569873 Wed Nov 05 11:12:46 -0800 2008 571 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 4151290 My mom and dad (R.I.P) had some strange food habits which I really didn't realize until I got out into the "REAL" world. Pumkin pie had to have maple syrup poured over it, which I thought was normal, I loved my mom's green tomato pie, which I thought was normal, chili had to be served with peanut butter only, which I thought was normal,we had this yellow circley stuff for breakfast served with maple syrup on it, dad called it MUSH., which I thought was normal. Anyone have their own weird foods growing up that they thought was "NORMAL" ?? Wed Nov 05 11:12:46 -0800 2008 151974 HotMelly 1 4151367 My Mom always let the cooked cornmeal mush cool and gel, then sliced and fried it. Fried grits were equally good. Never had them with syrup though. She also made something for breakfast she called "Super Dooper Eggs" - which were simply scrambled eggs with cornmeal mixed in. Guess it helped stretch the eggs, and we had bushels of cornmeal. My Mom grew up in the Depression. She's thrifty that way. Wed Nov 05 11:36:32 -0800 2008 4151290 227202 vtnewbie 2 4152003 We also had fried cornmeal mush, sometimes with sorghum molasses if we had been to visit the MO grandparents recently. Fried grits were added after my father came home from a posting in Virginia. Wed Nov 05 15:25:03 -0800 2008 4151367 218554 BeefeaterRocks 3 4175457 love fried grits. really just a carrier for hot bacon fat! ;-0 Sat Nov 15 06:31:37 -0800 2008 4152003 105717 alkapal 2 4638583 A little "That's Amore" in the background and $20 or more bucks attached to it and you have a craved for polenta dish. If I had my way, and I don't because I live in a masochistic self-imposed militant state, I would eat cheesy grits with a fried egg on top every day of my life. Comfort foosd at its very finest. Wed Apr 29 07:56:40 -0700 2009 4151367 137755 Sal Vanilla 2 4703718 My Hungarian grandmother used to cook the cornmeal mush, then spread it out on a large serving platter. She would put numerous little undents in the surface, then drizzle on some browned butter. Th final touch was little dollops of sour cream here and there. One of my favorites as a kid. Thu May 21 10:01:50 -0700 2009 4151367 116047 The Professor 1 4151422 I remember being offered a sandwich at a friend's house one day, and his mom asked me whether I wanted mayonnaise OR mustard. This struck me as pretty eccentric, as our sandwiches at home always came with both, except for the peanut butter ones, and all sandwiches came with butter as well. When I described the Standard Owen Sandwich thus (well, I was in 4th grade and didn't realize this might be impolite), both mother and child looked at me with genuine astonishment. Then the mom proceeded to make a bologna sandwich as I'd described it, and they both continued to stare at me while I ate it. For the rest of it, I learned early on that many of our family favorites were regarded as weird by the larger community, and that the weirdest thing of all was our willingness to try new and different foods and/or dishes, so I got pretty much used to being an oddball. A well-fed oddball, I might add. Wed Nov 05 11:57:29 -0800 2008 4151290 11478 Will Owen 2 4635354 That's very similar to the time a friend's mom asked if I wanted butter or cream cheese on my bagel -- at home, we always had both I chose cream cheese, but it really opened my eyes. My mom and dad always buttered bread for a sandwich, including hamburger buns (dad has since had quadruple by-pass surgery).... Tue Apr 28 07:54:00 -0700 2009 4151422 28000 hungry100 3 4636956 yes that reminds me of a friend who a long time ago I observed spreading butter on bread before proceeding to spread peanut butter. I expressed surprise perhaps a mite too derisively, saying something like "the peanut butter is already a butter, you don't need to add real butter". Angrily, he retorted, well I don't care how they do it in Poland! I was stunned, as my remark had nothing to do with my Polish heritage or Polish cuisine. I just thought it was weird (and a bit sickening, actually) to put peanut butter on top of dairy butter. Tue Apr 28 14:53:29 -0700 2009 4635354 98493 JamieK 4 4643771 No, no, no! The best (rare) snack imaginable is a few Saltine crackers, each with a little chunk of cold butter, topped with a schmear of good peanut butter. It's a texture/temperature thing. Thu Apr 30 16:53:41 -0700 2009 4636956 11995 pikawicca 5 4648889 Hmmm. I'm actually kinda of salivating about the idea of the combination of the salty crunch of cracker combined with good cold fat. But I just am not into peanut butter anymore so that's putting me off a bit. I can see how the texture/temperature thing could work, for sure. Sat May 02 16:54:53 -0700 2009 4643771 98493 JamieK 6 5291534 We've always eaten butter on crackers, and cold is best. Butter AND peanut butter also rocks, although peanut butter on crackers by itself is also great. Also, any of those combinations plus jelly, preferably pomegranate jelly, which we've made at home since I was a little kid. My earliest memory of feeding myself is making saltines and butter to eat out on the front porch of the house we lived in when I was three. Sat Jan 02 20:48:31 -0800 2010 4648889 127453 herbalista 4 4703791 My grandmother was off-the-boat Polish, and she served us butter & peanut butter sammiches all the time! Thu May 21 10:25:22 -0700 2009 4636956 290731 Ravac 5 5291541 We always had butter on our sandwiches along with mayo or whatever else was to come. I still love the taste of butter and peanut butter together; I try to save it for a once in a while treat so I can live a few more years. Sat Jan 02 20:50:09 -0800 2010 4703791 127453 herbalista 4 5227461 The best is on a warm (wheat) English muffin. The regular butter goes all melty and into the bread and than the peanut butter adds it's thing on top. I also like butter and jelly, or just butter... This must have somethign to do with my dairy farmer grandparents Fri Dec 04 09:59:03 -0800 2009 4636956 237228 fadingdeath 2 5221397 LMAO – that brings back memories. Similar experience, asked if I wanted mayonnaise on my sandwich and I didn't even know what that was. I had only ever had sandwiches made with butter. Wed Dec 02 06:55:08 -0800 2009 4151422 131643 RetiredChef 1 4151468 Pumpkin pie does have syrup (or honey) poured on it, doesn't it ;). My brother would ask for whipped cream on his so as not to miss out on the cream, eat it off the top and then add the Rogers Golden syrup or honey and eat the pie that way. One of our favourite desserts was really thick Bird's custard with sweetened thickened currant juice on top. I guess a combo of my Dad's British and my Mom's Dutch roots. Never have I seen that dessert anywhere else. And it's not a 'weird' food, but when I was little I didn't understand where my friends got their vegetables from. We got ours from the garden either at our house or at my grandparents next door, but none of my friends had big backyards. Wed Nov 05 12:16:37 -0800 2008 4151290 139219 Sooeygun 2 4151551 One of our typical Sunday night suppers was French Toast topped with fried eggs (lightly salted during cooking) and sprinkled with sugar. Don't knock it 'til you've tried it! Wed Nov 05 12:44:17 -0800 2008 4151468 162997 lattelover 3 4151615 Cocoa Krispies with Reddi Whip for breakfast. Syrup on meatballs after they were fried and before they went into the gravy. Bones and gristle were for eating. Sounds good to me, lattelover. So does mayo and butter and mustard. Wed Nov 05 13:03:11 -0800 2008 4151551 11104 dolores 3 4152663 In our house, and now in my own, it was French toast with sour cream and chocolate milk. Also, Cheerios sauteed in butter. My mom called it "fried Cheerios." I think I feel a craving coming on. Wed Nov 05 22:00:52 -0800 2008 4151551 196419 Kate is always hungry 3 4156328 Something similar in our house- cottage cheese omelets, and powdered sugar on top. Yum! Still a comfort food. Open faced sandwiches on dark bread surprised the heck out of my childhood friends. My Polish mom * might * have gotten away with the toppings (liverwurst, sliced radishes, sliced hard boiled eggs, etc. or the less worrisome salami and sliced pickles) if only there was only a second slice of bread on top. Somehow the open face confused my friends most of all, go figure! Fri Nov 07 11:15:43 -0800 2008 4151551 149633 Starka 3 4182042 salted fried egg (runny yolk a must) on top of syrupy pancakes. amazing. just...wow. Mon Nov 17 21:31:07 -0800 2008 4151551 207471 plateofwander 4 4807418 Eww...I HATE it when the syrup touches my eggs. ***shudder*** Thu Jun 25 22:51:39 -0700 2009 4182042 290845 KristieB 5 5291545 I'm with you on the syrup and egg thing, KristieB. It's just not right. Sat Jan 02 20:52:39 -0800 2010 4807418 127453 herbalista 3 4902673 Our french toast was never sweet--we always made it with eggs, a splash of milk, salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder, or smoked paprika, fried in a little butter or bacon drippings, then served with chili sauce or even just Catsup. Still remember first time I ordered it in a restaraunt here in Canada and it arrived with powdered sugar and maple syrup and I could not eat it. Still can't eat it sweet. Thu Jul 30 06:08:38 -0700 2009 4151551 323651 mlynnb 4 5111084 Wow, that actually sounds pretty good, mlynnb! I have a huge sweet tooth, but for some reason, I've never been much on sweet french toast. I'd probably pass on the chili sauce/ketchup, but maybe a light herbed butter/olive oil sauce might go along nicely.... Thanks for the idea! Sat Oct 17 17:05:02 -0700 2009 4902673 1107449 tonina_mdc 2 5290684 We always had Apple Pie with a slice of good cheddar cheese and cream poured over it. It's a British thing Sat Jan 02 13:03:23 -0800 2010 4151468 272377 ike04 1 4151671 My mom served roasted lamb heads garnished with salt, pepper and garlic. We each got one and all the tortillas we could eat. It was my favorite; I can still remember the horrified looks in elementary school during a conversation about favorite foods. My mom was so mad at me for telling my classmates about my favorite food. Apparently she knew it wasn't normal! I also loved bologna sandwiches with mayo and potato chips. My grandmother served warm salted bacon fat in small bowls to mop up with pieces of bread. and also served sugared iceberg lettuce. Wed Nov 05 13:21:56 -0800 2008 4151290 237480 dlane 2 4152195 You too, dlane? We had it, once, and I can still see the poor thing's head in my mother's oven. And my horror and obvious scarring for life, watching my father eat the brains and eyes, while I HAD to sit there and eat the cheek meat. Disgusting, barbaric, but times were different, weren't they. I loved fried baloney sandwiches. Wed Nov 05 17:02:27 -0800 2008 4151671 11104 dolores 3 4152446 I loved fried baloney too! And tomato, butter and white bread sandwhiches, but I think our weirdest "normal" food was my dad's Thanksgiving stuffing made with saltine crackers, pineapple and mushrooms. Wed Nov 05 19:06:51 -0800 2008 4152195 236847 dragonchowmein 4 4157121 dragonchowmein, i'm glad to know i'm not the only Chowhound whose family has a bizarre Thanksgiving stuffing tradition. my mom's recipe [which came from her mom] involves corn flakes, oats, onions, carrots, canned mushrooms and schmaltz [chicken fat]. Fri Nov 07 17:13:04 -0800 2008 4152446 103920 goodhealthgourmet 3 4604873 We used to go to a special restaurant that served "Gabutzelle" I know I'm spelling that wrong - but what it is - is "Goats head" They came out with a proper head - sawed in half on a platter! While my sister was absolutely horrified - I was quite facinated...my grandfather would dig into yes the eyes and brain - but wait - it gets worse because he also ate the tounge - and at the end of the meal he would pick out the teeth and suck on them!! I have to add though, that even though we were very young - we did know that this was NOT normal! Fri Apr 17 11:52:09 -0700 2009 4152195 174753 NellyNel 4 4613422 what heritage/region is Gabutzelle? I would be fascinated too. Mon Apr 20 19:26:36 -0700 2009 4604873 163722 hill food 5 4614116 Hi hill Italian American funny though - as I was posting this I tried Google translation of "goats head" thinking it would give me the proper spelling of "Gabutzelle" - but this is what came up: testa delle capre. so I'm not sure where Gabutzelle comes from but that's what we called it. (I also tried to translate Gabutzelle but came up with nothing!) Tue Apr 21 06:43:46 -0700 2009 4613422 174753 NellyNel 6 4616208 maybe it's made up, my SO's mom refers to eggplant as "jojo potatoes" in a ploy to make it more appealing when the kids were at a picky age. Tue Apr 21 15:30:30 -0700 2009 4614116 163722 hill food 7 5153858 Weird, I've only seen thick cut wedge fries called Jo-Jos (though I have no idea why. Never heard of it until I moved to Cleveland) Tue Nov 03 19:07:24 -0800 2009 4616208 52028 DarkRose 6 5160159 I believe you are looking for capozelle. Check the following link: http://able2know.org/topic/73418-1 Fri Nov 06 00:10:55 -0800 2009 4614116 1122170 Whazoo 7 5189616 Thanks so much whazoo!! Unfortunately i am at work and my company blocks allot, and the link was blocked! I need to remember to chack it out over the weekend - I'm curious! At least now i know the correct spelling!! Thanks again! Tue Nov 17 14:20:57 -0800 2009 5160159 174753 NellyNel 8 5267642 Another spelling is capuzzelle, which is what came up when I Googled "goat's head Italian". It can mean either goat or lamb's head. http://www.gourmet.com/magazine/2000s/2009/01/growing-up-italian Mon Dec 21 12:48:58 -0800 2009 5189616 214703 LisaPA 4 5111114 Wow. I really try to be open to different kinds of foods, but that's far beyond my reach. Gaahhh! I'm surprised it didn't give you nightmares! I'm of Italian descent too, but I'm thankful to say nothing like that ever showed up on my grandparents' table! However, I'm squeamish about eating things like eyes and brains anyway. Sat Oct 17 17:13:40 -0700 2009 4604873 1107449 tonina_mdc 5 5290659 OMG!! That's too bad! If there's anything better than a brain simmered in slightly acidulated water with a little salt, drained, sliced and with a pat of butter on it, I can't think of it. It's really good if you're not feeling well - nourishing, light and good. Although, with some of the diseases making the rounds in animals now, I'd have to think twice. Sat Jan 02 12:50:50 -0800 2010 5111114 1110707 caiatransplant 4 5165233 Go gramps. Sun Nov 08 11:45:29 -0800 2009 4604873 1092732 Alan N 3 4703799 Those cheeks are probably $40 at Mario Batalli Babbo. Thu May 21 10:27:16 -0700 2009 4152195 28638 phantomdoc 3 5083233 YUM! Wow, haven't thought of a fried baloney sandwich in years. I think my mom was trying to make a Midwestern version of the NJ classic Taylor Ham and Cheese with these when I was a kid. Not even close, mom!! http://kitchendreamer.blogspot.com/ Tue Oct 06 12:13:11 -0700 2009 4152195 1112644 ec_washington55 2 4152202 sugared iceberg lettuce? intriguing! a regional specialty or her own concoction? did she just shred the lettuce and put sugar on top? Wed Nov 05 17:05:50 -0800 2008 4151671 64215 cimui 3 4152812 I missed the sugar on iceberg lettuce! dlane, I put sugar on everything, but never put it directly on salad. I put it in all my dressings, does that count? I think I would have liked your grandmother. Mine put sugar in her gravy (red sauce), and cemented my sweet tooth forever. Thu Nov 06 04:11:52 -0800 2008 4152202 11104 dolores 3 4153692 I think it was her own concoction. I inherited my sweet tooth from grannie. it was a small plate with sugar, lettuce on the side. We tore off small pieces of lettuce and dipped them in. It was one of my afterschool snacks along with hot buttered homemade torillas. Boy, I miss grannie! Thu Nov 06 10:51:01 -0800 2008 4152202 237480 dlane 4 4155230 my grannie also had a massive sweet tooth (still does, actually). she'd serve us ripe, red tomatoes out of our garden with sugar. maybe i should introduce her to the sugared lettuce thing. =) Thu Nov 06 21:38:41 -0800 2008 4153692 64215 cimui 2 4326840 Mustard and potato chips on my bologna sandwiches. Never tried it with mayo, but that would probably be good too. I know a lot of southerners who eat mayo on their fries instead of ketchup - never did get that one. Wed Jan 14 15:24:49 -0800 2009 4151671 253542 cycloneillini 3 4328174 i like to dip crispy fries in mayo, but i learned that in belgium. Thu Jan 15 06:33:16 -0800 2009 4326840 105717 alkapal 4 5118093 YUM! Frites in a paper cup with a glob of mayo! One of the best things I ate in Belgium -- and I ate a TON of things there. Tue Oct 20 14:24:30 -0700 2009 4328174 1112644 ec_washington55 3 4629930 mayo on toast--that's it. peanut butter and pickle sandwiches too! Sun Apr 26 11:14:17 -0700 2009 4326840 271346 mamma_spice 3 4629944 Oh, yeah, I forgot about that too. Before microwave ovens you had to reheat pasta on the stove and it got crispy---yum! Sun Apr 26 11:19:34 -0700 2009 4326840 271346 mamma_spice 2 4616415 Can't relate to the lambs head, though I have heard wonderful things and would love to try it...not on the menu at Ruth's Chris. But sugared iceberg lettuce was my family's definition of salad. Tue Apr 21 16:37:42 -0700 2009 4151671 24738 LJS 3 4622389 There is (or was) an old restaurant in the restaurant row area (might be a on that block or one or two off) that was a real old school type place on the garden level. My husband and I stopped in for a drink at the bar (after spying it through the window and becoming intrigued) and checked out the menu. They have something like this on the menu. However, you have to order it a couple of days ahead of time. Sorry, this is in Manhattan. I forgot that I was on the general board. Thu Apr 23 12:19:00 -0700 2009 4616415 14778 magfitz 2 4638626 Such a funny story about your mom getting mad! I think I am in love with your grannie. When my nieces and nephews were young we would do a few pig roasts during the year and the adults would always fight over the head. Slowly but surely we have turned these little urbane, abercrombie-ites into jowl snatching snout coveting freaks just like we were. Hope that joy is passed to their kids. Wed Apr 29 08:08:02 -0700 2009 4151671 137755 Sal Vanilla 1 4152023 Navy beans (cooked w/ham or bacon) and