13:52:14 -0700 2008 4006811 164177 Erika L 6 4009096 Please explain how she put the singles on the pasta. Chopped? Shredded? Can that stuff BE shredded? And where oh where did the green apple idea come from? Thu Sep 04 14:02:18 -0700 2008 4009069 116638 southernitalian 7 4010094 It was cut into strips and scattered over the top of the dish. I can't imagine that you can shred it, you can barely cut it without having it gum up your blade! Thu Sep 04 21:51:41 -0700 2008 4009096 164177 Erika L 7 4711236 Somebody, here I think, recently described American cheese as melted traffic cones. Sun May 24 14:32:35 -0700 2009 4009096 40486 Cinnamon 6 4018432 My mom did the same thing too (god awful). My mother is Korean, is yours? Maybe it's a weird asian thing. Then with the leftover spaghetti sauce we mixed it with rice and put it in flour tortillas. Other than that my mom is an amazing cook (: Mon Sep 08 14:54:48 -0700 2008 4009069 24546 bitsubeats 7 4711240 I just went for my first Korean grocery store visit yesterday. Lots of fantastic things, lots of odd things, and the selection of middle-American things was pretty funny. Among them were frozen White Castle burgers. :) Sun May 24 14:34:01 -0700 2009 4018432 40486 Cinnamon 8 4714058 WC: not as good as the real at 3 AM, but not too bad - hard to mess up after all. why at a Korean Grocer is anyone's guess. I'd be browsing the Daikon. Mon May 25 18:45:33 -0700 2009 4711240 163722 hill food 8 4790916 I'd be worried--do White Castle's still exist? Maybe they are from another era and just frozen in time. Sat Jun 20 16:18:28 -0700 2009 4711240 237109 Virginia Girl 9 4840599 White Castle is alive and well. although some apostate marketing committee expanded the menu to include jalapeno cheese and other options. Wed Jul 08 13:32:08 -0700 2009 4790916 163722 hill food 3 5075758 Do you really think so? How about the very classic Bolognese Sauce? Start with both "good quality ground beef and lean ground pork." It goes on from there, of course. One of the oldest Italian recipes. Fri Oct 02 20:25:02 -0700 2009 4001237 1106154 Hollyhock 4 5076058 In Italy they don't use ground chuck like here, "good quality" means sirloin or tenderloin. That you grind yourself, not from the grocery store. Although I'm not sure who you're actually responding to? Sat Oct 03 05:52:04 -0700 2009 5075758 11097 coll 4 5114312 hollyhock, i'm not sure of your point. it's "wasp" if served on friday, a traditionally catholic (italian) non-meat day. that was my little quip. Mon Oct 19 09:23:51 -0700 2009 5075758 105717 alkapal 3 5075762 How about the classic Bolognese Sauce? The main ingredients are "good quality ground beef and ground pork." Fri Oct 02 20:28:03 -0700 2009 4001237 1106154 Hollyhock 2 4013058 We were are large family of nine on a tight budget. My Mom would make a spaghetti with meat sauce for dinner. The very next evening she would take our her large cast iron skillet, put one stick of margarine in the pan and the leftover spaghetti and sauce. They were combined at this time. She would then "fry" it all together. It would be served with white bread and more margarine. My four brothers would make fried spaghetti sandwiches. I would just nibble. Can't say it was a favorite. Sat Sep 06 08:40:39 -0700 2008 4001188 220845 joda 3 4013770 That was my father's favorite thing in the world (of food I mean). Just a little crispy. We were only a family of eight though. Sat Sep 06 14:55:47 -0700 2008 4013058 11097 coll 1 4001202 That is really funny, because I was just going to mention ice cream & peanut butter! I've never heard of anyone else who ate this combination before. I got it from my grandpa, who loved chocolate ice cream with peanut butter. My grandpa also used to pour his coffee into a saucer every morning, and then sluuuurp it out of the saucer very loudly. I've never figured out the reason for this. Maybe it cooled down faster? Other things I used to eat that get strange looks from friends when I tell about them now: cream cheese & jelly sandwiches deviled ham sandwiches peanut butter and maple syrup in a bowl, eaten with a spoon My mom also used to boil vegetables until they were practically white and completely water logged. Same with pasta. And she cooked steaks until they were black and you had to chew each bite for a solid 3 minutes just to get it down (covered in Lea & Perrin's Steak sauce to make it a more palatable). Another sandwich that I love to this day is white bread, French's mustard, cheddar cheese and raw sliced onion. This was my dad's invention, and it is still comfort food to me. Mon Sep 01 07:34:19 -0700 2008 4001124 24350 dexters 2 4001515 "Another sandwich that I love to this day is white bread, French's mustard, cheddar cheese and raw sliced onion. This was my dad's invention, and it is still comfort food to me." Add some black pepper to the onion and this was my fathers favorite sandwich also. Sometimes he would add very thin sliced tomato, but not often. Mon Sep 01 10:33:59 -0700 2008 4001202 93805 hannaone 3 4012609 My mom eats that all the time. (Minus the mustard). Sometimes she adds radishes Fri Sep 05 22:01:58 -0700 2008 4001515 144814 livetocook 3 4134953 Hannaone, My Dad made exactly the same sandwich. I thought that he had invented it. Thanks for the memory. Tue Oct 28 14:28:46 -0700 2008 4001515 22427 gfr1111 4 4790920 My mom made potato chip sandwiches with a little mayo on them. Go figure. I thought this was normal. Otherwise, she was a pretty good cook. Sat Jun 20 16:21:16 -0700 2009 4134953 237109 Virginia Girl 5 4840608 I LOVE potato chips on sandwiches, gives a satisfying crunch (granted I put more than just chips on, usu. tuna salad or salami) and they definitely have to be next to the mayo side even if there's lettuce as well. Wed Jul 08 13:34:09 -0700 2009 4790920 163722 hill food 2 4004212 cream cheese & jelly was a lunchtime staple in my childhood home - and it had to be on Wonder Bread...unless it was Passover. then, of course, it was cream cheese & jelly on matzo. my friends all *loved* my mother's "chicken salad," but i couldn't get it down...chunks of boneless, skinless breasts that had been poached in water with two packets of George Washington's Seasoning [pretty much just MSG & salt], combined with so much mayonnaise the chicken was practically suspended in it. gack. makes me gag just thinking about it. Tue Sep 02 15:39:05 -0700 2008 4001202 103920 goodhealthgourmet 2 4006814 Dexters: Was your grandpa Swedish? My Swedish grandpa, who came over from Sweden to Duluth in the early part of the last century, always drank his coffee that way, as did all his neighbors and relatives. Wed Sep 03 16:10:43 -0700 2008 4001202 10245 oakjoan 3 4121106 My father used to do this as well and he picked it up from his father who came over from Denmark. Wed Oct 22 09:06:53 -0700 2008 4006814 43623 chilihead 4 4123300 chilihead, oakjean, dexters - I don't believe that the "slurping the morning coffee from the saucer" practice necessarily had anything to do with a Scandanavian heritage, but believe it was more of a taste preference & generational thing. My dad did the same thing & his ancestors were from Scotland, but so far back that he never knew any of them. I know the reason for his "coffee from the saucer" was to cool the coffee. In fact, he'd often put an ice cube in the cup of coffee to cool that while he "slurped from saucer" his first coffee. Then he'd drink the remaining coffee from the cup. He & I are certainly opposites when it comes to way we liked our coffee. I can hardly get mine hot enough and he could hardly get his cool enough. In fact, he liked all of his foods much cooler than I like mine. Thu Oct 23 05:12:26 -0700 2008 4121106 224123 foodisgreat 5 4762532 My grandpa used the slurping saucer trick too & he was American Indian, he said because the china cup was to hot to hold until his coffee cooled down, but they boiled coffee back then & it was HOT not like this brewed stuff it gets cold in a minute. Thu Jun 11 05:33:20 -0700 2009 4123300 292331 Sand2kat 2 4023848 I loved cream cheese & jelly sandwiches as a kid, but I thought I was the only one who ever had them. None of my friends had them. I remember my mom buying a little square of Philadelphia cream cheese to make them. I actually tried this sandwich recently, but it wasn't as wonderful as I had remembered, but still good. Wed Sep 10 11:36:28 -0700 2008 4001202 169334 joan mar 3 4024681 I'd forgotten all about those cream cheese and (grape) jelly sandwiches, on Wonder Bread. I wonder if it was a Jewish thing? The wierdest thing my mother did was use matzo meal as her fried-chicken coating (we lived in Miami, she was confused). It turns into a rock-hard crust. Much preferred the Colonel's. My stepmother made Kraft Dinner but added extra shredded Cheddar and then a can of plum tomatoes. The acid in the tomato juice used to coagulate the cheese, but we liked it. Wed Sep 10 15:34:05 -0700 2008 4023848 71215 mlgb 4 4066976 Not sure, but I had it sometimes when I was a kid. Welch's grape jelly. Mom would make her meat loaf with hard boiled eggs down the center of the loaf. I always thought it looked like eyeballs watching as we ate. Sat Sep 27 21:32:51 -0700 2008 4024681 117292 Shayna Madel 5 4069351 Mmm Welch's grape jelly. That's the only kind of jelly we had growing up other than the home canned sand plum jelly. I am completely spoiled for any other kind of grape jelly. Must have Welch's..... Mon Sep 29 07:17:01 -0700 2008 4066976 165021 Firegoat 5 4102932 My mom made meatloaf like that too!. When I was little I thought she used a raw egg and I wondered how she got that raw egg to fit in just right so that it cooked up so neatly. My mom also used to make some kind of spaghetti-like dish that seemed to combine spaghetti noodles, canned stewed tomatoes and American cheese. Another favorite of my dad's (and I think this is a dish of Eastern European Jewish derivation) was something called farmers chop suey that, if I can remember was basically an iceberg lettuce salad with radishes, tomatoes and onions topped with sour cream. Finally I used to love, but got mocked for mercilessly at school, green olive and cream cheese sandwiches on rye bread. Haven't had one of those for years. Tue Oct 14 07:01:53 -0700 2008 4066976 24468 chicgail 6 4104174 totally not kosher, but delicious: green olive/pimento cream cheese with rare roast beef, grilled on pumpernickel.. courtesy of dunderbak's deli, altamonte mall, orlando/winter park florida, circa 1975. the best savory sandwich -- ever. Tue Oct 14 14:16:36 -0700 2008 4102932 105717 alkapal 7 4105756 Ooo. Adding the roast beef is a great touch. More like an olive burger (for those of you who don't know it's a burger topped those pimento-stuffed green olives, chopped and mixed with mayo on a rarish burger. I can only guess how good it would be grilled. Gotta try it. Wed Oct 15 08:17:54 -0700 2008 4104174 24468 chicgail 8 4106990 oh yeah, the cream cheese gets soft and the olives come to life (well, in a good way, metaphorically ;-) Wed Oct 15 15:56:30 -0700 2008 4105756 105717 alkapal 7 4711242 That is/was a good little deli. Sun May 24 14:34:39 -0700 2009 4104174 40486 Cinnamon 6 4124309 ooh I loved cream cheese and olive sandwiches! Interestingly, there is now a coffee shop near me that takes thick yougart (almost cheese and spreads it on soft rye bread and tops it with Kalamata olives (pitted!) - my favorite sandwich all grown up! Thu Oct 23 11:46:56 -0700 2008 4102932 76938 Bigley9 4 4066996 Not a Jewish thing I don't think. My mom's the one who made them for me, and she grew up in a pretty Christian Polish household. I have to add that every Christmas, my mother makes this HORRIBLE boiled fruit dish. She's the only one who likes it (and she knows this), but she insists on making enough for everyone and getting insulted when we don't eat it. I have to give her credit for tenacity though. We've been refusing to eat boiled fruit for 25 years, and each year she acts like it's the first time this has come up. Sat Sep 27 22:01:23 -0700 2008 4024681 179924 Al_Pal 5 4787877 No, not Jewish... I've got white trash cred from here to the nearest NASCAR track, and my mom made cream cheese, olive and walnut sandwiches all the time. Sometimes she bought this weird canned date-nut bread that was almost like dessert -- I've never thought of this before, but I adore almost anything that's salty-sweet, and I wonder if it started with those sandwiches? Fri Jun 19 11:05:48 -0700 2009 4066996 1085037 aimless1 6 4790930 I'll bet it was canned boston brown bread in a can that you heat up in water, cut out the ends of the can and eat. Sat Jun 20 16:26:05 -0700 2009 4787877 237109 Virginia Girl 7 5154825 i used to love that canned boston brown bread. I used to think of it as such a treat to have it when I was growing up! I've actually looked for it over the years, but have never found it in the stores. Wed Nov 04 08:04:23 -0800 2009 4790930 169334 joan mar 8 5154939 It's fairly easily made - there are quite a few recipes for steamed Boston brown bread out there. Wed Nov 04 08:33:21 -0800 2009 5154825 13709 buttertart 2 4066991 My mom used to make me cream cheese and jelly sandwiches when I was little! I thought I was literally the only one who'd ever had this sandwich, and I don't typically mention it to people because they think it's SOO weird. I have to say though that my mother is a fantastic cook. She does some weird stuff like putting bread, meat, nuts, and popcorn directly into the freezer when she gets it home. I live with my boyfriend who has been more than vocal in pointing out that it's strange. My dad's good on the grill, but the man doesn't stand a chance in the kitchen. He tried making boxed brownies once and forgot the eggs. Tasted the same, but they were only about a half centimeter thick and hard as a freaking rock. Sat Sep 27 21:54:45 -0700 2008 4001202 179924 Al_Pal 2 4083566 My mom and grandmother do the same thing with tea. They pour the hot tea into a saucer, then drink from the saucer. I used to do the same with hot milk. Sun Oct 05 14:39:37 -0700 2008 4001202 152338 fallingup 3 4202431 I think that was the "proper" way to drink tea in polite society in this country 200 years ago. Tue Nov 25 19:43:12 -0800 2008 4083566 205227 Doh 4 4706083 I keep seeing this pop up on the board, and just wanted to clarify. After some minor research, this is what I have found. "In Victorian days, tea drinkers poured their tea into saucers to cool before sipping, this was perfectly acceptable. This is what writers of the period mean by “a dish of tea.”" http://www.afternoontoremember.com/learn/etiquette Fri May 22 06:39:09 -0700 2009 4202431 114194 milkyway4679 5 5154835 My grandfather used to do that with coffee when I was a kid. He passed away when I was young, so I had completely forgotten about this. Wed Nov 04 08:07:11 -0800 2009 4706083 169334 joan mar 2 4083568 AND we eat cream cheese and jam sandwiches all the time! Sun Oct 05 14:40:01 -0700 2008 4001202 152338 fallingup 2 4100803 Ugh, cream cheese and jelly sandwiches! It had to be toasted white bread with grape jelly on one side and cream cheese on the other. I haven't had that to eat in years..It was so good back then, who knows what I would think about it now. Mon Oct 13 08:02:48 -0700 2008 4001202 220914 krisrishere 3 4102903 Better than cream cheese and jelly - cream cheese and green olives with pimentos!!! Tue Oct 14 06:43:02 -0700 2008 4100803 116638 southernitalian 2 4972908 too funny, that sandwich your dad invented- "my" dad also invented. I have passed it on to my son, and he loves it. Although- the bread has to be toasted, so the cheese gets soft. Mon Aug 24 10:37:38 -0700 2009 4001202 1104131 ssjsts 1 4001217 My mom made porcupine meatballs too. I think her strangest combination was chili (made in the pressure cooker, very soupy and bland) and mashed potatoes. To her credit, though, I was never afraid of the pressure cooker and love using it today, too. Mon Sep 01 07:43:54 -0700 2008 4001124 11983 Val 1 4001232 i forgot to mention, my dad would always use this ploy when he wanted something that was not on the table at dinner (some condiment, e.g.): "amy, wouldn't *you* like some A-1?" "georgia, wouldn't *you* like some worcestershire sauce?" and.... when he knew that we knew that he knew, it became "wouldn't *you* like some ice cream for dessert?" while we were watching tv in the family room. ;-D it became a big joke, and if he's watching me from heaven, he is laughing every time we all still pull that trick! i sure miss that twinkle in his blue eyes when he said it! ooooooh, and he'd get really ticked off when i had "mined out" all the fudge "veins" in his favorite winn-dixie fudge royale ice cream!!! i couldn't help it <sheepish grin>. Mon Sep 01 07:50:57 -0700 2008 4001124 105717 alkapal 1 4001337 Two words: jelly omelets. Mon Sep 01 08:55:32 -0700 2008 4001124 122319 WendyBinCT 2 4001459 Ah, the favored omlette of my cartoon-watching mornings when Mom was not home and Dad had "control" of the kitchen. I was convinced that I was eating Green Eggs without Ham - dad would never make that! Mon Sep 01 10:04:51 -0700 2008 4001337 152043 TampaAurora 2 4139588 There's a breakfast place in Berkeley, Ca that makes marmalade omelets and serves them with a croissant and two grapefruit halves. Yummy yum yum yum. Thu Oct 30 17:14:00 -0700 2008 4001337 13445 Louise 1 4001442 I was in college before I realized that everyone else didn't eat (plump, luscious) raisins in their taco meat. My mom always, always put raisins in the spiced meat, and we at it very simply with lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream. To this day I crave it. Now it sort of cracks me up-- a Moroccan-ish technique from my Pollock meat and potatoes mom! Mon Sep 01 09:59:23 -0700 2008 4001124 64882 Vetter 2 4001597 Actually, many traditional Mexican picadillo (taco meat) recipes include fruit. Raisins and olives are one classic combination. Mon Sep 01 11:20:46 -0700 2008 4001442 58743 alanbarnes 3 4002839 Many versions of Veracruz sauce for shrimp and fish include golden raisins and green olives. Tue Sep 02 05:24:54 -0700 2008 4001597 57170 Veggo 4 4004849 That is too funny- I had no idea! My mom wouldn't touch a green olive, and I'm sure traditional Mexican food has never been on her radar. I'll have to ask her where she learned to do that! (Her taco seasoning is out of a packet!) Learn somethin' new every day! Tue Sep 02 20:56:05 -0700 2008 4002839 64882 Vetter 3 4005142 and remember country captain with the raisins in the chicken "curry"! http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/country-captain Wed Sep 03 04:10:10 -0700 2008 4001597 105717 alkapal 1 4001463 Ah, yes, mom food! We lived up north so the only tacos available were the frozen ones, I think it was Patio brand. She mixed grated cheese with minced onions and mayo, and when they came out of the oven we would pry them open and add a dollop of that odd mixture, and let it melt a bit. It was actually pretty good, until we got back to Texas, anyway! Sometimes we would have white bread smeared with fresh butter (that was delivered to our back door), and then sprinkle sugar on top. If she was being lazy, or I guess just had a craving, she would get a pat of butter and dip it in the sugar bowl, coating it on both sides. Not exactly health food. She had a real sugar fixation, come to think of it. She would cut up fresh fruit, mix in a bowl and add heaping tablespoons of sugar on top. ICK! The jello with fruit cocktail mixed with miracle whip. It was okay, but looked pretty disgusting. And my least favorite of all was the noodles, or elbow macaroni dish she made where you boil the noodles, and then dump a can of chopped tomatoes in it. Stir and add salt. No herbs, pepper, or anything that could have made it go down easy. It was truly awful, but I had to eat it. Oh and I have mentioned this numerous times, but it still blows me away - her ham salad was made with bologna. I have recently found out that a lot of her generation did that. I guess it was growing up in the Depression sort of thing. Mon Sep 01 10:09:39 -0700 2008 4001124 80937 danhole 2 4001642 My grandfather makes his ham salad with bologna too. I don't like bologna on its own, but always loved his ham salad before I became a vegetarian. I still salivate over it when they make it for Christmas eve in my family. Mon Sep 01 11:44:05 -0700 2008 4001463 94635 adventuresinbaking 3 4014828 My Mom also made the Bologna Ham Salad. I can see her now putting a big chunk of bologna in the hand crank grinder. She then added sweet pickle relish and Miracle Whip to that. Served on white bread. Like Dani's Mom mine also did the bologna on white with Miracle Whip. We just got one slice though. I would ask if I could use mustard instead and she would just say no. We also brought this or the "ham Salad"to school every day for lunch. Not sure why we never got fod poisoning with that sitting in the locker all day. Sun Sep 07 07:21:09 -0700 2008 4001642 220845 joda 2 4003120 Dani - our moms must have been swapping recipes over the back fence. The elbow mac w. canned tomatoes was on our dinner table too, although my mom added browned ground beef to hers and called it "slumgullion" (do NOT ask me where this name came from - even today, she can't tell us why she called it that). I liked the meat and the macaroni, but the tomatoes were just gaggy to me. We also had jello with fruit in it, but it was usually red jello with bananas (still comfort food for me today). Mom's signature sandwich was bologna (always Oscar Mayer) on white bread (always Wonder Bread) with Miracle Whip (which we called mayonnaise until we knew better). No lettuce, no tomato, just bread, "mayo" and bologna. And you only got 1 1/2 slices of bologna -- a regular visitor to our refrigerator could usually open the package of OMB and find 1/2 a slice sitting there. And I swear mom COUNTED the slices. Once she caught me putting TWO slices of OMB on my sandwich and made me put half a slice back. Tue Sep 02 08:23:20 -0700 2008 4001463 102895 Cheflambo 3 4003188 OMG, my mom made "Slubgullion" too, or sometimes it was called "American Chop Suey." Except my little sister hated tomato sauce at the time, so she just got a pile of cooked ground beef next to a pile of buttered elbow mac. Tue Sep 02 08:53:39 -0700 2008 4003120 16429 Raedia 4 4014491 My Mom was never what you would call a good cook. She came from the Irish American culinary tradition (Boil it. For a long time. It might not be dead yet). American Chop Suey was a box of elbow macaroni, a large can of crushed tomatoes, a pound of ground beef, two coursely chopped onions, and two (count them) two whole sticks of butter. I think she might have used garlic powder as well (I never saw a head of actual garlic until well into my teens). She would season her plate with a whole lot of black pepper, and maybe an extra chunk of butter. I really hated this as a kid; oddly enough, I now find myself really craving it once or twice a year. She also used to fry up bacon and eggs (hers: over hard), and then would make a "gravy" out of bacon grease, water, and ketchup to put over the eggs. I couldn't be in the same room with this (and have an aversion to ketchup to this day). When I was little, we went home from school for lunch during good weather and I remember her "cooking" Franco-American canned macaroni and cheese. It was about as revolting as it sounds. Friday lunches (catholic family) were either egg salad, cream cheese and jelly (yuck), or cream cheese and green olive on pumpernickel, which I still love. Sat Sep 06 21:41:39 -0700 2008 4003188 68464 sablemerle 3 4003210 Cheflambo and Dani: MY mom also made this dish with ground round and elbow noodles, but with a tin of tomato soup-we called it "muckygutchi" and I have no idea why. I still love it and my husband and daughter both consider it the ultimate comfort food with huge debates over whether putting onions in it is a great addition or the ultimate desecration! This recipe is so old that, growing up in Newfoundland, it was not possible to buy elbow macaroni pasta on its own. The only shape of pasta available was spaghetti. However, my ingenious Mom would buy Kraft Dinner, use the pasta and then save the cheese 'sauce' packet to cook with niblet corn, from a can! (Oh, I feel old when I admit this stuff...but my Mom did her best and we all grew up thinnish and in good health!). Tue Sep 02 09:02:34 -0700 2008 4003120 24738 LJS 4 4003311 You guys are lucky you got some meat in that dish! That may have made it better. It was those chunks of tomatoes that turned me off! To this day I still don't care for elbow macaroni. It may have been better with soup. As far as her "ham" salad, it was delicious. I tried doing it with bologna, but it wasn't the same. Back then we got the bologna from a deli, in a big chunk with the red wrapping on it, and then she hand cranked it with her meat grinder. I can't replicate it and maybe that's a good thing . . . not really sure! Tue Sep 02 09:36:25 -0700 2008 4003210 80937 danhole 4 4023882 We rarely had fresh vegetables when I was growing up. It was either canned or frozen (but more than likely canned). Wed Sep 10 11:44:39 -0700 2008 4003210 169334 joan mar 4 4186575 Cheflambo, Dani and LJS, are you from Long Island? I just posted about my mom's "slumgullion" recipe and thought she made it up. I cannot believe that was an actual recipe! I'm having a blast reading these replies "after" I posted. Wow! Wed Nov 19 12:17:32 -0800 2008 4003210 239703 jarona 5 4186855 Jarona, I can only speak for myself and I am not from Long Island. My mom was raised in Ohio, during the depression, so that probably explains a lot of the wacky recipes. Or at least I like to blame it on that. ;-) Dani Wed Nov 19 13:45:58 -0800 2008 4186575 80937 danhole 6 4753442 Jarona...well I'm from an island, but not LONG Island...I am from Newfoundland...sorry I didn't catch up with this thread sooner...there's some great stuff on here and many memories! Mon Jun 08 11:57:10 -0700 2009 4186855 24738 LJS 4 4950297 that's my mom's "goulash" I still request it every time I go home. I love to make sandwiches out of it with white or potato bread and butter! Sun Aug 16 06:58:51 -0700 2009 4003210 1101901 soyummmy 3 4003612 The word "slum," as used in the US with regard to mining, means sludge, while "gullion" is a Scots and/or Anglo-Irish word meaning quagmire or cesspool. So "slumgullion" would be the sludge in the bottom of a cesspool. Appetizing, no? Tue Sep 02 11:35:33 -0700 2008 4003120 58743 alanbarnes 4 4004121 alan, that sounds about right to me, as in the swill my mom served! Tue Sep 02 14:53:58 -0700 2008 4003612 80937 danhole 4 4007925 Oh alan ....your definition is waaaaay to close to being true! I need to print this out and send it to my "I just dont understand the interweb" mom -- she would be amused to see how close that word came to being accurate. Thu Sep 04 07:37:21 -0700 2008 4003612 102895 Cheflambo 5 4019746 I think Slumgullion was a minor character in Walt Disney's children's book Bongo the Bear as well. Tue Sep 09 05:44:08 -0700 2008 4007925 93538 Passadumkeg 4 4790942 Ewwwwww. When my mom went out for the day and didn't have time to cook, she'd open a can of chow mein, heat it and dump it over those greasy crunchy noodles. OMG, how we hated it. Sat Jun 20 16:32:29 -0700 2009 4003612 237109 Virginia Girl 3 4021404 wow, if i didn't know better I'd say we're related.... slumgullion was a staple but no butter in ours like poor sablemerle had to suffer through, every party we went to we were dragging the jello mold bowl along, usually red with banana and I promise, if you looked in my fridge right now, you'd find 1/2 slice of bologna on top of the package. I have upgraded to german bologna w/ real mayo but it still has to be on white bread. Miracle whip was also a staple and could be found not only on the bologna but also on the gawd awful jello salad.... I never knew the origin of the name slumgullion either but we hailed from Western PA, is there a connection there? Tue Sep 09 14:29:12 -0700 2008 4003120 203338 chicaraleigh 4 4229656 Oh, boy, I remember my grandmother putting out lime jello with fruit cocktail in it, and Miracle Whip on top, as the "salad" with dinner. Yes, in Western Pennsylvania. Even as a child, I wouldn't eat it. The other food oddity was that my mother would make "chinese food", i.e. celery and onions, in a pressure cooker until they were absolute mush, add soy sauce, and put it over rice. It, too, was one of the only foods I would refuse to eat. I never ate in a chinese restaurant until a boyfriend took me when I was 18 years old, but again, as a child, I knew what my mother made was not worth putting in my mouth. Other than that, she actually was a terrific cook! Mon Dec 08 11:02:59 -0800 2008 4021404 245669 rememberme 3 4985504 Slumgullion is a mountain pass in Colorado, but also the muddy deposit in a mining sluice- so think tomato component=red mud, corn=pebbles... Fri Aug 28 08:16:43 -0700 2009 4003120 1104881 ghammers 2 4021276 my mom grated spam and mixed with Miracle Whip and sweet relish and called it ham salad Tue Sep 09 13:47:39 -0700 2008 4001463 109905 laliz 3 4021313 What??!! That's NOT the way to make ham salad??? Tue Sep 09 14:00:14 -0700 2008 4021276 36661 Sam Fujisaka 4 4021665 I don't know, I'm still back there thinking about how spam can be grated.......... honestly, you people make me feel like my mom just didn't try hard enough. . .not the cooking part but the lack of decent story material! Tue Sep 09 16:21:18 -0700 2008 4021313 10505 jenn 5 4021688 Spot on. My mom and aunties were such good cooks, I can only get vicarious thrills from this great thread. Maybe if you slightly freeze the Spam first? Tue Sep 09 16:28:30 -0700 2008 4021665 36661 Sam Fujisaka 6 4023219 I'm thinking the spam is "grated" with a fork! When I was a kid mom would get the Underwoods Deviled ham, spam and various other potted meats, but I am not sure what she did with them. Obviously I must have eaten them, but she must have mixed them with lots of other stuff because I sure don't remember what they tasted like. I went to the store to get storm supplies and looked at all of that stuff, but just could not bring myself to get any of it! Wed Sep 10 08:42:29 -0700 2008 4021688 80937 danhole 7 4023953 Deviled ham sandwich from my childhood: 2 pieces of Wonderbread, 1 spread with deviled ham, 1 with Hellman's. Sometimes some iceberg lettuce. Wed Sep 10 12:05:08 -0700 2008 4023219 11995 pikawicca 8 4233953 My mom would make the exact same sandwich and to this day I still enjoy them. Your "Hellman's" threw me off for a second, but then I realized it is the exact same thing as the Best Foods we used. Toasted bread was required. Tue Dec 09 17:08:43 -0800 2008 4023953 242809 sleepyscience 9 5003538 I loved this sandwich, still do! In a guilty yukky sort of way... I upgrade it with some red pepper relish sometimes. (PS It's never really as good as I remember it being, because I always have one and then waste the rest of the can.....) Thu Sep 03 17:22:39 -0700 2009 4233953 1106722 patmatw 7 4025838 potted meat and vienna sausages with white bread and crackers were what my parents took on road trips for lunch in the pre-interstate days (and pre-interstate food stops). and a thermos of coffee. more than once the little cup got left on the roof of the car when we drove off from the little roadside rest-stop with the concrete picnic tables, benches and canopies (florida, 1960's...) when we annually traveled to our summer home in highlands, nc, i sipped coca-cola from the little greenish bottle (the *only* bottle from which coca-cola should be drunk, according to my atlanta-based aunt martha "it tastes different"!). the coke and saltines helped with my queasy tummy from going around all those mountain curves. it helped! Thu Sep 11 04:44:30 -0700 2008 4023219 105717 alkapal 8 5109764 OMG we had a summer home in Highlands NC too!!! We drove up from Florida in the 60s--do I know you? What part of FL??? I live in Highland IL now--how's that for a coincidence?? Fri Oct 16 23:10:40 -0700 2009 4025838 343276 Teri Davis Newman 9 5114316 funny, teri! but....you don't look familiar. our place was near the country club. i am from fort myers, fla. Mon Oct 19 09:25:02 -0700 2009 5109764 105717 alkapal 7 4164725 We always grated our spam on a box grater. My mom would open english muffins, spread them with tomato sauce and top them with grated spam and mozzarella. Spam Pizzas were our standard school holiday lunch. Tue Nov 11 10:09:46 -0800 2008 4023219 195337 sarahjay 1 4001532 My family is from Indiana and while I have grown up on the East Coast much of my food experiences