served on white bread with ketchup. Wed Nov 05 15:34:23 -0800 2008 4151290 109905 laliz 1 4152032 What do you mean "chili had to served with peanut butter"? That's awesome! Like satay, but...not. You mean it was swirled in or dolloped on top or what? Wed Nov 05 15:39:55 -0800 2008 4151290 11106 tatamagouche 2 4155448 I wondered about the peanut butter & chili also. My Dad was a peanut butter freak (me too, but not as freaky) and would spread peanut butter on his pizza. He claimed he had it in Germany when he was in the military. My guess is that was only half the story and the rest was he had it after spending the day drinking beer. Spaghetti w/ oil and garlic was my favorite meal and Mom made it often (Sicilians call it midnight spaghetti). My friends always thought it was weird. Fri Nov 07 04:43:23 -0800 2008 4152032 71241 lynnlato 3 4155486 Oh boy yes. When I started to eat macaroni, carbonara and agli e olio were two of my favorites. With sugar, of course. Oh, and spaghetti pie with a dozen eggs and cheese and pepperoni. *sigh* Fri Nov 07 05:22:42 -0800 2008 4155448 11104 dolores 3 4221390 We had spaghetti w/oil and garlic at a friends house that was awesome. I tried to make it at home and it just wasn't the same. It sounds easy enough, but if lynnlato or anyone else could make some suggestions..it would be greatly appreciated. Thanx. Thu Dec 04 17:00:04 -0800 2008 4155448 245652 ambr 4 4221521 I have a few suggestions for you, ambr. First, salt the pasta cooking water well. You can choose which garlic cooking method you prefer. I like to slice garlic cloves paper thin, then put them in the pan with warm olive oil (not hot). I heat the two together, until the garlic is sizzling. If you like your garlic punchy, you can remove it from the heat at this point. If you prefer a crispy brown fried flavour and texture, just let it go longer, but don't let the garlic burn, or you'll have to start over with a clean pan. Set the pan aside. Add the pasta with a little of the cooking water. Toss together over medium heat for a minute, then serve with black pepper and either chopped flat leaf parsley, freshly toasted breadcrumbs or freshly grated parmigiano reggiano. You could also use cacciocavallo for a gooey cheese experience. Personally, I'd keep it simple with the parsley, but add some freshly cracked black pepper and a drizzle of truffle oil. With something so simple, the key is good garlic (remove those green shoots), careful cooking and the salt from the cooking water, unless you're going to load it up with cheese. Taste your pasta before you serve it. Add some high quality salt if necessary. My dad recently started doing a version with sauteed cherry tomatoes, which are added when the garlic starts to sizzle. It sounds nice too. Be sure not to overcook the garlic or the spaghetti/pasta. Thu Dec 04 17:57:10 -0800 2008 4221390 239809 1sweetpea 5 4222363 1sweetpea, that sounds great. ambr, i'd add that you should undercook your pasta in the big pot, so that it finishes to "al dente" in the pan with oil and garlic. also, the pasta in the pan can be "loosened" (if it seems a little dry or stiff) by splashing in *little* doses of the pasta pot cooking water. you'll get the timing and splashing techniques down with trial and error -- a/k/a "experience". ;-). Fri Dec 05 05:33:19 -0800 2008 4221521 105717 alkapal 6 4613431 what is the term? alio olio? Mon Apr 20 19:28:53 -0700 2009 4222363 163722 hill food 7 4622594 Close - it's aglio olio (sometimes aglio e olio). Thu Apr 23 13:04:13 -0700 2009 4613431 14386 BobB 7 4703812 Garlic and oil. Thu May 21 10:32:07 -0700 2009 4613431 28638 phantomdoc 1 4152043 We had Cap'n Crunch with whipped cream in the mornings. Not every morning but on special occasions. During Lent, my Mom's standard evening meal was pancakes, with tuna salad served along side of the pancakes so the maple syrup would co-mingle with the tuna. Wed Nov 05 15:45:47 -0800 2008 4151290 95843 Living4fun 1 4152063 I had NO IDEA that everyone didn't use olive oil for every cooking need. I've always loved Fillipo Berio & scrambled eggs. Even in the deep fryer, Mom used olive oil. We also had pasta at least twice a week. Pasta & peas, pasta & cauliflower, pasta & sauce, pastina, pasta & broccoli... you get the idea. No, Mom's not Italian. Dad's parents were from Sicily, and he was the spoiled favorite son. I also NEVER had meatloaf until I was an adult. Dad hated it, so Mom NEVER made it. Grandma used to give us home made sauce on bread if we were hungry before a meal, or really stinky Italian cheese. I love stinky Italian cheese. If we had steak, it was cooked in a pan, and we fought (still do!) over the pan drippings, which we always called dippy and sopped up with a slice of Wonder bread. Mmmmmmmmmmm........... bloody bread. On St. Patrick's Day, Mom would wake us up with Green Eggs & Ham (just food coloring). and May 1st, before anything else, we had to go outside and wash our faces in the dew... "Queen of May, Queen of May, Wash my ugliness away!" Has anyone ever heard of that?! And EVERYTHING was home made. I never had Hamburger Helper or Ramen noodles or Kraft's blue box of cheesefood until college. Wed Nov 05 15:55:27 -0800 2008 4151290 204286 lisafaz 2 4152157 Yes, I've washed my face in dew on May Ist, but I think--as with so much else--I got the idea from a book, (Louisa May Alcott?) and not from my family or friends. I didn't have green eggs and ham (how'd she dye the ham?), but my dad did make me green pancakes and milk on St Patrick's day. Other mornings, he gave me milk blended with a raw egg and "Quick." Most people think that's pretty horrible and in retrospect I agree. Wed Nov 05 16:44:02 -0800 2008 4152063 11231 Glencora 3 4157362 We had raw eggs, milk. vanilla and strawberry quik, in the blender with ice cubes as a treat when I was a kid. It was yummy! Fri Nov 07 19:40:44 -0800 2008 4152157 124908 jeanmarieok 4 4157468 But now we're not supposed to give our kids raw eggs. Not that I ever got sick. Fri Nov 07 20:59:51 -0800 2008 4157362 11231 Glencora 5 4158509 pasteurized egg products are easy to find these days if you want to use them in raw preparations. Sat Nov 08 13:06:07 -0800 2008 4157468 103920 goodhealthgourmet 4 4638649 My dad used to make us raw eggs and chocolate ice cream in the blender - smoothed out with milk. He also fed us raw hamburger. How ever did we survive? ; ) Wed Apr 29 08:14:59 -0700 2009 4157362 137755 Sal Vanilla 5 4808999 We would have raw eggs and ovaltine or raw eggs with packets of Carnation instant breakfast made in a blender. And I was forced to put wheat germ on sugary breakfast cereal or I wasn't allowed to have it. But on Sundays we had scrapple, bacon, or sausage and fried eggs. I guess it all balanced out. Fri Jun 26 12:08:11 -0700 2009 4638649 13599 Ellen 5 5290680 When I was a kid, my mother, thinking I should have extra nourishment, would crack a raw egg, separate the yolk and the white, and make me swallow the raw egg yolk, accompanied by her sung admonition: Down the hatch, America!! She was French. It wasn't bad but I always followed up with a serving spoon of olive oil that had been infused with several cloves of mashed garlic! The egg was tolerable but the oil was heaven:). Sat Jan 02 13:02:12 -0800 2010 4638649 1110707 caiatransplant 6 5323956 "tummy aioli?" ;-)). Fri Jan 15 03:04:06 -0800 2010 5290680 105717 alkapal 5 5291603 We always bought several pounds of ground "chuck" to make hamburger patties, along with 1 pound of ground sirloin that got eaten raw. A little salt, maybe some pepper, maybe a saltine cracker. I shouldn't admit it, and I don't do it often, but I still love it. Sat Jan 02 21:38:54 -0800 2010 4638649 127453 herbalista 6 5292688 In the 70's, my parents used to throw some pretty awesome parties. Raw oysters, cheviche, and beef tartare were on the menu, natch. I thought it was normal. Now it's not (so much). I wonder if anyone would eat that tartare now... It's a miracle we all survived! Sun Jan 03 13:53:19 -0800 2010 5291603 181204 stuck in Hartford County 7 5328189 @stuck: I'd eat that, I'd probably hog the table even. Sun Jan 17 05:44:59 -0800 2010 5292688 163722 hill food 3 4638914 When my Dad was a kid, the neighbor's chickens used to lay their eggs in his family's outhouse. His grandfather would take said eggs and mix them raw with canned milk, sugar and vanilla to pour over cereal. My Mom says Dad served this to me once and once only. Thankfully I was too young to remember it. Yuck! Wed Apr 29 09:29:27 -0700 2009 4152157 86005 amethiste 4 4643749 When I was sixteen I drank my first beer w/ a raw egg in it w/ my uncles, dad and grandfather. A right of passage? Thu Apr 30 16:46:15 -0700 2009 4638914 93538 Passadumkeg 5 5165249 A wrong of passage unless you managed to keep it down. Is that something you have had since? Sun Nov 08 11:55:09 -0800 2009 4643749 1092732 Alan N 6 5289802 Every now and then, I throw an egg in my beer. I have introduced our eldest 2 sons to the nurishing treat too. They are good beer drinkers. In the 70's, after work, we called it the drinking man's supper. Sat Jan 02 05:17:10 -0800 2010 5165249 93538 Passadumkeg 7 5290238 What type of beer is best for the combo? Any kind of egg? Sat Jan 02 09:52:36 -0800 2010 5289802 1092732 Alan N 1 4152084 Herring on rye for breakfast and kapusta (saurkraut) w/ everything. My childhood WASP friends wondered why our "house smelled funny". Wed Nov 05 16:06:11 -0800 2008 4151290 93538 Passadumkeg 2 4152217 Just remembered another one....Wilted Lettuce. Mom would cook some bacon, add some vinegar and sugar to the grease and pour it over lettuce, stirring until it wilted. Wed Nov 05 17:12:39 -0800 2008 4152084 162997 lattelover 3 4153960 Wilted Black Seeded Simpson lettuce. The one loose leaf lettuce that could survive Virginia Piedmont summer heat. Thu Nov 06 12:22:25 -0800 2008 4152217 79896 shallots 4 4807423 I have a huge mess of Black Seeded Simpson in my garden as we speak. when we get back from our trip this weekend I am so getting some bacon, green onion, radishes and making a wilted lettuce salad. Thu Jun 25 22:57:17 -0700 2009 4153960 290845 KristieB 3 4157145 Oh, yeeeeeeaaaaaahhhhh. Yum. I grew up running to the garden for red leaf lettuce just so that we could make this delight. I've never understood why I haven't seen it anywhere else, as it is amazing. I think my mom put a little mayo in the sugar and vinegar mixture. Bitterness and sweetness from the lettuce, tang of the vinegar, sparkle of the sugar, salt of the bacon, oh my. Fri Nov 07 17:36:55 -0800 2008 4152217 64882 Vetter 3 4181477 We had that too! Lettuce straight out of the garden & the first harvest of the spring. Sooo good. Mon Nov 17 17:30:29 -0800 2008 4152217 226378 turqmut 4 4326854 Same here. Exactly like lattelover's recipe. Wed Jan 14 15:27:06 -0800 2009 4181477 253542 cycloneillini 3 4644253 Here's another for wilted lettuce, made in such a big batch for the 3 of us that Mom used a dishpan. No sugar at our house, though, but sliced green onions. I can still eat a huge batch of it. I have heard folks saying it's better with iceberg because it stays crisp, but I loved the wilt-iness of it that way. Thu Apr 30 19:51:22 -0700 2009 4152217 90114 lemons 1 4152399 My parents had fairly boring, standard ideas of what food was but there were quite a few things that we were denied. I was in college before I had ramen, mac & cheese, delivery pizza, steak, pork chops, and fish NOT well done, any form of Doritos, Perkins, or Chinese food. My college roommates wondered what planet I grew up on. When I told my mom I had sushi for the first time several years ago I thought she was gonna pass out. Wed Nov 05 18:41:59 -0800 2008 4151290 194076 Stillwater Girl 2 4153499 What is/are Perkins? Thu Nov 06 09:44:29 -0800 2008 4152399 109905 laliz 3 4154041 www.perkinsrestaurants.com Thu Nov 06 12:51:11 -0800 2008 4153499 19518 rockandroller1 1 4152715 my mom certainly wasn't a cook, but there were a few of the things she did prepare/cook that i didn't realize were out of the ordinary until i had friends over or went to a friend's houses... tuna salad made with red onion, red apple, celery and curry powder strawberry shortcake - that yellow cake from the market produce section, soaked with some skim milk, then topped (to my chagrin) with strawberries and reddi-whip... i used to chew and swallow the strawberries asap as i didn't like them, but for some reason thought i couldn't have strawberry shortcake if i didn't eat the strawberries... my mom now asks me why i didn't speak up... i apparently surely could have just had the milky cake and whip, which i would inevitably mash up into a soup of sorts once i'd disposed of the strawberries when we ate chicken soup (that my grandmother slaved over all day), we always had the soup, lukshen, carrots and celery in one bowl, then the chicken served on a plate to be dipped in mayo. i didn't realize this was odd, until we were in a restaurant one day, and my friend ordered a bowl of chicken soup, and it came all in one bowl without any mayo... on the other hand, i had a thai friend who had no idea that it was weird (or at least i found it weird) that her parents had no problem with her eating sara lee poundcake for breakfast. or even red vines. Wed Nov 05 23:35:50 -0800 2008 4151290 15572 Emme 2 4152769 Slice of homemade white bread thickly slathered with sour cream and generously drizzled with molasses or dark Karo syrup. To die for. Sweet sour contrast! I still do this once a year just as a reward to my 72 year old taste buds! dick Thu Nov 06 01:45:50 -0800 2008 4152715 148516 mr jig 3 4152938 You'd probably like this. My grandmother would mix cane syrup with sour cream and dip biscuits in it. I still do this when I have cane syrup at home....hard to find in Indiana. Thu Nov 06 05:53:54 -0800 2008 4152769 78897 alliedawn_98 2 4638680 That is how my mom and now all the kids in my family make tuna salad. No exceptions, no other way. My sister went rogue with a grannie smith substitution. it was not well received. That said - we never had any other fish in our house except for starkist tuna and that only when my dad was away for business. My dad was homeless for the majority of his childhood and lived on fish, grits and greens. For some reason the fish got ditched and the other two embraced. As a youngster I never had a piece of fish unless I caught it with my grandpa. Later I caught a tuna (at ten) and my mom forced my dad to let me cook it. We kept my one piece and gave the rest away. Later in life I fished nearly every day and ate fish almost every day. Funny how that works. Wed Apr 29 08:25:35 -0700 2009 4152715 137755 Sal Vanilla 3 4639284 my dad grew up during the Depression and had a similar attitude. to him fish was poor people's food and only acceptable if caught oneself. canned tuna was such a treat for me when he was out of town. now after cholesterol screenings following years of bacon and beef and the shift in market prices, that perception has changed. Wed Apr 29 11:04:03 -0700 2009 4638680 163722 hill food 3 4665287 >>>>My sister went rogue with a grannie smith substitution.<<<<< too funny. i did that with a jalapeño jack cheese as a substitute for just some of the cheddar cheese chunks in my mom's leseuer pea salad. it got the same response as your sister's granny smith substitution. Fri May 08 05:47:04 -0700 2009 4638680 105717 alkapal 1 4152929 I spent a lot of time at my grandparents' house as a kid, and many of the "strange" foods come from them. My favorite was green beans (or field peas, or collards) cooked with potatoes and cornmeal dumplings, all served in one bowl with a generous amount of pot liquor and topped with ketchup at the table. If they could get really fresh cream we would have biscuits and cream for dinner - each person would pour about 1/2 cup of cream on their plate and add molasses, preserves, or whatever else they wanted, then sop it up with fresh biscuits. That was it, the whole meal was cream and sweet stuff sopped with biscuits. The strangest one, even I always thought it was odd, was my grandfather's love of butter. We would frequently have little debbie cakes for dessert, and would smear a 1/4 inch thick layer of butter on his oatmeal cream pie before eating it. Thu Nov 06 05:48:59 -0800 2008 4151290 135311 mpjmph 2 4154385 I have to say the fresh cream/biscuits/molasses and preserves sounds like heaven to me :) Thu Nov 06 14:39:35 -0800 2008 4152929 69497 VTtoMAtoCAfoodie 1 4153074 This is actually my SO's story.... I was about to throw out the leftover pasta and sauce and he says "save it so we can fry it up tomorrow". I had no clue what he meant, but stuck it in the fridge. The next day, he fried it in a pan til it was all crispy and, omigod, so good. He acted like EVERYONE fries their leftover pasta. I had never heard of it and neither had any one else I asked. Thu Nov 06 07:03:42 -0800 2008 4151290 12237 L_W 2 4153143 I forgot ALL about that, LW! My father did (and still does) savor my mother's macaroni and gravy down to the last morsel, and she would cook it up in her (she still uses it) Creuset frying pan that she got as a bank gift. I would wait until he got to the bottom of the pan and scape out all the crunchy bits. How funny. Thu Nov 06 07:36:11 -0800 2008 4153074 11104 dolores 3 4153705 My kids still fight over the "crispies" left at the bottom of baked macaroni and cheese, lasgne, casseroles, etc. Thu Nov 06 10:55:52 -0800 2008 4153143 237480 dlane 2 4153261 I have seen that on cooking shows. I can't recall which ones. Thu Nov 06 08:22:34 -0800 2008 4153074 139219 Sooeygun 2 4153515 I love Love LOVE fried spaghetti. Tried to feed it to my kids once. Notice I said once. Sigh. Their father is full blooded Italian and I guess it is in their genetic makeup or something to not enjoy one of my childhood favorites. What's a mother to do? (hint. eat it all herself) Thu Nov 06 09:50:20 -0800 2008 4153074 109905 laliz 2 4153809 Still the best way to heat up leftover pasta. I fry it in a cast iron pan with butter. Thu Nov 06 11:32:41 -0800 2008 4153074 46220 pesto 2 4155085 Oh G-D yeah we had fried macaroni! I do it in butter, usually a scrambled up egg or two, extra grated parm, no sauce/gravy just whatever leftover is clinging to the noodles. Thu Nov 06 20:00:57 -0800 2008 4153074 110426 Boccone Dolce 2 4164634 My SO introduced me to fried pasta leftovers...although he tops his with a fried egg and a sliced banana. He says he learned about the banana-on-pasta trick from some Ethiopian friends. Tue Nov 11 09:38:04 -0800 2008 4153074 72893 jessicaxo 1 4153093 a frequent breakfast: sliced bananas with a sprinkle of sugar and then a huge dollop or two of sour cream. Lunch: cottage cheese, herring in cream sauce (homemade), and canned peaches. Oh so good. Oh, and I didn't have "white bread" until I earned my own babysitting money and my sister and I bought a loaf to try. We were so disappointed! It was spongy and nasty. Why did the other kids tease us about our rye or pumpernickel sandwiches when they had to eat that garbage! lol. Thu Nov 06 07:17:44 -0800 2008 4151290 120180 tzurriz 2 4153147 Sliced bananas with sour cream (no sugar) was a staple in our house too. I wonder if it's an Eastern European Jewish thing? Thu Nov 06 07:37:40 -0800 2008 4153093 14386 BobB 3 4153172 Ditto, and those are half my roots too. Thu Nov 06 07:48:02 -0800 2008 4153147 11106 tatamagouche 4 4153287 did you do strawberries too? I think the sugar is because my dad has a major sweet tooth. ;) Thu Nov 06 08:30:20 -0800 2008 4153172 120180 tzurriz 5 4154327 Yes, strawberries and sour cream with brown sugar, actually (the clumpy type, not the granulated type). But no sugar on the bananas. The latter was for breakfast and the former for dessert. Thu Nov 06 14:18:45 -0800 2008 4153287 11106 tatamagouche 6 4157126 definitely an Eastern Eur. Jewish thing...we did both in our house. it was a breakfast dish, and strawberries always got brown sugar, bananas sometimes - depended on who was eating it. Fri Nov 07 17:19:05 -0800 2008 4154327 103920 goodhealthgourmet 7 4170690 Yet another Ashkenazi whose father introduced her to sour cream and brown sugar on strawberries. I had no idea it was a Jew thing. Thu Nov 13 10:21:04 -0800 2008 4157126 57371 operagirl 8 4174686 Sorry, just Russian decent: strawberries w/ sour cream and brown sugar. Sour cream on potato pancakes, and blintzes too. Fri Nov 14 16:11:57 -0800 2008 4170690 93538 Passadumkeg 9 4174907 Heh I was referring to myself! Sorry for the mixup. Fri Nov 14 18:15:17 -0800 2008 4174686 57371 operagirl 10 4178304 Shalom. Sun Nov 16 15:04:22 -0800 2008 4174907 93538 Passadumkeg 3 4153196 I remember a girl I went to school, loved banana's and cream. Her mom packed it for lunch one day, but she was embarrassed to eat it in front of the class so she skipped lunch. BTW: I thought it was normal to put salt on French Toast, no syrup. Until I was at a sleep over. Today when I make it I have one piece with salt and another with syrup. Thu Nov 06 07:57:49 -0800 2008 4153147 11701 MrsT 4 4647827 That's how my husband has his French toast - savoury, not sweet. He's Scottish. Sat May 02 06:53:39 -0700 2009 4153196 288063 elance 3 4821100 With my father being of off the boat Eastern European Jewish heritage and my mom being a New Jersey farm girl, we had quite the mix. But ALWAYS the sour cream. Sour cream on everything. In everything. Sour cream sandwiches. Sour cream and brown sugar on grapes. Also herring and sour cream on dark bread. We also had stuffed grape leaves with, what else--sour cream--on every Thanksgiving table. Matzoh with butter and jelly was and still is a favorite snack. Anyone else remember when they would have chocolate covered matzoh around the holidays? That was always a treat. From my mom we got cream cheese and jelly sandwiches--the kids at school always thought that was weird. Also an awesome dish that I've never seen anywhere else--fried tomato gravy. She would mash about 2 dozen tomatos (fresh from the garden of course), and cook them down with some oil on low heat for a couple of hours until it was a thick concentrated tomato paste. Then add some cream and a bit of sugar and served over mashed potatoes. Still one of my favorites. Wed Jul 01 08:47:22 -0700 2009 4153147 1090038 RachelPgh 4 4822055 funny enough, tomato gravy is done in the south, but made with bacon drippings and flour to thicken. served over white bread or white rice. mmmm, gooood home cookin'! Wed Jul 01 13:18:48 -0700 2009 4821100 105717 alkapal 5 4822066 I like to add a little cream to my tomato gravy, and serve it over biscuits, mashed potatoes, and meatloaf. Wed Jul 01 13:22:22 -0700 2009 4822055 11995 pikawicca 6 4822168 oops, yeah, i forgot to add the milk. and when you're out of milk, water has to do..... and cream -- ooooh -- that's livin' rich, girl! Wed Jul 01 13:48:25 -0700 2009 4822066 105717 alkapal 4 5249537 We often had cream cheese and jelly sandwiches for grade school lunches! My dad would make them to our demands. One time he made cream cheese, strawberry jelly and....drum roll....liverworst! My mom was horrified when that turned out to be our favourite and most requested sandwich. My grandmother was a depression era gal so everything had butter. Everything! Crackers, salad, sandwiches, mac 'n' cheese, celery and sometimes she would make us her depression coffee or tea which had butter instead of cream. I actually liked that one! We hardly used butter or oil and when we did use oil it was olive oil. I found it odd that most people I knew cooked with so much grease, oil or butter! We were close to vegetarian so my friends did not understand why we didn't have meat at every dinner. Oh, and they had no idea why my parents would let us eat the foods of our choice! And, the weirdest thing of all is not from my family but from my boyfriends'...his mom regularly ate sandwiches with peanut butter and red onion. But not just any onion, big, thick slices about a half inch thick or more! And, when we were little, my brother and I would put large amounts of milk on our jello then, for each bite, we'd swish it around in our mouths so it blended well. I think this was the only time my mom let us make awful noises at the table!!! Sun Dec 13 21:30:46 -0800 2009 4821100 1117294 MinkeyMonkey 5 5323957 >>she would make us her depression coffee or tea which had butter instead of cream<< now *that* dish you have to describe further, minkeymonkey! like a coffee-flavored buttercream? Fri Jan 15 03:07:36 -0800 2010 5249537 105717 alkapal 6 5327358 She would put tons of sugar, coffee crystals, hot water and about half a tablespoon of butter in it. She said they did that when they ran out of cream or milk. Although, I think they did not often have cream...now I forget! It was super yummy actually. Sat Jan 16 14:46:51 -0800 2010 5323957 1117294 MinkeyMonkey 3 5120808 Sliced bananas with yogurt (and generally sugar) is not unheard of in parts of India. My parents picked up the habit in college, and I inherited it. Wed Oct 21 14:43:55 -0700 2009 4153147 1112748 Scrofula 2 4153776 Another bowl of sour cream and sliced bananas, here! I was also served cottage cheese with cannd peaches. To this,day it is my go-to headache food. My mother would cut up strawberries add sugar to macerate, then into the sour cream they went. I come from a sour cream-obsessed home. As stated previously, we ate French toast with sour cream. Sour cream herring with pumpernickel bread--azay geshmacht! Thu Nov 06 11:22:24 -0800 2008 4153093 196419 Kate is always hungry 3 4160769 Another Ashkenaz here . . . sour cream on everything -- blueberries, bananas, strawberries. Sour cream on toasted kaiser rolls with coarse salt on top, on French toast, on rye bread, on blintzes. Sun Nov 09 19:17:08 -0800 2008 4153776 16828 Judith 4 4161645 whenever my parents have a family brunch, one of the highlights for me is pickled herring in cream sauce - it's the only time and/or place i ever have it. my father gets it from Zabar's, and i swear the ratio of sour cream to herring must be 4:1! Mon Nov 10 08:41:33 -0800 2008 4160769 103920 goodhealthgourmet 4 4162127 My parents' house was the same - sour cream ruled ... with bananas & berries, on latkes, on knishes. Dad also loved adding sour cream to his ice-cold (thanks to the addition of ice cubes) borscht along with a boiled potatoe. Another Friday shabbat favorite, in addition to the homemade kishke, was helzel that my bubby sewed together & stuffed. Dad used to surgically cut & portion it out so everyone got an equal slice. No cholesteral worries in those days! Mon Nov 10 11:08:35 -0800 2008 4160769 43126 RhondaB 5 4162974 Thanks for reminding me about the latkes. My father made the best latkes. Fortunately, my brother learned well. Latkes--another reason to eat sour cream! Mon Nov 10 16:03:39 -0800 2008 4162127 196419 Kate is always hungry 6 4174582 My family did the sour cream thing on my dad's side. My mom's side is lactose-intolerant and I learned by love of latkes with applesauce, salt and pepper. Oddly, I also learned my love of cheese latkes with pie filling from this side of my family. Fri Nov 14 15:26:28 -0800 2008 4162974 152043 TampaAurora 4 4174936 not Jewish but Eastern European descent -- when we grew up, sour cream with french fries (and salt). delicious. Fri Nov 14 18:36:39 -0800 2008 4160769 98493 JamieK 5 4178310 don't forget sour cream in borscht or a cucumber, onion, dill and sour cream salad. Sun Nov 16 15:05:50 -0800 2008 4174936 93538 Passadumkeg 5 4326907 Adding to the "Jew Crew"--sour cream mixed into Jello, either before it sets or after. Mmmmm! I attribute all my rich/dairy cravings to my Jewish heritage. :) But also, growing up in an Italian family, I didn't realize until I went to college that not all holiday meals begin with LASAGNA. :) And I never got the mayo on fries thing till I got hooked on garlic mayo...I ask for a side of that with my fries when it's available. Wed Jan 14 15:47:43 -0800 2009 4174936 249664 kattyeyes 6 4613438 given that gelatin has animal matter, is it allowed to mix in dairy? just curious, still trying to understand the ins and outs. Mon Apr 20 19:32:13 -0700 2009 4326907 163722 hill food 7 4613885 I can't say if it's Kosher, but it's delicious. Apparently, the Eastern European heritage is a pathway to love of many tasty things with sour cream. Tue Apr 21 04:18:33 -0700 2009 4613438 249664 kattyeyes 8 4616216 I'd take that any day over the vile Jello/whipped cream abomination foisted at picnics. Tue Apr 21 15:32:17 -0700 2009 4613885 163722 hill food 8 4647841 Amen to that. So to speak. Sat May 02 07:10:44 -0700 2009 4613885 11106 tatamagouche 7 4620587 There is pareve gelatin. I have some tucked away in the kitchen. Widely used in kosher foods such as marshmallows. Wed Apr 22 23:42:10 -0700 2009 4613438 196419 Kate is always hungry 4 5291629 I have a good friend who was raised around her Romanian grandmother and thought everyone ate sour cream on everything. She tells about going to an Italian restaurant with her cousins and having one of them ask where the sour cream was when they served her spaghetti. Sat Jan 02 21:59:22 -0800 2010 4160769 127453 herbalista 1 4153119 One of our favorite breakfasts was sliced pepperoni fried up in a skillet, feta cheese, kalamata olives (yes, we were Greek) and buttered toast. I thought it was perfectly normal til I went away to college. Thu Nov 06 07:29:38 -0800 2008 4151290 19518 rockandroller1 1 4153164 My mom always made tomato soup with buttered popcorn, which we sprinkled into the soup like croutons. She also made me cream cheese and green olive sandwiches, which doesn't seem so odd but horrified my grade-school friends in Oklahoma. Thu Nov 06 07:45:18 -0800 2008 4151290 11106 tatamagouche 2 4153227 I had cream cheese and jelly sandwiches, on Wonder bread of course. Yum. Thu Nov 06 08:09:12 -0800 2008 4153164 11104 dolores 3 4156480 Try peanut butter with cream cheese ! Yum Also, I used to go to deli where they had Italian hard salami w/whipped cream cheese on a kaiser roll. Delish! Fri Nov 07 12:19:04 -0800 2008 4153227 86167 kawachi 3 4809982 cream cheese and jelly.... forgot about those. love love love Fri Jun 26 19:31:38 -0700 2009 4153227 242801 CoryKatherine 4 4810010 How did I not mention this previously--banana bread sandwiches filled with cream cheese OR butter! Fri Jun 26 19:49:37 -0700 2009 4809982 249664 kattyeyes 5 5111147 Oh wow, kattyeyes, that sounds AWESOME! My arteries are screaming at the thought of one, but my brain's cheers are drowning them out. ;-) Sat Oct 17 17:30:15 -0700 2009 4810010 1107449 tonina_mdc 3 4810150 My cousin turned me onto the cream cheese and jam when I was visiting her in Texas. Divine! Fri Jun 26 21:26:11 -0700 2009 4153227 26054 Jasz 2 4153289 Oh, I love cream cheese sandwiches!!! Thu Nov 06 08:30:47 -0800 2008 4153164 120180 tzurriz 2 4153714 Tomato soup with buttered popcorn! Sounds yummy - I will definitely try soon. Thu Nov 06 10:58:20 -0800 2008 4153164 237480 dlane 3 4326861 It's even better with cheesekorn or better yet cheetos Wed Jan 14 15:30:24 -0800 2009 4153714 253542 cycloneillini 2 4153728 We had cream cheese and olive too. Our ancestors (half of yours, anyway) must have come from the same shtetl, tata! Thu Nov 06 11:04:03 -0800 2008 4153164 14386 BobB 3 4157127 i'm loving this thread - i haven't thought about some of these foods since i was a kid! i loved cream cheese & olives....actually, i loved cream cheese on pretty much anything ;) cc & jelly on matzah was a Passover staple, and the rest of the year, it was cc & jelly on Wonder bread. Fri Nov 07 17:21:44 -0800 2008 4153728 103920 goodhealthgourmet 2 4158506 I had cream cheese and olive sandwiches too.. it was one of my favorites. We also had cream cheese and jelly on raisin bread, a treat I still enjoy from time to time. I love the idea of tomato soup with popcorn .... will definitely be trying that. We also had fried bologa (Oscar Meyer of course) and leftover fried spaghetti. This was pre-microwave, so it was really the only (and best) way to reheat it. Mom also saved the heels of our bread (stashed in the freezer) and buttered and baked them to go with dinner. We called them "gramma specials" because it was something my grandmother had also made for us. And Im sure if I went to my mom's freezer now, there would be some bread heels just waiting for ... who knows?? Sat Nov 08 13:05:27 -0800 2008 4153164 102895 Cheflambo 2 4161201 I vaguely remember that cream cheese and green olive sandwiches were trendy back in the fifties. Cream cheese and jelly was pretty commonplace when I was growing up. Also there was a chain (at least in NY) called Choc Full'o Nuts which had a limited menu that included their coffee and among a few other things, cream cheese sandwiches on date-nut bread. When I was a kid that seemed like the height of sophistication. Mon Nov 10 05:35:09 -0800 2008 4153164 16828 Judith 1 4153769 Fried egg sandwiches made with buttered toast, spread with orange marmalade. Baked potatoes with butter, s&p, and ketchup. Grilled cheese sandwiches with ketchup. Thu Nov 06 11:20:05 -0800 2008 4151290 43515 adrienne156 2 4156319 It's weird how food perceptions work. I have no qualms about putting small amounts of catsup on a burger or fries, but for some reason, putting it on a grilled cheese or baked potato really creeps me out (even thoughit's virtually the same thing). Oh brain. So strange. Fri Nov 07 11:10:43 -0800 2008 4153769 92744 invinotheresverde 3 4156447 My parents both went to English (British)-Medium boarding schools as kids, so we eat A LOT of British influenced stuff. Tea is served with milk, ketchup is the condiment of choice, and we always had these corn flake crisps made with golden syrup, butter, and melted chocolate in place of rice crispy treats. :o) Fri Nov 07 12:04:10 -0800 2008 4156319 43515 adrienne156 4 5111158 Come on, most tea is meant to be served with milk or cream! I tried Earl Grey with cream for the first time under my godfather's auspices when I was in college. I have never looked back. A steaming cup of good-quality Earl Grey tea with some cream and just a little sugar can make any day seem lovely! Sat Oct 17 17:34:58 -0700 2009 4156447 1107449 tonina_mdc 5 5189608 I agree, I just didn't know that people drank it hot without milk until my teens. Tue Nov 17 14:18:31 -0800 2009 5111158 43515 adrienne156 3 4638700 My husband is a grilled cheese and ketchup guy. I close my eyes to it. It skeeves me out. You're right... Oh so strange the brain. Wed Apr 29 08:31:34 -0700 2009 4156319 137755 Sal Vanilla 2 5249541 Oh, my, yes! I can't eat a grilled cheese without ketchup and mustard! Which now reminds me off the way we ate french fries...with mustard! And, same for baked potatoes; we put mustard instead of butter on our taters. A friend of mine in high school dared me to try what she thought was the best and weirdest, an apple pie from McDonald's (back when they were still fried and practically dripping with oil) with ketchup. And, to my horror, it was absolutely delicious! Sun Dec 13 21:35:21 -0800 2009 4153769 1117294 MinkeyMonkey 1 4153781 Mom makes an awesome roast chicken by rubbing white vinegar and herbs on the chicken - my favorite. Who knew that some people use butter??? heh. Chili over rice (that's how everyone eats it in HI) - imagine the blank looks I got on the "mainland" when asking for rice rather than cornbread, crackers or chips. Mixing mochi crunch (arare) in popcorn at the movies. Asked for it at a theater in Wilmington, DE (spent summers with my grandparents) and was shown to "munch n' crunch" - not the same. Thu Nov 06 11:23:36 -0800 2008 4151290 156153 akq 2 4647829 Chili over rice is the preferred way in the UK as well, although you sometimes get tortilla chips. Sat May 02 06:55:36 -0700 2009 4153781 288063 elance 2 5111161 My husband and I eat chili over brown rice all the time. It's a great way to make chili stretch if your food budget is tight! Sat Oct 17 17:36:56 -0700 2009 4153781 1107449 tonina_mdc 3 5148224 plus a grain and a legume create a whole protein (or so I'm told) Sun Nov 01 21:50:04 -0800 2009 5111161 163722 hill food 4 5150521 ..."so a grain and a legume walk into this bar...." :-). Mon Nov 02 16:29:49 -0800 2009 5148224 105717 alkapal 5 5151159 looking for a what? and they're told "we don't cater to your trade?" foodist! or even better I propose the term foodistinista for our most extreme acquaintances. Mon Nov 02 22:05:36 -0800 2009 5150521 163722 hill food 5 5152526 and the grain says to the bartender, "Gimme a rye whiskey - straight up!" The legume looks at the grain and says, "Cannibal!" At which point the wino two seats over gets shakily to his feet and says, "I'm going to take a pee," and the legume runs for his life. Tue Nov 