were and are informed by the Midwest. Couple of good ones from my mom: -Pork Chops in Pickle juice- In the spirit of nothing goes to waste, my mother would reserve the juice from the pickle jar and soak the porck chops in it then pan fry. People loved it but I became a vegetarian when I was 11 this was one the reasons why. -Besides shell fish which she does very well! I believed fish only came frozen and breaded until College- when I became a pescatarian and now I have converted my parents to the joys of fresh fish at home - Lastly perhaps the most midwestern of them All- Jello makes anything a party. Vinegar goes in place of the water for a savory jello mold and sour cream or mayonaise gives it the spookey cloudy complextion. And as much as I still find savory jello molds odd I love them to death. My Mother's Miller Salad: Lime Jello, Sour cream, Carrots, Celery, Pears- It's great Mon Sep 01 10:42:28 -0700 2008 4001124 156863 poached 2 4018239 So now you're a Pescajellaterian? Mon Sep 08 13:50:00 -0700 2008 4001532 141620 Sdenred 1 4001576 These are from my mom and grandma: Peanut butter and butter sandwiches. Tuna salad on a hamburger bun, with the crown of the bun sliced to add a thin layer of ketchup and homemade icebox sweet and sour pickles. Then heated in the microwave. "Chop Suey" hamburger with the Chun-king bi-pack Chuckwagon sandwiches - onion bun, baloney, salami, swiss cheese or monty-jack cheese, american cheese, mustard on top, Miracle Whip on bottom. (Mom still makes this for me) Fried egg sandwich with Miracle Whip and soft white bread Mon Sep 01 11:07:40 -0700 2008 4001124 114693 GeeBeeEmm 2 4985757 Peanut butter and butter sandwiches are the best. Everyone always looks at me like Im weird but that is the way my grandma and dad made them for me so now I make them for myself this way. I also love potato chip sandwiches. White bread with mayo on both sides then lots of chips smushed in between. Fri Aug 28 09:28:02 -0700 2009 4001576 289642 LisaMarie86 3 5003550 I love peanut butter and butter too. Peanut butter and potato chip is an old favorite, so is peanut butter and bacon (on toast). My mom used to eat peanut butter and thinly sliced onion, but to this day I haven't tried that yet. Thu Sep 03 17:25:31 -0700 2009 4985757 1106722 patmatw 3 5015004 Loved the PB & B! Was my father's specialty. Don't know that I could eat it now... Tue Sep 08 18:59:23 -0700 2009 4985757 11387 nosey 4 5015958 Why couldn't you eat it now? Wed Sep 09 07:32:06 -0700 2009 5015004 116047 The Professor 5 5124202 Guilt factor. Would love to have one.... Thu Oct 22 19:25:40 -0700 2009 5015958 11387 nosey 1 4001612 Dried Beef Gravy (I never understood this, and at that time hated gravy, so I had a couple of slices of the dried beef in a sandwich when that was the nightly meal). Minute steak -- well done. Orange Jell-o with grated carrots inside. Mon Sep 01 11:27:56 -0700 2008 4001124 165021 Firegoat 2 4001970 Mom also made sloppy joes that were browned hamburger, brown sugar vinegar, yellow mustard and ketchup simmer together. That's it for ingredients. Every 3-4 months or so I get a craving for it and make it myself with a dollop of cold ketchup on top. The part that falls out of the bun is best scooped up with fritos. Mon Sep 01 14:50:56 -0700 2008 4001612 165021 Firegoat 1 4001656 My mum has always constantly experimented, she rarely does the same recipe twice the same way. Have something great at our house and 2 months later when you ask for the recipe, it's been altered quite a bit. My dad just ate what was put in front of him with the exception of one morning my mum put spinach in the omelette. It wasn't the spinach anyone objected to, but the fact she had put the omelette through the blender before cooking it. It was a bright medium spinach green! My dad refused to touch it, unfortunately I'd already taken a bite, I wasn't about to tell everyone it was edible, if not especially good. I was just waiting for the ham. Mon Sep 01 11:50:42 -0700 2008 4001124 223097 chocoaddict 1 4001953 My mom is an incredible gourmet cook and I'm a pastry chef and the whole family loves good food, fancy restaurants, etc....but she did make a few things that might raise some eyebrows (but were delicious) like: Apple Jacks cereal mixed with melted chocolate chips, then dropped on wax paper like cookies and refrigerated (never saw these made anywhere else) Chocolate soup--she would make My-T-Fine pudding and simply serve it hot for --amazing on a cold morning Canned string beans mixed with sour cream--I think this was from one of my European-born great-grandmothers A dinner of veal parmesan served with Kraft Deluxe Mac & Cheese dinner--probably what made me the salt addict I am today Yum yum yum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mon Sep 01 14:43:42 -0700 2008 4001124 25557 Cakegirl 2 4002019 I still remember spaghetti with ketchup accompanied by fried flounder (not bad, but I prefer gourmet Italian sauce now), date nut bread with cream cheese (my favorite school lunch), and my mom still eats saltines dipped in coffee (go figure, nothing I would ever eat). I used to eat cream cheese and jelly sandwiches as well. My mom evolved as a cook and became quite accomplished, but I'll always remember these meal offerings. Mon Sep 01 15:23:43 -0700 2008 4001953 220415 petitgateau 3 4005172 date nut bread mini-loaves. i baked so many in high school, and loved them with cream cheese. yummy! i haven't made them in a coon's age, so i think i might just find that old recipe and make some for little treats for christmas or turkey-day! Wed Sep 03 04:52:11 -0700 2008 4002019 105717 alkapal 3 4009824 Spaghetti and ketchup accompanied by a glass of chocolate milk (Fox's U-bet) is still my #1 comfort food. Thu Sep 04 19:29:05 -0700 2008 4002019 18755 howboy 4 5164237 Spaghetti (or any pasta) with ketchup and butter. I stayed overnight at my babysitter's house once in a while, and her mother would make it for me, called it Polish spaghetti. My best comfort food, it has since morphed into pasta with ketchup, cream, a small dab of butter, and lots of pepper. I'f i'm feeling grandiose, i grate a little parmesan in too. Sat Nov 07 18:56:17 -0800 2009 4009824 1122616 sccrash 3 4023907 I remember a bread that came in a can. I think it was date nut bread and it was delicious (believe it or not!) Wed Sep 10 11:52:12 -0700 2008 4002019 169334 joan mar 4 4024696 I remember that! It was date nut bread and it was good, especially with a little cream cheese. Wed Sep 10 15:38:07 -0700 2008 4023907 71215 mlgb 4 4024892 i remember it too and it was served with cream cheese and it was tasty. I seem to recall my mother goofed once and bought something called Boston brown bread which was in a can just like the date nut bread but not nearly as tasty despite the liberal schmear of cream cheese......... Wed Sep 10 16:36:57 -0700 2008 4023907 10505 jenn 4 4027994 That was our "special sandwich" it tasted like dessert. Thu Sep 11 18:06:39 -0700 2008 4023907 11387 nosey 2 4938861 The "Chocolate Soup" (sounds more like a thick cocoa, actually) and the Apple Jacks snack clusters sound delectable! I think my mouth watered all over my keyboard :-) Wed Aug 12 01:44:06 -0700 2009 4001953 24199 Sparkina 2 5156045 My Mom was Scotch Irish and from Western NC where I live now, (but I spent the first 5 years or so near Poughkeepsie, NY). My Dad was Italian and from NYC. Mom had some strange habits such as putting Mayo on everything! Canned green beans, corn on the cob, fried liver, etc. I thought it was really gross until I was about 15 and we had corn on the cob but were out of butter. I tried the mayo on it and I was amazed, I LOVED it! It has to be REAL mayo though, I prefer Kraft but she liked Hellman's. To this day I eat mayo on my corn on the cob and even canned green beans...but I don't eat Liver...Fried or otherwise! Like me, my two daughter thought it was disgusting until they tried it, now they eat their corn on the cob with mayo too! My Dad used to make Spaghetti once a week in a huge bowl; Two boxes of Elbow macaroni and two jars of Ragu with meat sauce with Parmesan cheese mixed in.. And of course the green can of Kraft Parmesan cheese to top it with as well! Salad was a lettuce wedge topped with a mayo and ketchup mixture that I suppose was Mom's version of 1000 Island dressing. Chocolate milk was made with Hershey's cocoa powder mixed with sugar then mixed into the milk . My mom also loved Onion sandwiches, white bread with mayo and sliced onion. One of my weird favs is lettuce and mustard sandwiches! Another favorite from childhood compliments of neighbors who moved to NC from Lowell MA is a Boston Creme Sandwich, Peanut Butter and Marshmallow Creme, they also introduced me to PB Toast! Wed Nov 04 13:35:13 -0800 2009 4001953 1116627 RavenWilde 3 5159132 I love toasted onion sandwiches will have to try the mayo and corn next season Thu Nov 05 14:23:52 -0800 2009 5156045 163722 hill food 1 4002049 My mom was a good cook and pretty adventuresome, but there were a few things we had that nobody else did. Granted they came over on the boat in 1955 so there were lots of items the other "normal" kids never had, but I mean overall. The dictated format for dinner was green salad, a vegetable, a protein and a starch. I think the only variation was on Fat Tuesday when she made the homemade donuts with some lucky coins slipped inside. For some reason she fell into this pattern where at least 70% of the time the starch was Uncle Ben's converted rice sauteed in a little margarine and then cooked per directions, and the vegetable would be the frozen blend of peas, corn and carrot cubes tossed with margarine and green can parmesan before serving. The green salad was always red leaf lettuce only with bottled Wishbone Italian. Dessert was frequently this red rennet pudding that kind of looked like jello but was starchy and not as clear. It didn't taste bad, but it was just an odd assortment for someone from the Austro-Hungarian Empire kind of cuisine. Mon Sep 01 15:40:58 -0700 2008 4001124 17682 torty 2 4006313 Hey, I recognize that dessert-thats 'Junket Rennet Custard-"the growing up dessert"...came in 6 flavours, one of which was a lurid raspberry colour-do you think thats it? Wed Sep 03 13:08:14 -0700 2008 4002049 24738 LJS 3 4006449 God I still love that stuff.......Huge fan of the chocolate.. Their website is a childhood flashback: http://www.junketdesserts.com/ Wed Sep 03 13:47:54 -0700 2008 4006313 145071 pondrat 4 4008037 Pondrat: thank you so much for that trip down memory lane AND the neat source of rennet tablets and recipes. I have recently been inspired by Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" and we are thinking of doing our own cheeses next year! Which if you think of it, isn't really off topic...how far we have traveled from our Mom's cooking while still honouring her offerings...I wonder what our grandchildren's attitudes to OUR food will be? Thu Sep 04 08:27:25 -0700 2008 4006449 24738 LJS 4 4229680 Junket! I just had it a few weeks ago! I found boxes at an outlet store -- they only had vanilla flavor, so I put some almond extract in -- it was great, and still had that lovely flubbery texture. Wonderful as dessert in the summer! Mon Dec 08 11:07:48 -0800 2008 4006449 245669 rememberme 3 4011994 Oh yes- it was definitely the raspberry. Then again this WAS the era of all kinds of jello related and whip type desserts. The one that you blended and it had 3 magic layers and all those cool whip + jello concoctions. I looked for the rennet one in several large chain grocers recently and could not find it. Fri Sep 05 15:39:46 -0700 2008 4006313 17682 torty 4 4019303 1-2-3 Jello! And for us, there was the lime or orange sherbet mixed with jello and molded, too..... Mon Sep 08 20:38:15 -0700 2008 4011994 128485 smalt 1 4002095 Well starting with my Maternal grandmother who was a phenominal cook and hosted HUGE Holidays for all of her 6 children, their spouses and nearly 30 grandchildren, my favorite gourmet dish with her was butter ( delivered by Kennedy Butter and Eggs in Boston) on saltines. I recall having this delicacy at her kitchen table and her telling me to hold my tongue with my tiny fingers and say " molasses on the table" Try it...my 5 or 6 year old foray into a " swear " word...then my Mom who worked with my Dad in their business before it was fashionable or even acceptable for women to work outside the home. She made quick dinners and not a one of them bad..loose hamburger sauteed and doctored up with some sauteed onions A-1 and God knows what else, served over mashed potatoes and frozen tiny peas, lasagna with the quick sidestep of cottage cheese although she made her own quick red sauce using canned tomatoes, more onions and sugar !!, corn chowder with the sauteed onions , canned cream corn and frozen Birdseye corn kernals and chunked potatoes ...the treat was when she came home early and did a beef stew from scratch with big chunky potatoes, chunks of carrot and some canned stewed tomatoes...I thought as a kid I ate like a queen...the appetizer royale was celery stuffed with cream cheese... she was appalled when McD's took off and we NEVER ate there...it was quick , basic , not terribly health conscious and with lots of short cuts but it was good Mon Sep 01 16:06:56 -0700 2008 4001124 11784 capeanne 2 4002293 I'll never forget the day I looked at the dinner table, did an about face and walked out of the house. My mother had made lamb tongues and there was one on everyone's plate. Mon Sep 01 18:23:05 -0700 2008 4002095 12418 mar52 3 4002921 baa-baa baaaaad! Tue Sep 02 06:28:31 -0700 2008 4002293 105717 alkapal 3 4003324 Poor thing! scarred for life, huh? I am so glad my mom never made a tongue for me! Tue Sep 02 09:40:37 -0700 2008 4002293 80937 danhole 4 4003354 My mom never made tongue. But my grandmother cleaned a brain once to cook, and I saw the process and left the house and didn't come back for hours....... Tue Sep 02 09:52:53 -0700 2008 4003324 165021 Firegoat 5 4006857 I first saw tongue at a fancy restaurant in L.A. called Cafe de Paris, now long gone. They brought an hors d'oeuvre tray with a bunch of the usual French stuff, but one dish was unidentifiable for the first few minutes. It looked like a small dish turned upside down and covered with mustard sauce. To my horror, as I watched, the sauce started sinking into what turned out to be the crenelations of a brain. I've never gotten within 10 yards of one since that day. Yuuch. On the other hand, I've always loved tongue, but only if somebody else cooked it. I can't stand to skin it. Wed Sep 03 16:33:07 -0700 2008 4003354 10245 oakjoan 6 4016474 I've always loved tongue also...and one of the reasons I've always liked it is that it is one of the few dishes that my mother really did a good job with (she wasn't much of a cook in general). Oddly enough, however, I've never even tried to cook it. These days, most of my tongue is from taco trucks... Sun Sep 07 22:12:24 -0700 2008 4006857 10158 susancinsf 7 4124327 third vote for tongue! Mom skinned it with hemostats (my father was a physician) Thu Oct 23 11:51:51 -0700 2008 4016474 76938 Bigley9 8 4229691 My friend tells the story of growing up poor in Germany with an English-speaking mother. She ordered what she thought was tongue at the butcher, and when she got home she discovered it was an udder! The mother cooked it, but my friend doesn't want to talk about it. Mon Dec 08 11:10:35 -0800 2008 4124327 245669 rememberme 9 4231401 well, i learned the hard way that "oxenmausalat" is ox tongue with salad-y stuff like radishes -- in german -- by ordering what i though was a regular salad, and finding the tongue all sliced up on top!! i'm glad the beer came in those huge glasses! ;-). Mon Dec 08 21:38:32 -0800 2008 4229691 105717 alkapal 4 4003369 My mom's version of tongue had tomato sauce and green olives with pimento. She called it "Spanish" tongue. I hated tongue and it took me years to get over it! Tue Sep 02 10:00:28 -0700 2008 4003324 10926 mnosyne 3 4066981 My brother calls tongue the food that tastes you back. Sat Sep 27 21:36:05 -0700 2008 4002293 117292 Shayna Madel 4 4069180 shayna, that is a really good one! Mon Sep 29 05:54:50 -0700 2008 4066981 105717 alkapal 5 4075968 He's in marketing--always has that snappy idea. Wed Oct 01 21:29:48 -0700 2008 4069180 117292 Shayna Madel 2 4023924 I remember on Thanksgiving & Christmas my mother would make celery stuffed with cream cheese. We thought that was wonderful. Such a fancy appetizer! Wed Sep 10 11:57:47 -0700 2008 4002095 169334 joan mar 1 4002302 Lasagne made with cottage cheese! Mon Sep 01 18:26:02 -0700 2008 4001124 11387 nosey 2 5112991 My mom too on that one. Didn't know what ricotta was until I went to college! Sun Oct 18 16:42:51 -0700 2009 4002302 186821 16crab 1 4002310 My mom had two standbys, one of which I loved (and to this day remains one of my favorite calories-be-damned meals...) 1) Chicken parm. Chicken coated with breadcrumbs, sauteed, then put into a small casserole dish, covered with sauce and cheese and finished in the toaster. It was the only thing she ever used the toaster for besides toast. 2) Chicken and broccoli. She'd break out the wok -- but it only served as her way of making this dish "authentically" Asian. She'd cook the hell out of the chicken AND the broccoli and I don't recall much in the way of sauce. If she was feeling adventurous, she'd top off with some sesame seeds. The funny thing was, this was the one dish I always ordered from Chinese restaurants as a kid...so maybe she thought she was making something I liked? She's gotten slightly more adventurous since I've moved out of the house actually. Mon Sep 01 18:29:36 -0700 2008 4001124 15979 Sugar 1 4002325 liver. mum used to boil liver, chop into small pcs and add to a yoghurt cilantro sauce, then refrigerate it. pretty yummy but the catch was she somehow felt i needed the iron so would make me drink the water the liver was boiled in. looked and tasted like pure blood. it was awful. i dreaded/anticipated this dish. Mon Sep 01 18:38:04 -0700 2008 4001124 76259 foodwich 2 4002925 my mom was always insisting i needed "iron"! (i was perfectly healthy, of course, other than the typical adolescent lethargy, melancholia, antsy-ness, malaise.....) ;-) (hmmm..... sounds quite familiar even today! ;-) or... ;-( Tue Sep 02 06:32:43 -0700 2008 4002325 105717 alkapal 3 4004236 i was anemic once and unfortunately it never left me ! seriously she felt i needed feeding, fattening etc etc. you get the drift. the 'soup' or whatever we call it was awful, the end result which was the liver slices in a yoghurt sauce was quite delicious except by the time i got through drinking the blood i was in no condition to want anything to do with it. i have never made it but after writing about it, i think i have a faint craving. Tue Sep 02 15:52:19 -0700 2008 4002925 76259 foodwich 4 4012595 Alkapal, you flatter me. I think I've posted this somewhere before, but it's apropos. when a toddler I was anemic as I refused almost anything but bananas, as a result liver became a regular meal in the house much to the resentment of my sisters. still not sure if I developed a taste or pretended to out of spite. but mom came up with rarely successful ways to mask and deliver the liver years after the issue was over. anyway, she has always made a great pizza dough, but once in 1974 (age 8 now) after kneading the dough, she took a short cut with the cheese and used pre-sliced sharp Kraft sandwich swiss, not the wrapped oil based singles, but sort of real swiss (she was using a rectangular pan and all - very time/effort efficient) and decided this would be the ideal utilization of the weeks liver. she denies liver and swiss cheese pizza to this day, but I have witnesses. Fri Sep 05 21:51:29 -0700 2008 4004236 163722 hill food 2 4003355 UGH! That liver cocktail sounds awful. When my daughters were young and I got concerned about iron I got a cast iron skillet, rather than try to get them to eat liver. Tue Sep 02 09:53:03 -0700 2008 4002325 80937 danhole 2 4004865 That is the most dreadful thing I've ever heard. Tue Sep 02 21:04:20 -0700 2008 4002325 64882 Vetter 3 4005174 that blood liver cocktail is horrible. my mom only made me eat liver and onions, or "iron pills". i never cook liver, though mr. alka likes it. (exception, i cook chicken livers to make pate sometimes, but am really liking schaller and weber liverwurst varieties for that flavor profile.) i used to work in a hotel that made liver with a mustard sauce. it was a great combination actually. for liver. Wed Sep 03 04:55:11 -0700 2008 4004865 105717 alkapal 4 4006474 My mother ordered sauerbraten calves liver in a German restaurant once and made me try some. It was the only time I was crazy about it (chicken liver and hearts is another story, love 'em). Although I've never tried to duplicate it. Wed Sep 03 13:54:57 -0700 2008 4005174 11097 coll 4 4006787 Wow, I'm guessing there's a generational difference at play here -- but my mother only cooked us liver for special occasions. You know, because of the cholesterol. But oh oh oh, sauteed calfs liver! That was maybe my favorite meat as a child. Not to mention pâté, leberwurst, Jewish chopped liver ... yum! (Bad Tommaso, you're low-fat this month ... fantasize about lentils, not liver) Wed Sep 03 15:58:55 -0700 2008 4005174 177724 tmso 3 4229707 When my daughter was young she loved what we called "liver cookies", i.e. a quite delicious chicken liver pate, made with cream cheese, cloves, brandy, etc., eaten on Carr's whole wheat crackers. Now that she's 17, she blanches when I bring it up. Mon Dec 08 11:13:04 -0800 2008 4004865 245669 rememberme 4 4231402 she'll like it again! good pate is good pate! Mon Dec 08 21:39:34 -0800 2008 4229707 105717 alkapal 4 4705287 I'd eat that. Thu May 21 19:18:09 -0700 2009 4229707 163722 hill food 4 4863279 When my grandchildren were very young, their favorite meal was sauted "puppy parts", aka chicken livers. This was my daughter's way of getting them to eat chicken livers. However, it backfired once when they were in the grocery store and began clammoring for sauted "puppy parts" for lunch. She was the recipient of many horrified stares. Thu Jul 16 05:05:30 -0700 2009 4229707 276203 recipelover 5 4866070 oooh, the "bad uncle" in me has to remember that one. Thu Jul 16 19:46:44 -0700 2009 4863279 163722 hill food 2 4009833 Geez, sounds like something out of Sybil. Thu Sep 04 19:32:15 -0700 2008 4002325 18755 howboy 1 4002355 When I was a kid, one of my fondest memories was my summers down South with my Grandparents. When we went fishing on the White River in Arkansas my Grandfather would always bring a cast iron skillet a pound of bacon and a bag of lemons. Some of the best freshwater fish I ever ate was Rainbow Trout fried in a cast iron skillet in bacon fat finished off with a little lemon over a campfire. Gramps was sure to send a whole cooler of frozen trout back home with me at the end of the summer. Unfortunately this was the time that the microwave became popular and Mom promptly turned all my precious trout into rubber. Mon Sep 01 18:56:37 -0700 2008 4001124 109552 garfish 1 4002379 I grew up thinking my mother's beef stew was the very best I ever had. She would brown the beef, add potatoes, carrots and "french cut" frozen string beans, and a can of stewed tomatoes. She always served this with warm Jiffy corn bread squares with butter. She also would make meatloaf with Ragu tomato sauce and put crushed cheezits on top. The next day she would chop up the leftover meatloaf and make American Chop Suey with macaroni and another can of stewed tomatoes, but it was good! Some times she would make cold meatloaf sandwiches with sweet relish, to this day it's one of my favorites sandwiches. A few other staples we had were fried baloney sandwiches on white bread with mustard, Junket rennet custard, strawberry or chocolate, and pineapple upside down cake. Mon Sep 01 19:07:48 -0700 2008 4001124 184073 susabella 1 4002435 my mum had a couple of dishes that myself and my siblings just hated and dreaded. One was her stuffed cabbage, meat and rice in slimy cabbage with a sweet and sour tomato sauce. Still can't look at it. And the worst was some kind of gedempt baked huge meatballs in a brown gravy she called Klops. They were ghastly and we made the kind of jokes about both the meatballs and their name which reduced us to giggles, and the meatballs were surreptitously fed to the family dog. She did make great bubbelas though - fried doughy things drenched in white sugar. Mon Sep 01 19:41:09 -0700 2008 4001124 22559 smartie 2 4003480 Ha ha. My mother made something called Konigsberg Klops. Must be the same thing. Inedible! As long as I'm here ... She made creamed chipped beef, which I later (much later!) found out was called S*#%-on-a-Shingle. Also inedible! She put ground beef on rye bread and broiled it. That was pretty good. She did some stir frys that were ok. She made something called American Chop Suey, which was salad with sour cream. I didn't get it, and still don't. She did a fabulous brisket and a fabulous roast beef with browned potatoes, but those were special, company meals. Tue Sep 02 10:42:50 -0700 2008 4002435 147413 ErikaZ 3 4124344 There is a recipe for Konigsberger Klops in The Joy of Cooking - or Mrs. R as my mom always called it. Thu Oct 23 11:55:06 -0700 2008 4003480 76938 Bigley9 1 4002549 Mom's Stuff -Strawberry Shortcake - those little yellow cakes, soaked in skim milk, topped with sliced strawberries (which I choked down), then topped with Reddi-Whip - i loved getting rid of the strawberries, then mashing up the milk-laden cake and whipped cream into a soup of sorts Tuna Salad- made with mayo, red onion, red apple, sometimes celery, and curry powder - one of my friends had a conniption when we were 10 and i put apple in the tuna salad -Chicken Divan - made with chicken breast on the bottom of the casserole dish, then broccoli florets, then topped with mayo (low or no fat) mixed with condensed cream of chicken soup (low or no fat), then baked. -Chicken Soup - chicken eaten on the side dipped in mayo -Mix-in style frozen yogurt - vanilla w/ double espresso and double cinnamon mix-in's Grandma 1 Ice cream float - diet grapefruit soda over vanilla ice cream Chicken Soup made from scratch "I started making this at 6 am for you today, so don't tell me you don't want it now" Grandma 2 Canned corn - i gobbled that stuff up as a kid Cottage Cheese noodles - egg noodles mixed with cottage cheese, sour cream, salt and pepper for my grandfather Mon Sep 01 20:53:26 -0700 2008 4001124 15572 Emme 2 4003815 Oh jeez....Chicken Divan. My mom made that all the time and I hated it. she also made grey leathery pork chops, grey leathery roast beef. Served with a side of partially-still-frozen microwaved frozen green beans. Tue Sep 02 12:53:53 -0700 2008 4002549 117621 poptart 2 4004220 emme - those cottage cheese noodles are a total comfort food from my childhood, and the combo wound up coming in handy for me. i was a counselor at a sleepaway camp for a couple of summers in my late teens, and i was a vegetarian at the time, so i didn't have many options at mealtime. we had a salad bar, though, so in addition to the veggies, i pretty much *lived* on cottage cheese mixed with plain cold pasta from the salad bar for the entire summer. Tue Sep 02 15:43:09 -0700 2008 4002549 103920 goodhealthgourmet 2 4021743 I grew up on noodles w/ cottage cheese (no sour cream or pepper, but lots of salt). to this day, that is my #1 comfort food. I'll make it w/ noodles, elbow macaroni or, my favorite, shell macaroni. My favorite sandwich growing up which my mom concocted was peanut butter and miracle whip on caraway rye bread. I haven't had it in years and years but I can vividly remember how yummy the combination was. My mom would also make a delicious casserole of cooked spaghetti that was mixed w/ canned tomato soup, melted Kraft singles, and sauteed onion & green pepper. On top of that she'd place 6 or 8 hot dogs, which were slashed on the diagonal and sprinkled w/ Kraft parmesan cheese, and then the whole thing was baked. The best parts were the corners of the casserole, where big chunks of spaghetti would get stuck together, and I loved how the hot dogs got all brown and crunchy. I'd even eat the leftovers cold the next day. Tue Sep 09 16:55:49 -0700 2008 4002549 140805 mdepsmom 3 4023058 I had the ol' noodle and cottage cheese favorite last night! I like it the classic European way, with wide egg noodles. Comfort food indeed...simple and sublime. I do go a little easier on the salt these days though. My family (extended, with my Grandmother living with us for as long as I can remember) was Hungarian on both sides and hence, everyone cooked and everyone cooked _really_ well. At least one side of the family came from peasant stock, arriving here in 1905. As such, they made use of everything so I grew up thinking that no food was weird (the weirdness factor is strictly cultural anyway). That's carried over into my adulthood. In retrospect the only thing weird my mom cooked was vegetables. They were REALLY cooked, to the point of cruelty to the vegetable. The first time I had somewhat authentic Chinese food it was a revelation. (Broccoli is crunchy??? Oh, wow). Except for the veggies which I do my own way, I do enjoy some of the old family faves now and again. So far, my arteries are fine. Wed Sep 10 07:51:36 -0700 2008 4021743 116047 The Professor 4 4023099 I admit to liking cottage cheese with bottled french dressing on it. I have no room to point fingers at my mother. :( Wed Sep 10 08:03:21 -0700 2008 4023058 165021 Firegoat 4 4229716 Go, hungarians! Yes, they're great cooks. Mon Dec 08 11:15:22 -0800 2008 4023058 245669 rememberme 4 4790966 I have a hungarian/german background. My grandmother would boil macaroni, drain the water (leaving a little), and add condensed unsweetened canned milk, some butter, salt and pepper. MMMM, macaroni soup. I actually crave it and it is an ultimate comfort soup. No nutrition, though. Sat Jun 20 16:45:19 -0700 2009 4023058 237109 Virginia Girl 5 4841853 My Hungarian grandmother would boil macaroni, drain it, and then fry it in a cast iron pan with butter until it got a bit brown and crispy. That dish is still one of my guilty pleasures to this day. Wed Jul 08 20:22:18 -0700 2009 4790966 116047 The Professor 6 4951310 Now THAT sounds good! Sun Aug 16 16:19:02 -0700 2009 4841853 105625 EWSflash 6 5034725 My mom (whose mom is from Hungary) did the same. That's what I used to get to eat as a treat if I was sick, or maybe my birthday. I tried to get my kid interested but he doesn't seem to like it (maybe I'm not using enough butter). Wed Sep 16 12:34:46 -0700 2009 4841853 205227 Doh 7 5035346 You do need to use a fairly good amount of butter...don't worry too much about that though, since much of it stays in the pan after you dish the macaroni out. I treated myself to this old favorite last week for the first time in a while. It's one of my ultimate comfort foods. After frying, just a sprinkle of sea salt, and I was transported for a while. Wed Sep 16 16:41:11 -0700 2009 5034725 116047 The Professor 1 4002606 No one cooks worse than a step-mom. Imagine these two gems: Cut up Eckridge-type sausage into two inch long pieces. Place them on their ends and brown...to a crisp. Then turn over and do the other side. Serve with white rice. At the end of a meal, you'd have all of these black discs on your plate from cutting off the ends. Spaghetti - make the noodles. Put a pound of ground beef in a pan and brown. Don't remove the grease. Add onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, and salt. Stir in a can of rotels and throw all of that in the noodle pot. I always assumed spaghetti was orange. Mon Sep 01 21:39:43 -0700 2008 4001124 17648 rudeboy 2 4006878 Well, rudeboy, I figure you wrote the "No one cooks worse than a step-mom" bit to rile people up and you've succeeded. I am a well-loved step-mom and a really good cook. My step-son has also become a really good cook due to my influence...so no generalizing, okay? Wed Sep 03 16:41:18 -0700 2008 4002606 10245 oakjoan 2 4008160 I'm with oakjoan here and I think my step daughter would disagree as well. My stepdaughter learned of the whole world of food beyond white sauce and swedish meatballs from me. What you have is just a person who can't cook really cook....... Thu Sep 04 09:06:12 -0700 2008 4002606 10505 jenn 2 4011601 And I know both of my step-daughters would vehemently disagree. One of our favorite things to do together is cook - last weekend we made my great-grandmother's recipe for lime pickles and even the non-pickle