03 11:35:01 -0800 2009 5150521 14386 BobB 5 5165269 soaked and chili, looking for some hot company. Sun Nov 08 12:10:35 -0800 2009 5150521 1092732 Alan N 1 4153828 Ah, kishke, my favorite vegetable. At least I thought it was a vegetable because it always was a side dish when growing up. After all, how could you enjoy life without tongue sandwiches, calves brains and schav!!?! Thu Nov 06 11:35:59 -0800 2008 4151290 13653 MoxieBoy 2 4154270 This is so cool, I started this post only yesterday and am suprised at all of the weird foods our parents fed us. I thought of another cool thing my mom would fix for us. It was "JELLO" pudding. it didn't matter what flavor, but I really liked the butterscotch the best. She would make it in a cake pan so it would be super thin. There was this crust kinda thing that would be kinda rubbery. I could pick it off of the top of the pudding in one piece . Does anyone know what the heck i am talking about ?? I really can't explain it. It is the topping of the pudding that over cooks I guess. It was soooo good. In the words of Bill Cosby....There is always room for JELLO Thu Nov 06 14:01:53 -0800 2008 4153828 151974 HotMelly 3 4154282 Sure, the skin on the pudding we called it, and yes it was the best part. We never made it in a cake pan though - that's WEIRD (he says in the voice of a seven-year-old). ;-) Thu Nov 06 14:04:29 -0800 2008 4154270 14386 BobB 3 4154288 Of course, only my mother used My-T-Fine and the skins would form on the pudding in the dishes. And the pot, it was always fun to lick the pot. Thu Nov 06 14:06:54 -0800 2008 4154270 11104 dolores 4 4154293 We were ecumenical - we ate My-T-Fine, Jello brand, tapioca, even Junket rennet custard. If it was a dessert powder in a box, we cooked it up and ate it! Thu Nov 06 14:09:15 -0800 2008 4154288 14386 BobB 5 4176451 We used all of the above, as well. And Junket! I haven't thought of that in years! And put me down as the one who waited for someone else to pull off the skin before I spooned out the "good stuff" below! Sat Nov 15 15:04:57 -0800 2008 4154293 101727 brandywiner 6 4179524 Junket rennet custard. I can't even remember what that tasted like. Do they still make it? Did anyone ever try the European strawberry mousse in a box mix? Not bad. There was also a Jello and Cool Whip thing, iirc, where half was jello and half was a faux mousse, always pink in my house. Good stuff. Mon Nov 17 06:28:09 -0800 2008 4176451 11104 dolores 7 4179543 did that pink dish also involve cottage cheese? the green one with nuts used to be called "watergate salad" -- for what reason, i haven't the faintest idea. it was definitely that era, though. salad. was. seen. at. every. single. potluck. Mon Nov 17 06:34:17 -0800 2008 4179524 105717 alkapal 7 4180565 "Do they still make it?" They sure do: http://www.junketdesserts.com/custard.aspx As I recall it had a very mild flavor and a weird slippery consistency. There was also a product called Whip 'n Chill, which had sort of a gelled-mousse-like texture. Many years later when I first discovered the wonderful world of Bavarian creams I referred to them as Whip 'n Chill for grownups! Mon Nov 17 12:03:49 -0800 2008 4179524 14386 BobB 8 4182362 Thanks, BobB. In my recreational travels to supermarkets, I will have to put it on my list. I'll have to make a note of the European mousse thingy, which is no doubt in the international aisle, along with the indescribably good HobNobs, chocolate of course. You can't eat just one. Tue Nov 18 05:14:20 -0800 2008 4180565 11104 dolores 9 4182388 When my granmother made a "boiled dinner", she included the corn beef, and alo corned spare ribs. The bones got nice and soft, and we we were able to eat about halfway up the bone> A market near me sell the corned ribs around St Patricks Day- and I still enjoy it! Tue Nov 18 05:31:28 -0800 2008 4182362 11057 macca 10 4182411 macca, were you eating bone or gristle? I left off the gristle on sparerib bones in my list, that's my favorite part. Hubby eats the meat, I eat the gristle, Jack Sprats are we. Tue Nov 18 05:45:24 -0800 2008 4182388 11104 dolores 11 4182433 we ate the meat, the bone and the gristle! Still love it, but the kids think it is gross! Tue Nov 18 05:57:02 -0800 2008 4182411 11057 macca 5 5221276 I used to love the maple flavored Junket Wed Dec 02 05:54:21 -0800 2009 4154293 189169 ChrisOC 4 4157131 the pudding skin & the bits that clung to the sides of the pot were the best part! i think My-T-Fine was an East Coast thing, no? my friends from other parts of the country thought i was nuts when i mentioned it during a discussion one day about junk foods from childhood. they only knew from Jell-O. Fri Nov 07 17:24:40 -0800 2008 4154288 103920 goodhealthgourmet 5 4644269 We had My-T-Fine in rural Missouri.... Thu Apr 30 19:56:53 -0700 2009 4157131 90114 lemons 6 4654877 I seriously miss My-T-Fine chile! Mon May 04 22:57:54 -0700 2009 4644269 237929 tracylee 3 4154334 It is, but see above...I still want to know the details about chili with PB!! Spill! Thu Nov 06 14:21:03 -0800 2008 4154270 11106 tatamagouche 4 4154379 tata.Heck if I know.My dad would always put a spoonful of Jif or Skippy peanut butter on our bowl of chili. It kinda melted and disappeared after much stirring. I don't really know if it made the chili better or not, but it was a family ritual Thu Nov 06 14:37:32 -0800 2008 4154334 151974 HotMelly 5 4154411 The one that gets me is the Tomato soup with popcorn.... And we all wonder why we are all messed up. By the way, I have Dyslexia, 5 out of 4 people have it. Thu Nov 06 14:51:19 -0800 2008 4154379 151974 HotMelly 6 4154526 I think it sounds great, I'm going to try it! But then I'm the one whose mom made the soup & popcorn...:) Thu Nov 06 15:38:47 -0800 2008 4154411 11106 tatamagouche 6 5219468 Dyslexics pray to dog! Also, you might remember dyslexics, untie! or 4 out of 3 people can't do fractions. Ha ha- just some teacher jokes. My family enjoys hominy in tomato soup- sort of like popcorn, but not. Weird, I know. Peanut butter, as you know, belongs in a fluffernutter sandwich (peanut butter/fluff/cheapass white bread). Sometimes we add bananas or chocolate. Were "minute steaks" normal? Probably not. Nor was fried chicken dredged 1st in sour cream, then in crushed potato chips, and fried in Crisco. *cringe* Tue Dec 01 11:56:32 -0800 2009 4154411 181204 stuck in Hartford County 7 5219837 actually, that chicken sounds damn good to me Tue Dec 01 13:48:52 -0800 2009 5219468 174753 NellyNel 8 5220395 What's that expression, "One (wo)man's trash is another (wo)man's treasure!"? Tue Dec 01 17:39:33 -0800 2009 5219837 249664 kattyeyes 8 5221259 I was at a club cocktail party a few years ago, and I accidentally mentioned that chicken dish. Conversation stopped. Horrified expressions, pitying looks, evil smirks... Social. Suicide. That chicken was darn good! Wed Dec 02 05:43:19 -0800 2009 5219837 181204 stuck in Hartford County 7 5221231 i can see that hominy in tomato soup. Wed Dec 02 05:30:19 -0800 2009 5219468 105717 alkapal 5 4156009 I've heard of PB in chili before... I can't remember where I first heard about it, but I started adding a few tablespoons to the mix years ago. It makes the flavor a little deeper, and the texture thicker/creamier. Fri Nov 07 09:14:59 -0800 2008 4154379 135311 mpjmph 5 4156039 My SO makes the best chili I've ever had the pleasure of eating and he always serves it with a peanut butter sandwich.....just peanut butter spread on a piece of white bread, folded in half. It's really good! Fri Nov 07 09:26:42 -0800 2008 4154379 78897 alliedawn_98 3 4154488 My grandmother used to make me jello with an extra large layer of rubbery "skin" on it, since that's the part I liked the best (it's the part by the pan, not on the top, though). Over the years we perfected the recipe for it that way, but I don't remember it. Thu Nov 06 15:22:09 -0800 2008 4154270 156153 akq 1 4154450 Banana sandwiches on white bread with butter. Sometimes I still like to eat it, but the butter must be Lurpak. My kids are grossed out by it. My mom used to make Tripe soup and I hated telling my friends about it. I know it's not too weird, but in my neighborhood it was. Thu Nov 06 15:07:09 -0800 2008 4151290 138943 grouper 2 4156048 Banana sandwiches on white bread with mayonnaise or sliced pineapple instead of banana. My mom would make the pineapple sandwiches like that for family reunions and other potlucks. She'd use the pineapple can to cut the white bread into circles and then after assembling, put a maraschino cherry in the center. Everyone I knew ate that and it wasn't until I moved to Indiana that I knew it wasn't popular everywhere. Fri Nov 07 09:28:53 -0800 2008 4154450 78897 alliedawn_98 3 4156099 Interesting, alliedawn. Pineapple on bread. That's probably where the concept of pineapple on pizza came from. I never heard of that growing up and still haven't tried it. It's supposed to be good. Fri Nov 07 09:42:29 -0800 2008 4156048 11104 dolores 4 4326870 I'm not a big fan of it, but one of my family's traditional holiday side dishes is somthing we call Scalloped Pineapple. It's kind of a really moist bread pudding with lots of pineapple chunks in it. Wed Jan 14 15:33:58 -0800 2009 4156099 253542 cycloneillini 5 4809018 Mom called that pineapple stuffing and we had it with ham at Easter. Fri Jun 26 12:11:51 -0700 2009 4326870 13599 Ellen 2 5227518 The only sandwich I can stomach on white bread is a creation I call the "dudical pickle sandwich" I created it as a teenager, knew is wasn't normal at the time, and still love it. It is white bread, miracle whip(not mayo) and hamburger sliced dill pickles (The neon green, krinkle cut kind, store brand is best). Fri Dec 04 10:16:13 -0800 2009 4154450 237228 fadingdeath 1 4154500 I guess the ethnic Vietnamese stuff I ate can be considered unusual. Especially caramelized fish and pork. Personally I always liked bananas with american cheese. It's the only instance that I will ever eat american cheese. Thu Nov 06 15:26:44 -0800 2008 4151290 150363 Captainspirou 2 4155074 My Norwegian father fed me canned sardines. I brought a sardine sandwich ( white bread lots of butter and sardines ) to school for lunch one day and my lunch table emptied. I kept eating them after that, but only at home. He also made what he called egg nog, which was milk, Nestle's chocolate powder and several raw eggs slightly blended. It had to be drunk without stopping because it kind of stuck together in a glob. Thu Nov 06 19:55:46 -0800 2008 4154500 22235 otps 2 4155250 I saw Mr. Rogers eat a banana with a piece of Kraft Singles wrapped around it once. For some reason it stuck, and I can still find an excuse to eat one every now and then! Thu Nov 06 22:04:05 -0800 2008 4154500 73756 enbell 3 4155411 That's exactly why I do it!! Fri Nov 07 04:05:52 -0800 2008 4155250 150363 Captainspirou 1 4155097 Mom would take frozen waffles, toast them and smash a scoop of ice cream in between 2 of them for an ice cream sandwich. Good stuff, and this was before I was ever introduced to a waffle cone although maybe one or both of my parents knew about them? If Daddy made it he would use the ice cream that came in a square 1/2 gallon waxed paper thing- do they still make those paper boxes? And he would splice the box totally open, and slice a perfect square of ice cream (usually Neapolitan) and he would add whipped cream. Not one of my friends ever served that as dessert when I was over! Thu Nov 06 20:06:32 -0800 2008 4151290 110426 Boccone Dolce 2 4155491 Yup, I can see it now -- and no, they don't have those boxes anymore, they'd have to be Lilliputian -- removing the box from the ice cream and cutting the slices to fit the waffles. And then pouring syrup over all. Yum. Fri Nov 07 05:26:21 -0800 2008 4155097 11104 dolores 3 4156493 Of course they make ice cream in those boxes! Every supermarket brand comes in one. And on Mackinac Island in Michigan they have a fantastic ice cream parlor where they make fresh ice cream waffle (not waffle cones, true waffles) sandwiches w/vanilla ice cream. So yummy! Fri Nov 07 12:26:34 -0800 2008 4155491 86167 kawachi 2 5111183 Oh yes, those waxed paper boxes for ice cream are still out there. I don't think my father has ever bought any ice cream that didn't come in that packaging. Until I was about 7 or 8, I didn't know you could buy vanilla ice cream alone! My father always did our shopping and refused to take my sister or me with him. He always bought that neapolitan variety that had vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate in rectangles side by side by side, and I never knew you could buy a box that was just plain vanilla or chocolate! Sat Oct 17 17:47:03 -0700 2009 4155097 1107449 tonina_mdc 3 5119612 We always had that in the freezer when I was a kid - rather nasty, really - each flavor seemed to diminish the other two, somehow. Come to think of it, it may be why I can't stand chocolate and strawberry flavors together. Wed Oct 21 08:20:31 -0700 2009 5111183 13709 buttertart 4 5121143 The flavors in those ice creams were so far away from real chocolate and real strawberry that I still love the two tastes together. However, the part I hated most was that my dad would never buy a new carton until all of it was gone. No one in the family liked the strawberry section (so heaven only knows why he continued to buy neapolitan ice cream!) so it would sit there for weeks until it got all sticky and goopy. I would usually dish it down the toilet while he was out once it became so old that no one would ever think of eating it. ewwww! Wed Oct 21 17:05:46 -0700 2009 5119612 1107449 tonina_mdc 1 4155325 My family gathered like vampires to sop up the blood from rare roast beef being carved onto slices of white bread...It wasn't until we started bringing "important" dates home for dinner and saw the horrified looks on their faces that we realized this might not be the norm... Now we just gather for the carving sans SO's and keep mum! We often had a side dish called "farmers chop suey". This is a mix your own concoction from individual bowls of sour cream, chopped cucumber, tomato and scallions. I seldom have met anyone familiar with it, but everyone I have served it to enjoys it. Thu Nov 06 23:38:39 -0800 2008 4151290 111267 meatn3 2 4155344 My mom used to make "farmer's chop suey" with sour cream, cukes, scallions, and radishes. I haven't had it in years. Very refreshing.. We ate it with dairy meals. Fri Nov 07 00:19:42 -0800 2008 4155325 196419 Kate is always hungry 3 4156377 that was Polish Salad in my house but with the addition of iceberg lettuce hearts. we had it with pork chops and with kelbasa. Fri Nov 07 11:34:32 -0800 2008 4155344 12603 ScubaSteve 2 4155461 We were vampires too! My grandfather would grill up london broil for sunday dinner. It was always rare-med rare. We'd wait for the juices/blood to accumulate on the platter and then we'd pass it and use Italian bread to soak it up. Sometimes he encouraged us to drink it. Was he just a weirdo or was it his Sicilian roots? I don't know, but anyone outside the family thought it was creepy. :) Fri Nov 07 04:54:25 -0800 2008 4155325 71241 lynnlato 3 4155495 Hubby and family, whose father was Sicilian, did that when I first had dinner with them. It horrified me the first time I saw it and I still recoil at the idea, but make it available to him anyway. Blech. Fri Nov 07 05:28:06 -0800 2008 4155461 11104 dolores 3 4156245 My grandmother used to make a roasts beef dinner evey sunday, and all of us kids wuld line up to get a spoonful of the :blood"- we used to call it "gravy on a spoon." Still do it when I make a roast, and before I thicken the juices into a gravy sauce. Fri Nov 07 10:44:44 -0800 2008 4155461 11057 macca 4 4156415 Glad to know we weren't the only freaks doing this - and that others lived to talk about it! :-) Dolores, I understand. Really I do... if I wasn't raised doing it I'd turn my nose up at it to. Kind of you to feed your hubby's need. Fri Nov 07 11:52:13 -0800 2008 4156245 71241 lynnlato 5 4156459 The tradition is passed on!! My 7yo nephew gets a big smile when he has the juice from his steak spread all over his garlic bread ( and sometimes all over his face by the end of the meal)- and like a true young chowhound, he is one who helps make the garlic bread, and the one who seasons the steaks before grilling. Fri Nov 07 12:10:30 -0800 2008 4156415 11057 macca 5 4593489 My mom had a dish she called "bloody beef" - really just a sort of medium rare roast, but now I realize it was the only meat she did NOT serve baked to a dry, gray lump. I'm sure I got funny looks when I told my friends what we had for dinner! Mon Apr 13 22:38:22 -0700 2009 4156415 160926 Kinnexa 6 4613446 my sympathies. that is why I prefer my meat and fish raw when feasible. Mon Apr 20 19:34:01 -0700 2009 4593489 163722 hill food 3 5290728 I think people of European roots believed the juice was nourishing and very good for you. My mom was French and she said in her town, the meat juice was served to sick people. as it was easily digested, tasty and nourishing. Sat Jan 02 13:34:57 -0800 2010 4155461 1110707 caiatransplant 4 5323961 it's the basis for "jus" -- so why does anyone think it odd? Fri Jan 15 03:13:36 -0800 2010 5290728 105717 alkapal 2 4175484 meatn3, i had to laugh at the somewhat ominous mood invoked by your comment "Now we just gather for the carving...." -- picturing some circled-buzzard-like attention focused on the meat juices! LOL! Sat Nov 15 06:59:21 -0800 2008 4155325 105717 alkapal 3 4176263 The level of focus was pretty close when we were kids! The bloody bread and picking off bits of crust from just fried chicken drew us like moths to a flame... Now we try to be somewhat nonchalant! Sat Nov 15 13:17:32 -0800 2008 4175484 111267 meatn3 2 4176505 There was never enought "blood" to go around in our house. Did that recently with a friend over for a steak dinner and she was truly horrified. who knew? Sat Nov 15 15:32:34 -0800 2008 4155325 13599 Ellen 1 4156665 I found out that our traditional peanut butter on pancakes isn't as normal as I'd expect it. I like to spread it on so it gets all melty, then mix syrup into it. And my grandmother always put raisins in her meatloaf. Apparently that was normal to her. I always thought it was weird. Fri Nov 07 13:26:13 -0800 2008 4151290 237929 tracylee 2 4156755 I put currants in my meatballs, along with pine nuts. The peanut butter on pancakes sounds strangely good, even with the syrup. I like to put butter and syrup on a pancake and then top it w/ a fried egg. Break the yolk and let it run all over the pancake and mix with the syrup... mmmmmm. So good. Not bad on waffles either. I've learned that an egg or a piece of bacon can make just about anything taste better. Peanut butter can do a lot for foods too, but isn't quite as versatile as eggs and bacon! p.s. Now it's got me thinking about a fried egg, bacon and peanut butter sandwich. Fri Nov 07 13:59:07 -0800 2008 4156665 71241 lynnlato 3 4156823 I grew up with peanut butter and bacon sandwiches. Even better on an everything bagel! Fri Nov 07 14:26:56 -0800 2008 4156755 152043 TampaAurora 4 4156886 I always was astounded that more people didn't eat peanut butter and pickle sandwiches. Any kind of pickle, but dill is the best. Fri Nov 07 15:05:19 -0800 2008 4156823 14917 mtngirlnv 5 4593491 I loved PB and kosher dills! My father introduced me to peanut butter & pickle sandwiches, but he usually preferred the sweet chips. I think only dills or shredded carrot (maybe a tart apple) can make peanut butter taste good. Mon Apr 13 22:40:22 -0700 2009 4156886 160926 Kinnexa 4 4157134 You did not - quit lying! ;-) (JK) I'm having one tomorrow. I don't have an everything bagel, but I've got rye bread, which I love toasted w/ peanut butter! Fri Nov 07 17:26:53 -0800 2008 4156823 71241 lynnlato 4 4904444 For me it was peanut butter and bologna sandwiches. Don't knock it until you've tried it! Thu Jul 30 14:38:37 -0700 2009 4156823 52417 mmg 3 4162122 MMM, PB and Bacon, PB and Bananas, PB and Butter, PB and Potato Chips! I didn't like jelly as a kid but I'd take just about anything else on my PB sammies. My mom also made me "square eggs" which was just a softboiled egg mixed in with buttered toast that was cut into lil squares all in the same bowl. I didn't know 'square eggs' wasn't the official name for it! Mon Nov 10 11:07:23 -0800 2008 4156755 151336 BaltoPhilFood 4 4176463 I remember a woman from Sanibel who went shell collecting every day with her PB and onion sandwich! I still haven't tried it 40 years later Sat Nov 15 15:11:19 -0800 2008 4162122 204342 FriedClamFanatic 5 4179531 PB and onion? Hmmm. I tried PB and sweet pickle, based on a fictional female detective doing it, and enjoyed it. Then again, I could probably eat PB and spackling. PB and onion. Have to try it. Raw or sauteed, I wonder? Oh, and then there was the raw onion in wine vinegar (there was no balsamic in my house as a kid) for sore throats. Mon Nov 17 06:30:35 -0800 2008 4176463 11104 dolores 6 4179540 I think it was raw..and this was in the days before Vidallia onions were popular, but it may have been a Bermuda onion Mon Nov 17 06:33:07 -0800 2008 4179531 204342 FriedClamFanatic 5 5291646 I was raised on peanut butter and onion sandwiches and my mom still loves 'em. I got sick once after eating one for lunch (probably had nothing to do with it) and I haven't been able to eat one since. Sat Jan 02 22:17:55 -0800 2010 4176463 127453 herbalista 4 4326882 PB and bacon on toast was one of the few things my mother could get me to eat for breakfast and I still love it. It's even better on English muffins, but I never had those until I met my ex-in-laws who were from the east coast. Wed Jan 14 15:37:11 -0800 2009 4162122 253542 cycloneillini 2 4157155 I grew up with mom putting raisins in our taco meat. (Taco meat with packaged seasoning, no less.) I loved it and still make it once in a blue moon. Fri Nov 07 17:41:36 -0800 2008 4156665 64882 Vetter 1 4156926 How come no one has mentioned "Grevin" (SP??) Little pieces of chicken skin and fat that are slowly fried in a pan while pouring off the "schmaltz" that was rendered. Sprinkle some salt on those crunchy pieces and you have pure heaven!!! Every Friday night, all three of us kids would be put into the bathtub for our bath and my mom would bring a huge plate of that to snack on. Leftover rice fried with an egg. Sardine salad, any lettuce based salad with no dressing but a whole can of sardines crushed in the oil and mixed in...yummm Fri Nov 07 15:28:16 -0800 2008 4151290 225062 marbiegreen 2 4161358 Also known as grivnets or gribnets (I think griven may be the singular). Pretty standard Ashkenaz food. That and schmaltz on rye helped put my bubbie and zaydie (grandparents) into an early grave. Mon Nov 10 07:04:26 -0800 2008 4156926 14386 BobB 3 4162942 Gribenes? Aka a heart attack on a plate. Mon Nov 10 15:51:27 -0800 2008 4161358 16828 Judith 1 4156950 as a youngster around 5 yr old, I was skinny as a rail. My mother would make us butter and sugar sandwiches to fatten us up. Sound normal to you? When visiting my cousins they would often eat cottage cheese with EVOO and lot of black pepper. I still like this today. Fri Nov 07 15:39:00 -0800 2008 4151290 89493 scubadoo97 2 4157013 I remember our version of Mac and Cheese was hot broad egg noodles with dry cottage cheese crumbled on top and tons of black pepper. I can't even look at that orange stuff!!! Fri Nov 07 16:14:22 -0800 2008 4156950 225062 marbiegreen 3 4157175 That's a dairy-meal kugel, just not baked. Beaten egg in it to hold it together and bake in the oven. Fri Nov 07 17:52:38 -0800 2008 4157013 180989 rccola 4 4157235 She used to make kugel also, served as a side dish. This was the whole meal. I also remember Onion Cookies. Real thin rolled out dough with diced onion and poppy seeds mixed in and salt sprinkled on top. Baked real crisp. She used to use card shaped (heart, diamond, club, spade) cookie cutters and now that is a family tradition! Fri Nov 07 18:25:22 -0800 2008 4157175 225062 marbiegreen 5 4158579 Onion cookies sound wonderful. What kind of dough? Sat Nov 08 13:52:41 -0800 2008 4157235 11106 tatamagouche 6 4159706 Here is the recipe, 3 cups flour, 3 eggs, 3/4 cup oil, 1 tsp baking powder, 2 tsp salt, poppy seeds. Dough will be slightly oily. Roll really thin, cut and bake on an ungreased tray at 350 until nice and brown and crisp. Great with beer!! Sun Nov 09 09:02:55 -0800 2008 4158579 225062 marbiegreen 7 4160793 How much onion do you use? Sun Nov 09 19:34:37 -0800 2008 4159706 111267 meatn3 8 4161789 Oops! Forgot the most important ingredient!! Sorry. 1-2 Spanish (strong white ones) diced fine. I just made a batch and they are great!! Mon Nov 10 09:30:27 -0800 2008 4160793 225062 marbiegreen 8 4161799 Oops, forgot the most important ingredient! Sorry. 1-2 white spanish onions (the strong ones) diced fine. Mix all the ingredients together. I just made a batch and they are great! Mon Nov 10 09:34:15 -0800 2008 4160793 225062 marbiegreen 7 5231451 My (late) grandmother used to make these onion cookies, and I thought the recipe went with her to the grave. they were always better when extra thin and crispy, sometimes she didn't have the strength to keep rolling them so they were thicker. Thanks for posting this--I'll have to make them, but somehow I know they'll never be as good as hers. Sun Dec 06 09:10:23 -0800 2009 4159706 14447 rednails 5 4634109 My Dad was Jewish and for Yom Kippur his traditional break the fast meal that my Mom would prepare was a mixture of cooked egg noodles and cottage cheese....Evidently that's what his family had while he was growing up and I still make it even though I'm not Jewish(I grew up in a mixed house). Mon Apr 27 17:34:44 -0700 2009 4157235 103626 lvanleer 6 4734470 We made something similar but instead of cottage cheese we used something called "farmer's cheese" which is like a dry cottage cheese. It used to be easy to find but not so much anymore. When I can find it, I usually find the "Friendship" brand.... Mon Jun 01 20:27:02 -0700 2009 4634109 86167 kawachi 7 4741290 the "dry curd" cottage cheese used to be around more. i think breakstone's had one that was good. i can't tell from this information whether it in fact is still produced: http://www.planetfeedback.com/kraft+foods+inc/product+changes/breakstone+dry+curd+cottage+cheese/314297 Thu Jun 04 02:46:24 -0700 2009 4734470 105717 alkapal 7 5054914 If you live in the the Boston area, you can find a dry curd brand of farmer's cheese called "Andrulis" farmer's cheese, particualrly at Christmas and Easter. I have to hunt it down for my mom every year. Thu Sep 24 08:43:19 -0700 2009 4734470 25645 cgj 3 4157335 We did the same, maybe a bissel sour cream. We'd also do it with cinammon and sugar. Fri Nov 07 19:27:22 -0800 2008 4157013 197458 Cameraman 2 4326890 Sounds normal to me, only mine was "butter" aka oleo ("olee") with brown sugar and always on store bought white bread from the Wonder Bread thrift store. Wed Jan 14 15:39:04 -0800 2009 4156950 253542 cycloneillini 2 4600104 we were all skinny as rails too (i'm still am but i'm very young), except my mum would make us eat french baguette with jam and pouring cream which my friends thought was wierd Wed Apr 15 21:17:32 -0700 2009 4156950 235412 umbushi plum 1 4157174 I never really thought this was normal but my father used to eat sunnyside up eggs with grape jelly. Stained the whites blue and when the yolk broke the whole thing turned green. Nauseating. But I like kimchee on matzo for breakfast. Fri Nov 07 17:51:26 -0800 2008 4151290 180989 rccola 1 4157998 Tomato Aspic - served with mayo on the side. Now that I'm grown, I just can't stomach this "salad". But we always had it, and yes, I thought it was normal. :) Flan for dessert - which I still love to this day and don't find it abnormal, just not a mainstream dessert for families. Also would have to add baked squash with butter and a bit of brown sugar. I can remember, and still occassionally come across, people who are amazed at the thought of baked squash. MY FAVORITE veggie! :) I also thought it was normal (well, I kind of still do today!) NOT to rely on things like boxed mac n cheese, stove top stuffing, rice a roni, etc, etc... most everything was homemade. Sat Nov 08 08:52:34 -0800 2008 4151290 77555 luvsseattle 2 4158376 I loved Rice-a-roni. Sat Nov 08 12:02:37 -0800 2008 4157998 180989 rccola 2 4158412 I've always loved stove top stuffing! When I was single I'd buy the canister where you can make up a single serving. Yeah, I'm bad. Sat Nov 08 12:20:41 -0800 2008 4157998 237929 tracylee 2 4600106 that is wierd who dosn't love roasted squash! Wed Apr 15 21:18:32 -0700 2009 4157998 235412 umbushi plum 3 5111198 I like most types of squash now that I'm an adult, but my mother used to make baked acorn squash with huge amount of butter and brown sugar when I was a child. I tried it a couple of times, but the taste and the gross image of all that butter undulating in the hollow of the half-squash made me feel sick. I have a major sweet tooth, but that was one thing I just couldn't stand. It actually turned me off of all types of squash when I was younger, but now I know better! Sat Oct 17 17:55:38 -0700 2009 4600106 1107449 tonina_mdc 4 5111692 tonina, let me give you a tip for a superb squash puree that's a zip to "make": bird's eye's frozen box of "cooked winter squash;" hands down it's the best squash i've ever had (fresh, or frozen). no butter needed! https://www.birdseyefoods.com/inspiration/products/product.aspx?imcmd=5&textkey=C7FE4C883A9D&category=boxed&ban=1&brand=birdseye i think it has also been marketed under these store brands, but i cannot vouch for their flavor or texture: Stop & Shop Shaw Price Chopper Lafe Shurfine Hannaford Flavorite Market Basket Wegman's Giant Tops Safeway IGA Roundy's Remarkable Dominick's Sun Oct 18 03:39:53 -0700 2009 5111198 105717 alkapal 5 5121158 Thanks! I spotted Birds-Eye when my son was a young toddler. He loved squash as an infant, so that was (and is!) a wonderful way to make squash for him in a hurry at dinner time. He is an avid lover of nearly all types of squash - so much so that he used to turn a bit yellow when he was a baby from the carrots and squash he wolfed down! We were petrified at first, until his pediatrician told us it's just the "mark of a boy who loves his yellow and orange veggies!" Perhaps it's just the mark of a young Chowhound! ;-) Wed Oct 21 17:15:01 -0700 2009 5111692 1107449 tonina_mdc 6 5122058 just don't put your pumpkin-child on the front stoop for halloween! LOL!!! Thu Oct 22 04:38:14 -0700 2009 5121158 105717 alkapal 4 5119618 The baked squash with butter and brow sugar is one of my mother-in-law's specialties - she made it happily for many years until my father-in-law's very memorable coup de grace to end an argument over something else entirely (the long-married will understand) was: "And anyway, I never liked squash!". Wed Oct 21 08:23:22 -0700 2009 5111198 13709 buttertart 5 5119740 now she doesn't make it "happily"? or not at all? if i liked it, i'd still make it for myself, if nobody else. (i wish i could've seen her expression when hubby said that. i feel her pain. ;-)). Wed Oct 21 09:13:18 -0700 2009 5119618 105717 alkapal 6 5188372 Me too. She stil made it (and still does to this day) and he ate it, sheepishly. Revenge is sweet. Tue Nov 17 08:25:12 -0800 2009 5119740 13709 buttertart 7 5190488 ha! Tue Nov 17 21:25:28 -0800 2009 5188372 105717 alkapal 1 4159750 Around Halloween, my dad would mix candy corn with salty, roasted peanuts. Until a Halloween party this year, I'd never seen it anywhere else. Did anyone else listen to the episode of This American Life this summer in which a girl's family ate chicken every single night? She was amazed by the masterful chefs at her college's dining hall. It's in the first act of the show (http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1251) and so worth listening to. Sun Nov 09 09:26:53 -0800 2008 4151290 18533 tapas 2 4174588 Another teacher at school had the peanut-candy corn combo hidden in her office and I'm hooked. I went out that day and bought candy corn and nuts - it was a great pick me up! Fri Nov 14 15:29:44 -0800 2008 4159750 152043 TampaAurora 1 4161085 Just out of high school (many moons ago) I worked as a dishwasher at a diner. We had a customer who had eggs over easy every morning with mustard on them. He then would smoke a couple of Pall Mall cigarettes and put the buts out in the same plate. The dirty dishes would always be waiting for me when I came in an hour later. Since the egg had dried on by then, they had to be scrubbed by hand before going thru the dishwasher. That smell of egg, butts, and mustard was enough to make one gag, especially first thing in the a,m. I also had a g.f. At the time who put ketchup on fried eggs, which I thought was gross (and still do.) Mon Nov 10 00:44:33 -0800 2008 4151290 226942 al b. darned 2 4161159 Your post made me laugh. I, too, worked at a diner-type place just out of HS. We had a counter that was always packed with creepy old, white dudes chain smoking and drinking black coffee. They'd sit there for hours arguing and occasionally they'd eat. They drove the staff absolutely nuts and we dreaded having to "work the counter" because of them. On the flip side (pardon the pun), that same place is where I had my first pan-sand: two pancakes with a runny egg in the middle, lots of butter & syrup and a side of bacon. Mmmmmm. :-) Mon Nov 10 04:53:06 -0800 2008 4161085 71241 lynnlato 2 4161236 I love eggs with mustard, personally. But the after-odor you describe indeed sounds revolting. Although ashes themselves, in the right context, make perfect sense to me as a food enhancer. An old acquaintance used to speak of his grandmother making red-eye gravy while smoking. She'd deliberately ash into the pot for extra smoky flavor, or so she said. He swears it was great. I'd eat it. That's not even OT, since it's someone's family tradition, but this part is slightly: I remember a similar story from an old boyfriend's mom. She was visiting a farmhouse dairy in Ireland, and the cheesemaker smoked while making cheese and let the ash make its way into the product. Again, not a smoker myself, but all for it. Mon Nov 10 06:07:05 -0800 2008 4161085 11106 tatamagouche 2 4161239 You don't like ketchup on fried eggs? Wow. It ain't a fried egg if it doesn't have ketchup and jelly. I love the picture you paint of the diner. Wish they were still like that. Mon Nov 10 06:08:55 -0800 2008 4161085 11104 dolores 3 4175489 "He then would smoke a couple of Pall Mall cigarettes and put the buts out in the same plate." i think i've seen that man! why do people do that to their plates? it is so foul! (i'm sure there were ashtrays around...). Sat Nov 15 07:04:59 -0800 2008 4161239 105717 alkapal 4 4326729 Yes, there was an ashtray there, but he used it ...for his horse. You heard right. He had a small model horse that always ate with him. The first thing he always did when he sat down (in the end booth on the right side) was take out the horse, open a packet of sugar, dump it in the ash tray, and place the horse in front of it. Also - woe to any waitress that brought him ketchup! Wed Jan 14 14:48:10 -0800 2009 4175489 226942 al b. darned 3 5249562 We had a diner like that where I grew up. We would go there to religiously eat greasy food, mainly breakfast. They moved across the street years later, my brother worked there (in the pharmacy), I worked there (also in the pharmacy) and me and my dad would eat breakfast there. I was picky and hated eggs so I'd get hashed browns with cheese and grilled onions on top and then I'd ask them to smother them with green salsa. Sooo goood! I can't forget all the old, familiar faces from the diner. Sun Dec 13 21:51:31 -0800 2009 4161239 1117294 MinkeyMonkey 1 4161616 When I was young, my grandma would always make stuffed veggies. She would take eggplant, pepper or zucchini halves and stuff them with a ground meat mixture. She would do the same with artichokes. So when I went to my friend's house for dinner one night when I was about 7, her mom came by with a plate of large steamed artichokes. She asked "Which one would you like?" I said "I'd like the one with meat in it, thank you" She was sooooo confused, and so was I, thinking "How could she not know which one had meat in it!?!?" Anyways, when we finally sorted out the issue, I was pretty surprised that not all artichokes came with meat. Mon Nov 10 08:30:09 -0800 2008 4151290 51490 icey 1 4162707 Mine is really just a misnomer, vs. an "abnormal" food. For as way back as I can remember my father made pasta with meat sauce every single Monday night. It was simply pasta with chopped meat