eater loved them! The youngest one even decided not to take a cooking class in school because she said she had lots of good cooks to learn from - including me and her grandma! Fri Sep 05 12:54:13 -0700 2008 4002606 10221 iowagirl 3 4013467 Oh, I'm sorry y'all. I guess I should have said "no one cooks worse than MY step mom." I've met plenty of lively, pleasant, and cookwise step-moms of OTHER people! Sat Sep 06 12:25:25 -0700 2008 4011601 17648 rudeboy 1 4002633 I have a fondness for many of the dishes mom cooked when I was growing up, with the exception of her spaghetti and meat sauce (mentioned above.) I now find it way too salty and heavy on the oregano. Although I did introduce her to imported parmigiano, so you will no longer find any "green cans" in the back of the fridge at home. My mom was and is a good cook. She knows how to follow a recipe. The downside to her cooking, though, was that she did not take risks. When she found a recipe she (and we) liked, she stuck to it. We mostly had the following meals over and over again: Lemon pepper chicken breast with white rice (bone in, skin on, of course. Lots of pepper!) Meatloaf with a mustard-brown sugar sauce Black beans with yellow rice (topped with cheddar cheese and diced onion) Pork chops and applesauce Bean-tomato-ground beef chili (heresy, maybe, but tastes just like home) Garlic studded pork tenderloin with a sour cream gravy, with rice The aforementioned spaghetti and meat sauce At least once a week, we would have grilled steak. When I was younger, it was sirlion, but in the last several years it has always been ribeye. We ate a LOT of beef when I was growing up. I still get most of my beef consumption when I go home to visit. I think mom was slightly more adventurous when I was around the age of ten or so, possibly before that. I remember many occasions being served lamb chops with a mint sauce. I *hated* the gamey taste of the lamb. I think it may have been less expensive then (early-mid 90s), because now having lamb is a very rare and delicious occurrence for me. Another thing about mom in the kitchen is that she is very rigid about following recipes exactly to the letter. Even recipes she has been making for years she sees no reason to make the slightest change. I, on the other hand, have probably never followed a recipe without making some change or substitution (baking's another story.) I guess that might be my repressed rebel spirit! Infrequently, my mom or stepdad would cook fish. Usually a fried white fish filet. I hated fish even more than lamb at the time (foolish boy.) I complained so adamantly that seafood rarely made an appearance on the dinner table. How much I missed out on! Although she often stuck to the same old recipes (usually straight out of Southern Living and Joy of Cooking), she was much more committed to using fresh ingredients. Her mother, on the other hand, served canned vegetables almost exclusively. She still does too! A couple of years ago, I was visiting my grandparents, and fixed a chicken picatta with pan-roasted asparagus. The fresh asparagus was a relevation to her! I think that really may have been one of the first times that she'd had it. She wrote down my method word for word and now makes it for guests. Mom, especially, was always very encouraging in my cooking endeavors, although I didn't really take off until midway through college. The family is happy to serve as guinea pigs, which they inevitably are anytime I go home for a visit. They are quite willing to eat the (relatively) distinctive and exotic food I like to cook, but my parents have not become much more adventurous in their own cooking. Although, a few weeks ago, my mom randomly cooked up some dry-rubbed slow oven-baked baby-back ribs. They were delicious until my stepdad and I burnt them beyond recognition during our brilliant "charcoal and wood chip" finishing phase. Maybe I'm the impediment! Mon Sep 01 22:03:29 -0700 2008 4001124 106932 Agent Orange 1 4002848 my mom would: - boil baby back ribs, and then finish on the grill - yuck - make "South Side Irish Spaghetti" as I call it.... = canned Franco-American spaghetti, with browned ground beef, and canned mushrooms. - served slamon loaf at least every other week - served creamed tuna on toast every other week - only use salt, garlic powder, and black pepper as seasoning with the above said she could make some of the best gravy, beef roasts, and corned beef and cabbage. Tue Sep 02 05:33:58 -0700 2008 4001124 26725 swsidejim 2 4002863 LOL, I totally forgot that sometimes mom would put browned ground beef in a big can of franco-american spaghetti when I was a kid. (no mushrooms) God help me.... I snarfed that right up. Yummy! Tue Sep 02 05:49:25 -0700 2008 4002848 165021 Firegoat 3 4229727 Spaghettios! Loved them as a kid, would eat them straight out of the can if I could. Tried them as an adult -- they're inedible. Even my kids won't eat them! Mon Dec 08 11:18:07 -0800 2008 4002863 245669 rememberme 2 4003131 We had creamed everything on toast - chicken, hard boiled eggs, tuna. And we had creamed veg to get us to eat them - it didn't work. Leftover meat from Sunday dinner was chopped up and combined with relish and mayo for sandwiches. Hard boiled eggs and chopped cheddar cheese were used to stretch the tuna salad. Tue Sep 02 08:27:57 -0700 2008 4002848 66281 ginnyhw 3 4003162 You kindled a horrible memory of those jars of dried beef. My mother creamed it with hard boiled eggs and served it on toast. My father called it "skinned indian". I was 5 years old, and didn't want to be a cannibal... Tue Sep 02 08:40:59 -0700 2008 4003131 57170 Veggo 4 4003214 our dried beef came in a foil packet, not a jar..... no eggs in it... but definitely the gravy or cream or whatever it was. Tue Sep 02 09:03:29 -0700 2008 4003162 165021 Firegoat 4 4863296 I still make creamed chipped beef over toast. One of my favorites for breakfast or lunch. The only change I've made since childhood is now I make the white sauce with cornstarch instead of flour. Thu Jul 16 05:15:19 -0700 2009 4003162 276203 recipelover 3 4003199 thankfully cream of tuna is all we were subject to. The leftover meat from the Sunday roasts(pork, chicken, beef) were served later in the week warmed up in the leftover gravy and served with the leftover mashed potatoes made into potato pancakes. Since I love gravy, meat, and potatoes these were the better meals of the week. Tue Sep 02 08:57:32 -0700 2008 4003131 26725 swsidejim 4 4003217 I remember the left over beef roast from sunday being torn up and microwaved with BBQ sauce and served on buns. I liked those. Tue Sep 02 09:05:16 -0700 2008 4003199 165021 Firegoat 5 4003238 the best part is while we were "stuck" with these leftover meals & meals made by her and put in the fridge for later in the week.. My mom, who was a flight attendant, was off in Cairo, Madrid, Istanbul, London, Paris, Athens, etc. exploring their cusine. Tue Sep 02 09:12:42 -0700 2008 4003217 26725 swsidejim 5 4007964 Firegoat, we had this too! But pre-microwave, we just had the meat chopped into small bits and simmered with Kraft BBQ sauce and served on buns. It was great, and sometimes a lot tastier than the dried out roast had been a night or two before. And I am noticing a recurring theme here -- why did so many of our moms overcook food? I can understand the fear of trichinosis that once came from undercooked pork, but why did so many people cook the color, flavor and texture out of vegetables? For those of us who got our veg in cans instead of fresh from the garden, I understand. But my grandmother, who had a huge vegetable garden, brought in fresh carrots and green beans on a daily basis, then cooked them to rubbery mush. These days my uncle lives in gramma's house, and maintains that equally elaborate veg garden (now proudly calling it "organic" although it truth, it always has been). HIS vegetables come to the table blanched or at least just lightly cooked, and they're fantastic! (He never liked gramma's overcooked veggies either, and the poor guy had to eat a lot more of them than I ever did!) Thu Sep 04 07:52:30 -0700 2008 4003217 102895 Cheflambo 6 4125518 Hear, hear! I didn't realize that I liked vegetables until I reached my 20s and started cooking for myself. Prior to that, they were all served as an overboiled, indistinguishable, and viciously disgusting mash. I still have trouble overcoming those strong associations in some cases: for example, despite the fact that I now enjoy the flavour, I find it psychologically difficult to eat broccoli. Thu Oct 23 20:33:04 -0700 2008 4007964 75881 vorpal 3 4015551 I love, love, love creamed sliced hard-boiled eggs on toast. The eggs have to be perfectly cooked, and the cream sauce a good home-made bechamel, though. Sun Sep 07 13:43:13 -0700 2008 4003131 11995 pikawicca 4 4015563 When I was a kid, Sunday supper was often "Eggs a la Goldenrod": hard cooked egg whites in bechamel over toast, yolks crumbled over the top. It was extra special because this was the only meal of the week we were allowed to eat while watching TV. I'm not sure the dish would taste as good without The Wonderful World of Disney. Sun Sep 07 13:48:53 -0700 2008 4015551 58743 alanbarnes 3 4974831 Oh, this brought back a terrible food memory from childhood-- creamed asparagus on toast! It was simply awful, totally inedible. I unhooked the screen on the window by the table (when no one was looking) and dumped the whole thing on the woodpile. Yeech! Mon Aug 24 21:50:12 -0700 2009 4003131 1099762 CookieWeasel 4 4981852 Me too, it would have been OK with fresh asparagus, but Mom used canned. You can't even bite into those limp things. What a waste. Thu Aug 27 04:54:26 -0700 2009 4974831 11097 coll 2 4004180 OMG - creamed tuna on toast. Now that takes me back Tue Sep 02 15:23:17 -0700 2008 4002848 223367 nvcook 3 4004209 How do you "cream" tuna? I'm curious yet slightly horrified. Tue Sep 02 15:37:44 -0700 2008 4004180 165021 Firegoat 4 4005195 a couple cans of drained canned tuna, a couple cans of cream of mushroom soup.. heat, and serve. Wed Sep 03 05:19:02 -0700 2008 4004209 26725 swsidejim 5 4006492 My Mom would have added a nice dash of sherry. That was the standard recipe, cream of something soup with the protein, thinned out with sherry. Probably mellowed us out for the night anyway! Wed Sep 03 14:01:15 -0700 2008 4005195 11097 coll 5 4013261 ...that actually doesn't sound bad. Iwould definitely try that. Sat Sep 06 10:35:55 -0700 2008 4005195 116047 The Professor 6 4013798 Served over noodles, corn bread or rice. Depending on the protein. Sat Sep 06 15:08:01 -0700 2008 4013261 11097 coll 6 4711248 This is the kind of thing I'll remember next time it's 2am and I'm starving and am surrounded by 'ingredients' but nothing to eat. Sun May 24 14:36:44 -0700 2009 4013261 40486 Cinnamon 4 4030427 In my house, it was creamed salmon on toast. My brother and I weren't good at eating milk, so in order to get more calcium into us she'd make a standard white sauce and throw in a can of salmon. A sprinkle of dried dill weed and lots of pepper topped it off. I was nostalgic for it and made it once. Once. Fri Sep 12 14:50:39 -0700 2008 4004209 83022 MrsCris 1 4003051 My mother would "extend" the deviled ham in our ( 5 kids ) sandwiches, with a couple mashed hard boiled eggs. We knew we were being had. And despite being wasps, we ate fish on Friday's "in sympathy" with the catholics. But it was because fish was cheaper than meat in the 60's. To her credit, she concocted a wonderful summer beverage from the wild currants we picked. She would boil and strain them, add sugar, and serve it 50-50 with club soda. Delicious. Tue Sep 02 07:43:43 -0700 2008 4001124 57170 Veggo 2 4019760 currant "saft" , very Skandinavian! We planted red current bushes for the same purpose. Makes good wine too. Tue Sep 09 05:51:05 -0700 2008 4003051 93538 Passadumkeg 1 4003327 Mom's homemade spaghetti sauce: add soy sauce, ground meat and other Chinese seasonings to jar of Ragu. Bless her heart. Tue Sep 02 09:42:15 -0700 2008 4001124 11583 ipsedixit 1 4003458 Not a weird concoction at all but I’d probably be subject to Child Protective Services if this were to happen today… On Mondays I’d walk home from school (pre-busing) and arrive at 3:45 or so. The house smelled fantastic. Ground beef, onions and garlic perfumed the air. Mom would be busy stirring things around in what I remember as a huge wide pot, opening cans of whole tomatoes and tomato paste. While I was getting changed she’d add the tomatoes and whatever magic seasoning needed to be added (probably Spice Island Italian Seasoning, salt and pepper). She’d lower the gas stove to low, plop a lid on the pan and out the back door we’d go, walking a mile to my tap and ballet class at 4:30. We’d get home around 6:00 and the smell of that wonderful spaghetti sauce would almost make me feel weak with ravenous hunger. I’d assemble the salad so I could nibble and not whine while the spaghetti cooked. Finally, dinner was served. As a kid, I loved Mondays. A couple other things at my house: Company = Cheddar Goldfish and cashews both in cute little bowls I now have and use for that same purpose. Thanksgiving and Christmas meals were not complete without a relish tray. Black olives, green olives, watermelon pickle and cream cheese stuffed celery. I continue that tradition as well, even if it’s just for me. One other thing that I guess is weird but I don’t know. Sometimes I just craved Hollandaise so we’d just have an artichoke (the perfect Hollandaise delivery device) for dinner. Tue Sep 02 10:32:05 -0700 2008 4001124 10516 MplsM ary 1 4003658 Growing up, my mother hated cooking, well maybe hate is too strong a word but she is not and never shall be, a person who cooks. She likes restaurants--french food, japanese food, middle eastern food---but she can't cook any of it. For not less than 5 years and honestly I think it was more like ten, she did not have a working stove in her house. She used a toaster oven and her beloved microwave. One by one the burners on the stove died and since she hated cooking, she never got them fixed. Growing up, food was prepared because you had to feed children and thats it. I was the first kid on the block who knew what a frozen swanson dinner was. One thing she did very well was cooking frozen veggies until they were just right [this was the 60s and thats what you got in the big city]---I never touched a canned veggie except at houses of friends. Along with the veggies there were lots and lots and lots of hamburger pattys. She also made meatloaf and did baked chicken. In my early years, she would do chili on Christmas eve---straight from the favorite pre-package mix with added ground beef and tomatoes. She could do a good roast aka hunk o meat in the oven but she could NEVER EVER EVER not burn the rolls nor could she handle getting a complicated [ie more than 3 dishes] meal on the table. I am familiar with the fried egg sandwich with mayo but in our house it was always wheat bread because it was "healthier." I was the only kid in school who never ever ever had white bread. I was also the only kid who brought liverwurst sandwiches to school. Now mind you, it is true that I liked liverwurst with pickle relish but as those of you who were there know, elementary school in the 60s was NOT a time for creative lunches. A proper lunch was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or maybe baloney but never ever liverwurst. In other words, eatting lunch at school was hellish. [Tomorrow is the first day of school and my kids, at their request, are bringing bi bim bap....itsn't it lovely how things have changed?]. We did---when it could be afforded---eat out so I also knew alot about sushi and eventually greek food. The real cook was her mom, my grandmother who canned like fiend and made awesome beef veggie soup and chicken and all sorts of stuff. I remember her bringing us tons of home canned tomatoes one year and my mother, by then completely brainwashed to the idea that consumption of home canning meant instant death, never opened a single jar. I still miss my grandma's veggie beef soup--never got the recipe. Tue Sep 02 11:47:54 -0700 2008 4001124 10505 jenn 2 4006895 jenn: I had exactly the same experience with my school lunch. It was always black bread or rye bread with meatloaf or liverwurst and NEVER peanut butter and jelly on Wonder Bread. Oh, how I craved that. Sounds as if wonderful changes have taken place in the school lunch area! Nobody would ever trade with me. Wed Sep 03 16:47:15 -0700 2008 4003658 10245 oakjoan 1 4003919 I went home to my parent's house recently. (see the story of great pizza on the chow crush thread) I hadn't been home in years due to a variety of estrangements, problems, etc. Mr. Firegoat and I arrived for lunch. A pork loin that was stuck in a crock pot. Mashed potatoes (real!) canned corn, some fresh sliced tomatoes, and a salad of iceburg lettuce. The next day for lunch we had hamburgers, charred so badly on the grill they were like hockey pucks, along with some cantelope my dad grew himself, some of mom's tomatoes and a can of Bush's baked beans. Best meal I've had in at least 3 years. Sometimes it isn't the food, it is the company you keep and the love they have for you. Tue Sep 02 13:38:01 -0700 2008 4001124 165021 Firegoat 1 4004223 Firegoat, that was beautiful and you're so right. Food made and served with love is good, no matter what (usually). My mom made some interesting lunches: Creamed Egg on Toast: hard boiled eggs diced w/ a can of Cream of Mushroom soup mixed in and thinned to the consistency of thick gravy and poured over toast. Tuna Broccoli casserole: Boil some broccoli and put in an 8x8 casserole. Dump a can of drained tuna on top. Thin out to the consistency of gravy a can of cream of mushroom soup and pour over the tuna and broccoli. Crunch up some soda crackers (saltines) and sprinkle over the top. Bake til heated through. She usually made chili w/ slightly crunchy beans, but for some reason my friends really liked it. And I still make her macaroni and cheese when I need comfort food: Macaroni mixed w/ a can of condensed tomato soup and a bunch of cheddar cheese. Tue Sep 02 15:46:11 -0700 2008 4001124 157998 Petrichor 2 4004405 Wow - I love this thread - haven't ready all the posts yet but they're great! My mom passed away 5 years ago but memories...wow.... Turkey was the driest meat known to man (I didn't know she always overcooked it) Meatsauce (similar to spaghetti recipies above) consisted of a pound of pasta, a pound of chopmeat, and some tomato sauce and was very big in our house. Also something called Arizona Skillet Dinner which had elbow macaroni, some canned beans, and various vegetables - never really liked it but kind of ate it anyway as it was sort of benign. Salsbury Steak! With canned cream of mushroom soup! Hah! Pasta with peppers (pasta with italian peppers and a can of tomato paste and some spices) The episode where she made 15 cups of rice for 6 people :-) She made this really good dish I called breadcrumb chicken. I have no real idea how to make it and she hated making it for some reason but I loved it - was baked in the oven, maybe with cornflake crumbs? My mother made THE most awesome sandwiches and great Cuban food. I miss that... What is nice is that she left me 2 books - one of her recipies and one of my grandmother's - so not the little things they made every day but the big holiday meals and such are all in there and I am SO grateful for that. Ironically I don't know if my mother was a good cook but we had no money and there was always a delicious (at least back then) meal on the table and we were never hungry...so to me, she was a good cook. But what's ironic is that I am not such a great cook - I can bake like a fiend but cooking is a whole 'nother story :-) Tue Sep 02 17:03:34 -0700 2008 4004223 131224 lovessushi 1 4005189 my aunt billie used to make my favorite: softly scrambled eggs, on white bread with mayo spread on the bread. she'd cut off the crusts, then cut it into 9 squares. i felt like quite the special one! she also introduced me to creamed chipped beef on toast. i like it as comfort food, and really hate to hear when people on these boards call it that bad name. you know. and, relish trays were de rigueur for turkey day and christmas dinner. easter, too. little pickles, black olives, celery sticks, radishes.... Wed Sep 03 05:12:33 -0700 2008 4001124 105717 alkapal 2 4005287 Sorry. I knew it was iffy, but my source of trauma was the name, not the product. (I was too young to recognize the poor humor). I just reported myself. Wed Sep 03 06:21:25 -0700 2008 4005189 57170 Veggo 3 4005330 oh veggo, i didn't mean for you to turn yourself in! ;-( Wed Sep 03 06:38:25 -0700 2008 4005287 105717 alkapal 4 4005379 I had to. I was tired of runnin'. I had no place to hide. I was gettin' hungry and thirsty, and I ran out of money. I could feel the long arm of the monitors gettin' closer and closer...:) Wed Sep 03 07:09:51 -0700 2008 4005330 57170 Veggo 2 4009290 after the gross out liver story, in defence of my mum who passed away when i was a teenager, my first cooking experience and love of food came from her. she woke me up early on a sunday and wanted to show me something in the kitchen. i went there and she was showing me how to make scrambled eggs. she was a very good cook and there were some things she made which i havent been able to recreate and i miss them dearly. Thu Sep 04 15:26:20 -0700 2008 4005189 76259 foodwich 1 4005233 What a great post! I grew up in the '80s and my mom made many of the things listed here already, like spaghetti with meat sauce (prego poured over undrained ground beef), cream cheese and jelly sandwiches (still eat 'em!), s**t on a shingle, and American Chop Suey. We also got: -Tuna Melts: creamed tuna on english muffins topped with american cheese -Tex-Mex Dip: a packet of taco seasoning stirred into refried beans, topped with sour cream, shredded cheddar, and occasionally some jarred salsa -Chicken Casserole: boiled chicken placed in baking pan, covered with canned cream of chicken soup, broccoli, and american cheese and baked until the broccoli is mushy and drab green. It's the running joke in our family that both my brother and I turned out to be great (and enthusiastic) cooks!! Wed Sep 03 05:52:39 -0700 2008 4001124 188918 bflocat 1 4005873 There was another thread about a year ago similar to this (something about food in the sixties) where a sub thread got into the horrible dishes. Since that thread I have thought about the food of my childhood, and while my mother often used recipes from can and box labels and cooked some really bad concoctions (I think I've had nearly everything mentioned in this thread), those meals were really the exceptions. My father hunted and fished often so we had fresh game and fish, usually prepared very well, throughout the year. My uncle owned a farm where he raised and sheep, hogs, and had several acres of corn fields and other other veggies, so we had a lot of fresh mutton, pork, and fresh harvest vegetables. My family raised rabbits, so a lot of fresh rabbit was on the table. My mother made some of the best hand made tortillas, both corn and flour, and baked the best bread. My father's cooking derived from cow camps and other "free range" style camps. He made the best breakfast meals with home made pancakes, "campfire" biscuits and gravy, and fresh meat/veggie scrambles. But since this really good food was the norm, the "bad" stuff stands out in memory. Wed Sep 03 10:41:21 -0700 2008 4001124 93805 hannaone 2 4028616 Dad's Hash Browns 4 large Idaho Spuds (russet potato's) 1 Large Onion 1 medium green pepper (Bell Pepper) 2 tablespoons Bacon Grease (more as needed) Salty Pepper (his mix of salt and pepper, roughly 1/2 measure of salt to 1 measure of pepper) Shred the potato then rinse in cold water. Place in a bowl and cover with luke warm water. Let sit ten to fifteen minutes. Cut the onion in half from top to bottom, then thin slice each half cross wise. Cut the Bell Pepper in half from top to bottom, then slice into thin strips, also from top to bottom. Drain the potatos, then roll in a paper towel to remove more moisture. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat, then add bacon grease. Add onion to hot grease and cook to a light brown, remove from skillet and drain. Add more grease if needed, then add bell pepper to hot grease. Cook until lightly browned, remove from skillet and drain. Add potato to hot grease in a thin layer (depending on skillet size you may need to cook in two or three batches) and cook to a light golden brown, turning once only. Place potato, onion, and bell pepper into a large mixing bowl and toss until well mixed. Serve with crisp fried bacon, over easy eggs, and thick sliced toast, adding "salty pepper" to taste. Fri Sep 12 01:22:28 -0700 2008 4005873 93805 hannaone 1 4006184 My mom used to do asparagus in a pressure cooker...part of that whole WW2 generation that thought undercooked (anything) could give you trichinosos or tapeworm. It was the food equivalent of her warnings about breaking your neck or poking your eye out. Have you ever seen what's left of asparagus after pressure cooking for any period of time ? Not pretty. Wed Sep 03 12:25:38 -0700 2008 4001124 145071 pondrat 1 4006373 I grew up in a small town in Wyoming where my parents ran a family-owned Chinese-American restaurant for over 30 years. Many of the foods they prepared were hybrids, due to the fact, Chinese ingredients were not as accessible as they are today, but most of folks in that town grew up loving the food and adapted it to their palate. My parents retired in the late 80’s; however, when I go back to visit my hometown, many of the old-timers remembered my parents and their restaurant fondly and wished they could eat at the restaurant again. One of my favorite dishes at the restaurant is mom’s spaghetti she serves every Wednesday. The ingredients, in the sauce, were a mix of catsup, sugar, Heinz 57, Worchester, ground beef, tomatoes, onions, celery, carrots, etc. She would mix all the ingredients in the wok, put the cooked spaghetti in, mix it all up and serve. I grew up with it and loved every bite. Until I went to college, that was the closest I had to “Italian” spaghetti, unless you count chef Boyardee. I remembered a few conversations I had with my classmates about Mom’s version of spaghetti and a few laughed because they thought the ingredients were a weird combination. Over the years I had forgotten about Mom’s spaghetti until 5 years ago when my daughter brought it up. She mentioned the few times she visited my parent’s restaurant, how much she liked their spaghetti and I realized too, how much I missed her spaghetti. By that time, she and my dad had retired and moved to Southern California, closed to where I live. During that time, I realized all the food she cooked, including the many foods she cooked for us from her Canton village were all in her head and was never written down. I realized once she’s gone, those recipes she created will be gone too. Because she could never tell me how her food is cooked, I started to watch her cooking and wrote the ingredients down and how she processes her ingredients with her cooking style. One of those was her spaghetti recipe. After several tries to make it taste like my Mom’s, I was able to come up with measurements for each of the ingredients, and tried it out on my family. With the exception of my significant other (he’s likes the true Italian pasta since he grew up with an Italian family and he hates catsup), they absolutely loved it and seeing the nostalgia look on the faces, it was worth it writing it down, and now I make it on a regular basis but my significant other still won’t eat it. Wed Sep 03 13:26:33 -0700 2008 4001124 176415 rinkatink888 2 4009900 Hi, reading that your mom is from Canton, this is off-post, but I'm going to try anyway. I grew up in the Northeast, where the "Shrimp with Lobster Sauce" was supposedly the same sauce as "Lobster Cantonese". I have tried to make that wonderful pork-filled garlicky sauce, but the recipes are just not what I remember, and those "South Sea - Polynesian" restaurants that made it the way I want it are gone, and as far as I can tell, can't be found. Is it possible that your mom makes this sauce? Thu Sep 04 20:07:38 -0700 2008 4006373 41042 jacquelyncoffey 3 4014528 Hi: My mom makes Shrimp with lobster sauce, where the ingredients is simply chicken broth, black beans, garlic and ground pork, and at the end, an egg is lightly scramble into the mixture and shrimp, and her version of Cantonese lobster is fresh pieces of cut up lobster, quickly deep fried and mixed into a similar sauce, but it's slightly thicken with corn sauce, whereas, the shrimp with lobster sauce is slightly runny. Both dishes are delicious. Sat Sep 06 22:21:48 -0700 2008 4009900 176415 rinkatink888 3 5023072 Ah, memories: Chinese restaurants, and one in particular, were our family's favorite when eating out. We always ordered Lobster Cantonese--chunks of lobster in a rather bland sauce (this was my mom's absolute favorite) as well as Shrimp w/lobster sauce--thick garlicky greyish brown sauce w/ some scrambled egg white in it, onion, lots of ground pork, large shrimp (we all loved this). My mother grouses all the time that you can't get decent Cantonese anymore and has fits when she orders Shrimp w/LS and it comes with peas and diced carrots and a runny egg white sauce. Fri Sep 11 14:20:30 -0700 2009 4009900 324814 nomadchowwoman 1 4007131 Bologna Birds! Seriously. Bought big cylinders of bologna and sliced rounds on the thick side; rolled up with stuffing (homemade, I'm sure -- they didn't have Stove Top then); held together with a toothpick and baked in oven until hot. Looked more like a taco when done.. didn't roll well. Yum!! Wed Sep 03 18:24:30 -0700 2008 4001124 173282 beggsy 1 4008750 My mom? Grape jelly on her corned beef hash. 'Nuff said on why I learned to cook for myself. Thu Sep 04 12:03:34 -0700 2008 4001124 128000 mgwerks 2 4008761 I'll eat grape jelly on a sausage mcmuffin.... if I'm wrong... I don't want to be right. Thu Sep 04 12:07:15 -0700 2008 4008750 165021 Firegoat 3 4009008 yes firegoat, "if lovin' you is wrong, i don't wanna be right." <alkapal singing to her biscuit with jelly and sausage.