or sausage, maybe some mushrooms and jarred sauce. He still does this for just he and my mother. Also, for as long as I can remember, he referred to it as "his goulash". I was well into my adolescence before I found out what goulash actually is. And upon visiting them, when I open the fridge and see a giant bowl of leftover pasta with meat sauce in the fridge, I smile and think, "Mmmm, Daddy's goulash". Mon Nov 10 14:16:56 -0800 2008 4151290 15357 Justpaula 2 4163013 Thanks, it was great to recall all the great food moments in my life! We lived on a farm and all veggies and meat come from the farm.. I remember walking out to the garden grabbing a big juicy tomato and eating it like an apple the way to the bus stop...and Sundays were great...nice fresh eggs, fried scrapple, red eye gravy and ham. Oh for lunch loved peanut butter and mayo sandwiches...on wonder bread, had to be on wonder bread. Loved my mom's venison stew and her baked rabbit...this was normal for us! Hint for grape jelly: next time anyone makes BBQ meatballs, mix one jar of grape jelly in the BBQ sauce...it works! Mon Nov 10 16:20:25 -0800 2008 4162707 237148 bermudagourmetgoddess 3 4508095 I thought my husband was the only one, he has peanut butter and mayo sandwiches with lettuce. Sun Mar 15 19:48:19 -0700 2009 4163013 219682 Babyducks 4 4620719 How about peanut butter, Miracle Whip and American cheese? I ate that all the time growing up - on Wonder which my mom sliced in half using her "slice-a-slicer" Thu Apr 23 03:55:15 -0700 2009 4508095 228204 jbsiegel 5 4620828 Oh, wow, was that a 70s thing or what?!!! And, no, no offense, not the PB, Miracle Whip and Am. cheese, but the Slice-A-Slice!!! http://www.ovenall.com/moblog/archives/002695.php Actually, looking at the package, it must have been a 50s or 60s thing, but my mom used to make me liverwurst sandwiches in the 70s with French's mustard on Slice-a-Slice bread. I have to ask where it is! :) What a fun blast from the past! Thu Apr 23 05:44:04 -0700 2009 4620719 249664 kattyeyes 6 4621817 For the longest time, I thought that's how thick slices of bread were!!! I also never knew there was anything other than Wonder and Miracle Whip until I went to a friend's house and her mom made me mayo and American cheese on Pepperidge Farm white bread! Thu Apr 23 10:00:12 -0700 2009 4620828 228204 jbsiegel 1 4163502 My mom always used to pick the marrow out of chicken bones and feed it to us. Mon Nov 10 19:50:17 -0800 2008 4151290 152338 fallingup 2 4181613 wow, I used to do this when I was little (probably learned it from my mom). I used to crack them in half, chew on the bones, or pick out the marrow with those super skinny korean metal chopsticks. Mon Nov 17 18:20:26 -0800 2008 4163502 24546 bitsubeats 3 4182365 Same here, bitsubeats. She, and then I, used to eat the wing bones up to the joint, the gristle from the breast bone, the gristle from the small round ham bone, and anything else that was fun and made noise and made the relatives recoil. I think the last part is the best. Tue Nov 18 05:16:17 -0800 2008 4181613 11104 dolores 4 4184412 oh yeah I forgot all about the gristle. I loved the cartilage from the bones (still do) and sometimes I'll eat the cartilage off of spareribs bones Tue Nov 18 17:10:11 -0800 2008 4182365 24546 bitsubeats 1 4164624 For dessert: take a piece of white bread and put it in a bowl. Cover the top with brown sugar. Slice a banana over it. Pour heavy cream over top until the bread is covered. Eat. A variation of this is the Brown Sugar Sandwich where you would just take two pieces of bread, butter them, spread them with brown sugar and make a sandwich. We would also have normal sandwiches "french toasted" - we would assemble a grilled cheese sandwich but before grilling would dip it into french toast batter, then cook it as normal. We also did the same with a tuna sandwich. Amazing!! Tue Nov 11 09:34:09 -0800 2008 4151290 72893 jessicaxo 2 4165185 "A variation of this is the Brown Sugar Sandwich where you would just take two pieces of bread, butter them, spread them with brown sugar and make a sandwich." ~~~~~~~~ i was JUST talking about this at a recent family gathering! when i was away at summer camp we used to make "sugar bread" - take a slice of white bread, spread with butter, pour a packet of granulated sugar all over one half [no fancy brown sugar at camp], fold over the other half to close, press together to mush the sugar into the bread, and eat. i told my parents that we used to do it all the time in the camp dining hall...they were horrified :) every time i see the scene in The Breakfast Club where Ally Sheedy's character pours the pixy sticks onto her bread [before piling on the Cap'n Crunch], i think of that. Tue Nov 11 12:47:41 -0800 2008 4164624 103920 goodhealthgourmet 2 4165605 We had a milk cow when I was growing up. Greatest treat in the world, a slice of fresh hot homemade bread, butter and thick, thick cream sprinkled with brown sugar. Tue Nov 11 15:33:52 -0800 2008 4164624 218554 BeefeaterRocks 3 4165632 well now, yours sounds MUCH better than our cold, packaged, generic white bread with cheap food-service butter and stale domino sugar packets. Tue Nov 11 15:41:36 -0800 2008 4165605 103920 goodhealthgourmet 4 4165883 Yet both are strangely good and satisfying. I still occasionally sneak a sugar and butter sandwich when I am stressed out. Tue Nov 11 17:07:01 -0800 2008 4165632 124908 jeanmarieok 1 4164772 Fluf and jelly sandwiches and peanut butter and fluff sandwiches were the best. as for strange, we had cream on toast. (literaly flour and water made to look like cream), creamed (same preparation as above) dried chipped beef on toast. blah. We would had a dinner of fried bolongna, called mexican hats for the way it puffed up in the middle like a sombrero. Then there was the Snufalufagus stew my, mostly alcoholic, grandfather would make. This consisted of anything and everything at his disposal. Leftover beef, chinese mustard still around from take out the day before, a spash of beer, a potato, perhaps an onion, ect ect. all boiled down to a stew. yikes. oddly, it was always pretty good. Tue Nov 11 10:24:38 -0800 2008 4151290 217582 cannedmilkandfruitypebbles 2 4164899 Yoour Boston roots are showing with PB and fluff. A favorite of my brothers and I when we were kids. We vacation with relatives from Ohio every year, and they thought we were out of our minds the first time we made the sandwiches for our kids. Had never heard of such a combination! Tue Nov 11 11:10:20 -0800 2008 4164772 11057 macca 3 4165081 Fluffernutters were regional? I didn't realize that. They were good, especially to someone with a serious sweet tooth. Tue Nov 11 12:13:08 -0800 2008 4164899 11104 dolores 4 4165117 Yup. Marshmallow Fluff was invented in Boston (more specifically, Somerville, MA) in the early 1900s, is still produced in MA, and has always been more popular in the Northeast than elsewhere. Tue Nov 11 12:23:05 -0800 2008 4165081 14386 BobB 5 4176464 Never care for Fluff (or marshmallow in general). But I still have the jingle stuck in my head: Oh you need Fluff Fluff Fluff / To make a Fluffernutter Marshmallow Fluff / And lots of peanut butter! Sat Nov 15 15:11:21 -0800 2008 4165117 101727 brandywiner 4 4165137 I didn't realize it either, until we vacationed with our Ohio relatives- We ran out of fluff while on vacation ( we were at the Outer Banks in North Carolina), and finding the marshmallow at the supermarket was a chore! At home, it is carried with the PB and Jelly- in NC, it was on the bottom shelf in the baking isle! Live and learn! Tue Nov 11 12:28:50 -0800 2008 4165081 11057 macca 5 4165191 Totally with you on the fried Cheerios! My mom makes this snack mix with them, with spices. It's addictive...also, french toast w/out cream or milk or butter. and beet croquettes,,, Tue Nov 11 12:52:47 -0800 2008 4165137 61343 firni 6 4172143 As my mother did before me, I saute my Cheerios in butter. When they are golden brown, I sprinkle them with salt. They are delicious with chocolate milk. Thu Nov 13 18:46:24 -0800 2008 4165191 196419 Kate is always hungry 5 4165897 I grew up in Buffalo, and ate a lot of fluffernutters as a kid. Moved to Richmond VA after college, and was happy to find fluff on the bottom shelf inthe baking aisle. Both my kids are huge fluff fans, still, and they are 15 & 17. Tue Nov 11 17:09:27 -0800 2008 4165137 124908 jeanmarieok 2 4326906 I love fried bologna sandwiches on white bread! Wed Jan 14 15:47:34 -0800 2009 4164772 253542 cycloneillini 3 4508100 Haven't had this in years, but I used to love balogna fried in butter on rye bread. Sun Mar 15 19:50:42 -0700 2009 4326906 219682 Babyducks 4 5122255 Oh hello! I love fried bologna, husband thinks I an nuts! Thanks for the support...I am not nuts afterall ;) Thu Oct 22 06:36:22 -0700 2009 4508100 237148 bermudagourmetgoddess 5 5165393 i loved fried bologna sandwiches with ketchup on white bread as a kid!! Funny thing is, i hated unfried bologna. Sun Nov 08 13:35:13 -0800 2009 5122255 264146 kubasd 6 5221285 Fried bologna! haven't had that in years. I'll have to go to the store and get some nice thick sliced bologna! Wed Dec 02 05:58:18 -0800 2009 5165393 189169 ChrisOC 7 5227151 you made me remember: fried bologna with a chunk of cheddar cheese melted in the center (edges of the bologna making a nice little "bowl" for the cheese). Fri Dec 04 08:14:00 -0800 2009 5221285 1121504 capicksnw 1 4167421 When i was growing up our housekeeper from Veracruz used to wake us up and leave over the night stand a plate with a fork and a sliced banana with some sugar sprinkled on top. If when i finally decided to get ready the sugar had dissolved into a thick syrup....that meant it had taken me too long to wake up. It was nice to start every day with this smell. Wed Nov 12 09:15:38 -0800 2008 4151290 224215 Xacinta 1 4168232 Turkey Sandwiches with Ketchup. ANYTHING with ketchup! Wed Nov 12 13:31:44 -0800 2008 4151290 228824 NDHebert 1 4168341 I have to admit, your family may win the prize... but I will nominate my family's brocolli rabe sandwiches, usually for a meatless Friday, as one of those things that did seem a little weird to find in your lunchbox. With a thermos full of milk, no less. Wed Nov 12 14:02:27 -0800 2008 4151290 87837 RGC1982 2 4175543 Broccoli rabe sandwiches! Wow, a trip down memory lane. We used to do dandelion (picked on the side of the road of course, yikes) sandwiches too. No milk, though, and plenty of Tabasco. Yum. Sat Nov 15 07:40:51 -0800 2008 4168341 11104 dolores 3 4175957 Hmm, what sort of bread is appropriate for broccoli rabe and dandelion? Sat Nov 15 10:51:33 -0800 2008 4175543 11106 tatamagouche 4 4178277 A hunk of crusty Italian bread was best -- maybe about six inches from a long loaf. You needed a good consistency, because the contents can make a sandwich of broccoli rabe soggy if the bread is not great. BTW - dolores -- I remember picking dandelion greens from a hill at a park with my Grandmother, but she put it in a salad with sliced plum tomatoes, sweet red onion and small cubes of cold potato dressed in a red wine and olive oil dressing that had a memorable amount of oregano in it. Yum. Embarrassing now, but it was delicious. Sun Nov 16 14:53:33 -0800 2008 4175957 87837 RGC1982 5 4179546 Sadly, tatamagouche, the 'builds champions in twelve ways' Wonder white bread. True, RGC, it was very soggy, so we ate it quickly. Then again, my brother used to mix all the contents of his Swanson frozen dinner together, so you can't go by us. The only Italian bread I would eat as a kid was my mother's or the fresh from the oven commercial bread from the bakery on my street. Hot Italian bread with lots of butter. Yum. Mon Nov 17 06:34:58 -0800 2008 4178277 11104 dolores 1 4171561 SPAM! Maybe not so ABnormal, but maybe a bit more disgusting? In a Korean household, or at least MY Korean household, we bought spam by the boatloads and put it into EVERYthing. We had it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We had it in stews (Kimchi Jigae) and omelets and prosaically with white rice. I actually didn't think it wasn't normal until my (korean) friend came back from college and told us that his non-korean friends laughed at him for eating spam. When I went to Hawaii this past summer, I felt completely at home eating spam loco...minus the gravy they served it with! Thu Nov 13 14:39:27 -0800 2008 4151290 107888 dream75517 2 4176297 Nothing disgusting about Spam. I love it! Just read where Hormel is having trouble satisfying demand: With the economy tanking, lots of folks are turning to Spam for a cheap meal. Sat Nov 15 13:35:09 -0800 2008 4171561 11995 pikawicca 2 4176426 I third the sentiment. SPAM is one of those things I'd never even tried before all the gushy posts I read about it on Chowhound. I'm now quite a fan of it grilled or pan fried with rice. Sat Nov 15 14:49:48 -0800 2008 4171561 64215 cimui 3 4179499 Several years ago when I was still working outside the home, I created a stir fry dish using Spam. I didn't feel like going grocery shopping so just raided the fridge and pantry. I put in carrots, celery, water chesnuts, onions, garlic, Spam, and a "sauce" made from soy sauce, French dressing, brown sugar, and vinegar. I served it over rice. Hard to believe that my refuse dinner is still a family request to this day. The problem is, I can never replicate it exactly! lol Mon Nov 17 06:18:48 -0800 2008 4176426 78897 alliedawn_98 4 4179839 funny how potpourri dinners are so often the most satisfying! i save all the little sauce containers we get from takeout dinners and every once in a while, they'll all make their way into a soup or stew, sometimes to rave reviews. I can never quite replicate my successes, either -- but at least I also usually don't replicate the complete bombs. ;) Mon Nov 17 08:31:00 -0800 2008 4179499 64215 cimui 3 4182291 ah, spam is feelin the love =) I think spam just confuses a lot of people. The shape, the color, the packaging, the fact that it could probably survive Armageddon... Tue Nov 18 03:46:11 -0800 2008 4176426 107888 dream75517 3 4326914 Me too. I remember lots of meals of fried Spam and boxed mac and cheese when I was growing up. Both things I still have a weakness for. Wed Jan 14 15:50:25 -0800 2009 4176426 253542 cycloneillini 1 4172404 oh so many... - Savory french toast made with paprika, salt, black pepper. I still have not tried the sweet sugar coated variety. - plain yogurt and banana slices - eggs in 'white sauce' over bread for breakfast - hot red/green chili pickles with every meal - green pasta i.e. pasta infused with purred spinach served with ground chicken\ - BRAIN CURRY!!!! YUMMMMYYYYY...on its own i should add Thu Nov 13 21:01:36 -0800 2008 4151290 237446 meatnveg 2 4326916 We called them goldenrod eggs because we put the crumbled yolks (the color of the goldenrod that grew all over the ditches in Iowa) on top and served it on toast. YUM! Wed Jan 14 15:51:54 -0800 2009 4172404 253542 cycloneillini 1 4176319 My grandmother made a dish she called Kuppacapra. It was made with day old mashed potoatoes that she threw flour and eggs mixed it up and formed patties, and stuffed the center with ground up bacon and onions that had been lighly sauteed. These patties would then be boiled and served with drawn butter. It was true comfort food as a kid, but I've never seen anyone else make these. Sat Nov 15 13:51:28 -0800 2008 4151290 222865 FoodChic 2 4176473 WOW boiled rather than fried? Sort of like dumplings? I've done a fried type thing like that, but the boiled might even be better (at least with a sauce) Sat Nov 15 15:16:50 -0800 2008 4176319 204342 FriedClamFanatic 3 4177513 As I got older, I thought it was a bit odd myself but I think it explains my love of gnocchi. Sun Nov 16 07:38:37 -0800 2008 4176473 222865 FoodChic 3 4179550 Oh yes, fried potato croquettes were always good. Usually with apple sauce, if memory serves. Not so fancy as yours, FoodChic, I like the idea of stuffing them. Corn fritters too. Good stuff. Mon Nov 17 06:36:21 -0800 2008 4176473 11104 dolores 1 4176507 Scrapple!. Sat Nov 15 15:33:22 -0800 2008 4151290 13599 Ellen 2 4176875 I think that there should be a scrapple convention once a year. I'm in exile here in Indiana, and my family does not want to hear about it. I am bereft. Sat Nov 15 18:54:09 -0800 2008 4176507 11995 pikawicca 3 4178326 I think the Scrapple Festival should begin with a parade starting in the epicenter of Pensylvania Dutch country, Intercourse, Pa. and ending next door in Paradise, Pa. Count me in. Sun Nov 16 15:11:20 -0800 2008 4176875 93538 Passadumkeg 2 4326922 I had never heard of scrapple until I met an ex who was from Virginia. You can actually buy it in the freezer case here in the Houston area. I'll have to admit it's pretty tasty. Wed Jan 14 15:53:34 -0800 2009 4176507 253542 cycloneillini 2 4701978 I ALWAYS put maple syrup on my scrapple and ketchup on my scrambled eggs. Wed May 20 16:33:07 -0700 2009 4176507 24942 G Goo 3 4702123 That is normal. (In our family.) Apple butter too. Wed May 20 17:33:39 -0700 2009 4701978 93538 Passadumkeg 1 4176666 Awesome thread - in addition to open-faced sandwiches, sour cream on anything from pancakes to blintzes: * Butter lettuce with apple cider vinegar and sugar * Pasta (typically orecchiette) boiled with milk and vanilla - similar to a rice pudding * Butter and radish sandwiches * Butter and sugar sandwiches * Ham and apricot preserves sandwiches Sat Nov 15 16:58:52 -0800 2008 4151290 95793 jeni1002 1 4177203 My mom made fried cornmeal mush for us too; either with Karo syrup or with eggs on top. We also ate cornbread in a glass with milk the second day - or well after dinner as a snack. As far as sweet tooths go....My "little" aunt got me completely covering oranges sections in sugar....My teeth used to hurt afterwards haha Sat Nov 15 23:39:50 -0800 2008 4151290 234089 EmoryJ 2 4179556 Polenta was one of the staples as a kid, and was made soupy (in my house) with gravy and sausage and meatballs, or solid, and sliced with the same topping, by my grandmother. I hated both versions. Boy have I learned. All this talk of sour cream, the dishes sound wonderful. I can't remember having much, if any, sour cream. Maybe the Lipton onion dip, that was it. How sad. Mon Nov 17 06:39:08 -0800 2008 4177203 11104 dolores 1 4177240 our snack to make us got to sleep was sour cream on