> <regards to jfood for his contribution to this post> ;-) Thu Sep 04 13:33:51 -0700 2008 4008761 105717 alkapal 1 4010287 i've posted my mom's good cobbler recipe on chow recipes: ""Mom's Super Easy Fruit Cobbler". Best served warm out of the oven with good vanilla ice cream! http://www.chow.com/recipes/13522 Fri Sep 05 03:18:08 -0700 2008 4001124 105717 alkapal 2 4011554 So where is that porcupine recipe? Waiting patiently! Fri Sep 05 12:38:28 -0700 2008 4010287 80937 danhole 3 4012209 look in chow recipes tomorrow! ;-) Fri Sep 05 17:34:10 -0700 2008 4011554 105717 alkapal 1 4011449 My mom rarely cooked fish. One thing she made was a casserole that I deduce was made by putting in a dish: canned tomatoes, raw sliced onions, white fish fillets and dried herbs. This was baked at an evidently high temperature until the desired result was acheived - hot tomatoes, semi-raw onions and overcooked tough fish. And before anyone makes remarks about English cooking - my mom was from Yonkers, NY. Fri Sep 05 12:02:35 -0700 2008 4001124 40746 Peg 1 4012652 Well, my experience is quite different. My mother, the aunties on both sides, most of my cousins on both sides were/are great cooks. Everything cooked from scratch; lots of baking; classic sauces and methods; attention to presentation; but nothing fu - fu; all major ethnic/country foods! I'm about in the middle in terms of skills. My mother used to laugh at/be disgusted by how all of your mothers (over)cooked vegetables. I cannot scoff at mom's cooking at all--unfortunately, I have to go through lilfe trying to improve. AND, when I was growing up cooking was not something that one tried to do or become good at doing, it was something that everyone should simply know how to do. Poor mom, she was also ashamed that I got a research PhD ("Piled higher and deeper" to her) instead of a MD. Fri Sep 05 22:50:16 -0700 2008 4001124 36661 Sam Fujisaka 2 4012728 nothing to be embarassed by? oh Sam, I always appreciate your posts, but what a thin warp to treadle. what a wasteland of aimless teenage angst. no focus? no gripes? what an unfulfilled adolescent existence. c'mon, surely there are some culinary "mash-ups" to draw from. I laugh 'cause my mom grew up mostly on farms and has no clue (bless her heart) what's done to produce fresh straight off the field, that's great - store-bought, frozen or canned (even self-canned), mmm, done wrong. really dangerously wrong. we all have gripes, but fresh greens and leafies should never be considered dessicants. Sat Sep 06 01:05:22 -0700 2008 4012652 163722 hill food 3 4013047 Oh, LOADS of teenage angst...but just well fed angst! And at those family get togethers, everyone would have to tell a "Do you remember the time that Sammmy..." Then 10 minutes later hard of hearing Uncle Herb would pop up with, "Do you remember the time that Sammmy..." Tales about setting a dry field on fire after shooting an arrow with a lit sparkler attached, running for the tractor to put it out, and breaking a short irrigation stand pipe in doing so; or the time that a firecracker got tossed into the BBQ for laughs... Sat Sep 06 08:31:11 -0700 2008 4012728 36661 Sam Fujisaka 4 4014592 looking back I wouldn't trust myself with a burnt-out match at age 12. If I'd only researched more discreet accelerants, I (and many cohorts) might have had quite different careers today... I meant to be more articulate (than 4:00 AM EST allowed - dang Hanna waking me) that 'mash-ups' meant given where you've lived, some interesting cross-regional and unlikely dishes, that may have absolutely nothing to do with family may have been found. Sat Sep 06 23:34:05 -0700 2008 4013047 163722 hill food 1 4013022 My mother, grandmothers, aunts, etc, were all excellent cooks. I grew up in West Virginia & their cooking style was just basic southern home cooking. Both sets of grandparents had dairy farms, so all the cooks in my family used fresh cream & butter in their cooking(my maternal grandmother made her own cottage cheese!) Also, all breads, yeast rolls, pie crusts, biscuits, were make with lard & the eggs were, of course, from their own chickens. Meat was from home butchered steers and hogs, fresh killed chickens, & squirrels,rabbits(both wild & domestic). Vegetables & fruits were either grown in LARGE gardens or picked wild(blackberries, etc). The excess veggies and fruits were canned,frozen,made into jellies, jams, conserves, Hickory nuts were gathered to use in baking. Now, of course if these ladies had been terrible cooks, then all those wonderful ingredients would have been ruined. But, they were all excellent cooks and bakers. It would take pages to list all the wonderful meals they produced. I still use their recipes with the freshest ingredients I can find and now my daughter is also cooking in the same way. When our family gets together for holiday,birthday meals I cook very much the same way my mother, grandmothers, & aunts cooked- fried chicken with all the "fixens" is their favorite and I am nto allowed to deviate in any way from the my tried & true menu. Sat Sep 06 08:16:38 -0700 2008 4001124 13538 corabeth 2 4013205 All of this is a great read to a new reader. Brings back many great memories. My mom worked as much or more than my dad and rest of us in an old country store we had, so in busy periods there was no time for her cooking - everyone ate on the run in the store or, if lucky, we had some heated up, out of the can dishes as have been mentioned in these postings. But when my mom did have time to cook she was a great cook. We also had a small farm and raised, slaughtered, processed (or had processed) all our beef, pork, poultry. Mother made the best beef roast (& absolutely the best gravy of any type I've ever had) from chuck. She'd mix up some vinegar, dry or yellow mustard, & pepper, pour that over the roast on a rack in a big dutch oven (with little water in bottom) & put in on back of stove to slowly cook. That flavored steam would rise, fall back down over roast, & flavor it so wonderfully. Then she would brown flour on a cookie sheet in the oven. After roast was done, she'd boil down the water & juices, stir in the browned flour, cook it a bit to make this best of all gravies. If I had that gravy over bread or potatoes, I didn't need any meat. I had this recipe (which came out of an old Garrett's Snuff pocket memo book), but lost it years ago. I've since tried to make this roast & gravy but never get the proportions of the vinegar-mustard-pepper mix just right (plus it's me rather than her trying to cook it). Someone mentioned brains in one post. A real treasured breakfast at home was brains & scrambled eggs after we had killed a beef - a production of both my mom & dad. The brains were cleaned and simmered or poached until they were done, then were added into the eggs as they were being scrambled. So delicious! Although the brains were the meat, for some reason we always also had bacon with this breakfast, as well as toast (whereas biscuits were our usual breakfast bread). Never ran into but one other person who was familiar with this breakfast - a guy who grew up on a northern Calif. ranch & who I was in the Navy with down in Texas. One weekend Wally somewhere got some fresh calf brains, so he & I cooked this great breakfast. At first none of the other guys who lived there or other folks who were over would touch it, but once anyone ever tried a spoon full, you couldn't keep them away from the bowl. I've had people tell me they have tasted these canned pork brains & how bad they are; I agree, they are gross, but brains & eggs I've described is something entirely different. Haven't had any in years & doubt will ever have any more; have read brains now a "no-no" because of mad cow disease danger, but that old brains & eggs was one great dish. Can nearly smell & taste that breakfast, just thinking of it. Several people mentioned tongue. We never kept the beef tongue, but my aunt who lived in town (and who was by far the most sophisticated family member) always wanted it. She somehow cooked it & then used it for sandwiches. We did occasionally have beef liver but always gave away or threw away the parts known in fancy cooking circles as sweetbreads. We also always had big gardens & a number of fruit trees, and my mother & grandmother were both great fresh fruits & vegetable cooks as well as "put up" (first canning, then later freezing) so many of them. Only criticism was their, as others have mentioned, overcooking - but thank goodness for some reason only cabbage; never any other vegetable. Couldn't eat cooked cabbage until I was grown & discovered elsewhere that it didn't have to be cooked into a white mush. And my mother spoiled me about celery. Never knew anyone, including self, to so thoroughly string it. Have written too much here, but thanks for so many great memories stoked by reading all your posts - and have made myself hungry with all this food thinking. Time for lunch. Sat Sep 06 10:04:23 -0700 2008 4013022 224123 foodisgreat 3 4013421 You are a lucky person! I am jealous of you and Sam, also. My mom's roast was boiled in a full pot of water. ICK! Sat Sep 06 12:06:31 -0700 2008 4013205 80937 danhole 3 4013796 My Mom's specialty was roasts, but I never heard of roasting the flour for the gravy, I'm definitely trying that soon! And Sam's stories sound sort of familiar...someone close to me may have done something very similar. My friends in SA always tell me about brains and eggs, too bad I'll probably never get to try them now. They speak of it as one of the ultimate foods. Sat Sep 06 15:06:31 -0700 2008 4013205 11097 coll 3 4013800 what a beautiful post, foodisgreat! i can almost taste the brains and eggs from your description, though i've never tried them. now i really want to! Sat Sep 06 15:08:34 -0700 2008 4013205 64215 cimui 4 4015338 Thanks for you good folks kind comments. Pleasant surprise to hear of your friends' familiarity with and love of brains & eggs, coll. They speak the truth. Surely wish you and cimui could try the dish. Unbelievable the flavor the brains add to the scrambled eggs, & they also improve the texture. Maybe some day we will be able to get calves brains again and can all have this great dish. And, coll, only thing I know about my mother's oven browning the flour for that particular beef roast gravy is that the recipe called for it to be done that way. She also oven browned flour for a roast chicken gravy, but did not do so for any of the other gravies she made. Don't know if any significance, but those were my favorite two of all her gravies. As much as I enjoyed my mother's roasts, I'm sure sorry for your childhood "boiled roast" experiences, danhole. Hope subsequent roast you've had have more than made up for those early experiences. Sun Sep 07 11:48:36 -0700 2008 4013800 224123 foodisgreat 5 4015456 Well now you've put two bees in my bonnet! Brains, I'll just dream about and wait for an opportunity someday, but the browned flour idea is just in time for fall cooking! I'll try it soon and if it's well received, my Thanksgiving gravy could be upgraded this year. Sun Sep 07 12:51:39 -0700 2008 4015338 11097 coll 6 4016327 Best of luck with your oven browned flour gravy, coll. As said, don't know why my mother did the oven browning for only these two gravies and no others, so don't know how you experiment will come out. Hope it's good. I know she sifted the flour, covered the cookie sheet fairly thinly, and kept good watch on it to keep it from getting too brown or burning. Again, good luck. Be interesting to know your result. Whosyerkitty's mention of cake frosting and delicious sounding meatloaf recipe given below remind me of two other foods from the years I was growing up. I have never been a big coconut cake fan, usually liking other cakes much better, but one aunt made a coconut cake from fresh coconut that was by far the best coconut, & one of the best cakes of any type, I've ever had. After she died, both my mother & other aunt would occasionally attempt to make this cake using her recipe, but they would readily admit, and everyone in the family would agree, their coconut cakes were nowhere nearly as good as were Aunt Vera's. And I've, to this day, never eaten any other coconut cake which approached hers. During those years an Italian family owned a drugstore with a lunch counter in our county seat town. Whenever there with my dad & going to have lunch, I always wanted to go to Henry's for the meatloaf. It was a very "loose" meatloaf, the most so of any I've ever seen, baked in a big commercial sized pan, and it had a number of vegetables cooked in it. I don't remember what all, but I know some green beans & carrot pieces in addition to tomatoes & onions, and was fairly "spicy". Never saw any other like it, but it surely was good - one of, if not my very favorite, of all meatloaves. Sun Sep 07 20:18:51 -0700 2008 4015456 224123 foodisgreat 7 4017318 Thanks for the recipe, I'm making a turkey breast later this week, and will try this instead of the usual cornstarch. Since we like toasted breadcrumbs in certain dishes, I think there will be some good reviews! Browned is always better than raw in my book.. Mon Sep 08 09:21:24 -0700 2008 4016327 11097 coll 8 4019211 Surely hope the browned flour gravy for that turkey breast comes out OK, coll. Imagine it will, but one never knows. For fried chicken, chicken fried steak, etc. gravy my mother sprinkled the raw flour into some of the drippings & food particles in the skilled, stirred it all around, browned the flour that way, added water, and continued to cook. (With some gravies my grandmother used milk rather than water, but my mother always used water to make brown gravy.) Assume that is somewhat the way you use the cornstarch. I cannot remember how she made turkey gravy - always a whole turkey roasted in different ways in the oven. Don't remember if she used the browned flour or browned the flour in the drippings. Know it was always a light tan rather creamy "giblet" gravy - always with giblets & sometime with chopped hard boiled eggs - the way everyone made it when I was growing up. Again, best of luck to you. Let us know how you come out. PS - As you likely can tell, I am not a very good gravy maker, though surely love it. Mon Sep 08 19:58:24 -0700 2008 4017318 224123 foodisgreat 9 4019575 Similar, but I add wine or vermouth to the cornstarch before adding to the drippings (and more to the pan to deglaze first). So it's a slurry. Then at the end I add some milk to lighten the color a little. My turkey and chicken gravy always came out great from the first time I made them, but for beef I usually do more of an au jus because I was never crazy with my gravy results. I'll let you know in a few days how the flour works out! Tue Sep 09 01:50:30 -0700 2008 4019211 11097 coll 9 4019616 The one thing I did learn about making gravy from my mother is now a yearly joke..... "don't throw out the potato water!" Mom was having Thanksgiving at her house, which meant about 25 people, two turkeys, and lots of hectic activity in the kitchen. Somehow I was told to watch the potatos which were boiling away to become mashed soon. They were done, so I took them to the sink to dump the water, and there was this shrill shriek from my mom. (who rarely if ever raises her voice and certainly never curses.) She screamed across the kitchen ... "do NOT throw out the potato water!!!!!" As if I'd just stabbed the president or some such. We've never seen her either before or since lose her composure so completely. Now every Thanksgiving, no matter where it is held, the potato water joke resurfaces. (I had no idea about the starchy water needed for gravy.... I swear!) Tue Sep 09 03:53:55 -0700 2008 4019211 165021 Firegoat 10 5003780 I did exactly the same thing at a friends Thanksgiving dinner once, trying to "help" but it was the carrot water. They teased me about the lousy gravy that year for years! Thu Sep 03 19:25:19 -0700 2009 4019616 1106722 patmatw 9 4019740 foodisgreat, that is *exactly* how my mom makes her turkey gravy with giblets, technique and ingredients, including the eggs! my mom grew up in the depression-era florida panhandle. her dressing is good too, with day-old cornbread, and not stuffed in the turkey. Tue Sep 09 05:42:56 -0700 2008 4019211 105717 alkapal 10 4021889 Your comment above sounds similar to what I was trying to describe as my mother's doing when making gravy, coll, except she didn't use the milk. As for beef gravies - seemed they all differed - pot roast was one thing, chicken fried steak another, broiled steak yet another, and my favorite of all was that vinegar-mustard-pepper chuck roast gravy. Will await word of your results with the browned flour. None of my folks ever used the potato water in making any gravy, Firegoat, but your mentioning that reminds me of someone who used the potato water in gravy making. Had totally forgotten that, and can't remember who used it, but someone I've known surely did. And your comment, Firegoat, re Thanksgiving dinner and your comments, alkapal, about your mom's giblet gravy & cornbread dressing remind me of two thing. I lived in Mobile, AL, for about 30 years and know that central Gulf Coast dressing and giblet gravy is about the same as & as good as is ours here in Arkansas. Only difference is we never had the oyster dressing here which some folks along the Gulf Coast make. All dressings, so long as made mainly with cornbread, are good. I did for a number of years get to enjoy one great dressing at friends in Spanish Fort, AL, which I've never seen anywhere else. Mrs. Lambert, who was originally from up near Birmingham, said she learned it from her Irish mother-in-law. She would boil Irish potatoes and make them into mashed potatoes except would put no milk or cream in them (some butter & a little chicken or turkey broth if needed to moisten them a little). Then she would shred these raw Irish potatoes, rinse & thoroughly ring them out several times (said she was getting the starch out of them) and would then stir the raw shredded potatoes into the cooked mashed potatoes. She would then add onion, celery, giblets, chopped boiled egg, all the traditional things and all the traditional seasonings one would add to regular cornbread dressing to this potato mixture. She would then stir into in this mixture some of the giblet gravy (she usually cooked a hen in addition to the turkey for added broth, giblets, gravies, etc.), place the potato dressing around (not in) the partially done turkey and prepare an extra pan of it, all of which she would then top with a light coating of giblet gravy and cook it in the oven as the turkey finished roasting. She would not serve mashed potatoes with her "turkey dinner" as I was accustomed to having, for in the "dressing" she had both the potatoes and dressing. This really was good but seemed to me that it was an awful lot of work, more so than making regular dressing and mashed potatoes. Maybe that is reason I've never seen or heard of it elsewhere, but it was something really good, interesting, & different. I've also had a number of friends in southern Illinois, most of whom do "southern cooking" except for dressing. About half the families I know there make southern cornbread dressing but the other half make "light bread" yankee dressing. I remember being there one Christmas when Barbara had had a "Christmas job" in a store which lasted right through Christmas Eve. The next day at Christmas dinner she was apologizing all over the place about being so busy this year she did not have time to make dressing and had to use some of this boxed dressing mix. Remember when tasting it thinking, "Thank you, Lord, for small favors", for this Stovetop or what ever it was dressing was so much better than her made from scratch "light bread dressing" had ever been. (That's just my dressing preference; know some of you differ, which is entirely fine with me. Everyone to his own thing - or taste). Tue Sep 09 17:42:00 -0700 2008 4019740 224123 foodisgreat 11 4021945 Your posts on this thread are wonderful. You could and probably should write a book (same with many of the Hounds on these boards). Just don't let any Yankee change your style. Tue Sep 09 18:03:24 -0700 2008 4021889 36661 Sam Fujisaka 11 4023275 the potato dressing sounds fabulous, foodisgreat. this is something i'll have to try for a friend who's allergic to wheat. Wed Sep 10 08:58:21 -0700 2008 4021889 64215 cimui 12 4024755 Thanks so much, Sam, for your too kind comments, and I have surely enjoyed reading your posts; in fact, I've so enjoyed all posts I've gotten to since just recently finding this chowhound group. Such an interesting, informative, really nice bunch of folks. Never ran into any other group like this. A real blessing to find all you fine people. By the way, probably no or nothing yankee would ever have me. And, cimui, I never thought of Mrs. Lambert''s potato dressing as being a possible dish for a person with wheat allergies, though it just might be. Know a restaurant in Pensacola served a flourless cake (believe it was made mainly from ground pecans or some type nuts) which was really good. Restaurant owner made it because her husband had wheat allergies. A question, would dressing made from mainly cornbread but with a little wheat based bread of some type in it be enough wheat to impact one with wheat allergy? Guess likely so, at least in worst allergy cases. Even though I many times ate (and some times helped with) Mrs. Lambert's potato dressing, I can't remember all the details - like exactly how long she cooked it, but guess one could just keep a watch on it. I know the shredded potatoes which were raw when mixed into the cooked mashed potatoes wound up fully cooked when the dressing was done, but they still had a substance, some texture to them which the mashed potato part did not have; could distinguish them in the done dressing. And don't remember how much giblet gravy she added to the mixture - guess just enough to add some flavor & moisture but not make it too "soupy", Know it firmed up nicely and the gravy spread thinly on top made a nice little crust. Am sure you could do this with just a turkey breast or some smaller fowl, not limited to when roast a big turkey. Best of luck. Surely hope this works for your friend. Let us know, please. Wed Sep 10 15:55:04 -0700 2008 4023275 224123 foodisgreat 9 4031476 The browned flour gravy was a hit, so much better than raw flour or cornstarch. So velvet-y. From now on I'm using cornstarch only for Chinese food. Thanks for a big moment of revelation, foodisgreat! And just in time for the holidays. Sat Sep 13 01:41:07 -0700 2008 4019211 11097 coll 10 4032118 So happy to hear, coll, that the browned flour gravy made for the turkey breast came out so well. That is great news. I'll have to start using it in more gravies myself - have over the years pretty well limited its use to those attempts at that brisket roast gravy and to the roast chicken. Have mainly used raw flour for others. Enjoy it with all that upcoming holiday cooking. Know my mother is happy that this bit of info has been of some benefit to someone. Sat Sep 13 11:05:54 -0700 2008 4031476 224123 foodisgreat 6 4018512 My understanding is that mad cow disease takes YEARS and YEARS to develop, even if you do scarf down some bad brains or whatever. As I see it, that means when I turn about 75, I can try brains and scrambled eggs, regardless of what food scare is going round at the time. If I'm crazy [or should that be "ier"?] when I'm in my late 80's who will know if its bad brains or common household dementia! Its nice to have something to look forward to! Mon Sep 08 15:31:01 -0700 2008 4015456 10505 jenn 7 4019241 Thanks so much, Jenn, for this info re the long incubation period for mad cow disease. With that being the case, at my age I can now eat every cow brain that came down the pike with absolutely no worry. And I know that I'm already to the point (at times at least) where I (and probably others) think I'm crazy, whatever the cause. Mon Sep 08 20:12:03 -0700 2008 4018512 224123 foodisgreat 7 4019576 You think like me, the older I get the more free I feel from worries like this. Never thought I'd make it this far! Tue Sep 09 01:52:02 -0700 2008 4018512 11097 coll 8 4021909 Good way to look at most things, coll, and same here about being surprised to have made it this far. Tue Sep 09 17:48:55 -0700 2008 4019576 224123 foodisgreat 5 4017297 food . . . When I got married one of the first things I wanted to conquer was a pot roast. It took me several tries before I finally got the technique down, and believe me, it does NOT involve boiling! It is one of the best things I make, and my DH begs for it, but it is not a summer time dish! As soon as it gets a bit cooler I will make it. As far as the browned flour goes, I remember seeing Paul Prudhomme cook some flour in the skillet, getting it to a perfect light brown color and then quickly taking it out of the pan so it would stop cooking. It was not the same technique as making a roux, though. If I can find more on that particular episode I will share the info. Mon Sep 08 09:13:38 -0700 2008 4015338 80937 danhole 6 4019282 danhole, I bet you've gotten that pot roast technique down to the point where each one comes out a masterpiece. I didn't mean to imply that you boiled your roasts; thought (perhaps incorrectly) that I read you'd said your mom boiled her roasts. Agree with you that summer is not the best time for making or having such a dish. Think I've gone the "summer foods" route more so this year than I've ever done before. Come a little cooler weather, some good, hearty dishes will really be tasty. Your description of the Paul Prudhomme skillet browning flour method sounds like it produces same result as my mother's oven browning it. Understand your comment that it is not at all the same as making a roux. It's now been a long time, but I've sure enjoyed some great meals at K-Paul's Louisiana KItchen in years past. Mon Sep 08 20:28:59 -0700 2008 4017297 224123 foodisgreat 7 4020511 Oh, no, I didn't take it as if you were saying I boiled my roasts. Not at all. I was just so desperate for a decent pot roast, that wasn't boiled (lol!) I did my best to learn quickly how to do it right. I was looking around and I think it was an episode about making stews where he cooked the flour, and then put it off to the side, adding it later. I believe he compared the color to be like a new penny, or slightly lighter than that. I was watching on a B&W portable TV, so I'm not sure what color it was . . . well it looked gray to me - ha! I can't remember if he made a slurry before he added the flour or not. Alkapal? Whatcha think? Tue Sep 09 10:09:41 -0700 2008 4019282 80937 danhole 8 4020783 dani, i don't recall the show, but this nyt article descibes the "chocolate-milk" colored browned flour being added into the wet ingredients already hot in the skillet, then stirring to make a paste. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE3DE123EF930A25753C1A965958260&sec=health&spon=&pagewanted=all the article also gives some insights into his cookbook for "low-fat" recipes that don't taste low-fat, e.g., using fruit syrups and using pureed legumes, such as chick peas, as thickeners. Tue Sep 09 11:25:35 -0700 2008 4020511 105717 alkapal 9 4021006 thanks pal! Maybe it was milk chocolate colored. I know he quickly took it out of the pan, so it didn't get any browner! Interesting article. Tue Sep 09 12:36:10 -0700 2008 4020783 80937 danhole 10 4021024 dani, looks like you had better start cookin' before cousin ike shows up to crash the party! Tue Sep 09 12:42:11 -0700 2008 4021006 105717 alkapal 11 4023241 Amen! I really should! Cooking will have to begin tomorrow! Wed Sep 10 08:49:10 -0700 2008 4021024 80937 danhole 6 4019748 yes, i've seen paul prudhomme do that, too. Tue Sep 09 05:45:28 -0700 2008 4017297 105717 alkapal 7 4021953 Read the old New York Times Paul Prudhomme article, alkapal, and his browning the flour in the skillet seemed to be basically the same thing as my mother browning hers in the oven, and then they apparently used the browned flour the same way. I'd say her browned flour was never darker than a light chocolate, and most often really not quite that dark. When living in Mobile I was in New Orleans often and have frequently seen Chef Prudhomme riding up & down the sidewalks on his little cart. In fact, he lived right down the street from some friends. Hadn't thought of it, but his weight did seem to fluctuate significant from time to time. Haven't seen him in a number of years now. Tue Sep 09 18:05:14 -0700 2008 4019748 224123 foodisgreat 6 5034876 Paul Prudhomme at one point was focusing on low-fat cooking (and he in fact ended up losing a lot of weight). He developed an oil-less "roux": he would brown flour in the oven or on a stove burner to the desired shade of brown and then add that to his stock to thicken gumbo. I never tried the no-oil technique, but it did make me realize I could use less oil in my roux, which I have done with no effect that I can tell. I'm thinking, though, that the technique of browning the flour for gravy is essentially the same. I'm going to try it next time I make gravy. Wed Sep 16 13:22:40 -0700 2009 4017297 324814 nomadchowwoman 3 4019296 Well, food, here I am, another brains and eggs breakfaster. My grandfather, Austrian born, came here as a professional waiter and opened his own restaurant in the East. Came to live with us the last years of his life when my twin sister and I were probably 1 or so. I remember the scrambled eggs with brains --so creamy and delicious, something we shared only with dad who learned it from Pop-pop. It's really an elegant dish, but haven't had it in years, or actualy prepared a brain. Maybe its time... Mon Sep 08 20:35:31 -0700 2008 4013205 10844 berkleybabe 4 4021992 Such interesting information re brains and eggs in your household, berkleybade, their coming from your Austrian born grandfather, and the neat relationship which you & your sister had with your dad and grandfather. "Creamy & delicious" and "an elegant dish" are really good terms to describe them. Preparing the brains is actually simple - just wash the brain mass well, remove all the external membrane covering, simmer in water until done; then just gradually stir the cooked brains as small pieces into the eggs as scrambling them. Don't know where the dish came from in my family. Somehow think it was from my dad's side rather than from my mother's. Hope you get to try some before too long. Tue Sep 09 18:19:35 -0700 2008 4019296 224123 foodisgreat 1 4013163 danhole, gooooooo and get it --- over on chow recipes! (georgia faye's famous porcupine meatballs and sauerkraut). good for a day like today, with the tropical storm hanna keeping us cooped up! thankfully, no winds!!!) Sat Sep 06 09:38:56 -0700 2008 4001124 105717 alkapal 2 4013416 Thanks Pal! I'm sure my DH won't try it, but I sure will! Hope hanna leaves you alone. We are keeping an eye on ike now. Sat Sep 06 12:04:50 -0700 2008 4013163 80937 danhole 3 4013433 yes, most of my family is in sw florida, so ike is a big unknown bad boy right now... if you make the recipe, just observe how long your dh takes to try "just a meatball" (then maybe a lit-tle more....) ;-) i can never resist "taste-testing" near the end of the cooktime. it is a kraut-y smell for a while as you cook, but light a nice scented candle.... it is **totally** worth it. if your dh likes it mild, you can always split the recipe, rinse kraut in one-half, leave the other half unrinsed, with kraut can juice..... the tomato soup component really does mellow it out, plus the meatballs really flavor the kraut to something new and transformed from the traditional flavor profile one associates with kraut! Sat Sep 06 12:12:17 -0700 2008 4013416 105717 alkapal 4 4013792 alkapal...I'm in SWFL, too...I think we are "out of the cone" now...praying that it will stay that way! I saw your porcupine recipe...my mom never made it with the sauerkraut but always with the Campbell's Tomato soup and always in the pressure cooker. I do admire the sweet (tomato soup) and sour ('kraut) twist to it! Not sure I want to re-create it, but I might, I might..... Sat Sep 06 15:05:12 -0700 2008 4013433 11983 Val 5 4069201 the tomato soup is not really a "sweet" profile, more an acidic tartness that tempers the "fattiness" and calms the kraut. go ahead, val, give it a shot when the weather gets cool. december? Mon Sep 29 06:06:44 -0700 2008 4013792 105717 alkapal 4 4711272 If you ever have a chance to go to the LaBelle Swamp Cabbage Festival, do it. There was a beautiful rendition of it (hearts of palm) with white pepper and cream and white bacon. Sun May 24 14:45:27 -0700 2009 4013433 40486 Cinnamon 5 4711382 i grew up in fort myers, so i've been there at the swamp cabbage festival more than once. i've even won a prize betting on an armadillo race, and have the baseball cap with a drawing of an armadillo to prove it -- a lovely burgundy color, may i add. Sun May 24 15:40:41 -0700 2009 4711272 105717 alkapal 6 4711384 :D Are the swamp cabbage purveyors still cooking up really delicious swamp cabbage dishes? Sun May 24 15:42:55 -0700 2009 4711382 40486 Cinnamon 5 4711390 haven't been in a while, but the jaycees (lion's club?) always had great grilled steak and swamp cabbage. i liked to wander around, soaking up the atmosphere, and then getting an indian fry bread from one of the seminoles in another booth -- pure greasy goodness. Sun May 24 15:45:36 -0700 2009 4711272 105717 alkapal 1 4013506 Everything in my house was ground beef based. Stuffed cabbage, lasagna, stuffed peppers, spaghetti, chili, meat-filled perogie. I RARELY buy ground beef as an adult. We just had a very bland, polish palate in my family, so we used BOTH spices and not much else. If it wasn't for my adventurous city aunt I probably would never know what spice tastes like. My father also gets very little enjoyment from food, so he just mixes everything up on his plate and shovels it in his mouth. So yeah, not much experimenting with food in our house... Sat Sep 06 12:45:19 -0700 2008 4001124 65040 cheetobrain 2 4013720 Same here, cheeto...I feel your pain...no experimenting...my father thought that enjoyment of food was horrid and I'm not kidding. When it wasn't ground beef, it was a can of hash, cooked in a pan but not even crispy=sitting in grease, and a can of green beans. I vowed to never, ever cook that way. Sat Sep 06 14:29:12 -0700 2008 4013506 11983 Val 3 4015728 Val, perhaps our fathers were separated at birth? :) Despite my family's ground beef, La Choy from the can kind of lifestyle, I always loved food and love to cook now. Sun Sep 07 15:16:10 -0700 2008 4013720 65040 cheetobrain 1 4014576 I may have mentioned it before...but my mother was known for many things..not cooking. One dish she did that could certainly be classified as "weird" involved steamed broccoli in a casserole, topped with hard boiled egg slices and cheese...then the whole thing put in the oven until the cheese melted. Or something like that. She would make the broccoli stand up like little trees..... Susancinsf might remember the exact details. What I remember is that I liked the broccoli..(it was fresh) and fresh steamed broccoli is still one of my favorite foods. Sat Sep 06 23:12:57 -0700 2008 4001124 10290 janetofreno 2 4016488 I loved it and regret to this day not trying to get the recipe while she was still around....pretty sure it was cheddar cheese but it could even have been american...time to do a little experimenting in the kitchen! Sun Sep 07 22:21:03 -0700 2008 4014576 10158 susancinsf 1 4014671 my grandmother's specialty was a yemeni dish called sufoot. made with ground lamb, veggies it was delicious. aunt's specialty was brains cooked with a cilantro pesto kind of sauce and very delicious too and mom as mentioned before was the adventurous one. loved to try new foods and recipes. thankfully i have a little bit of each of them in my cooking style. Sun Sep 07 04:14:57 -0700 2008 4001124 76259 foodwich 1 4014717 Wow, brings back memories. My mom was famous for her "homemade" spaghetti too-right out of a jar of Ragu. The fact that ground beef was added made it homemade. My DH will only eat sphaghetti this way. He complains when I make it from scratch. I guess we all still like certain things for nostalgic reasons. I think many of us have become adventurous cooks in spite of what we learned as kids. Here were my moms favorites, mind you she only used S&P and cooked most dinners in an electric skillet. Stuffed peppers (with ground beef tomatoes and rice, topped with breadcrumbs and stips of Kraft singles) City ckicken? Chicken breaded and cooked in some sort of gravy w/mushrooms Super dried out meatloaf. Ack! American chop suey Chef Boy Ardee pizza from a box (which I still kinda like-nostalgic) Salmon patties-never ever liked This thread has statred me thinking, the reason we were served (some, not all) of this junk is b/c they were easy to make. I have learned from my own 2 picky eaters that spending the entire afternnoon making dinner and having it pushed around on plates and not being consumed is very disheartening! I can only throw so much down the disposal before I just say no. But that is a whole new topic! Sun Sep 07 05:44:32 -0700 2008 4001124 123913 chocchipcookie 2 4015012 These posts bring back a lot of memories! When I moved to NYC in the early 80's my roommate made the 'slumgullian' for dinner one night. Another roommate's specialty was ground beef, elbows, one can of cream of mushroom soup, one jar of mushrooms and a large jar of Cheez Whiz. One night as a teen I spent the night with my neighbor and we made a Chef-Boy-R-Dee boxed pizza with cut up Vienna Sausages on it....mmmmmmmmm I grew up in the South. Whitebread, margarine, 'French' dressing, jello, casseroles, canned vegetables, canned soup, canned biscuits, etc. Dad said moving up North ruined me....he called my fresh steamed green beans 'Yankee Green Beans' and wouldn't eat them. I always had to microwave a can for him. And all he wanted in his salad was iceberg, cucumbers, radishes and French dressing. 'Watergate Salad' was always part of a company meal growing up. Spaghetti was spaghetti with sauce made from ground beef, canned tomatoes and one of those packets. Did anyone ever have to suffer through Pat Nixon's Chicken Salad (poor Richard)? It was Mom's favorite, baked and covered in crunched up Lay's potato chips. She did make good lasagna but like someone else mentioned, I never saw a garlic clove until I was grown and on my own. Mom liked to mix a can of Campbell's Chicken Gumbo soup with ground beef and call it sloppy joe's (not bad). Also, elbows with ground beef and a can of tomato juice was goulash. Sunday was always pot roast with over baked carrots and potatoes. Her favorite appetizer was a couple leaves of iceberg, topped with a pineapple (canned) round, a blob of Duke's mayo and shredded cheese. A couple years ago she came over for dinner and requested my recipe for sauce and meatballs. I wrote it all down for her and a couple weeks later she told me she used my recipe but it didn't taste right. I asked if she followed the recipe exactly and she answered, "Well, I didn't have garlic cloves so I used garlic powder, and I didn't have red wine so I used beef boullion (huh?), I used Rago instead of going to all that trouble of making sauce, but I did it just like you said!" Gotta love Mom!! RW Sun Sep 07 09:03:03 -0700 2008 4014717 128537 riverwood 3 4015495 My mom made "slumgullian" of sorts, too but used rice and called it "Spanish Rice"; ground beef, celery, onions, canned tomatoes, rice and some spices. Once in awhile I crave this and make some up-- kids like it, plus you're sneaking lots of veggies in there. My mom was WAY ahead of her time in that steak and beef roast was made RARE ( and quite excellent). "Spaghetti" (WHEN exactly did pasta other than spaghetti and macaroni become available in the US?) sauce from scratch, simmered for hours and she made the best damn meatloaf on the planet that I make today. My sisters and I all still make her "cheesedip", too; grated onion, cream cheese, mayo and worcestershire. Sophisticated? No, --and SO 50's, but people LOVE it and we always need a lot for family parties. Salads were pretty standard fare, too, basic green ones with tomatoes and bottled dressing, but salads nonetheless. I cannot comprehend, though, why on earth HOT veggies were always canned (icky!) or frozen. I find fresh veggies really simple to steam and far better tasting--and LOOKING. My own daughter has never had a canned veggie. I wonder if back then (60's-70's) fresh veggies were that much more expensive, although I know that seasons were far more restrictive. I do recall some convenience foods during the week --Mac and cheese, blue box with Kosher (this, for some reason was a must) hot dogs, "veal cutlet" with a "sauce from Campbell's tomato soup, Hamburger Helper, some kind of frozen weird fish casserole and even pot pies. I also loved, still do, and now make sometimes, breakfast for dinner. But my mom made, hands down, the BEST pork roast and chocolate cake frosting (on a mix cake, or OCCASIONALLY "mayonnaise" chocolate cake) that I've not been able to duplicate. Sigh. Sun Sep 07 13:13:18 -0700 2008 4015012 189528 Whosyerkitty 4 4015748 Whosyerkitty...any chance you'd be willing to share that recipe for "the best damn meatloaf on the planet?" Sun Sep 07 15:28:38 -0700 2008 4015495 103920 goodhealthgourmet 5 4016155 I had to think about this because there was never a recipe, per se. But actually, it's REALLY simple and very forgiving: Pre-heat oven to 350. INGREDIENTS: *2 lbs ground beef, room temp OR a ground meat mixture (but I don't eat veal, so I use all beef-and I think about 80/20 or 85/15 is best. You can also use 1 lb of ground turkey to cut back on fat, but all turkey isn't flavorful enough, really) *One medium onion, chopped *1/2 green pepper, 1/4 yellow pepper 1/4 red pepper, chopped (mom used only green--other colored peps just weren't around then) *2 eggs beaten with about a tbsp of worchestershire, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper or to taste. *1/2 c. commercial breadcrumbs OR toast the heck out of a piece of white bread (which I also don't eat) OR I have successfully used CRUSHED CHEERIOS in a pinch and it was surprisingly light and didn't alter the taste at all. Either way, just crush them in a baggie with a rolling pin, wine bottle, can, whatever *1 can tomato sauce *Splash of red wine, opt. INSTRUCTIONS: Dump all but breadcrumbs in a bowl Smoosh with your hands. Wet them first. Get your kids to help--they LOVE this part and they don't realize all the veggies you're sneaking in there. LOOK at it (this is mom talking); you want an even mixture of peppers and onions and you can add more peppers if you want. Mix in your bread crumbs, splash in the wine or not Smoosh some more. Form a loaf in the bowl Be gentle, though, so it doesn't get tough. Turn on to a baking pan. Make a nice loaf (think cats).I use my cast iron frying pan because I take the meat loaf out of the pan, let it rest and then make gravy on the stove in the same pan. DO NOT USE a loaf pan because you then are going to DUMP the tomato sauce on the meatloaf, coating the top and sides. It makes a lovely crust. You can also artfully place strips of the remaining pepper across the top--this is a good kid project, too. The roasted peps are yummy. Crack some black pepper over the sauce BAKE at 350 for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. You can LOOK at it (mom again) or cheat and use a meat thermometer stuck in the middle to WELL. Much easier. Let it rest while you make some gravy on a platter or cutting board or something. If you use a baking pan, scrape the bits into a saucepan to make the gravy. Since you MUST have mashed potatoes with this (it's a dreadfully fattening meal, but good with egg noodles, too), use some of the potato water to thin the gravy and you can also use the tomato sauce can for the H2O. DON'T eat the whole thing because it makes great sandwiches the next day. Enjoy! Sun Sep 07 18:54:27 -0700 2008 4015748 189528 Whosyerkitty 6 4018724 thanks - it's always interesting to see someone else's take on a classic. [love the Cheerios incident, BTW - very resourceful!] Mon Sep 08 16:50:44 -0700 2008 4016155 103920 goodhealthgourmet 7 4019122 Cheerios are fortified! :) EEEWWW, I did just thing of something nasty. CARL BUDDIG PRESSED CHICKEN in my school lunch. Blech! Mon Sep 08 19:24:39 -0700 2008 4018724 189528 Whosyerkitty 7 4019577 I always add oatmeal to my meatloaf, rather than bread, so Cheerios wouldn't be that far removed! Tue Sep 09 01:54:59 -0700 2008 4018724 11097 coll 3 4016852 riverwood, you said "I grew up in the South. Whitebread, margarine, 'French' dressing, jello, casseroles, canned vegetables, canned soup, canned biscuits...." fresh veggies and homemade biscuits were the standouts in my southern upbringing! and casseroles are just fine with me -- esp. a good eggplant casserole made with campbell's mushroom soup, cheddar cheese, and ritz crackers! jello, not so much, but some of those molds are amazing! and i think everyone has had watergate salad..... Mon Sep 08 06:23:27 -0700 2008 4015012 105717 alkapal 4 4024309 We did get fresh vegetables and homemade biscuits, dumplings and delicious hoecake (?) at Grandma's. I think Mom was trying to leave all that behind her when she left the mill town to move to the 'big city'. Probably why we were fed formula, too. : ) BTW, I have been back in the South for almost 20 years so I'm not knocking it! And I miss that hoecake!! RW Wed Sep 10 13:42:03 -0700 2008 4016852 128537 riverwood 5 4024837 alkapal, from this & other of your comments re your food "back home", it definitely sounds like we had many of the same sorts of foods when growing up - and they still sound good to me. And same comments apply to that great food you had at your grandmother's, riverwood. I just now noticed, tho, alkapal, in your initial post to this section you mentioned your mom serving potatoes with mayonnaise. Made me think of the spicy boiled potatoes they bring to you to nibble on while waiting for meal at Deanies out in Bucktown area of New Orleans. Always liked those so, to eat them with tartar sauce squirted on them & with crackers. Really liked the spicy potatoes better than most meals there. Always wondered how they did it and a year or two ago I somewhere ran across a recipe, if not the one they use, one which at least comes close. Though they are now beginning to kinda run out, so far this spring, summer, & fall all the grocery stores in this area have had the best ever very small red potatoes. I've surely enjoyed the last few months the many spicy red potatoes I've cooked this way - with tartar sauce squirted on them and eating them with crackers. They also make up into a spicy, kinda different, but very good potato salad. Potatoes and mayonnaise also make me remember that when my grandmother was growing up in a real rural area they had no electricity or refrigeration, so she learned to cook using vinegar instead of mayonnaise for many dishes, and she continued to do so all of her life. Her deviled eggs were egg yolks, salt, pepper, & vinegar. And her potato salad started out as mashed potatoes (but with no butter or milk added). To this she would add chopped onion & hard boiled egg, salt & pepper, and vinegar, beating it to mashed or creamed potato consistency (but with the little chunks of onion & egg in it). Was served warm when first made at noon - just like mashed potatoes. Then if any was left over it firmed up and was great for just slicing off a slab to eat or for making a potato salad sandwich. Her standard Sunday dinner was roast beef or chicken, this potato salad, field peas, deviled eggs, and the best made from scratch banana pudding you ever tasted. I still at times make her vinegar deviled eggs and potato salad. Just have a craving for that vinegar taste. Wed Sep 10 16:20:25 -0700 2008 4024309 224123 foodisgreat 6 4025856 foodisgreat, yes, we did come from similar food heritages. good food! try that sauerkraut and porcupine meatballs recipe i posted. it is really tasty. i always double the recipe (and eat so many of the meatballs by my little ol' lonesome self standing at the stove!) ;-P <lickin' my chops> Thu Sep 11 05:00:29 -0700 2008 4024837 105717 alkapal 7 4030631 Thanks, alkapal. You are right re our food backgrounds. I had noted your porcupine meatballs & kraut recipe with great interest and definitely plan to try it, but am waiting until a little cooler weather. Somehow it seems to me to be a natural "cold weather" dish. I've always been a "ground beef" fan - any sort of ground beef cooked any way - "steak" (included in that term a good hamburger, one of my all time favorite foods), meatloaf, meatballs, stuffed bell peppers, meat sauce, etc., but I'm accustomed to most of these dishes being "all beef", only occasionally any meat mixture; don't know why; just way its always been. So I'm anxious to try your multi-meat meatballs. I grew up having (and even now have) kraut occasionally, but not routinely as do so many other vegetables. As a kid, when we killed hogs in the winter, we always had a mess or two of kraut with fresh pork backbone and/or ribs. And kraut (always store bought, canned or bagged, never homemade) was/is a side dish always served with pork - pork chops, pork roast, pork sausage, etc. So the use of sausage in the meatballs is to me a natural for the meat element of a kraut dish. I am quite anxious to try it. Bet the meatballs & kraut really meld well together (see tale below). To me, the tomato soup is the real surprise ingredient in this recipe. Would have never thought of its being included, and can't imagine what it will be like, how it will add to, impact taste of dish, but sure looking forward to finding out. I have two favorite kraut memories. My childhood playmate (same age kid right across the road) had one set of grandparents who came as children to US from Switzerland. Was entire Swiss community near town. I always loved to go with him to visit those grandparents. They were entirely self sufficient, raised all their food. Always had homemade table wine which they used as routine meal beverage (but never gave any to us kids). Remember a lot of their vegetables included onions - plain mashed potatoes had onions chopped in them, as did all peas & beans & many other dishes. They made their own sauerkraut, which to me was alway so much better than our store bought, guess because it was homemade & the various ways they served it. This friend's mother, up until her recent death as an elderly lady, always prepared some special kraut dishes for any family holiday meals or for any type potluck. Not aware of any of the current generation of Swiss descendants who know, cook any of these foods which their parents & grandparents did. And all the older Swiss were also great bakers - breads & sweets. At a Navy duty station in Texas, the centerpiece for most parties at the O Club was this beautiful white glazed with red apple in his mouth whole roasted pig. All evening everyone would be snacking on all the other foods on the table & admiring the pig. But then as the evening wore on, got closer to party break up time, everyone got more liquor in them, someone would finally stab the pig & pull out a plug of him to eat. When that happened, you had better be near by to quickly grab a fork & plate if you hoped to get any. In no time at all after that first assault, that pig looked exactly like he had suffered a piranha attack - absolutely stripped to the bones. But one of the most delicious parts of the pig was the sauerkraut with which he'd been stuffed. During the cooking process all the pork juices had so infused that sauerkraut so as to make it absolutely the best I have ever eaten. Thus looking forward to the meatballs cooked on top of the kraut in your delicious sounding, slow cooked recipe. Still can't figure out the tomato soup tho. Thanks. By the way, alkapal, is your mother's name Georgia Faye (or was that name of recipe originator)? My mother was named Georgia Lucille (went by middle name). Fri Sep 12 15:58:56 -0700 2008 4025856 224123 foodisgreat 8 4030710 yes, mom is georgia faye! and that whole roasted pig stuffed with kraut sounds fantastic. give me some crunchy bits of the pig, too! i hope you love the recipe! i'm tasting it (in my mind) right now. i think when the weather changes, maybe late september, i'll make a big batch. i'm happy to eat leftovers for breakfast, lunch and dinner....for at least a couple of days. i know it sounds crazy, but i think you'll see why i call them "famous". Fri Sep 12 16:22:32 -0700 2008 4030631 105717 alkapal 9 4030937 Thanks so much, alkapal. More similarities -not only in our mothers' names- but also apparently in some of our tastes. I've never been that much of a traditional breakfast foods eater. I now enjoy them much more than ever before, but even now like them much better as a supper than as a breakfast meal. While I have always often skipped breakfast (despite "authorities" saying it is the most important meal of the day), if I have breakfast I've always enjoyed left overs - left over hamburger, slice of roast beef or ham, pizza slice, piece of fried chicken, etc. - better than traditional breakfast foods. And there are so many dishes which only get better when left over & warmed up a time of two. Never understood a number of folks I know who refuse to ever eat any left overs. So am glad to hear that the porcupine meatballs & kraut make such a good leftover dish. Who knows, I may like it even better that way than when first cooked (and understand the problem of not eating all the meatballs while they are cooking). Surely anxious to try the dish in all its various modes - meatballs while cooking, complete dish when first totally done, and then as leftovers. Another reason to look forward to some cooler weather. And sure hope & pray tonight for best for all Chowhounds, for everyone, down along Texas, western Louisiana Gulf coast. Fri Sep 12 17:53:26 -0700 2008 4030710 224123 foodisgreat 10 4032774 i'll even eat 'em cold! Sat Sep 13 16:41:31 -0700 2008 4030937 105717 alkapal 11 4032952 That sounds like a winner to me. Wish I had some now. I'd better get in the kitchen & scrounge around for a bite of something before it gets any later. Be looking forward to & will let you know when I do the meatballs & kraut - but gonna let weather turn a little cooler first. Sat Sep 13 18:16:31 -0700 2008 4032774 224123 foodisgreat 6 4032154 I would love it if you would post your recipe for spicy potatoes--just the thing to snack on as the weather turns cooler! Thanks Sat Sep 13 11:19:21 -0700 2008 4024837 10844 berkleybabe 7 4032243 Glad to do so, berkley, but it's not my recipe; it's one I found somewhere a year or two ago, after years of wanting one of this type. 3 lbs. small red potatoes, unpeeled 1 tbsp. salt 3 tbsp. Zatarain's Liquid Shrimp & Crab Boil OR 1 bag of Zatarain's Shrimp & Crab Boil spices 2 shakes of Butter Buds or MollyMcButter 2 oz. Louisiana Hot Sauce (not Tabasco) Water Cover potatoes with water. Add crab boil bag or liquid spices. Bring to boil. Add salt, hot sauce, Butter Buds or McButter. Boil 10 to 12 min. or until potatoes reach desired doneness. Serve hot with sour cream & butter. Good cold with sprinkle of salt. As earlier said, my favorite way to eat them is as a snack or appetizer - at room temperature or cold - with tartar sauce and saltine crackers. Also like to cube them & make potato salad. Believe the liquid crab boil makes potatoes spicier than the bag of crab boil spices. For first time at least, I would go conservative with the liquid crab boil (if used) and hot sauce - using amounts specified at most. Tho not called for in recipe, I always add a bit of black pepper to cooking water. May or may not sprinkle little salt and/or pepper on potatoes as eating them. Hope this comes out OK for you, berkley, and that you & yours enjoy. I need to cook up another batch next week. Sat Sep 13 12:03:43 -0700 2008 4032154 224123 foodisgreat 3 4143962 My mom does the same thing with the Gumbo, but she calls it "chick-burgers." No idea. Sun Nov 02 06:47:10 -0800 2008 4015012 179970 meleyna 1 4015846 So much fun to read the foods we all grew up with...there sure is a common thread. Just had to mention that I started reading "Toast" this weekend, a memoir by Nigel Slater (food writer from UK) and it's very enjoyable & recommended! Sun Sep 07 16:26:33 -0700 2008 4001124 117621 poptart 1 4018830 I read some of these and they bring back memories (not always good). I was born in the fifties. My mother never had learned to cook (We lived with my granfather and had an Irish maid until I was 8 - Grandfather died). He had a huge garden and even hired high school kids to help out. Froze tons, literally! I never remember a memorable meal. After Grandpa died, my Mom started cooking. The ONLY thing I remember as memorable was codfish cakes and beans on a Friday night. The funny thing is here over 50 years later, I work as a cook for a woman who is in her late eighties. What does she like? Chicken legs cooked until they are like burnt paper, Crab "goop", popovers, meatloaf that could sink a sub, etc.! It brings back the memories, but it sure is easy. Mon Sep 08 17:31:12 -0700 2008 4001124 204342 FriedClamFanatic 1 4019941 I've hesitated because of the title of this thread. Both my parents were excellent cooks and taught me to love food. But I guess from a kid w/ 1st generation Russian immigrant s parents I sure was embarrassed when my WASP buddies would come over ask me why my house always smelled of cabbage? Mom's "weird" foods: Borscht (and cold summer borscht, holodnik), schi (cabbage soup, holopsi (stuffed cabbages), ribs and/or pork chops baked in kapusta (saurkraut) with kolbasi, pielmeni, pierogies, beets in all forms, herring w/ sour cream & onions on great rye bread and home made babka and pasks (Easter cheese) We decorated Ukrainian style Easter eggs and had huge family get togethers where Russian was the primary language, lubricated by copious amounts of vodka and Grandma the matriarch. A a Russian Pennsylvania coal miner's daughter mom is a gifted person. She also cooked excellent spaghetti w/ excellent meat balls, great meat loaf, excellent fried chicken, liver, onions & steamed potatoes. Steak and baked potato for Sunday dinner. Lots of lamb, pork and veal dishes and suppers during the work week were rich thick peasant soups with soup meat (I had to explain what this was to my Yankee wife.) and excellent corn rye slathered in butter for dunking. She cooked like her mother taught her and I still cook most of them. She took me on monthly "cultural" trips to NYC to museums, the Met , the NY Philamonic, Shakespere at McCarter's Theater in Princeton. And great restaurants too to introduce me to fine dining. She did all this in the 60's while teaching on a provisional certificate AND taking evening and summer courses at Rutger's U.! She graduated with a degree in English Literature 2 weeks before I did from high school. She is now approaching 93 and beginning rapid memory loss. She is soooo pleased to be on meals on wheels now. One hellova a woman! And did I mention, she taught me to cook. Tue Sep 09 07:02:03 -0700 2008 4001124 93538 Passadumkeg 2 4021634 What a fun thread! My mom always made the same meals- roast beef with baked potato and string beans, fish and spaghetti, pork chops and applesauce. She also made a canned salmon loaf. My dad used to like liverworst and mash it on white bread. Mom also made a Watergate cake - I think it had pastachio pudding in it. MIL made the spaghetti and ketchup dish with butter. Tue Sep 09 16:04:47 -0700 2008 4019941 11526 Eileen 2 4025494 Now I would LOVE a recipe for borscht. I don't like beets, but I do like borscht. I don't know why. I have made pierogi from scratch and OMIGOD what a mess and a lot of work! My BIL's mom was Polish and she was one of those ones that cooked all the time. If we went to her house at midnight she'd be cooking for some reason. And then you had to sit down and eat regardless of the hour. I think that people that were Eastern European during WWII just RELISHED (no pun intended) the fact that food was so plentiful when they came here. Wed Sep 10 20:48:13 -0700 2008 4019941 189528 Whosyerkitty 1 4024149 I know this is a LOOOOONG post but I couldn't help but add to it. My mom was never a good cook. She grew up in a rather wealthy home in Vietnam so she never had to learn anything domestic. Of course, all that changed when we arrived in a basement tenement in L.A. While she did try and some of the stuff she made was edible, my favorite memory is when she tried to make gravy from oyster sauce--"C'mon try it. It's brown like gravy. It's saucy like gravy. It's gravy!" Wed Sep 10 13:01:57 -0700 2008 4001124 17121 ChineseChou 2 4025864 chinesechou, that was very sweet. thank you! Thu Sep 11 05:06:32 -0700 2008 4024149 105717 alkapal 2 5024058 LoL, my dad makes gravy from oyster sauce, in the sense that it is a gravy for any sort of meat or gravy for say, a traditional Thanksgiving turkey. It's actually quite delicious. Sat Sep 12 04:15:54 -0700 2009 4024149 1108780 Chinamerican 1 4027921 My mom was... well-intentioned but short on cash and, frankly, not a great cook. (Excellent baker, though!) Some of the more memorable: Franks and beans: slice hot dogs, fry the cut sides in a large pot along with some sliced onion, add a can or two of Campbell's Pork-n-Beans, some ketchup and brown sugar. Heat through and serve. Chicken and rice: put cut-up pieces of boneless chicken, a can of Campbell's Cream of Tomato soup, rice (maybe about a cup), water, and probably something I'm forgetting (memory loss serves me well here) into a deep casserole dish, stir, put into the oven for I'd guess an hour or thereabouts, until the chicken is cooked through and the rice has absorbed all the liquid. I loved this as a child. Rattatouille: Take whatever squash came out of the garden, add whatever other vegetables were on hand, some garlic, and some sort of liquid, and cook the crap out of it... I mean, simmer for a reallllllly long time, until it's a tasteless plate of mush. Even the dog wouldn't eat this, seriously. I have one memory of sitting at the table until bedtime because I refused to eat it, just refused. I tried to slip it to the dog - she ran away. And who can forget the dreaded tuna noodle casserole? OTOH, she made the most delicious chocolate cake, and when we were really young, she would cut it up and reshape it into the most wonderful shapes, decorated so beautifully: an Easter bunny, a Christmas tree, whatever would suit the occasion. She had a little booklet that showed how to cut the cake and form the shapes, but she sure had an eye for the decorating. And the cookies! Christmas would start right after Thanksgiving, at least where the cookies were concerned. That was heaven! When I was growing up, I weighed next-to-nothing. Everyone thought I was a picky eater, and so did I. What I realized when I got older is, I was a picky eater - I wanted GOOD food! I also realized that my parents had very limited financial resources, so Mom did the best she could with what she had. And we always had plenty of food. And I'd gladly eat her ratatouille every night if I could have her back on earth with us. So if your mother is still making you weird foods, eat up! Enjoy the day! And take notes, even if they consist of what not to do! Thu Sep 11 17:42:53 -0700 2008 4001124 66030 lisavf 2 4030069 I was touched by your comments; we should all savor our moments with each other. Fri Sep 12 12:52:54 -0700 2008 4027921 12520 walker 1 4028255 My mom is actually a good cook -- she never over-steamed the brussels sprouts or served us lots of canned things. The only "weird" thing I can think of is her Chutney Cheese Paté, which was delicious! Maybe more 70s than weird, and no doubt a holdover from my grandma's days of catering with Narsai David. In any case, it involved cream cheese, sharp cheddar, major grey's chutney, chopped green onions, a touch of sherry . . . I'm not sure what else. Eaten on triscuits. Thu Sep 11 19:48:50 -0700 2008 4001124 57371 operagirl 2 4029763 Yes, there were a lot of cheese balls and doctored up cheese spreads in those good old pre-cholesterol days. Ramaki, anyone? Fri Sep 12 11:22:31 -0700 2008 4028255 71215 mlgb 1 4032829 Some perspective first... My mom was raised by parents who were born and raised in Kilbotn, Norway, which is up above the arctic circle. They were fishermen. My mother's favorite meal to this day, and my least, is a plate of boiled white fish balls; boiled, peeled new potatoes; and white gravy served on a Melmac plate and had with a large glass of milk. I realize other cultures, including the French, enjoy all-white meals but this one is my nemesis. Sat Sep 13 17:12:09 -0700 2008 4001124 114006 HuaGung 2 4033445 Fiskeboller med hvit saus! Needs a little Tabasco. I miss the smobrod and a polser (hot dog) with shrimp salad dumped on top. I once wrapped a can of fish balls for a Chrismas gift exchange. He he he. Sun Sep 14 04:25:15 -0700 2008 4032829 93538 Passadumkeg 2 4711257 In desperate need of bird chilies, coconut, dried shrimp, lime and cilantro. Or at least herbs d' provence. No, scratch that. Bird chilies, coconut, dried shrimp, lime and cilantro. Sun May 24 14:39:11 -0700 2009 4032829 40486 Cinnamon 1 4032970 Kidneys -- my mother came from the South and used every part of the animal. While I was okay with the taste, cooking them involved (I think) combined vinegar to counteract ammonia in the organs. Revolting! Sat Sep 13 18:26:50 -0700 2008 4001124 147093 Seeker19104 2 4033127 Vinegar revolting? Seriously? I guess it's a matter of personal taste. I love cooking with vinegar. There's a classic bean soup (green or yellow beans) my grandma made that contained a combination of sour cream AND vinegar. Sublime. Sat Sep 13 20:02:26 -0700 2008 4032970 116047 The Professor 3 4033175 Don't know anything about cooking kidneys, but surely agree with you, Professor, that vinegar is great. Can think of little else with so many uses. As mentioned in an earlier post, I love it used in lieu of mayo to make deviled eggs & potato salad (as my grandmother did). Couldn't get by without it in pickling of all sorts, various cooking, and it is my "seasoning of choice" for so many foods - greens, cabbage, okra, beets, any type field peas, some beans, some fresh pork, etc., etc. Tuna salad has to have a little vinegar added to it. There's its uses in salads and dressings. And all these uses apply to just plain apple cider or distilled white vinegars; not considering all one does with what I call all the "fancy", "specialty" vinegars. And its good for all sorts of cleaning. Sat Sep 13 20:42:17 -0700 2008 4033127 224123 foodisgreat 4 4033546 mmmm, fresh boiled field peas (with snaps) cooked with some rendered bacon pieces, plus a splash of texas pete's pepper-vinegar at the table! http://www.texaspete.com/product_peppersauce.html served with a hot hoecake. man, that is some fine eatin'. and eatin'.....and eatin'..... ;-P Sun Sep 14 06:35:02 -0700 2008 4033175 105717 alkapal 5 4033656 You are so right about those field peas (all are good but my favorite are purple hulls), alkapal. And they absolutely must have some pepper vinegar or just plain vinegar sprinkled over them before that first bite. Vinegar or pepper vinegar is even more essential for greens & cabbage. And after our beets and okra are cooked, vinegar is poured over them in their serving bowls & they are served that way (little butter also added to hot okra to melt). And any of those