wheat bread with a mug full of cup o soup cream of chicken soup. mmm comforting...... my Mom would have a banana sandwich on white bread with sour cream and walnuts. oh and liverwurst on white bread with mayo. Sun Nov 16 01:02:59 -0800 2008 4151290 116662 tarot480 1 4178305 As the child of immigrant Polish parents, I thought we were different because we had 'kartofle' so often. I didn't realize that my little WASP friends were eating potatoes as often and maybe even more than I was. I used to love it when my mum gave us fried-up blood sausage. It was so tasty. I didn't realize other people didn't have this. And, since she called it by another name, I didn't think anything of it (the Polish name I can't think of right now, and wouldn't be able to spell anyway). Later, much older, I went to visit friends in England and was surprised to find people there liked fried blood sausage as well. Sun Nov 16 15:04:57 -0800 2008 4151290 98493 JamieK 2 4602335 Jamie, that blood sausage is called "kaszanka". I love it too! Thu Apr 16 14:21:32 -0700 2009 4178305 147538 polish_girl 3 4616380 Tak, that's it! Haven't had it in years but I think I'm going to pick some up next time I'm in a good butcher shop. Funny that it's known as "black pudding" in England, when you think about what it's made of. Tue Apr 21 16:27:29 -0700 2009 4602335 98493 JamieK 1 4178337 Camping, it was a ritual to take a piece of salt pork, put it on a forked stick, roast the fat over the fire and hold the drippings over a piece of bread until satisfied and eat. Yuuum. We had a European name for it , that slips my mind. Sun Nov 16 15:15:46 -0800 2008 4151290 93538 Passadumkeg 2 4178437 We used to toast chunks of kielbasa over our campfire. Us kids insisted on marshmallows like everyone else (ie, normal kids), but the kielbasa was good. And now we do the same as adults, but slathered with really tasty gourmet mustards! My mum used to throw foil-wrapped potatoes into the hot embers of our fire and I used to think this was weird but now I realize it's sort of normal in campfire cooking. Sun Nov 16 16:10:08 -0800 2008 4178337 98493 JamieK 1 4178420 On the nights my Dad cooked for us, he would always make pancakes and instead of syrup he would use pork gravy. YUMMMMMM! Sun Nov 16 16:02:41 -0800 2008 4151290 89250 catrn 2 4178938 Now THAT'S Dadfood! Sun Nov 16 20:29:14 -0800 2008 4178420 234089 EmoryJ 1 4178468 My friends always thought my monday afternoon snack was weird. My mum always does a baked dinner for monday nights and so every monday afternoon, my older brother and I always have a sandwich that consists of lightly toased bread, butter, tomato sauce (ketchup), cheddar cheese, baked lamb, baked pumpkin and ranch dressing. We've been having that on a monday ever since I can remember and we still do it now, even though we've both left school (I think 18 is still young enough to have your mum make you a sandwich lol) Sun Nov 16 16:31:32 -0800 2008 4151290 240672 irishdancer 2 4179062 Your friends were right. Sun Nov 16 21:42:38 -0800 2008 4178468 11231 Glencora 1 4181632 I've posted this elsewhere, but my grandmother used to make "coffee" soup for my younger sister and I when we were little. weak coffee mixed with milk and sugar, and poured over plain white bread. Eat soggy bread and coffee with a spoon. This was such a treat for my sister and I because our grandmother let us drink coffee when we were young, while our parents never let us ):. I bet coffee soup was depression era food passed down to my sister and I. Mon Nov 17 18:28:59 -0800 2008 4151290 24546 bitsubeats 2 4181835 I used to get Coffee Milk from my dad on Sunday mornings. It was a mug with warm milk, sugar, and a splash of coffee for color. I felt so grown up as I sat and read the comics while he read the paper and we drank our "coffee" together. Mon Nov 17 19:56:30 -0800 2008 4181632 120180 tzurriz 3 4816794 When I was a kid my parents did the same thing and I would call it Foshee because I couldn't pronounce coffee. Mon Jun 29 19:53:03 -0700 2009 4181835 12490 reboehme 2 4182285 My grandmother used to make coffee jello. She added cofee to unflavored gelatin, and served it to us with milk and sugar. We loved it. Tue Nov 18 03:35:19 -0800 2008 4181632 11057 macca 3 4183522 My grandma made coffee jello, too (but she added the milk and sugar in the jello). Also red wine jello (sort of mulled wine meets gelatin). No dairy in the latter of course. Tue Nov 18 11:57:33 -0800 2008 4182285 95793 jeni1002 4 4183527 REd wine jello- who would have thought!! Tue Nov 18 11:59:26 -0800 2008 4183522 11057 macca 5 4185332 now THAT could start a retro-trend. but edgy..... e.g., gerwurztraminer jello cubes for an appetizer/apertif. or an eau de vie jello for dessert -- poire version --encasing perfect pear slices. Wed Nov 19 05:12:28 -0800 2008 4183527 105717 alkapal 1 4182389 Sugar on mac and cheese - the boxed kind, and generally the store brand, not the blue box. Also sugar on grilled cheese sandwiches - 2 slices of white bread, a slice of american cheese, a liberal sprinkling of sugar, grilled in margarine. It took me a long time to ween myself from the sugary cheese. Tue Nov 18 05:31:30 -0800 2008 4151290 34695 landrew 2 4182414 landrew! Up until now, I was alone in my obsession with sugar on everything. It's true, a spoonful of sugar DOES make everything taste better. Unless, of course, one is diabetic. Tue Nov 18 05:46:49 -0800 2008 4182389 11104 dolores 1 4183287 I'm late to the party, but here are my memories of odd combos. Leftover cornbread was crumbled in milk the next day as some kind of cereal-like concoction. My friend Barbara's Mom always served fish sticks and Spaghetti O's for dinner when I came over because my Mom wouldn't serve either fish sticks or spaghetti O's much to my dismay. My first father in law would lay strips of raw bacon in the waffle iron and top with batter so they would end up inside the waffle and before eating he'd top it with peanut butter and syrup. Tue Nov 18 10:54:03 -0800 2008 4151290 11990 Janet from Richmond 2 4184403 Your post made me remember a childhood friend who would come to my house for dinner and just want to eat white rice with a little shoyu. Her family only ate the Uncle Bens stuff where none of the rice sticks together and she loved real asian rice so that's all she'd want at my house. Tue Nov 18 17:06:01 -0800 2008 4183287 156153 akq 3 4185265 Someone mentioned spaghetti o's which reminded me of when I was very young and the beginning of my war with OCD. It was the Cambell's Alphabet soup. I could not sit down and eat it normally. I had to take out the letters and spell my name, or spell just something. And to this day if I had aplhabet soup I am sure I would still do the same thing. Ok, gotta go to work now, and I have to make sure the iron is turned off (8 times) and check the lock on the house (8 times) Wed Nov 19 04:22:42 -0800 2008 4184403 151974 HotMelly 1 4186257 Grew up with a tiny, athletic mother who thought eating was just a necessary evil... I never knew there was any lettuce except iceberg, ate thin pork chops covered w/ Worcestershire and cooked at 400 for 45 minutes (jerky?), canned peas, instant tea, white bread, off-brand EVERYTHING (not being thrifty, she just grabbed whatever she saw first!), pineapple ring dumped on cottage cheese with a dollop of mayo was "salad". Didn't have a clue that biscuits didn't always come from a can you cracked open on the side of the countertop. Wed Nov 19 10:48:30 -0800 2008 4151290 230549 lindsley 2 4197309 lindsley - we share a Mother. except when she was here we had to ask for the Worcestershire. and she wasn't athletic by that point. Mon Nov 24 01:52:09 -0800 2008 4186257 163722 hill food 1 4188146 Apparently durians are "gross" I have alwas ate them since I was really young ^_^! I even love the smell! Thu Nov 20 00:13:06 -0800 2008 4151290 212885 AngelSanctuary 1 4194539 my favorite was normal peanut butter and jelly, except is was made with chunks of butter on the bread under the jelly, mmm.... reminds me of a bagel with cream cheese and jelly Sat Nov 22 13:59:36 -0800 2008 4151290 240335 njchowgal 1 4196562 I've run across quite a few people who think putting ketchup on eggs is weird. I don't remember how I first started putting mustard on bananas, but it was my wife who turned me on to black pepper on cottage cheese. All good! Sun Nov 23 16:41:22 -0800 2008 4151290 54293 LordOfTheGrill 2 4222568 What type of mustard? I'm guessing yellow? Bet that'd be good. Fri Dec 05 07:17:14 -0800 2008 4196562 11106 tatamagouche 1 4207695 glencora, Sounds like your dad liked the Rocky movies. (or was that oj that Stallone mixed with his raw egg?) I also had a sheltered foodlife as a child--had never heard of mac and cheeze in a box til a roommate lived on it our first year of college. Now my kid has never heard of it any other way. I was ashamed of myself when I realized that, so I made it the -real- way in an oven for him. He hated it! A couple of his favorites are pad see ewe and palak paneer. They were hard to find in our tiny Texas town, and we brought prepackaged palak paneer back from trips. His friends at preschool found it very odd. He started out really liking the foods, but I think he grew to like their reactions just as much. Diana, I'm guessing the lambies are a tradition--good for your Mom for keeping it up, and how cool that you liked them! My mother would never have had the guts to try anything anyone could call weird or even unusual. We had dinner in the formal dining room after church on Sundays, and pizza for supper (with the tv on) Sun evenings. Fri Nov 28 21:54:17 -0800 2008 4151290 168667 saacnmama 1 4224902 This was probably an accident that my mom slapped together when my brother were really young - but we kept asking for it. Took a while to realize we were the only kids on our block eating macaroni, refried beans, and plain yogurt. I rehashed the meal a while ago...still tasty, but it looks absolutely vile. Sat Dec 06 04:54:55 -0800 2008 4151290 180127 cresyd 1 4226264 Tuna-macaroni salad (not that weird) with buttered Saltines (also not that weird.) But never one without the other, and never with anything else. Sat Dec 06 19:16:12 -0800 2008 4151290 212582 schrutefarms 1 4328413 My dad loved saltines crumbled in a glass and filled with milk. Also had a friend who ate saltines with mustard, while in my family we like them with peanut butter or butter. Thu Jan 15 07:53:49 -0800 2009 4151290 158403 jcattles 2 4622072 Peanut butter on saltines was a standard after school snack. And if Mom made a cake, the leftover frosting made graham cracker sandwiches. Thu Apr 23 11:04:46 -0700 2009 4328413 14917 mtngirlnv 3 4622700 My dad made graham cracker sandwiches with leftover frosting. Usually, it would be a crazy mix of white, pink, blue or green, and chocolate if I was lucky. Seems yucky now, but I liked them then. Thu Apr 23 13:23:41 -0700 2009 4622072 11231 Glencora 1 4337247 We always ate fried salted herring, grits and eggs. froed collard greens and chitterlings...memories Sun Jan 18 15:44:25 -0800 2009 4151290 258414 alex4lmw 1 4502285 everyone knows most people avoid red meat and only eat free range chicken and fish right, oh and never eat the skin or batter on anything or visible fat, and never butter anything only use olive oil or nuttelex. no body regularly has dessert apart from stewed apples and grilled bannanas and never add sugar to anything tea cereal etc... oh and tuna and cottage cheese is a traditional veriation cottage cheese is only savoury and so is french toast of course, and everyone knows you don't eat white bread because its not good for you and sugary cereals are never eaten regularly because they are just sugar. Fri Mar 13 13:22:17 -0700 2009 4151290 235412 umbushi plum 1 4502576 I always thought that french toast was only served with melted butter and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar until, when in high school, I saw someone eat it with maple syrup. I still think I prefer cinnamon sugar. :) Fri Mar 13 14:33:48 -0700 2009 4151290 197210 jayaymeye 2 4592871 Butter and sugar has always been the way to go for me. Never even liked it until I figured out you didn't have to put syrup on it. Mon Apr 13 17:28:31 -0700 2009 4502576 253542 cycloneillini 1 4509463 My Irish American mom loved to serve up canned peaches in sweet syrup topped with lots of sour cream. Her Irish relatives were revolted, but our Jewish neighbors approved. Mom also had a Depression-era fave -- sliced onion sandwiches with plenty of mayo on white bread. This is still one of my personal comfort foods. Mon Mar 16 10:25:09 -0700 2009 4151290 15254 ptrichmondmike 2 4613145 Speaking of sour cream, ever try it in Jell-O? That is a total childhood fave. You can mix it in when the Jell-O is already formed OR kinda blend it in before it gels. I prefer it the previous way. So tasty. Mon Apr 20 17:52:18 -0700 2009 4509463 249664 kattyeyes 3 4622609 Sounds like kind of a quick & dirty version of Bavarian cream. Thu Apr 23 13:06:31 -0700 2009 4613145 14386 BobB 1 4509472 I think my mom made up a few dishes - like this chicken and rice dish she claimed was Filipino (where she is from) and I have no idea how to spell it but it sounds like "lougow" and basically it's just boiled chicken and rice with no discernable taste. To this day, I've never seen anything like it at any of her family's houses or at a Filipino restaurant. I always hated how it looked and tasted - like mush. But the one food that we had growing up that I do have fondness for are hard boiled egg yolks mashed up with maple syrup until it made a paste. I have lots of memories of my brother, sister and I working hard to get that perfect paste-like texture. I have no idea who in the family started it, I just know we loved it. Mon Mar 16 10:28:39 -0700 2009 4151290 51406 pellegrino31 2 4592840 What did you do with the paste? Mon Apr 13 17:14:16 -0700 2009 4509472 212582 schrutefarms 3 4601398 LOL. We ate it eagerly. Just scraped it up with a spoon or fork. Thu Apr 16 10:04:35 -0700 2009 4592840 51406 pellegrino31 2 4821485 I have to defend your ma a bit here. Lugaw is truly Filipino food. Lugaw is the Filipino term for what is commonly known as congee, rice porridge, or jook in other Asian cultures. If made with chicken it's called arrozcaldo and if made with beef/tripe it's called goto. Interesting that your mom's version had no discernable taste. It's usually spiked with ginger and green onion. My family always added lots of fresh cracked black pepper, kalamansi (or lemon), fried shallots, and fish sauce. I still make this for myself when I'm sick or just want something really warm and comforting. I throw in whatever I have in the kitchen - salted egg, regular egg, fish balls, tofu, etc. It's not usually served in Filipino restaurants (esp stateside) but I see it sometimes in the cafeteria-style turo turo joints esp during breakfast time. Wed Jul 01 10:25:45 -0700 2009 4509472 1090065 hijobay 1 4592958 saltines with mike and nuked with sugar on top, pasta with sour cream and peas , sweet white onion in vinegar and the best was a sandwich with cheeze wiz liverwurst dill pickle and sliced onion - doesn't everyone eat that? Now I am hungry. Mon Apr 13 17:58:49 -0700 2009 4151290 178869 juliewong 1 4593121 I always thought that french toast had salt and pepper on it. To this day I don't like it any other way. My mom always liked to eat cornbread in a glass of buttermilk or cold milk. I never did get that...just seemed yucky. When I got married my hubby introduced me to mixing canned tomatoes with mayonaise (Dukes of course) into this gloppy, pink paste and spreading on biscuits. It is pretty good and we eat this quite a bit. My grandmother liked to fix eggs with scrambled pigs brains...and from what I understand, I used to love them. I don't eat those anymore. I am sure there are others, it is just late and I can't think real well. Mon Apr 13 19:07:53 -0700 2009 4151290 282501 momofthreems 2 4593335 i know me too! the realization sweet french toast?who knew? ;-) Mon Apr 13 20:38:17 -0700 2009 4593121 235412 umbushi plum 2 4620592 Our French toast always had sour cream, never syrup!??!?! Mine still does--always will. Wed Apr 22 23:46:26 -0700 2009 4593121 196419 Kate is always hungry 1 4593506 My mother was a little strange. In the summer we'd have corn on the cob for dinner - just corn on the cob, a big plate stacked high in the middle of the table. Nothing else. I had to do the dishes and remember seeing 6 or 8 cobs stacked up on my father's plate. If there was "mush" or pancakes for dinner, same deal: nothing else. We also got bologna fried in butter - excuse me, 'oleo' - with Worcestershire sauce, which was the only way I'd eat bologna. She liked (but I never tried) raw onion sandwiches on white bread with 'oleo'. Then there was the "Black Cow": half milk, half Pepsi. Funny, but I don't get nostalgic for this stuff! Mon Apr 13 22:48:06 -0700 2009 4151290 160926 Kinnexa 2 4823429 Corn for supper isn't strange at all. In the summer when both corn-on-the-cob and tomatoes are at their peak of flavorfull goodness that is what we have. Usually it's too hot for anything else and those just picked veggies are so good no one wants for anything else. Wed Jul 01 21:46:52 -0700 2009 4593506 290845 KristieB 3 4824285 I had native corn on the cob for breakfast this morning with fresh sliced cukes (also native). I'm with you Kristie, I don't think there's anything strange about it! ;) Thu Jul 02 08:38:58 -0700 2009 4823429 249664 kattyeyes 1 4595638 I've got 2. First was Friday night dinner at Gram's. It was always bacon and french fries. NO idea how it started but it lasted for more than 20 years. The second is what we called "Hamburger mish-mash with rice in the mish-mash juice". In the days before microwaves, to take a pound of ground beef out of the freezer meant you had to wait for it to thaw naturally or cook it while frozen. This meal, we cooked it frozen. You just kind of scrap off the cooked part and keep turning the frozen blob around until it's all cooked and scrambled. Then Mum added good 'ol canned beef gravy. Also, cook up some instant rice and add canned beef gravy to that. Dinner! Tue Apr 14 14:34:58 -0700 2009 4151290 186925 why_itsme 1 4596207 Doesn't Everyone eat sardines mashed onto white bread with ketchup? Did I Really Eat That growing up? Wow. Wouldn't think of it now. And surely fish sticks served alongside spaghetti in tomato sauce is normal...sure it is. So's fried bologna as a breakfast meat. Tue Apr 14 17:22:53 -0700 2009 4151290 95137 mcsheridan 2 4597289 Peanut butter and bologna sandwhiches... Wed Apr 15 06:08:35 -0700 2009 4596207 24648 Sean 3 4598233 My grandmother, rest her soul, loved that sort of sandwich, except made with Smucker's PB and grape jelly product, Goober Grape. I can hear her voice in my ear now. "I think I'm goin' t' have me a Goober Grape and baloney sandwich, 'at's the best sandwich I ever had......