vegetables absolutely must have some sort of cornbread (any type of it) to accompany them. Cornbread crumbled into pea "pot likker" with little vinegar added to it to kinda "curdle" it, is so good that I can do fine with that after the peas have all been eaten - or if the peas are about to run out, others can have the peas as I'd just as soon have the pot likker, cornbread, vinegar "mess". Like you said, alkapal, all this is some fine, fine eatin'. Sun Sep 14 07:53:42 -0700 2008 4033546 224123 foodisgreat 6 4033890 oh yeah, crumbling in cornbread to the pot likker is mandatory. my favorites are cream peas! http://www.ajc.com/living/content/living/food/stories/2008/07/22/cooking_field_peas.html i could probably polish off a pound of the things. trouble is, you have to keep the amount of the hoecake or cornbread in "balance" with the remaining amount of peas, so if you have too much of one, you have to add to/"top off" the other. a lovely vicious cycle! Sun Sep 14 09:47:21 -0700 2008 4033656 105717 alkapal 7 4034977 You are certainly 100 per cent correct, alkapal, in your praise of cornbread crumbled into pea pot likker (good in greens pot likker but better in that of peas). My dad was like you, with cream peas being his favorite, but somehow I like purple hulls best of all. However, all field peas are so wonderfully delicious it really doesn't much matter what kind I have. And you are right about the problem of balancing the proportions of peas & pot likker (or just pot likker if all the peas are gone) with the cornbread. I fear at times I am guilty of purposely getting the mixture out of balance as an excuse for adding more of one or the other & thereby getting more of the total to eat. Of course this mixture then has to be tempered with a little vinegar to make it "curdle" just right. Oh, so good!!! Sun Sep 14 18:50:48 -0700 2008 4033890 224123 foodisgreat 7 4863323 Anything creamed is food of the Gods! My favorites are creamed peas, creamed brussel sprouts, and creamed chip beef. Still make them. Thu Jul 16 05:31:33 -0700 2009 4033890 276203 recipelover 4 5158892 Vinegar also makes a great antiseptic if you get a cut or scratch and don't have anything else on hand to disinfect it. That is what my Mom always used when one of her cats accidentally scratched her. Also, if someone in the house had a cold or the flu, sliced onions in saucers in every room, especially in the sick one's room. No one else ever got the cold or flu..She said the onions attracted and absorbed the germs. I do know no one was ever sick for long! Thu Nov 05 13:04:45 -0800 2009 4033175 1116627 RavenWilde 5 5159136 ever read Angela's Ashes by the late Frank McCourt? Onion boiled in milk was a home remedy for, I believe, croup mentioned. Thu Nov 05 14:25:33 -0800 2009 5158892 163722 hill food 3 5164281 Vinegar is one of the foods I'd have to have if marooned on the proverbial desert island. We make the bean soup as well, it's good with or without vinegar, but better with. My family also makes what Grandma called Club soup, or sour soup. Diced potatoes, onions, and (raw) meatballs cooked in just enough water to cover. When they're done, round out the broth with some whole milk, then add vinegar to taste. Looks disgusting, tastes wonderful. I make it for my brothers and cousin at Christmas, the only problem is making sure the one brother doesn't sneak out the door with the whole batch... Sat Nov 07 19:19:54 -0800 2009 4033127 1122616 sccrash 1 4033672 Did anyone mention shake n bake? I had this quite a lot growing up, whether chicken or pork chop. It was usually accompanied by scalloped potato (par boiled spuds with packet of mushroom soup and water) and corn. I have to admit that I loved it and would get Mom to make it for me now if we could get shake n bake here in Ireland. Sun Sep 14 08:01:11 -0700 2008 4001124 92663 tracey McAllister 2 4035001 This is a great thread. I feel lucky but like some others have mentioned a bit seprived as my Mom was a good cook, not fancy but very solid. The one thing I thought was weird was the pile of cottage cheese with an up-turned half of canned pear that was filled with mayo...never quite "got" that and never really liked it Sun Sep 14 19:02:43 -0700 2008 4033672 96905 bubbles4me 3 4035293 bubbles: that is a classic 1962 Home Ec class/1953 Good Housekeeping magazine recipe. now that iceburg lettuce wedge and bleu cheese have come back, that can't be far behind. ick. only worse was the version with a canned peach and the mayo mixed into the cottage cheese. Sun Sep 14 22:58:02 -0700 2008 4035001 163722 hill food 4 4035305 hill food, Makes sense as Mom was born in 1945....why oh why would they mix mayo in the already fatty cottage cheese?! Oh my....she always served that pear thing with pot pies, smelled the pies I knew there were mayo pears in my future. I used to sneak into the kitchen and slice bell peppers very thin and dress them with red wine vineager, garlic powder, salt and pepper to fill myself up before the pears arrived....funny thing is now I cannot stand bell peppers, (green ones) too many pears and mayo I guess. She also made this dish in the crock pot, browned stew meat, tomato sauce and paste, sour cream and a TON of bay leaf....served it over rice...hated it like poison. Sun Sep 14 23:10:38 -0700 2008 4035293 96905 bubbles4me 5 4035349 oh God, the SO and I were joking earlier tonight about mine maybe making a pot roast to a similar effect. curdled was our prediction. actually though if your mom's had been wrapped in cabbage leaves then baked (not crock potted) in tomato sauce and the sour cream added last, that sounds like goluptsi (SP?) and pretty good. I do however curse the person that introduced the crock pot to the general public. it's like the gun cvontroversy, appliances don't kill meals... Mon Sep 15 00:20:08 -0700 2008 4035305 163722 hill food 5 4035445 my mom called this a "pear salad": one leaf nice crisp iceberg lettuce, one canned pear half, upturned, one small scoop cottage cheese (winn-dixie is her fave brand), one-half maraschino cherry (if you want to be fancy). that is classic cafeteria food. i don't recall mayo with the cottage cheese, but sometimes just a pear with a little dollop of mayo was the "pear salad". my granddaddy liked canned cling peach halves with cottage cheese. it is tasty. not something i ever make, but i would happily eat it if served the dish at someone's home! Mon Sep 15 04:09:39 -0700 2008 4035305 105717 alkapal 6 4066983 I love peaches and cottage cheese....My husband's grandmother mixes cottage cheese with ripe tomatoes, celery and sometimes, bell peppers....this salad is actually really delish and refreshing. Sat Sep 27 21:37:57 -0700 2008 4035445 206111 bythebayov 7 4069187 bythebayov, oh, yeah, i know that salad -- with cukes, too! it is a filling, nutritional dish -- but guilt-free! love it with lawrey's seasoned salt, maybe a splash of rice wine vinegar, maybe some fresh chopped chives or green onion. i'm tasting that now in my mind! ;-P btw, is it intentional your screen name ends with a "v" and not a "u"? your blog is nice. the tuna looked awesome, and your pic with the philly cheesesteak is hilarious! good to know a hound down around hampton roads! Mon Sep 29 05:59:17 -0700 2008 4066983 105717 alkapal 8 4069303 No, I live in an area called oceanview and OV is the abreviation for this area, hence the ov :-) Will have to try the salad your way...sounds awesome! thanks for the comments and glad you liked the blog. think you are reader # 5 now :-) I am def a hound and it's great to meet you too! Ps. The cheesesteak challenge was "wicked fun" Mon Sep 29 06:57:46 -0700 2008 4069187 206111 bythebayov 9 4069317 good screen name! and enjoy that salad while summer produce is still so wonderful-- try the lawrey's on it. (i think cottage cheese is one of the few dishes i use it on...) Mon Sep 29 07:03:50 -0700 2008 4069303 105717 alkapal 1 4064826 Not my mother, but my paternal grandmother, and two of my aunts on my dad's side make ricewurst. Which I am guessing somewhere along the line was a traditional recipe, probably much adulterated. I can remember my grandmother telling me that her family used to make it with offal as well but she couldn't stand it that way. It's made from rice, various spices and the meat from a pig's head. It's put in a loaf pan and the individual slices are fried slowly and served with white bread. My mum ate it until she got a piece with a bit of shot in it...and hasn't had any since. Fri Sep 26 17:34:23 -0700 2008 4001124 226034 marielee 2 4066019 The ricewurst sounds great...much like the Hurka sausage my grandma made (with the offal...and it was delicious). The only difference would be that my grandma's was stuffed into a casing. Sat Sep 27 11:13:30 -0700 2008 4064826 116047 The Professor 3 4089197 If I remember correctly the original family recipe had kidneys in it. She had a phobia about eating Kidneys. Which is strange really as I have memories of eated corned tounge and crumbed brains at my grandmothers! Tue Oct 07 17:02:49 -0700 2008 4066019 226034 marielee 1 4066977 My mother made scones, beautiful scones...with garlic salt! She is convinced she is a good baker and she is, but will, on occasion, add salt instead of sugar (by accident of course) to a recipe or will omit a crucial component to a dish then serve it like nothing's happened. I love me mother :-) Sat Sep 27 21:33:38 -0700 2008 4001124 206111 bythebayov 1 4069830 With the exception of wonderful homemade pie, my mom was a terrible cook when I was a kid. She used to serve brown-n-serve rolls with dinner a few times a week, but we called them black bottom rolls because we honestly thought that particular style of bread was supposed to be served with a burnt bottom that you peeled off to get to the soft, doughy interior. She's come a long way, and now is a pretty good cook, though still a little hesitant in the kitchen, which kind of makes me feel bad for teasing her about the rolls. In other bread related oddities, we always referred to the 2 ends of a loaf as the heel and the toe, because it always seemed wrong that a loaf would have to heels. Mon Sep 29 09:55:38 -0700 2008 4001124 135311 mpjmph 1 4099379 This is the best thread!! I've been laughing for a half hour....OK a couple of my all time most hated dishes: Mom's Meatloaf - Make a regular meatloaf recipie but bury 3 hardboiled eggs in the center of the meatloaf and then bake. This dish taught me to hate meatloaf to this day. When she would serve it, the eggs would have broken apart and the broken pieces would be hard as rocks. The baking also magnified the taste of the eggs which somehow tasted rotten to me. The eggs also tinted the meatloaf a yellow color. YUK. Hillbilly Pancakes - I have to give my ex-father-in-law the credit for this culinary horror. In a large cast iron pan, fry up a pound of bacon. When the bacon is almost done (do not remove bacon grease), add 3 eggs per person until over-cooked. Finally, cover the entire greasy mess with enough pancake batter to come halfway up the pan. Cut and serve when done. Can you even imagine what a greasy, salty, disgusting breakfast this made? He loved it and we had to pretend because it was his "specialty". Sun Oct 12 11:45:14 -0700 2008 4001124 45440 joschus 2 4099864 wow...the hillbilly pancakes do sound a bit much. Moreso in the execution rather than the ingredients. I do love hardboiled eggs buried in a meatloaf though...it's classic, and delicious. Sun Oct 12 16:59:34 -0700 2008 4099379 116047 The Professor 2 4100591 i was thinking of the poor eggs in that "pancake" dish, too. did your parents have an anti-egg bent? ;-) Mon Oct 13 06:23:37 -0700 2008 4099379 105717 alkapal 3 4101568 Hi! The Hillbilly Pancakes were my ex Father-In-Law's "specialty". I don't believe my mother would have ever thought up that horrible dish! But, you never know! Mon Oct 13 12:54:44 -0700 2008 4100591 45440 joschus 4 4102884 sorry joschus, i didn't think clearly. Tue Oct 14 06:27:21 -0700 2008 4101568 105717 alkapal 1 4100859 My dad was famous for his American Chop Suey: ground beef, tomato sauce, onions, peppers, mushrooms and elbow macaroni. My mom made us kids egg noodles with pan fried hot dogs, parsley, butter and parmesan cheese. I have to admit, I eat both of these things atleast once or twice a year...they're too good to be forgotten! Mon Oct 13 08:21:23 -0700 2008 4001124 220914 krisrishere 1 4100995 For holiday parties: mini hot dogs in a heated sauce of grape jelly and yellow mustard. Seriously good! Mon Oct 13 09:16:25 -0700 2008 4001124 92256 pang 1 4101607 One of my mom's classics: "Hot Dogs and Noodles" Cut up an onion, and throw it in a pot with a large can of stewed tomatoes and some cut-up Oscar Meyer hot dogs. Serve over shell pasta with Kraft parmesan cheese. Another classic was Stroganoff made with ground beef, mushrooms, a can of cream of mushroom soup and some sour cream, served over shell pasta. Actually, my mom was and still is a great cook... but she didn't feel like spending all night cooking dinner after working full time. Sometimes I still crave her "classics." Mon Oct 13 13:06:38 -0700 2008 4001124 228042 sadiefox 1 4106216 Was anyone ever served this dish with no name: Franco American spaghetti from a can combined with ground beef and canned peas? Truly a bad one-pot miracle born of necessity, I hope. Wow, it was the pits... Wed Oct 15 11:05:31 -0700 2008 4001124 223498 mustardsally 1 4106970 When I was growing up in the 60's there was a special on tv about a possible relationship of eating a diet high in red meat and cancer. Well, that was all my mother had to hear. From then on it was chicken every night to the point that one night my father started to "cluck" and he said, "I can't take one more piece of chicken". So while she was on this chicken binge that lasted I think for years she cooked something quite exotic at the time called either polynesian or hawaiian chicken. I remember the canned pineapple rings and maraschino cherries (red dye #2 anyone?) Huge surprise after my father died (at a very young age of cancer) she became macrobiotic. Wed Oct 15 15:46:07 -0700 2008 4001124 22620 DaisyM 1 4110794 My mom is actually a very good cook. She didn't have a lot of time to cook, working FT and with three kids and my dad to cook for, but she used fresh foods as much as possible and rarely bought packaged or frozen meals. However, she can eat the same thing over and over and over, so at one point growing up we had zucchini (mostly sauteed with onions or steamed) every day for at least two years. She denies it, but it's taken me a long time to get back into zucchini. We also had spaghetti a lot, usually with a quick, from-canned-tomatoes-and-leftover-vegetables sauce, sometimes with cubes of leftover meatloaf or chicken. Economical and fairly healthy the way she did it ... but not so appealing many, many times later, esp. as a kid. Other kinds of pasta I'm fine with, but I still don't really like spaghetti, even when cooked differently. (shrug) ... luckily she's made a lot of great things too, like crunchy chicken, which was chicken coated in yogurt (and sometimes lemon juice) and then tossed in crushed crackers or cornflakes or something, or fabulous roast chicken, or chocolate cake, or grilled or roasted salmon, or potato salad with both mayo and plain yogurt (and other stuff). Fun thread to read. Thanks for starting it Alkapal. Have any of y'all read "Tender at the Bone," by Ruth Reichl? This is the story of her childhood and her mother's weird cooking, and how she ended up in the food world. Great read. Fri Oct 17 08:44:10 -0700 2008 4001124 10666 Chocolatechipkt 2 4119007 thanks for the tip...Im always looking for good foodie books :-) Tue Oct 21 12:13:18 -0700 2008 4110794 206111 bythebayov 1 4119944 My mother is not a horrible cook, but not a great one either. Mom learned to cook for defensive reasons because Grandma was simply awful in the kitchen, but she never became really good at it. She's lost her sense of smell too, so she's actually lost interest in cooking. However, she did have recipes I remember loving as a kid. They were usually reserved for special events, celebrations, or for having guests over. One dish was Hawaiian Ham, which involved cubed ham (usually leftover from a whole cooked ham), green pepper cut in 1 inch squares, pineapple cubes, some onion, all in a sweet and sour sauce that involved pineapple juice from the can, brown sugar, powdered Keen's mustard, vinegar and corn starch. This was served over white rice. The other dish was Pepper Steak: strips of round, strips of red and green bell pepper, onion, sautéed in a deep pot. Once cooked, add a sauce made from broth, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, other things I forget and corn starch. This too was served on rice. Hawaiian Ham and Pepper Steak remain among my mom's Special Day dishes to this day! Oh and the appetizer is usually shrimp cocktail or avocado salad with shrimp served in the cleaned out avocado skin. I think she recently remade that bizarre salad that involves fruit cocktail, sour cream, and other weird stuff for some friends and they loved it (they'd never had it before). As a child, I remember one of my two favourite suppers was Swiss Fondue. I loved when we'd pull out the caquelon pot, put fuel in the little burner, cut up chewy baguette bread. The other big fave was pancakes for supper when the family did not really feel inspired. Usually it was a cold day. My mom would make the batter, my father would man the big cast iron pan and I'd man the small cast iron pan. Pancakes with maple syrup for supper were the BEST! LOL Tue Oct 21 18:28:16 -0700 2008 4001124 203842 TheSnowpea 2 4120554 snowpea, this is so sweet: "My mom would make the batter, my father would man the big cast iron pan and I'd man the small cast iron pan." thanks for sharing that wonderful, joyous, loving picture with us. Wed Oct 22 05:00:31 -0700 2008 4119944 105717 alkapal 2 4123345 thesnowpea, Thanks for sharing your pancake story, it was very sweet and may just make me give them a try again....my pancake story is that when my mother and I fell on a very hard time we lived on pancakes for 2 weeks straight....every meal and worst part, no maple syrup...Karo syrup....shudder. It has been 30 years since I touched a pancake but I may just give them another shot. Thu Oct 23 05:46:44 -0700 2008 4119944 96905 bubbles4me 3 4123434 snowpea and bubbles, your pancake stories are a lot more touching than my waffle story. I always had pretty good luck with pancakes so have no experiences with them to relate, but once was given old waffle iron by some friends I'd helped move. No instructions with it & I'd never made any waffles, but one cold, dreary, winter afternoon decided I'd make some waffles for supper. Went to store & got box of pancake & waffle mix, read instructions on package and made up recipe for what package said was for four waffles. Looked into waffle iron and saw four sections, thought that was what recipe was referring to, so poured entire batch I'd made up into waffle iron & closed lid. In just a bit that top started rising and waffle batter started flowing out of all sides of the waffle iron. I started trying to wipe it up from counter top but just couldn't keep up with it - it was running into sink, onto floor, down the counter, against the wall - just everywhere. Put a couple of trash cans around to try to catch some of it running onto floor and kept wiping & scooping a while, but finally just gave up, went over & sat in chair & waited till all had finished running everywhere. Then cleaned up the mess & the waffle iron, made some pancakes with remaining mix, & had rather unenjoyable supper. The dismal weather didn't help matters either. Have never attempted to make waffles since (other than those at motel breakfasts). Stupid me didn't know the amount of batter I'd made & poured into iron all at once was meant for four different pourings. Snowpea, I like pancakes, but feel for you with nothing but pancakes to eat for two weeks straight - and with Karo syrup to go on them! At least I hope it was dark Karo rather than clear Karo. And did you have any butter or margarine to go on them? If you do decide to do pancakes again now, I hope that you really, really enjoy them. Thu Oct 23 06:26:46 -0700 2008 4123345 224123 foodisgreat 4 4123462 My bad, apologies - I said Snowpea, but see it was you, Bubbles, and not Snowpea who had the two weeks exclusive pancake diet. Bubbles, I do hope that any current pancake adventures are most delicious and enjoyable. Thu Oct 23 06:38:02 -0700 2008 4123434 224123 foodisgreat 4 4124262 foodisgreat, your "ever overflowing" waffle batter story reminds me of when i had a summer rental apartment, and had no dishwasher soap -- only liquid dish soap, which i put in the dishwasher. . the dishwasher was like a monster with rabies, foaming and foaming and foaming at the seams -- billowing foam all over the kitchen floor. it musti've been going on for at least half an hour, and by the time i noticed it, it was too late to stop the onslaught. there was probably a foot and a half of foam all over the small kitchen vinyl floor. the dreaded foam monster even began to encroach into the adjacent carpeted living room. i don't remember how many towels it took to clean up that soapy mess! Thu Oct 23 11:32:10 -0700 2008 4123434 105717 alkapal 5 4126217 alkapal, this sounds like more similarities in our backgrounds, unfortunately so in these instances, but as bad as my waffle experience was, your dishwasher experience was even worse. Condolences! Fortunately, neither of our experiences as bad as that of friends who recently had washing machine malfunction while they gone, flooding nearly entire house and requiring replacement of most carpet, tile, & hardwood flooring in the home. Guess the old saying about "as bad off as you are, you can always find someone in even worse shape" is true in all these cases. Fri Oct 24 08:12:10 -0700 2008 4124262 224123 foodisgreat 3 4129213 Making pancakes' a family thing! And it's funny how for example my husband and I have different pancake styles. Mine are dense and eggy crêpes, and my husband makes a more American style I guess, thick and fluffy. Having to eat them for 2 weeks straight might prove a challenge. I have NO clue what karo syrup might be like, and I get the hunch I don't wanna try! LOL Besides, I live in Quebec. Anything else than "real" syrup, AKA maple, is anathema! But perhaps it IS indeed time to reconnect with family with a pancake supper! As for the stories below, I'm both amused and horrified at the overflowing waffle makers and dishwashers! I've seen a rabid dishwasher. NOT a pretty sight :-0 Sat Oct 25 20:41:40 -0700 2008 4123345 203842 TheSnowpea 4 4132683 The Snowpea - Sounds like pancakes are quite the thing in your family, and hope you all get to soon experience that good family pancake supper. My pancakes are more along the lines of your husband's. Talking with friend today who is active in Kiwanis Club (a civic club); they are busy preparing for their annual day long pancake breakfast (an annual charity fund raising event) later this week. Karo Syrup is a corn based syrup. Tho there are some other varieties now which I think are more suitable as an "eating" syrup, their classics are light & dark Karo which are, in my opinion at least, more suited to cooking (have you ever heard of Karo Pecan Pie?) than eating. Agree with you about the pure maple syrup and am looking forward to (at least hoping for) my annual Christmas gift of such. If pure maple isn't available, there are several other syrups I prefer to Karo for pancakes & waffles. Be careful and avoid overflowing machines of all sorts. Mon Oct 27 14:55:35 -0700 2008 4129213 224123 foodisgreat 5 4137190 Actually, my parents and I haven't had pancakes that way in years. I think it's time to revive the tradition, with the addition of my husband. I don't know if we can fit three cooks around the stove but perhaps we should try! LOL Wed Oct 29 14:50:00 -0700 2008 4132683 203842 TheSnowpea 6 4137812 TheSnowpea, hope you can get all those family cooks around that stove and whip up the best batch of pancakes you all have ever had. Let us know how this meal turns out. And think I'm going to be doing some pancakes this weekend myself. Wed Oct 29 20:43:37 -0700 2008 4137190 224123 foodisgreat 1 4124902 My mother was not a good cood, but she tried her best. I still remember her "Tofu Lasagna", and frozen brocolli cooked in a pressure cooker along with beef liver cooked to the consistance of show leather. I still make her "Spanish Rice" and Chile when the weather turns cool. Thu Oct 23 15:09:16 -0700 2008 4001124 155855 MARISKANY 1 4137878 Actually mom was an excellent cook. I don't remember anything being weird. But, my ex-MIL was another story. Spaghetti and sauce consisted of over cooked spaghetti and 2 cans of Campbells tomato soup. No meat or spices. On the side was buttered bread. Meatloaf was the same. Meat, s&p, and some onion. Campbells tomato soup on the top. She wasn't the type to try anything new or different... such as spices!! Wed Oct 29 22:05:50 -0700 2008 4001124 235787 CadienBelle 1 4140263 anyone have the halved grapefruit, with brown sugar on top and put under the broiler? growing up in florida, we had this somewhat frequently. i think it was popular in the '60's. it is good. Fri Oct 31 05:31:23 -0700 2008 4001124 105717 alkapal 2 4146302 oh we had that lots - and I grew up in PA. I think it was a cheap (there were 9 of us, also in the 60s) and good for you dessert. The funny family story was my brother, at about 5 years of age, instructing a waitress how to make it when it wasn't on the menu at a local diner! Mon Nov 03 09:51:11 -0800 2008 4140263 76938 Bigley9 2 5035045 I had that for breakfast this summer at the Opryland hotel, and I really liked it!!!!! Wed Sep 16 14:32:47 -0700 2009 4140263 124908 jeanmarieok 1 4144014 My mother is a fantastic cook, but when my parents divorced when I was about 12, money was tight and she had to get well, creative. One that I particularly remember was browned ground beef mixed with canned green chiles serves over rice was "Scoopee Over Rice." For some reason we called Finger Steaks "Meat in a Pan" instead. To this day I admire her ability to open the fridge, check the pantry, and be able to have great dinner on the table. Although she is a great cook, she makes a lot of comfort food from her childhood. Stuff that's already mentioned here. Campbells Chicken Gumbo mixed with ground beef on buns for Chickburgers, Manwich out of a can, Sh!t on a Shingle (though she does do homemade bechamel with the canned chicken), and the bane of my existence, goulash. Pasta, canned tomatoes, ground beef, sugar. I know its something her mother made, and my whole family loves it except me. Ironically, I think my stepfather married her for this haha. He's always telling his friends at work how his wife makes the best spaghetti, and a few months ago he volunteered her to make some for a potluck. My mom refused--she KNOWS how flavorless it is, its just comfort food for her lol. Her spaghetti sauce does include brown gravy mix though, which I've never seen anyone else do. One story that always gets brought up, and reflects more on my mom than me: I was a pretty adventurous eater as a kid, but I was all about the iceburg. One time my mom put some sort of green leaf lettuce on my sandwich, and when she caught me taking it off she told me I needed to eat it. When I didn't I got sent to my room to pout. A little later she called me out telling me she had fixed my sandwich. I came out to find a good four inch layer of lettuce between my two slices of Roman Meal. Talk about a meltdown... My mom, ever the jokester, thought she was hilarious. And of course my three brothers and sister at the table joined in in the pointing and laughing. Sun Nov 02 07:20:30 -0800 2008 4001124 179970 meleyna 2 4150581 meleyna, i love that lettuce sandwich story! now, was there mayo on that roman meal bread? btw, does ANYONE remember the sliced sandwich bread called "monk's bread" -- a white, fine textured dense loaf with a unique flavor (a little sweet/malty?). it made such good sandwiches. there was a faux-monk's bread that came back in the '80's, but it wasn't the same! ;-( Wed Nov 05 05:20:22 -0800 2008 4144014 105717 alkapal 3 4150868 oh, look, monks' bread is still around: https://monksbread.com/cart/index.php?p=catalog&parent=1&pg=1 apparently, it has been made since 1953, but i think they changed their recipe from when i was growing up in the '60's and '70's. i never see it in my stores these days, but maybe will ask so they can stock it. Wed Nov 05 08:20:24 -0800 2008 4150581 105717 alkapal 3 4150880 bigley, that is a precious picture! did they get it for him? ;-) Wed Nov 05 08:26:28 -0800 2008 4150581 105717 alkapal 4 4158725 no I believe they thought him quite the spoiled boy! Mom made it the next day though! Sat Nov 08 15:21:34 -0800 2008 4150880 76938 Bigley9 1 4158752 My mom used to make this pork chop dinner, that was just sauteed pork chop and onions, then smothered in a sauce made of equal parts of ketchup and water. And depending on whether we had mashed potatoes with it, or not, determined how much ketchup and water was used, because those pan dripping were drizzled over the mashed potatoes. I thought it was really really awful once I became a teenager, but I have to confess that my husband loves it now. My dad was a terrible griller. His idea of barbecued chicken was chicken boiled until rubber, then grilled until the barbecue sauce was burned black and charr-y. Once I was married, my husband took over the grilling from my dad. My mom admits that she doesn't let him grill at all anymore, since he doesn't have the knack for it. Or maybe it's just those manhattens he's always swilling while he's grilling..... Sat Nov 08 15:36:43 -0800 2008 4001124 124908 jeanmarieok 2 4159376 My grandmother used to fry pork chops and then add a mixture of ketchup and orange juice and simmer a while -- made the chops nice and tender. I should try it again some time. Sun Nov 09 03:07:15 -0800 2008 4158752 12520 walker 1 4164649 My mom tried to sneak veggies into our meals. Once when I was pretty small, probably about 4, she heard from who knows where that bean sprouts could replace some of the noodles in "spaghetti" (ground beef in tomato sauce, blargh) I don't know what she was thinking but she did made spaghetti with bean sprouts. I and my 2-year-old brother refused to eat it and were sent to bed without dinner. Later we were caught snacking on graham crackers in the linen closet and she took pity on us and made us sandwiches. We never had bean sprout spaghetti again. Tue Nov 11 09:43:49 -0800 2008 4001124 195337 sarahjay 2 4186097 My mom is not a great cook. At best, she's merely adequate. She thinks she's pretty great, though. So does my dad. I think his mother must have been a terrible cook, so it was probably a big step up for him when he met my mom. For my entire childhood and into young adulthood I loathed salmon. My mother only shopped at a Jewish meat shop. Nothing was truly kosher, but the selections were in keeping with Jewish tradition, so there was no pork or seafood. The only fish types available were whitefish, pike, carp, perhaps sole or flounder and salmon. My mother would bring home salmon, place it in a 9X9 pyrex baking dish, put a couple of spoons of margarine on top, then sprinkle with some tasteless ancient dried herb, possibly tarrragon or dill, but who could tell for sure? She'd cover the dish with cling film, turn back one corner or stab the film with a fork, then nuke the crap out of it in the microwave. What emerged several minutes later was always rubbery and tasted fishy. What was odd was that sometimes she'd open a can of sockeye salmon, remove the skin and bones, then make salmon patties for my dad. Only he ate them. The rest of us thought the smell was vile. The joke to me is that there was virtually no difference in fishy smell between the nuked salmon fillets and the canned and fried patties. I love salmon today in sushi, lox, or a lightly steamed fillet done with ginger, green onions and sake or sherry and a bit of sesame oil. If it's cooked all the way through, though, no matter who cooks it, the memories of overcooked, rubbery catfood come rushing right back. My parents have finally moved up in the world ... from nuking to grilling, on their George Foreman grill. They think anything grilled on that thing is manna. Whatever floats their boat, I guess. I'm just glad the days of margarine, dried tarragon and rubbery fish are over. Just in case they aren't, though, I never take a chance and eat at my parents' home anymore. I just take them out to a restaurant to "give mom a break from cooking" ... LOL! Wed Nov 19 09:56:14 -0800 2008 4164649 239809 1sweetpea 2 4705298 your mother and mine can never meet. Thu May 21 19:25:18 -0700 2009 4164649 163722 hill food 1 4186424 When I was a child in Minnesota 100 years ago my mother struggled to cook Chinese food in Norwegian country. Her version of mu-shi pork used pork and cabbage on buttermilk pancakes. And it was very tasty! Wed Nov 19 11:33:53 -0800 2008 4001124 186318 lihsiawang 2 4186725 LOL -- mu-shi pork with BUTTERMILK pancakes! but ya know, buttermilk pancakes could probably go well with just about anything. (i grew up lovin' mu-shi pork -- even made it a while back after diligently searching out the "golden lily threads"!). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moo_shu_pork Wed Nov 19 13:04:47 -0800 2008 4186424 105717 alkapal 1 4186545 My mom had a penchant for boiled tongue as well--she would make tongue sandwiches. As I come from a family that is large and Irish--she would eat pigs feet during her pregnancies--there were many pigs feet months growing up. On Fridays, we would never have meat due to religious reasons, so we always had sara lee fish cakes and spaghetti. My mom also made kidneys and eggs for breakfast--a lot! The weird thing was all us kids loved the kidney and egg breakfast. The weirdest dish she made was one that none of us liked, but she insisted on making it at least once a month--it was this awful concoction she called "Slumgullion" (no kidding--that was the name). Anyway, this slop consisted of: 1 box of elbow macaroni--naturally you MUST overcook the macaronis by a good 15 to 20 minutes. 1 can of DelMonte tomatoes (I don't even know if they even make Del Monte canned tomatoes anymore) 1 chopped pepper, sauteed. 1 pound of chopmeat--cooked till it has the consistency of rubber. Mix it all up and put in a big bowl and watch it disappear--you will watch for a long time! Its funny though, because to this day, despite some of the odder things my mom made, she did make the best roast on earth. The woman was a genius at timing--her roast beefs were perfectly rare and her legs of lamb and fresh hams were amazing. Now I'm getting kinda sad because I would love to be able to ask her for help but she doesn't even know me anymore--Alzheimer's has taken her mind and her spirit away. But thank you for giving me a few moments of good mom memories! I appreciate your post! Wed Nov 19 12:07:16 -0800 2008 4001124 239703 jarona 2 4186733 "As I come from a family that is large and Irish--she would eat pigs feet during her pregnancies." ________ a new pregnacy craving. i think there has to be some innate biological sensor that tells what a body needs at the time. i used to get a "rare roast beef" craving during that "time of the month." it is not so intense anymore. damn this aging process! but, i'm so sorry about the fact your mom has alzheimer's. it so robs people of their lives and good memories. my 86-year-old mom also suffers from a big memory loss. thanks for sharing. Wed Nov 19 13:09:07 -0800 2008 4186545 105717 alkapal 3 4187087 didn't matter what time of the month it was for me, I , to this day, can only eat very rare red meat. As far as pregnancy cravings go--thank God I did not follow my mother's pig feet wants. I craved pizza and listening to The Who. Wed Nov 19 14:50:23 -0800 2008 4186733 239703 jarona 4 4187104 i just thought of something, was it "we won't get fooled again"? heh heh. really, i don't think that way about children. no... really. hey, my best friend in college and i always had a running debate about beatles vs. the who. of course, i was right. ;-) (beatles. lovin' "polythene pam" -- one of THE BEST guitar solos ever, along with brian eno's "baby's on fire" ** -- truly -- just a coincidence. -- don't listen to the lyrics, unless you are in a snarky-momma mood). ** and, of course, derek and the dominos, "layla". and jimi. dang, stop it, girl! Wed Nov 19 14:56:51 -0800 2008 4187087 105717 alkapal 5 4187628 (for all you foodie aficianados....the fripp-e is here -- think frappe without the accent mark, which i still cannot do)! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvPHbbUwVU8&feature=related -- you know, that name just might be a little prophetic! ;-). btw, i can't get a complete "pam".... (as in "Well you should see Parmesan Pam She's so good-looking but she looks like a ham Well you should see her in drag dressed in her shrink-wrappy bag Yes you should see Parmesan Pam Yeah yeah yeah...."). hounds, work with me here..... Wed Nov 19 18:39:15 -0800 2008 4187104 105717 alkapal 2 4187361 Chinese eat pigs feet AFTER the birth.... :-) Our house does a variation of the slumgullion - ground beef, tomato sauce (well, I throw in a can of El Pato), sliced onions and some form of pasta - but I prefer the pasta al dente!....That's a frequent lunch request in our house and in fact the leftovers get sent off with a college kid as it's her favorite lunch, too! I'm somewhat in the same boat with the dementia thing - I've got to start playing with Mom's famous short rib recipe - I think I know it, but have yet to execute it.....It's the right weather for it and I'm facing an impending layoff, so I'll have more time to play in the kitchen for awhile.... Wed Nov 19 16:36:14 -0800 2008 4186545 128485 smalt 3 4711281 Thank you SO much for including a "the" in your first sentence. Sun May 24 14:47:26 -0700 2009 4187361 40486 Cinnamon 1 4186879 i don't know if i mentioned my mom's salmon patties. i loved them so much, i'd scarf them from the paper towel next to the cast iron skillet, while they were really hot. every now and then, i'll make some. they bring good memories, and that is part of our personal food tradition, isn't it? i think a major part of our food preferences is just purely childhood nostalgia -- when the world was not so scary and unsettling. then again, i crave thai food, and had nothing like it growing up. the Good Lord has blessed us with so many tasty things to eat. one of His major gifts is GARLIC! Wed Nov 19 13:52:25 -0800 2008 4001124 105717 alkapal 1 4191347 My mom made me olive and cream cheese sandwiches. and when I was growing up chili was made with buttered bread on the side vice cornbread. Her salads were so bland. A chopped cucumber, shredded carrot and iceberg lettuce.. Praise Jesus I realized there were real salads out there that didn't follow that form. While the spaghetti growing up was a decent red sauce with meat, every once in a while she did the crazy melt a piece of cheese on top. Other than that I grew up with a lot of German food like sausages with sauerkraut.. She made some craziness called "Chicken Divan" too which I've only ever seen on that Paula Deen show. Ridiculous, it's like a sauce of curry powder, cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, mayo and cheddar over chicken and broccoli and served with rice. Heart attack, anyone? Fri Nov 21 06:49:38 -0800 2008 4001124 227117 haolebaby 2 4191419 one of my fave sandwiches is green olive and pimento cream cheese (made by mincing the pimento-stuffed olives into softened cream cheese) spread on good pumpernickel bread with rare roast beef, grilled until the cheese is melty. try my mom's meatballs with kraut, to compare: http://www.chow.com/recipes/13527 my salads from mom (i made them, but these were the ingredients) were tomato (but GOOD tomato), crunchy cukes and iceberg. sometimes fresh bell pepper rings. tomatoes had to be cut in chunks, and not wedges. served usually with thousand island dressing, or french dressing. you got shredded carrot? that was only when i got "fancy" and added it! ;-) Fri Nov 21 07:24:37 -0800 2008 4191347 105717 alkapal 3 4229255 Wow- I grew up with cream cheese and olives, and we ate rare roast beef, but never together - Is this grilled like a grilled cheese or under the broiler? I think I may have to go buy the makings for that sandwich! Mon Dec 08 09:29:16 -0800 2008 4191419 76938 Bigley9 4 4231403 bigley, that is done on the grill, like grilled cheese. do two versions, one with toasting the bread first, one without. i think toasted lightly helps the sandwich hold up better. but i wouldn't butter the outside of the bread like is done with some grilled sandwiches; maybe just add a little neutral oil or butter in the skillet. it is soul-satisfyin'! i'm sure you'll enjoy it. i like the harris teeter brand "london broil" or dietz and watson rare roast beef. (in fact, it may be time for a deli run tomorrow! ;-). Mon Dec 08 21:41:08 -0800 2008 4229255 105717 alkapal 2 4202299 I grew up with cream cheese and olive... I would always pick the olives off and eat them, then throw the rest away. Also was subjected to my dad's specialty of hot dogs mixed with scrambled eggs and "beef stew"--one can of tomato sauce with some frozen peas and carrots and stew beef thrown in, cook until the beef is no longer raw but far from edible.... I took over the cooking when I got to high school. Thank god. Tue Nov 25 18:48:34 -0800 2008 4191347 199713 sivang 1 4232561 It seems like a lot of people ate cream cheese & jelly or cream cheese & olive/pimento sandwiches but I remember my mom making cream cheese and pistachio nut sandwiches. So delicious.... My mom is a decent cook but my dad doesn't like a lot of spices (hates garlic, doesn't like onions, doesn't like any salad dressing) so we didn't get a lot of flavor or variety in most dinners. It was the standard meat, vegetable, potatoe fare. I also recently found out that at 61 years old, my mom has never had Mexican food and never plans to. It's a miracle that I don't have a ton of food issues! :) Tue Dec 09 10:15:55 -0800 2008 4001124 239731 scarletfan 2 4234807 your mom's attitude toward mexican food reminds me of this guy i knew in law school. once at a party, when i was explaining how easy it was to make (delicious) guacamole, he sniffed, "i don't *approve* of mexican cuisine." oh no, he didn't just say that, did he?!? i couldn't believe how incredibly stupid he was! i laughed in his face. i laugh about it to this day! ps, tom, i hope you "got with the program," bro. Wed Dec 10 05:03:19 -0800 2008 4232561 105717 alkapal 3 4705311 alka: I'm sure millions of people are distraught over this revelation... yeesh, where does one come up with such an approach? Thu May 21 19:28:51 -0700 2009 4234807 163722 hill food 4 4706016 inbred. ~~~~~~~ as in.....inbred family lines...... or maybe he learned it in his connecticutt prep school. i don't know which.... Fri May 22 06:16:41 -0700 2009 4705311 105717 alkapal 5 5159760 i don't know when connecticut earned an extra "t." Thu Nov 05 18:41:14 -0800 2009 4706016 105717 alkapal 1 4233711 Oh, some of what Mom made was good, not great, but traditional comfort food, meatloaf, american chop suey, pot roast. However, she could never convince me to eat "hot dog casserole". Slice potatoes, hot dogs, onions (if she felt like it) , put it all in an oven proof casserole dish, and barely cover with water. Heat until bubbling and serve in a bowl. "shudder" uhhh I can't believe my siblings could eat that. Me, I was having peanut butter on bread for supper on those nights...Just to mix things up, "Pork Chop casserole" same thing, always onions. 6 to feed, small budget; I guess you need to do what you can... Tue Dec 09 15:30:21 -0800 2008 4001124 100890 breakfastfan 2 4234662 This doesn't make for an interesting post, but out of respect for my mother, who passed away when I was in my early twenties, I feel compelled to post in her behalf that she was a great cook. She was from northern New England, and mostly made just good honest Yankee dishes. She was the Queen of Oven and Pot Roasts; they're still the standard by which I compare any I encounter. But...she did pick out one special thing to make each week, something outside of her repertoire, and it was usually something from Julia Child or James Beard. The one thing I really didn't like were the beef rouladen. I don't think they're weird, exactly, at least not in Germany. But something about pickles cooked inside meat just didn't do it for me. And the other thing was all the excitement on the part of my mother and my Rhode Islander father over the occasional New England Boiled Dinner. You would have thought Queen Elizabeth had been invited to dinner, the way they anticipated and fussed over things preparing those NEBDs. I know this might get me kicked right over the border into New York, but I just don't get New England Boiled dinners. I know she made it correctly, and seasoned it well, but...I don't know, boiled meat and a bunch of boiled root vegetables isn't my bag. I like 'em sauteed and roasted and accompanied by crunchy things (like walnuts) and glazes and caramelization. Wed Dec 10 00:33:25 -0800 2008 4233711 244717 Steady Habits 1 4704255 I grew up in small town West Virginia, and learned all kinds of strange recipes from my family and their friends. A few that stand out to me; a mock apple pie, where you use allspice and crumbled ritz crackers instead of apples. Mayo biscuits, where you use mayo instead of butter and eggs; Potato candy, which involves mixing powdered sugar, water, and a mashed potato together to form a paste, then coating it in peanut butter and rolling it up into a log. Also, "kilt lettuce"; you cook iceberg lettuce in leftover bacon grease. and serve it over bread. The strangest thing I recall though was this "dessert" a coworker of mine once made for an office party at my recurrent summer job ( schooled in nyc, summered in wv, I lead a life of contrast). Canned fruit cocktail mixed with mayo, crumbled white bread, and a tub of cool whip.. I recognize, a lot of these recipes come from making due with what you've got. Regardless of how strange some of the products were, I admire the spirit behind them. We used to eat cornbread crumbled in a glass of buttermilk as a dessert too...and that is actually fantastic. Thu May 21 12:35:40 -0700 2009 4001124 275074 jwalker23 2 4705327 I understand jw, we laugh because they made these out of a combination of love/frustration/limitations/ but never spite. (I was also subjected to the fruit, miracle whip (not mayo) and cool whip combo - never understood that one) Thu May 21 19:35:14 -0700 2009 4704255 163722 hill food 3 4941454 About that fruit-cool-whip-mayonnaise/miracle whip dish . . . of mayonnaise, I'm not a fan, but use Fage yogurt instead of the mayo or miracle whip, and then you'd have something going Wed Aug 12 17:09:49 -0700 2009 4705327 24199 Sparkina 2 5158973 Sounds like what your co-worker was trying to make was Ambrosia, which is made with Fruit Cocktail, shredded coconut and cool whip, but the crumbled bread part I have never heard of. I make mine with Pineapple Chunks, Mandarin Oranges and Very Cherry Fruit Cocktail, Cream of Coconut and Cool Whip. You can make it with fresh fruit of any kind. I never liked the little pieces of coconut so I use the creme Of Coconut instead, adds a creamy consistency as well as the coconut taste! Thu Nov 05 13:31:23 -0800 2009 4704255 1116627 RavenWilde 1 4704776 My grandmother used to cook the most awful things most of the time. The only thing she cooked that I actually liked, was something she called Country Captain Chicken. The funny thing is I always gave her credit for inventing it, but a quick search on Wiki gives me this, and it's the exact same thing I remember from 20 years ago! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_Captain Funny that it says the recipe originated in Philly, because that's where she was from... Thu May 21 15:22:40 -0700 2009 4001124 208053 berbadeerface 1 4711190 I can't say that Mom had too many weird/horrible recipes. But she did have one that I've never seen anywhere else "Lunch Meat with B-B-Q Sauce". It's quick and really tasty: 1/2 cup chopped onion 2 tbsp butter 1 cup catsup 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/3 cup water 3 tbsp vinegar 1 tbsp prepared mustard 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 10 oz. can luncheon meat cut into strips (Spam is much tastier than the Treet that we usually got. Now I use Spam Lite). Sauté onions in butter, then add remaining ingredients. Simmer luncheon meat in sauce for 15 minutes. Serve with rice or noodles. For noodles we usually used egg noodles. Sun May 24 14:14:03 -0700 2009 4001124 71035 bluecatbeads 1 4712113 Canned corned beef tacos. No other types of meat, just Hormel or Hereford in our house. I thought it was normal. Sun May 24 22:38:18 -0700 2009 4001124 104996 pharmnerd 2 4714075 ok I think we have a short list and it's been a tight race for all contestants. bluecatbeads vs. pharmnerd both sound unexcusably vile. Mon May 25 18:52:18 -0700 2009 4712113 163722 hill food 1 4726493 My mother is an amazing cook and baker, but there were some, ah, interesting things that she made. To her credit, she's stopped making these. 1) A "salad" made with one leaf of iceberg lettuce, a canned pineapple ring, a dollop of Miracle Whip, a sprinkling of grated cheddar cheese, topped with a maraschino cherry. I'm 25, and she made this pretty much until I graduated high school. 2) "Chicken Tetrazzini"- Overcooked spaghetti, cream of mushroom soup, dry shredded chicken breasts, and cheddar cheese. I still won't try making the real thing, because I'm afraid it will taste like my mom's. 3) We never had real spaghetti- for some reason, my dad liked his (Kansan) grandmother's recipe, which was sweet and sour, and not actually that tomato-y. Ew. Is it any wonder that I crave Marcella Hazan's tomato sauce constantly? 4) Waldorf salad made with mushy apples and Miracle Whip. I didn't discover Hellman's until I was in high school and started cooking. Needless to say, I haven't bought a jar of MIracle Whip since I left home. 5) Ham steaks with canned pineapple and melted swiss cheese. Sometimes, when I'm in the grocery store, not buying cream of mushroom soup or Miracle Whip, I'm overcome with gratitude that I am an adult and in total control of what we have for dinner. Fri May 29 16:37:21 -0700 2009 4001124 261368 Caffeine826 2 4726548 caffeine, my mom's "salad" also included a scoop of cottage cheese, and mayo instead of miracle whip. Fri May 29 16:59:19 -0700 2009 4726493 105717 alkapal 2 4729565 I feel you my friend, I love the fact that I am now in control of what I put in my mouth and in my cart! My mom wasn't the worlds worst cook but I did learn to cook for myself at an early age for a reason! ahhh freedom, you gotta give for what you take yah yah..... Sun May 31 07:05:56 -0700 2009 4726493 206111 bythebayov 2 4729691 I too have had Miracle Whip Waldorf. Which is pretty much why I don't do Waldorf. Although... once in Vegas at a conference when I had to stay at a midrange hotel on the strip, the buffet had the most marvelous, light, but probably involving nondairy, Waldorf with some fluffy whipped-creamness. No trace of sour. It seemed realllllly retro but I could see getting a craving for it and trying to experiment it back into existence. I've gotta say here too, while it's not because of mom's cooking per se (she made some great things!), I'm so tired of middling American concoctions that I've been on a jag of exploring fruits, veggies and cuisine that are all just not reminiscent of what I've had around the nation all these years. So not much in the way of peas/corn/asparagus/etc., more green-papaya/water-chestnuts/long-beans/dragonfruit, etc., when and where available for not a lot of $. It's easier here in L.A., but so far I'm enjoying the dissociation. Fine to go try the occasional artisanal restaurant that uses beautifully fresh U.S. produce in terrific recipes - so you get to taste corn in an exalted state, for instance - but just over the run-of-the-mill presentations - you know, the canned/frozen/food-service approach. Sun May 31 08:00:09 -0700 2009 4726493 40486 Cinnamon 3 4738284 While I do love middling American concoctions (Miracle Whip aside), it's amazing how the availability of interesting produce/"ethnic" ingredients has just exploded in the last ten years (if that long). I think that's one of the big differences between how we (collectively) cook and how our moms cooked- we have access to things like chipotle peppers, fish sauce, coconut milk, bok choy, etc., etc. It does make me wonder if my future children are going to be talking about how gross their mom's tortilla lime soup or whatever is.... Wed Jun 03 06:15:11 -0700 2009 4729691 261368 Caffeine826 4 4749627 I like this post - I'm wondering how my one-year old daughter will think of some of my "concoctions" in the future. I'm training her right, though...she tries all sorts of things - sopresetta, gorganzola, fish sauce, etc. and chipotles. Ten years ago, many things were not accessible here.... Sun Jun 07 03:02:57 -0700 2009 4738284 17648 rudeboy 5 4752976 As long as you aren't combining those ingredients I'd bet you'll fare well Mon Jun 08 09:48:19 -0700 2009 4749627 76938 Bigley9 1 4736206 My mother was and continues to be a terrible cook. Not only does she shortcut recipes into disrepair, she is incredibly cheap about it, too. Some people have mentioned shortcuts along the lines of using garlic powder instead of cloves, and I wish that was the worst she'd ever done. For a few months, she decided to follow specific menus in a diet book - I don't think we ever ate that well. Stuffed zucchini, a delicious white chili, French onion soup paired with a small steak... It was great until she started to loop back through the menus and make things easier. She made the onion soup no problem, but decided that instead of making a steak, she'd dump a comparable amount of BROWNED GROUND BEEF into the soup. Into delicious light French onion soup. I have no idea what she did to that white chili, but it was just flat out awful the next time we had it. If we ever liked any new recipe, we knew we'd never see it again, at least not in that same form. She was also a cook of great quantity. One summer of my childhood was marked by a blended cauliflower soup. Huge vats that the rest of us refused to touch. It was quickly nicknamed baby poop soup, but she kept blending and cooking and eating. One of the last incidents before I moved out was a giant bag of broccoli, steamed to mush (as with all veggies) and put in the fridge for future eating. Maybe about a week later, a vile smell started leaking from the fridge. Her largest mixing bowl was in there, half full of slowly decomposing broccoli. She always buys in quantity because the unit price is less, but ends up throwing so much away because cooking in quantity doesn't really work out to the same value. Of course sometimes she'll refuse to toss it and just keeps on eating. I once caught her pulling a much expired yogurt [the foil lid was puffed and everything] from the garbage. She claimed that she was planning on "checking" it later to see if it was ok, but everyone knew she'd just eat it regardless. We did see a lot of the canned cream of soup recipes, and they were the most edible things around. The chicken with gravy (cooked in the big electric skillet with slightly watered cream of chicken soup) was pretty good, but I'd never make it myself. OTOH, I keep several cans of cream of mushroom soup in the pantry and sometimes whip up a batch of tuna casserole. Quick, cheap, and helps me keep up with my pledge to get more fish into my diet. One of my aunts makes a Waldorf salad every holiday, but with lemon jello instead of mayo/miracle whip. Not something you eat a huge bowl of, but a little bit on the side of the plate is very worthy. Not too sweet and very refreshing between all that turkey and stuffing. I can't imagine Christmas without it. Tue Jun 02 12:01:09 -0700 2009 4001124 331127 precia 2 4737969 yeah... memories. Tue Jun 02 23:47:50 -0700 2009 4736206 163722 hill food 3 4738049 but they ain't "misty, water-colored," though. Wed Jun 03 02:46:50 -0700 2009 4737969 105717 alkapal 4 4751800 actually that describes my mom's stew, although maybe "watery, misty-colored" is more accurate. Sun Jun 07 22:01:26 -0700 2009 4738049 163722 hill food 5 4755268 Yikes! Mon Jun 08 21:33:36 -0700 2009 4751800 40486 Cinnamon 1 4760326 Alkapal, Re-reading this, I was curious about your Moms boiled potatoes with mayo. What was that like and how did she do it? Dani Wed Jun 10 11:27:35 -0700 2009 4001124 80937 danhole 2 4761497 it's really the simplest thing, dani. she is not really cooking anymore, but here's what she did. peel ** and boil in salted water plain white potatoes, quartered lengthwise. then, when served, the individual dollops a tablespoon of mayo on/beside the potatoes on his plate. (as he eats the kraut & meatballs, he may take a bite of the potato, with a dab of mayo). the combination of the silky mayo, with the savory juices of the meatballs and kraut, absorbed and foiled by the potato, is delicious. naysayers, just hold your nays until you've actually tried this with my porcupine meatballs and sauerkraut recipe. ;-) http://www.chow.com/recipes/13527 ** i just got a call from mom (bless her heart) while i was finishing this post, so i read over my response, and mom clarified that if the potatoes are old, peel 'em, if they're new, don't peel 'em. she was surprised when i told her i am putting some of her recipes -- and family stories -- out on the world wide web!!! (she is 87 years old, so it's really more of an intellectual concept, than something she can actually visualize) ;-)). Wed Jun 10 17:01:31 -0700 2009 4760326 105717 alkapal 3 4762114 that's actually not too weird (ok I've never had porcupine), some methods are roasted and some are boiled, (granted the mayo is usu. homemade and infused with garlic or paprika, but...) I'd eat it. Wed Jun 10 20:54:54 -0700 2009 4761497 163722 hill food 4 4762504 hill food, i don't know if you were being funny, but you'll see that no porcupines are harmed in the making of the "porcupine" meatballs. the "porcupine" aspect is from the rice in the meatballs. and....i think it is in germany that mayonnaise is served with potatoes -- maybe not. (i know it's served with pommes frites). what's the origin of southern style mayo-laced potato salad? maybe "mayo with potato?" is a new thread in the making! ;-). Thu Jun 11 05:18:05 -0700 2009 4762114 105717 alkapal 5 4765379 sorry took you literally about the porcupine. mayo and potatoes is a classic all across most of Europe. it's only here in the US one gets weird looks. Thu Jun 11 20:17:53 -0700 2009 4762504 163722 hill food 5 4765604 I don't remember if it was my grandma or great grandma that made porcupine balls, but I loved them. Ours were in a whitish gravy that may have been cream of mushroom soup. I always thought they were called porcupines because the balls were rolled in rice, but now I don't see how that could be! You couldn't brown them that way. I will try your recipe, but the tomato soup part kind of turns me off. We will see. My mother always worked full-time and didn't like to cook. We had decent food, none of it weird that I recall, but mostly not too inspired either. She did a few things that were awesome good. Floating Island "pudding" for some special occasions, with an absolutely perfect custard. A peanut butter concoction that was pbutter, butter (probably marg, since we only got real butter when we had company), honey and raisins mixed together in the "Mixmaster" for our sans or toast. Some kind of quick dessert that consisted of white bread coated with sweetened condensed milk, topped with coconut and baked or broiled. Boy, was that good! For parties, she would make that ribbon sandwich that has layers of avocado, cream cheese, olives, deviled ham, I don't remember what but each layer was a different color. My brother and I still talk about that one. I miss my mom! And, glad this thread is still going! Thu Jun 11 23:05:40 -0700 2009 4762504 98904 MazDee 6 4765714 maz dee, you wrote "the tomato soup part kind of turns me off." what about it turns you off? it works great in the overall dish. Fri Jun 12 03:16:15 -0700 2009 4765604 105717 alkapal 7 4767382 Just that I loved that creamy non-tomato version I recall from my childhood, I guess! But I agree that the tomato would go nicely with your saurkraut version. I really am going to try it. Fri Jun 12 12:32:18 -0700 2009 4765714 98904 MazDee 5 5159013 Southern Potato Salad, one of my favs.. But some people also put Mustard in it which I despise! My Mom made great Potato Salad, Potatoes, Hard Boiled Eggs, Chopped onion, Mayo, Salt and Pepper. I revised her recipe and use Red Potatoes with the skins on, Hard Boiled Eggs, Chopped Red Onion, Kraft Real Mayo, Garlic Salt, Salt , Pepper, and a generous squirt of a good Ranch Dressing! (I use Kraft or Ken's) I like sweet relish in mine but since no one else does I usually make a small bowl with relish for myself. Every time I go to one friends house she begs me to make her some of my Potato Salad! Mom always mixed her with her hands, and now I do the same thing. After it's mixed I get to lick my fingers! LOL Thu Nov 05 13:41:36 -0800 2009 4762504 1116627 RavenWilde 6 5159764 hand mixing helps to preserve the cut potatoes' integrity, if one uses a very light "hand." ;-). have you tried marzetti's classic ranch dressing (the chilled dressing, not the shelf-stable one)? it's the one i like the best, if i haven't made my own (which is the best, using mayo and buttermilk). Thu Nov 05 18:43:32 -0800 2009 5159013 105717 alkapal 1 4781058 I love Miracle Whip and my mom made ham salad with it, and she would grind the bologna and sweet pickle relish. I don't remember mom buying mayo. I love cream cheese on toast or crackers with jelly. We usually had that after the holidays when we ran out of banana bread to put it on. We used to have homemade mac & cheese and my dad usually have whole tomatoes cold from the fridge that mom squished on top; it was very good. I can't eat food that has tomato soup in it except grilled cheese sandwiches & tomato soup is great. My mom used to make homemade waffles and when we had a lot leftover we ate them with a can of mushroom soup poured on top. She did the same after Thanksgiving, turkey gravy over waffles. A girl friend started me eating spaghetti sandwiches-buttered white bread with spaghetti in the middle. I never saw spaghetti put on the table and then the sauce on each plate until I was at her house for dinner. My mom always mixed it together before putting it on the table. My mom was Italian and my dad was German but they grew up in a neighborhood in Western PA in the 20's with a lot of different ethnic foods so I am not sure what comes from where. Mom made Pigs In A Blanket (Cabbage Rolls) and lots of people call those hot dogs wrapped in a dinner roll that. I didn't have a taco until I was 16 in the mid-70's from people who lived in Spain and in the Southern states as Taco Bell was not around in Ohio until the mid-80's. I still don't see the big deal about wings and ribs. We raised our own cows, pigs, chickens and turkeys and among having a garden. I had mom bake me a cow toungue one time but I was the only one that would eat it-dad was trying to gross me out. It tasted and looked just like a beef roast. Wed Jun 17 08:50:02 -0700 2009 4001124 196986 DragonLady2000 1 4783281 I love my mom to bits, but I'm a WAY better cook than her. I taught her that you really, really, REALLY need to brown beef before using it in beef stew. She called me shortly afterwards and said "Honey, you won't believe it - it looked and tasted like beef stew!" Yes, Mom. That's why. To be fair, she turned me onto quinoa in 2002 and recently gave me organic unpasteurized buckwheat honey from a small farm in Gettysburg, Pa....so I think the lesson here is that anyone can keep learning and improving. Wed Jun 17 20:50:56 -0700 2009 4001124 56635 redviper 1 4791189 My Mom's best friend ( who must be gone 30 years now) was the worlds worst cook. My Mom made lasagnas, corn chowder etc and brought it to Alice who passed it off to her husband Eddie as her own for many years. She tried to cook a few times several of which are memorable,. My Mom would walk her thru recipes . Making a turkey my Mom emphasised being sure the cavity was clean and sure enough Alice used SOS pads. Making a simple white frosting she reached for the vanilla and poured in Kitchen Bouquet instead ( brown, liquid and in a small bottle..) . Eddie beiieved she made the best beef stew until he took out the trash one night and the Dinty Moore cans that had been squirreled away for months all tumbled out..some of us just don't have the gift but she was a good soul Sat Jun 20 18:36:08 -0700 2009 4790910 11784 capeanne 1 4883189 When I was newly married and immersed in a Ukrainian culture I was amazed at the culinary inventiveness. One day my husband said he was going to make "buttermilk and potatoes." Ack! But it was super: fry thin and thick and different sizes of potatoes and onion diced. Get it very browned then put into a soup bowl and pour cold buttermilk over. Think of a baked potato with sour cream and multiply the satisfaction of that by at least a 2 digit number. Another one: fried bologna. OMG. But, again it turned out to be good. Quarter a bunch of slices of bologna, fry til quite brown, then toss in minced onions to taste, stir around for a few minutes, then stir in a can or 2 of cream of tomato soup. When nice and hot, pour over mashed potatoes. Thu Jul 23 01:27:33 -0700 2009 4001124 1096023 goodgirl 2 4887510 smile. we used to have fried bologna sandwiches with ketchup when i was growing up. or tossed in with tomato sauce & noodles. Fri Jul 24 10:57:16 -0700 2009 4883189 128485 smalt 2 4889107 Ukrainian? I thought it was a German thing - guess fried bologna or sausage in general is sort of universal. we'd just put it on bread, no need for any condiment with the grease expressed. but yeah try to sell it to the uninitiated... the buttermilk potatoes sounds like a nice variant on Vichysoisse. (which I've been thinking about a lot lately) Sat Jul 25 00:02:05 -0700 2009 4883189 163722 hill food 1 4898703 These stories are funny! We always ate Kraft American Singles on white Wonder Bread with Miracle Whip - which we knew only as mayo, and called it that - I thought Miracle Whip was a brand of mayo until I tasted real mayo. I still don't eat real mayo. Typical dinners were canned Campbell's Soup and a grilled cheese sandwich; homemade pizza - still a favorite with my brothers and I; she makes "fried chicken" with boneless, skinless chicken breats dipped in spiced flour and then fried in the skillet - my southern husband was utterly confused by the lack of skin and bones... haha! She makes an awesome dessert we call "cheesecake" - with cream cheese and lime green jello - no baking required - it is amazing, better than regular cheesecake I think. She also would make us homemade frosting to spread on graham crackers as a snack, something she called Spanish rice that was just white rice, A LOT of tomato sauce with browned ground beef and chili powder; hot dogs or Spam with mac and cheese and sauerkraut as a sidedish.... And her meatloaf is actually not in a loaf, its a patty and it is dry so that we could put my grandma's homemade vegetable soup on top and it would soak up the juice. And we would always have cucumbers cut up in vinegar during the summer. My grandma liked to add sliced onions to hers... My husband doesn't understand a lot of what we eat, it makes me feel like a freak sometimes! lol! He's from the south and wants steak and chicken all the time, anything with BBQ sauce, and loves deviled eggs! It was our first Thanksgiving last year and you should have seen his sad little face when we got there and there weren't any deviled eggs - which seemed weird to our family. So now I am the official deviled egg of the family. But I changed that to be my own too; I didn't have any paprika the first time I made them for him, so I sprinkled cayenne pepper on top instead. It is pretty good! Tue Jul 28 18:33:35 -0700 2009 4001124 1097498 jenisnotacook 2 4898793 cukes in vinegar...bingo! you should see the deviled egg thread....lots of great ideas! jenmaylearntobeacook! Tue Jul 28 19:09:52 -0700 2009 4898703 105717 alkapal 1 4938901 My Russian immigrant grand mother used to make verischaka just before lent; a blini covered w/ lamb, veal, beef, pork chunks in a rich gravy. I haven't had it since the 60's. Mom's veal roast stuffed w/ prunes. Dad, the creative sandwich maker. Wed Aug 12 02:46:46 -0700 2009 4001124 93538 Passadumkeg 1 4941294 Mom: vegetarian boxed chili. Just about the only thing I could stand eating as a kid! Dad: Friday whitefish casserole topped with canned crabmeat and ritz crackers. LOVED this--mostly for the canned crabmeat and ritz topping. Wed Aug 12 16:20:36 -0700 2009 4001124 1099179 googletrickedme 1 4941450 Good Lord, my mother (God rest her soul) was THE worst cook in the world! Unfortunately she preferred all meats, poultry and seafood to be blackened -- and I don't mean with spices. I mean charred. And she loved her cast iron skillet, and would use it religiously to cook leftovers (pre-microwave days). Let's say there was leftover pork chops, mashed potatoes and peas in the fridge. She would put them altogether in the skillet (not mixed together), pour in some water, cover it and walk away. So it wasn't bad enough that we had to eat charred food. Now we had to eat soggy charred food! My sister and I went to a Catholic elementary school and they didn't have a cafeteria so we had to bring lunch every day. My mother actually bought a book of "365 Sandwiches" and decided to make them all for us. Imagine my surprise thinking I was getting ready to bit into a peanut butter sandwich and it turned out to be a "Mashed Baked Bean Sandwich". BLECH! I also remember the April Fool's Day where she packed us fake cheese sandwiches made out of foam. Funny Mom. But she forgot to send us a real lunch! But probably the strangest was her love of tomato juice. For holidays or when we had company over, we always had a first course (served quite elegantly) of shooters of tomato juice. Huh? Wed Aug 12 17:07:54 -0700 2009 4001124 132527 lrohner 2 4942306 make the shot a sort of gazpacho and I'm with her on that. but then it wouldn't be weird. Thu Aug 13 02:22:13 -0700 2009 4941450 163722 hill food 2 4942388 i think tomato juice "cocktails" -- sans booze -- were popular as an "appetizer" in the '60s http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,161,148188-249199,00.html . i can picture this in a small juice glass in many cookbook photo spreads -- and in the real-life cafeteria lines all over the south. Thu Aug 13 04:22:21 -0700 2009 4941450 105717 alkapal 3 4944094 They were. We only ever had it at holiday meals when I was a kid. To make really fancy, a piece of lemon was put on the rim. Have no idea why, because I don't think it was particularly expensive (we lived in SW Ontario tomato country). Thu Aug 13 12:58:49 -0700 2009 4942388 13709 buttertart 4 4956501 Thats so true: canned tomato juice was served with great style (and the essential slice of lemon) until very recently as a course all by itself. in the homes of my mum's friends..whats really funny is that until this moment it never occured to me to question 'why"...it was just so much a part of my growing up (in SW Ontario and Newfoundland). Why on earth would this have been considered a big treat worthy of being trotted out at holidays and parties? Tue Aug 18 12:17:54 -0700 2009 4944094 24738 LJS 2 5159037 LOL.. I too had to endure the Hockey Puck Fried Pork Chops and Hamburgers, fried in the big Cast Iron Skillet! Although Mom's Fried Chicken made in the same Skillet was awesome! Thu Nov 05 13:49:39 -0800 2009 4941450 1116627 RavenWilde 1 4951991 My mom is who inspired me to cook. When I reached the age of eight, I decided that I'd had enough of inch thick, eight inch wide pancakes, and I tried making my own, figuring that I could emulate Golden Griddle (yes, a sad influence) and make something better. By comparison, my first attempt was delicious and I was bit by the cooking bug. Other gems from my mother's repertoire included: * Raspberry pancakes of the above dimensions with no sugar added (so sour!) * Roast chicken covered in Lipton onion soup mix * Lemon chicken cooked in the microwave * Mashed potatoes (made with red potatoes) with no salt or pepper, mashed into a lumpy paste with white margarine and skim milk (it took me years to realize that I didn't hate mashed potatoes) * Vegetables of any type cooked to a soft mush * Spaghetti sauce made from a can of sauce and a pack of hamburger, served with Kraft pre-grated parmesan * Flavourless fried rice (the entire ingredient list consists of a little oil, 1 tbsp grocery store soy sauce to about 3 cups of rice, and some frozen veggies - I dreaded Asian food for years) * Crepes with blueberries and Cool Whip (an acutal dinner - we loved them and would eat about six of them each) * Chicken coated in broken up Ritz crackers and baked on a cookie sheet (they taste salty and aluminum, all in one go) * Boiled potatoes (again no salt or pepper), served with margarine * One of those ugly pink boneless hams wrapped in plastic and a can's worth of pineapple rings toothpicked to it (I thought for years that I hated pineapples) * Fried eggs cooked until you could write on a chalkboard with the yolk * Her "french fries" were old, old potatoes, cut into strips and then baked on a cookie sheet with about 1/8" of oil covering the bottom of it. (My mother still has a terrible fear of and aversion to deep frying and detests the fact that I like to deep fry many things - I am constantly nagged over this over the phone.) Actually, to this day, I still like potatoes made in this way, although I found you have to cook them at a much higher temperature than she did to get them to turn out well. I also thought that whipped cream = Cool Whip and mayonnaise = Dream Whip until I was about 22. I love my mom dearly. Her cooking, on the other hand, not so much. It took me about two years after I left home to realize that I wasn't a picky eater... I just didn't care for most things the way mom cooked them. I'm still getting over certain things, too... I'm convinced I hate scallopped potatoes, but then it occurs to me that I haven't eaten one since I was 16 and living with mom and dad. Sun Aug 16 22:10:13 -0700 2009 4001124 75881 vorpal 2 4952088 yeah for a long time I thought I had an eating disorder. I do like chicken marinaded in Good Seasons salad dressing and grilled or baked, but I do it at a different temp (not setting off the smoke alarm and not resulting in raw interior). where does the fear of temperature and method come from? Sun Aug 16 23:54:19 -0700 2009 4951991 163722 hill food 1 4955138 For Sunday lunch, my mom would make a variety of things, that never 'go' with each other, for example she would make chicken curry, potatoe salad, garlic sauce, chow mein and roast beef. She cooked all this with the thought that she would not have to cook during the week. Little did she realise that her greedy kids (my brother and I) would pile a bit of everything onto our plate. But the combinations worked well, eg the chicken curry tasted lovely with a bit of potatoe salad mixed in!! Tue Aug 18 04:49:29 -0700 2009 4001124 1088125 Soyabean 1 4956554 Oh gosh, I just remembered "dessert suppers"! When my Dad was out of town on business, especially if it was a Friday night, my mum would spread the car rug on the living room floor, turn the TV on while we ate (an unheardof treat) and lay out a picnic, dessert-only supper. There would be fruit cocktail and we had to drink our milk (everyone knew that milk prevented everything it couldn't cure in those days). But other than that, it was a meal composed soley of dessert things: a brownie, junket rennet custard and jello with chilled evaporated milk whipped in it in a graham-crumb crust... all featured prominently. My mum has been gone for 3 years now and she was 90 when she died. I did have a chance to thank her for her imaginative approach to life. She was a terrible cook and she knew it, but she loved a party and made everyday things into events every chance she got! I phoned my daughter the other day (who grew up with her nana, my mum) and they were having a special dinner...it was "Doggy Got His Tags" Day...good genes that kid has! Tue Aug 18 12:29:14 -0700 2009 4001124 24738 LJS 2 4956655 No matter how hard I try, she murmurs how it's not good enough. When I bake, eh, it's too sweet. When I marinade, eh, it's too fat. When I just leave it alone, eh it’s too bland. But there was a time when I showed up with osso bucco, which had been floured and fried ever so lightly and then cooked in a delectable blend of wine, lemon, bay leaves and fresh finocchio which savoured the dish with anise-laced overtones. Well, well, she looked at me and said in her northern Italian accent "You maka dis?" Yes, that was a compliment. Tue Aug 18 12:57:17 -0700 2009 4956554 267903 Pixie Muse 1 4974500 This is actually a scary story about Turkey Day at my grandmother's house. Not to speak ill of the dead but she used to prep her big, 25lb. Turkeys a day or 2 beforehand including loading lots of stuffing into the birds. Then into the fridge the whole bacteria culture went until it was ready to cook then and grace our Thanksgiving table. I think that the only reason noone ever seemed to get sick was that she was the queen of the sterile household. All the same this story always triggers my gag reflex a tad. Mon Aug 24 19:13:59 -0700 2009 4001124 195505 debbthebee 2 4981744 reminds one of the character in The Accidental Tourist who cooks the turkey at something like 180 degrees for 12 hours... Thu Aug 27 01:18:14 -0700 2009 4974500 163722 hill food 1 4984250 Leftover Stew EEEEW! It was sooo gross on so many levels. Whatever was left over from dinner would go in the fridge. Unlike a normal family, we were not allowed to eat the leftovers. Instead, they would pile up for about a month (my reasoning for why I am immune to food poisoning) and then my mother would take her big stock pot, put in a 32 oz can of diced tomatoes, 2 huge onions (chopped and raw), and every single leftover in the fridge. Spaghetti and sauce, pork chops, mashed potatoes, baked chicken, ham, mac and cheese (Kraft, of course), greenbeans, peas, toast, brocolli, and more. It was so disgusting, but it was the only thing she would serve until it was gone, so it normally lasted about a week. My father would never come home for dinner, meaning my brother and I had to eat more of it ourselves. Thu Aug 27 17:37:35 -0700 2009 4001124 231765 gexx 2 4985835 Yow. I think we have a winner here. I am very open minded and adventurous when it comes to food. But this one really sounds like a mess. Glad you survived Mom's mystery stew. I think this dish would even make me long for some chicken sashimi. LOL. Fri Aug 28 09:43:21 -0700 2009 4984250 116047 The Professor 2 5166237 Holy crap. That is amazing. Sun Nov 08 21:26:00 -0800 2009 4984250 1122808 LolaP 1 4994900 My mother was one of the few women in my family that just didn't have the genes for cooking. She had basic know-how, but unfortunately not the love or passion that my grandmother, aunt, or I seem to have. -_- Let alone taste buds. My mother made 'basics' that just weren't basic. Whereas my grandmother made the normal home-style meatloaf with the ketchup topping, cooked veggies on the inside, my mother just diced up onion and garlic, sometimes a bell pepper, mix it into some ground beef, put it in a casserole dish and covered it with velveeta or kraft singles. I used to hate it. It was the kind of meatloaf that wasn't even good on a sandwich IMO. At one point she told me she put pineapple in it, and she might have, ONCE... but mostly I think it was to get my brother and I to eat the giant chopped onions that weren't cooked enough. The other odd concoction my mother made was the never ending chili-pasta... It had two versions. Her actual chili, which used a 2-alarm base and everything in her pantry... or the tomato, salsa, italian soup SOMETHING that mutated after 4 days of her trying to turn it into something it could never be...good. Every day, she'd take the same tomato pasta spicy soup (which tasted like a jar of salsa, some pasta salad, and minestrone combined and each day add something else, telling me, "IT GETS BETTER EVERY DAY!" The next day it was a jar of rotel, after that, a can of mushrooms and more cumin. It was radio-active by the 4th day, when she realized my little brother and I hadn't eaten in 2 days because it SUCKED HORRIBLY... Perhaps she just lacks the ability to understand cooking, period. I've explained the concept of brining to her. My grandmother and I discussed this once before in front of her, and i was talking about a kosher salt/brown sugar brine for pork and chicken. My mother interrupts with, "Oh I know about brining. I do all of mine with sugar." And both her mother and her daughter had to explain that she was just soaking it in sugar water, not actually brining anything... In her defense she could produce some good dishes on thanksgiving... but they're mostly tried and true recipes from other aunts, or a southern living cook book. I think the years of smoking and nicorette gum have dulled her tastebuds though, as she has been known to dump mountains of pepper and other spices into her food. (I drew the line when it came to sage however.) Yes, my mother's food sucked, horribly. Mon Aug 31 22:45:19 -0700 2009 4001124 1091038 kurisu10 2 4995043 >>>>>Every day, she'd take the same tomato pasta spicy soup (which tasted like a jar of salsa, some pasta salad, and minestrone combined and each day add something else, telling me, "IT GETS BETTER EVERY DAY!" The next day it was a jar of rotel, after that, a can of mushrooms and more cumin. It was radio-active by the 4th day, when she realized my little brother and I hadn't eaten in 2 days because it SUCKED HORRIBLY...<<<< ~~~~~~~ that made me laugh out loud -- i can't say that i've never made an "evolving" dish. ;-)). Tue Sep 01 03:43:05 -0700 2009 4994900 105717 alkapal 1 5022325 I love this thread and I love my mama! I have an immigrant mother too - she got here in the 70's from India. She is actually an amazing cook, my family and friends always talk about her delicious food. Growing up we would ask for 'American' food, and while she is actually quite adept at replicating those tastes, I guess occasionally she felt they were way too bland and she made her own concoctions by adding millions of spices to recipes that didn't ask for them. Her crazy hot Indian-spiced spaghetti sauce, fried chicken and meatloaf were actually awesome, as were chicken curry and keema curry grilled sandwiches (made in those sandwich presses - pre-panini popularity). I was not a big fan of her improvised 'tartar' sauce for fried shrimp, however: ketchup mixed with mayonnaise. I can't recall other misses at the moment, but there were certainly some flops. Fri Sep 11 10:33:51 -0700 2009 4001124 77073 atandt 2 5023145 atandt: I'm jealous, I wish my mom's "experimentation" went more the way of yours. Fri Sep 11 14:50:13 -0700 2009 5022325 163722 hill food 1 5023174 What a walk down memory lane! While I consider my mom a terrific cook, especially of Italian dishes, but lots of other things as well, this thread reminds me that she was indeed a product of her generation (married late 50s, raising kids in 60s & 70s)--and not the part that was trying to "Master the Art of French Cooking" with Julia Child. --Jello w/fruit and Cool Whip--and does anyone remember those gagatrocious Jello desserts that would separate into three layers--jelly, creamy, and something in between as they set? --Macaroni salad: elbow macaroni, thick-sliced celery, Miracle Whip --"Spanish" rice: white rice with a can of tomato sauce --Open-face beef "dinner": boil-in-bag chipped beef over sliced white bread, untoasted --Potato "pancakes": leftover mashed potatoes, shaped into patties and fried --Celery stalks "stuffed" w/peanut butter --Fried (packaged) lunch meat and "baloney" But it was really an aunt who sent me fleeing in terror from her kitchen. My cousin always wanted me to stay for dinner, but I always made sure my mom picked me up before dinner. (Once I got older, Mom told me she always knew why I was so eager to separate myself from my best friend-cousin and get home!) Proving that family food favorites are often more about love than food, my cousin's all-time favorites from Aunt's kitchen: "weenie" spaghetti (yep, sliced hot dogs in a tomato "sauce" that seemed more like thinned canned tomato soup) and potato stew (potatoes cooked to death in a light roux w/canned peas served over rice). But one of her concoctions that she often brought to family dinners, I actually loved--pork shoulder cooked with lots of garlic and chunks of sweet potato; it was very greasy but delicious. One time she decided to "doctor it up" w/ canned black beans and pineapple chunks. Not so good. Fri Sep 11 15:04:57 -0700 2009 4001124 324814 nomadchowwoman 1 5023760 Both my parents were great cooks, but looking back now, I have to wonder... what were they thinking? School days, we came down for breakfast where Dad had placed three chocolate chips in a bowl and poured milk over top. By the time we got there, the cookies were soft enough to stir into a porridge-like consistency. The morning after slumber parties, my friends were treated to our family's Sunday breakfast special: fried hamburgers with fried onions... and the buns had to be buttered and fired too. Imagine my horror when I went to other girls homes and their parents served us eggs, toast, and that dreaded full glass of whole milk. While other kids brought bologna or ham sandwiches to school, my brother and I had smoked oysters and mayo on slightly toasted white bread. Toasted peanut butter and melted butter sandwiches still bring me back to my youth. Fri Sep 11 20:22:52 -0700 2009 4001124 29305 Andria 2 5023898 I'm again jealous! Fri Sep 11 21:55:40 -0700 2009 5023760 163722 hill food 3 5024756 Was it the cookie porridge or the greasy burgers for breakfast? Perhaps you are envious of my smelly school lunch? Sat Sep 12 11:45:18 -0700 2009 5023898 29305 Andria 1 5024070 Good gravy, I love reading about what people eat since I'm a 2nd gen Chinese immigrant that ate mostly Chinese food growing up. My father played many roles in the restaurant industry in NYC, as did his brothers in the late 70s, 80s, and into the 90s so he LOVED to cook. My mother was decent but I really didn't like her cooking much. Some of my least favourite things included: 1) Homemade dumplings - I think she used only pork in them and didn't spice them enough. The skins were also WAY too thick, probably due to the fact she didn't have a proper, weighted rolling pin. The result was a bland, scratchy meat pocket in soy sauce. It wasn't until later in life that we all discovered better alternatives for dipping (e.g. maggi, black vinegar, etc.). 2) Elbow macaroni in chicken broth - my brother loved this to the point, that when he was about 4, he grabbed a hot bowl of it and gave himself severe burns to his nether regions. Again, it was usually strips of dry scratchy pork that was not marinated well. You'd think I'd have an aversion to pork right now but I don't. Macaroni elbows in broth is actually a popular thing among Cantonese/HK-ers I believe b/c she'd order that for me at Chinese cafes and I still disliked it. 3) Spaghetti in meat sauce - not that I have a problem w/ this b/c I learned to make it on my own but Cantonese people seem to really hate sour tastes (e.g. tomatoes, sour candy). The obvious solution to this adding sugar to counteract the acidity but it didn't sit right in the jar sauce we got. They would make the meat, drain it of oil, then dump a jar of sauce in there with a few heaping spoonfuls of sugar. 4) Steamed cake - my mother couldn't bake. I'm not quite sure she knows how to operate an oven actually. This did not stop her from making a horrible, dry, tasteless yellow cake in a shallow dish by steaming it in a wok. I don't think it had any yeast in it since it didn't rise much but I do remember her mentioning baking powder. It was more like rough peasant bread made with bourgie ingredients than actual cake. One weird thing we did do in our family, which I absolutely love to this day, is spreading condensed milk on toast. I think it was because we would open a can of it to make milk tea but we could only drink so much of it. It has to be on white bread since my parents refuse to eat wheat bread (it reminds them too much of when they were poor). Sometimes I get another slice and spread Yeo's brand coconut jam (it's bright orange and comes out of a can) and make a sandwich out of it. I don't know if it's an east coast thing but I've eaten bagels with cream cheese and jam/jelly. It sounds very much like a variation on Russian blini/crepes with sour cream and raspberry jam (seeds in please!). Sat Sep 12 04:47:36 -0700 2009 4001124 1108780 Chinamerican 2 5024755 We also do the bagel/cream cheese/jam combo. But, the very best way to combine cream cheese & jam is on thick sliced bread, then dip the sandwich in French toast batter & fry! Sat Sep 12 11:43:08 -0700 2009 5024070 29305 Andria 3 5036591 We'd have cream cheese and jelly on bagels or white bread , and at "Happy Hour" on Sundays we kids would have cream cheese and jelly on crackers as our hors d'oeuvers (with cranberry juice "wine" in little apperitif glasses) Thu Sep 17 07:52:59 -0700 2009 5024755 76938 Bigley9 1 5110032 My mother couldn't cook worth a flip but my Dad is a great southern cook! Country fried steak with cream gravy and mashed potatoes, a good rare steak and my favorite which was pre-buttered biscuits. Dad would make biscuits and as soon as he pulled them out of the oven he would tear them open and toss in a pat of butter and slam the biscuit shut. When we ate them, they were warm with drippy melted butter oozing out of them--and I got in the habit of doing the same thing with my husband and his kids, so "pre-buttered" biscuits are a tradition. Dad taught me how to cook the basics and my mother's mother was a GREAT cook and I have her cookbook with recipes written in her hand. The funniest thing is that I got a book called "The Best Recipes From the Backs of Cans, Bottles and Jars" and it's hilarious how many of them are in my grandma's handwriting in her book! I guess she copied in the ones she tried and liked! When my cousin called me for Grandma's chocolate chip cookie recipe, she told me that grandma had told her that she used the one on the toll house chip bag but that my cousin didn't believe that was the recipe. I had to burst her bubble--it was EXACTLY the recipe Grandma used! LOL Sat Oct 17 07:09:58 -0700 2009 4001124 343276 Teri Davis Newman 2 5161503 :) Fri Nov 06 12:09:24 -0800 2009 5110032 150094 ChristinaMason 3 5162111 sweet. I know some think we're being snobs, but I get an overwhelming feel of affection. Fri Nov 06 15:07:52 -0800 2009 5161503 163722 hill food 1 5169747 Okay, I'm from St. Louis and I don't think anyone else has posted this way of making chili because I actually did a search for the phrase "chili brick" and didn't find it here. My mom wouldn't know cumin from cinnamon so she got all her chili spices from something frozen called "chili brick." Chili brick was complete with fat and meat and some tomato sauces, so theoretically, you just added beans. Thankfully, my mom also added a pound of ground beef, and used Brook's Chili Hot beans (which I haven't been successful at finding everywhere in the country). No onions, no garlic...and the gristle from the chili brick made you wonder whether you were chewing little erasers. I think Wendy's introduced me to more proper chili and I learned to make REAL chili with beans from scratch myself. My poor mother would make the most awful 50s style convenience food you can imagine. Creamed beef on toast (again, no onions!), beef stew without herbs or extra broth flavored with ketchup, and of course, vegetables would be boiled into near-paste. Tue Nov 10 07:25:40 -0800 2009 4001124 272493 kitINstLOUIS 2 5170747 Sounds dreadful, except for creamed beef on toast...nothing at all wrong with that. It's a great, tasty dish if it's made right. Tue Nov 10 12:53:50 -0800 2009 5169747 116047 The Professor 3 5172039 yep, sometimes i get a craving for the creamed beef on toast.... it's a comfort food. Wed Nov 11 01:09:33 -0800 2009 5170747 105717 alkapal 2 5190668 I'm from STL and I have never heard of this - where did your mom find the brick? our version was just sort of a watery chili broth. which we had the other night (I'm back in the fold of the Motherlode thru mid December and may have to share more recipes) and believe me I understand the fear of spice. the fewer the better, they're just decorative for the shelf, right? it was soft taco night Thursday and I found (relatively) dirt cheap avocados at MACE (79/ea. vs. a dollar or more back in DC) for fresh guac, which confused the heck out of them, but they went back for seconds. Wed Nov 18 01:06:44 -0800 2009 5169747 163722 hill food 1 5173319 My mom was hugely fond of simmering meats in Campbell's cream of mushroom soup mixed with Lipton's dried onion soup mix, something my siblings and I still do (mm, pork chops). Overall she was a good cook--she made spaghetti sauce our Italian neighbors went insane for and half the neighborhood kids found a way to our house for dinner when she made fried chicken--but she did have a couple misses. She would make chicken or shrimp curry from a recipe that only called for 1/8 teaspoon of curry powder and serve it on top of white rice. Not attractive. Then there was the time she made homemade ravioli ... and stuffed them with salami. They were awful, even the dog wouldn't eat them. I was five years old at the time and I can still remember thirty-eight years later how disgusting they were. Mom's been gone for thirty years but if there's an afterlife I'm sure she's up there pissed off that we still tell the ravioli story! Wed Nov 11 12:14:51 -0800 2009 4001124 23970 MandalayVA 2 5190670 like Wed Nov 18 01:13:15 -0800 2009 5173319 163722 hill food 1 5177774 I appreciate much more all of the efforts my Mom made with cooking. I didn't believe that we had an ethic influence with our food but apparently she did some of the standard Lutheran Church influenced meals. She also must have lived in the south in a previous life. Homemade Fried chicken, french fries and a whole loaf of wheat toast is probably our all-time favorite. The more unusual was her corned beef casserole, which I absolutely love and my brother in law finds absolutely horrendous! One can corned beef, half a block of velveeta, can of cream of mushroom soup, and egg noodles topped off with potato chips for crunch! We also crave the homemade donuts she would make for us. Thanks for the blog - Thu Nov 12 21:48:05 -0800 2009 4001124 1124168 sue423 2 5180286 I am only 1/3 of the way through reading, but I felt compelled to jump ahead to post, this is a very fun thread!!! I am feeling very grateful at this point that my mother did not make a lot of the dishes lamented over by other readers. Here are some of her quirky dishes that I remember fondly: Velveta cheese on toast (especially when I was sick) Date nut bread on cream cheese Chicken with 1890 sauce (as in the salad dressing) Peanut butter chicken (don't ask, it was nasty!!) Salmon cakes (I did not like these) Keftes (jewish meatballs) Borekas (savory pastries filled with spinach or potatoes) Tons of jello (yuk) Wonderful, elaborate, deli sandwiches Fri Nov 13 18:37:46 -0800 2009 5177774 185144 dkennedy 3 5182121 how were her Borekas - if you liked them I am jealous! Sat Nov 14 17:19:23 -0800 2009 5180286 76938 Bigley9 4 5184571 Delish! I think the ones I ate growing up were made by 2nd cousins and unrelated "Aunts" that were somehow connected to my family, only 700 times removed. My strongest memory associated with these pastries involves taking them on road trips and letting them heat up by placing them on the dash board with the sun beating down. May sound gross, but they were sooooo good! Sun Nov 15 21:15:18 -0800 2009 5182121 185144 dkennedy 3 5184837 dk -- """Date nut bread on cream cheese""" that's how i like to eat it, too! ;-). (i.e., lots of cream cheese on the bread). that was a signature baked item i made in high school. i wonder if i still have the recipe? hmmm. Mon Nov 16 04:35:47 -0800 2009 5180286 105717 alkapal 1 5187695 Not my mom's, but my mother's story about her mother's waffle soup (leftover waffles cut into strips and thrown into soup/broth the next day) she always hated this dish. My grandmother was the type to throw together some strange things. Sometimes good and sometimes not. Mon Nov 16 22:28:14 -0800 2009 4001124 224081 BamiaWruz 1 5188453 My mom used to make pizza on white bread with american cheese and for pepperoni she would use salami. Tue Nov 17 08:50:40 -0800 2009 4001124 70283 Reed422 2 5190607 Salami is great on pizza. After all, pepperoni is basically just another type of uncooked salami sausage anyhow....so it's all good. Tue Nov 17 23:09:36 -0800 2009 5188453 116047 The Professor 1 5195384 NOOO!! she changed her meatloaf method - no more round baking bowl, no more range of crusty to raw. actually puts ketchup and flavor on the top... my childhood is forever lost. Thu Nov 19 19:24:51 -0800 2009 4001124 163722 hill food