>" Wed Apr 15 10:49:03 -0700 2009 4597289 113176 jmckee 2 5249574 We ate, and I still do, sardines on saltines topped with butter and gobs of mustard. My grannie started me on that and even though we hardly had butter at my house, I'd ask for it just to have my sardines. Sun Dec 13 22:04:10 -0800 2009 4596207 1117294 MinkeyMonkey 1 4597553 Herrings in cream sauce :-) Wed Apr 15 07:35:27 -0700 2009 4151290 202497 MattInNJ 2 4620595 I'm drooling. Give me a piece of pumpernickel and some butter. YUM Wed Apr 22 23:49:59 -0700 2009 4597553 196419 Kate is always hungry 3 4824323 I remember my mother pouring sugar into the herring and onions in cream sauce. Thu Jul 02 08:47:43 -0700 2009 4620595 28638 phantomdoc 1 4599565 I really wouldl ove to eat at your house. WOW! Wed Apr 15 17:11:21 -0700 2009 4151290 222384 dvsndvs 1 4602293 As a child, growing in Poland, I used to love an open face rye sandwich with just butter and mustard.....And we ate tons of scrumbled eggs for supper, never for breakfast. And potato pancakes were served with sour cream for dinner. Yes, it is and Eastern European thing to serve sour cream with just about anything :-))) My father used to make for us, kids, what he called a "kogel-mogel"- he would put several raw egg yolks in a cup, with a few teaspoons of sugar (sometimes a bit of dark cocoa if we wanted the chocolate version) and would vigorously stir for about 5 minutes. It was the best dessert I can remember! Thu Apr 16 14:09:46 -0700 2009 4151290 147538 polish_girl 2 5249577 That is what my grannie grew up on during the depression, in Canada though. She ate either butter and mustard sandwiches or just mustard sandwiches. Also, they ate a lot of beans...beans, beans, beans! Sun Dec 13 22:05:29 -0800 2009 4602293 1117294 MinkeyMonkey 1 4603220 For breakfast we often had hot rice, my dad with milk and a little bit of sugar and maybe some cinnamon, my brother and I with lots of butter sugar and cinnamon. On a hot summer morning, Kellog's frosted flakes with strawberry ice... so refreshing. I had no idea that everyone's mom didn't serve cold leftover pizza for breakfast (that was once i finally learned that pizza wasn't poisonous - I had a deep distrust of melted cheese till I was almost in high school.) Lunchtime oddities included Bologna sandwiches with butter on one side, mayo on the other, chopped olive sandwiches with mayo, and (only at home) raw ground round with butter and salt on pumpernickel or rye bread (open faced or not.) I don't know how old I was before i realized that you could eat something other than a sandwich for lunch. For dinner we were pretty normal, although I did discover later that there were a lot of people in the world who had no idea how to eat an artichoke (and didn't everyone's grandfather put his dentures in his water glass at the end of dinner?) Thu Apr 16 20:52:04 -0700 2009 4151290 57890 KaimukiMan 2 4638719 "and didn't everyone's grandfather put his dentures in his water glass at the end of dinner?)" - And didn't every grandchild yank them out of the water and shove them in her own mouth in order to amuse herself in front of the mirror??? Wed Apr 29 08:36:30 -0700 2009 4603220 137755 Sal Vanilla 2 4817385 I love the sound of the hot rice with milk and sugar/cinnamon- it sounds like a hasty rice pudding :-) Tue Jun 30 05:58:22 -0700 2009 4603220 166743 pinkprimp 1 4604738 I’m actually getting some intriguing ideas here, what with the fried pasta and the tuna fish pancakes. My own mother would make these health drinks of raw egg, OJ, milk and honey. They were supposed to be smoothies but since she made them without a blender, or even a beater, they were more like gloppies. Also, ravioli always had to be served in multiples of 3. And on Christmas, when other kids got candy, I was unwrapping anchovies and pistachios. Fri Apr 17 11:14:34 -0700 2009 4151290 279215 extrasalty 2 4613471 mmm anchovies "Just what I wanted!" actually I would like some really good ones now. as a kid? hmm. Mon Apr 20 19:41:43 -0700 2009 4604738 163722 hill food 1 4616434 My Nana's go-to meal for all the kids, was mince (we would call it ground round) boiled with some ground cloves and served with peas and homemade apple sauce. And when I say 'with' I mean all mixed up together in a bowl. Then it would be mashed bananas with Carnation evaporated milk (called 'funny cream') for dessert. I must try all this again... Tue Apr 21 16:44:27 -0700 2009 4151290 24738 LJS 1 4622466 It was pretty common in my family to drink milk mixed with root beer or cola. I remember when I was old enough to watch Laverne and Shirley and Milk and Pepsi was Laverne's gross drink, her weird quirk. I thought it was awesome. Well, you put ice cream in your Coke or root beer, right? The ice cream starts to melt and gives you a very similar effect. Thu Apr 23 12:35:26 -0700 2009 4151290 116495 Avalondaughter 1 4634856 I thought pork sung and mayonnaise sandwiches were normal from between the ages of 1-5; at 6 years old, I realized they were abnormal (and indeed horrifying to some of my friends). But now that I'm here in China, I'm suddenly seeing them everywhere. Normal? Abnormal? I guess it depends very much on whom you ask. Another one: "pizza sandwiches" made out of a slice of bread, a slice of American cheese and pepperoni. I thought these were real pizzas for the longest time -- which could explain why I hate pizza! Tue Apr 28 00:58:27 -0700 2009 4151290 64215 cimui 2 4635502 I always thought that French toast was served with ketchup. We never ate it with syrup. I still like it that way! Tue Apr 28 08:36:06 -0700 2009 4634856 132739 lilmomma 2 4647838 I love pepperoni sandwiches! I have them with mayo, lettuce, and cheddar cheese. Sat May 02 07:09:16 -0700 2009 4634856 288063 elance 3 4649165 you can have mine anytime you like! ... tho actually, the way you prep 'em sounds possibly delicious! Sat May 02 19:58:02 -0700 2009 4647838 64215 cimui 2 4817396 Mom also made these pork sung and mayonnaise sandwiches, except she added thinly sliced cucumbers as well. Actually quite good, with the dry saltiness of the sung and the crispy, refreshing flavour of the cukes. I could go for one of those right now. Tue Jun 30 06:01:28 -0700 2009 4634856 166743 pinkprimp 3 4819075 Oooh, very nice. I'm going to pass on the cucumber idea to my mom. I wonder if she still eats these! Tue Jun 30 14:13:18 -0700 2009 4817396 64215 cimui 1 4638539 Only when I went to college and ate breakfast in a dining hall did I learn that it's not normal to sprinkle granulated sugar on French toast, as my mother always served it. Also, my mother's potato salad had me thinking it was normal to have either shrimp or diced ham in it, never just potatoes, and never any hard-boiled eggs. I also thought Manischewitz kosher wine was normal to have at dinner. And we weren't even Jewish!!! Wed Apr 29 07:44:18 -0700 2009 4151290 39701 browniebaker 2 4701995 That's funny because I know lots of Jews that won't touch the stuff. Wed May 20 16:41:36 -0700 2009 4638539 134437 salsailsa 3 4702278 hey I once met a member of that family and am pretty darn sure she didn't imbibe either! Wed May 20 18:52:35 -0700 2009 4701995 163722 hill food 2 4703894 i think it's pretty normal to sprinkle sugar on french toast. restaurants do it all the time. Thu May 21 10:59:06 -0700 2009 4638539 18011 Jacey 3 4704963 restos sprinkle powdered sugar, not granulated sugar, on french toast -- mostly for the "garnish" appeal, i think. Thu May 21 16:51:58 -0700 2009 4703894 105717 alkapal 4 4810321 Lots of powdered sugar layered in the puddles of of melted butter = frosting! Loved that as a kid. Sat Jun 27 01:53:03 -0700 2009 4704963 14515 Stephanie Wong 1 4642218 My Mom used to give me hot Jello in a mug on cold winter days. We were talking about this recently and it struck me that hot Jello might be an odd thing to give a kid. Did anyone else have this? Thu Apr 30 09:04:02 -0700 2009 4151290 86005 amethiste 2 4642250 My mom used to make hot Jell-O as a drink, too, when I was a kid. If I was feeling under the weather, there'd be that, "tea milk" or bouillon (or some combo thereof as the day wore on)! Thu Apr 30 09:11:32 -0700 2009 4642218 249664 kattyeyes 3 4642324 I will tell Mom she was not alone in serving hot jello. She will be relieved Thu Apr 30 09:35:16 -0700 2009 4642250 86005 amethiste 4 4642338 I think I remember hearing something about hot Jello-when kids are sick and can't/won't eat anything, it was believed that hot jello would go down easily, but stick to their bones. Thu Apr 30 09:39:10 -0700 2009 4642324 212582 schrutefarms 5 4654881 I vaguely remember it as an aid to strong fingernails. Mon May 04 22:59:09 -0700 2009 4642338 237929 tracylee 2 4644295 my supervisor still drinks this when she is super cold in the winter. Thu Apr 30 20:12:58 -0700 2009 4642218 92286 vttp926 2 4670084 My fifth grade teacher gave the kids hot jello on our class camping trip. Since it rained the entire week we were glad to have it. One girl got a nasty burn from it, though. Sat May 09 22:19:49 -0700 2009 4642218 11231 Glencora 2 4823431 The only time I remember Mom making jello as a drink was when my sister fell and cut her tongue. Three stitches later she could only drink, so Mom made diluted Jello-water for her. This was in the days before Pedia Sure and all those other products. Wed Jul 01 21:49:26 -0700 2009 4642218 290845 KristieB 2 5249582 My brother and I would fight over who got to make the jello because we would always sneak drinks of it before it would set and while it was still hot! The best way to have jello! Sun Dec 13 22:07:43 -0800 2009 4642218 1117294 MinkeyMonkey 1 4647345 In our house, you put out beer for Santa. Boy did I ever get looks when I said that in elementary school. Fri May 01 20:14:42 -0700 2009 4151290 134437 salsailsa 2 4647456 I wanted to post a smart reply, but I have more of a problem with the funny looks than your family's tradition. In fact I'd think it was cute if I were the parent and y'all skedaddled off to bed before it got warm. so what if the kickstand gets assembled backwards... Fri May 01 22:00:41 -0700 2009 4647345 163722 hill food 3 4648080 I tried converting Santa to beer and cookies but just the beer went and he was "too full" for the cookies. Sat May 02 09:20:44 -0700 2009 4647456 134437 salsailsa 2 4648333 At our house Santa liked scotch (neat) and shortbread cookies. Sat May 02 11:26:46 -0700 2009 4647345 139180 Blush 3 4824341 The late great Richard Pryor in one of his fabulous routines tells of his two grandmothers. One would give him milk and cookies, the other would give him reefer and beer. Guess which one he preferred. Thu Jul 02 08:54:56 -0700 2009 4648333 28638 phantomdoc 1 4650090 This is a great thread. In my family, we never used salt for cooking. It was strictly for pickling. Fish sauce was the primary seasoner. My first job was as a waitress at a Vietnamese restaurant for non-Vietnamese people. I was absolutely shocked when my guests were put off by fish sauce because of the name and its smell. My boyfriend is Native American. When he was 10 he had to stay out in the woods for a few days by himself, kill a deer, and drink its blood as a ritual of manhood. I think he was well into high school before he realized that none of his classmates went through this. I freaked out once when he ate some raw meat that I was preparing. Apparently, his mother used to throw him pieces of raw meat as a special treat when he was a child. Sun May 03 09:58:30 -0700 2009 4151290 205013 PaperMoon 2 4665312 >>>>his mother used to throw him pieces of raw meat as a special treat when he was a child.<<<< did he have to "beg"? ;-). Fri May 08 05:59:06 -0700 2009 4650090 105717 alkapal 2 4807254 My Mom used to give me pieces of raw hamburger as a treat when I was a child. Thu Jun 25 20:35:25 -0700 2009 4650090 86005 amethiste 3 4821883 As a child I remember sneaking my mother's raw meatloaf mixture and putting it on crackers, good stuff! Didn't know I was eating steak tartare, sorta. Wed Jul 01 12:27:59 -0700 2009 4807254 135170 kpaumer 2 4807267 One of my best buddies still gets raw meat from his mom as a special treat. His mom is Lebanese American and makes great kibbeh, apparently. I think a lot of cultures eat meat raw. The raw blood drinking would be harder for me, I think. It tastes so metallic... but I guess if you're hungry enough, it would be delicious. Do you know which tribe your SO belongs to? Interesting stories, PaperMoon! Thu Jun 25 20:43:05 -0700 2009 4650090 64215 cimui 1 4703404 tuna casserole, made with lays wavy potato chips. bologna and ketchup on rye. pnut butter and sweet pickles sandwich. (still love) Thu May 21 08:37:46 -0700 2009 4151290 187704 mess 2 4703699 Well, I checked your profile and we're not related. ;) My two younger cousins used to do the bologna and ketchup (not on rye, though) all the time when we were kids. Our grandparents owned a deli and we could eat whatever we wanted, yet they were all about bologna and ketchup. I always found this strange. Then again, my childhood fave was ham and onions with a glass of milk, so who am I?! I'm glad I've outgrown this particular combo, too! Nanny and Poppy made THE BEST grinders--the kind with so much meat it can be challenging to get your mouth around 'em. There are so few places that make sandwiches this way anymore. Thu May 21 09:56:26 -0700 2009 4703404 249664 kattyeyes 2 4704525 How about: tuna casserole with Russian dressing on top. Specifically, Wish-Bone ruby red Russian (which we never used on salads; then again, green salads weren't exactly a regular menu item in our Boston Irish household!). To this day, I keep a bottle of Wish-Bone Russian around for those rare occasions when I get a tuan casserole jones.... Thu May 21 13:57:53 -0700 2009 4703404 101727 brandywiner 1 4806918 When I was little my mom would make me raw egg yolks beaten with sugar. It was the only way I would eat the yolk. The sugar not only make it sweet but gave it a great texture. I think it was common Greek fare (tipito avyo); my aunts both here and back in Greece would make it also for the little kids. Thu Jun 25 17:56:22 -0700 2009 4151290 26054 Jasz 1 4807412 Radish sandwiches: white bread, butter, sliced radishes and salt. Baked Bean sandwiches: Homemade doctored or real baked beans, sort of baked stiff spread cold between sliced of bread. Fresh yellow and green string beans cooked then drained and dowsed in milk, butter salt and pepper. To be eaten with a slice of bread in the summer months. Macaroni and milk: cooked macaroni, drained, milk added with butter and salt and pepper. The ultimate comfort food side dish. Thu Jun 25 22:38:34 -0700 2009 4151290 290845 KristieB 2 4807415 In the green/yellow bean dish above I forgot to add the new potatoes. They all seem to come into season at the same time. So it's potatoes, the beans, milk broth with butter and salt and pepper. Thu Jun 25 22:49:36 -0700 2009 4807412 290845 KristieB 2 4820137 baked beans on white bread with mayo -- been there, done that. try adding a slice of vidalia onion! Tue Jun 30 21:15:56 -0700 2009 4807412 105717 alkapal 1 4807413 Anyone who went to the Bruce, Wisconsin school system ALWAYS eats half a peanut butter sandwich with their chili. And they dunk it! Thu Jun 25 22:41:33 -0700 2009 4151290 290845 KristieB 2 4809962 I can kinda see that. never would have occurred to me, but... Fri Jun 26 19:16:40 -0700 2009 4807413 163722 hill food 3 4823437 It never would have occured to me either. I did try it once and it was ok, but I'll stick to my crackers for chili. Wed Jul 01 21:51:26 -0700 2009 4809962 290845 KristieB 1 4810018 i love this thread so much! I remember when I was sleeping over a friends house as a teenager and they looked at me like i was crazy when I asked for butter to put on my poptarts. I still prefer them this way and so does my sister. Fri Jun 26 19:53:49 -0700 2009 4151290 242801 CoryKatherine 2 4817680 I am so glad to hear someone else does this. My wife thinks I'm nuts for liking the unfrosted ones with butter. Tue Jun 30 07:43:56 -0700 2009 4810018 1086258 jchamberlain 2 4820144 gotta have butter on the hot out of the toaster pop tarts (esp. strawberry, mmmmmm).! corykatherine, what, were your friends who didn't do this like heathens or something? ;-). (loved the way it dripped on your fingers, and you'd have to lick your fingers....). Tue Jun 30 21:17:54 -0700 2009 4810018 105717 alkapal 2 4823438 I remember doing that! I hadn't thought of that in years. Wed Jul 01 21:51:59 -0700 2009 4810018 290845 KristieB 1 4819857 Some of my weird family dishes have been passed on to my friends. They include: Dipping regular potato chips (prefer Utz) in French's yellow mustard Mayo "sandwich" made with just mayo (hellmans!) on white toasted bread, must be cut in triangles. Lettuce sandwich, basically the mayo sandwich with the addition of lettuce and some salt and pepper. My dad loved these and passed on that love to me. Here's the one i get the most crap about: I mix in French dressing (must be Wishbone) to my mashed potatoes. It turns them a lovely shade of orange and tastes wonderful. Don't knock it until you try it. I get a lot of funny looks from this one. Onion bagel slathered in butter and sprinkled with garlic salt. My grandma likes to have pea soup for breakfast. My mom always fried things in mayo so I do that too. Most of the things in this thread are normal to me to be honest, not sure how weird that makes me! Tue Jun 30 19:06:36 -0700 2009 4151290 147296 kimeats 2 4820151 kimeats, you have to see this sub-thread involving french dressing (which i defend, btw): http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/617571#4794141 (the checkout lady at safeway also told me that ranch and french dressings mixed (half and half ) is a delicious dressing...). Tue Jun 30 21:22:56 -0700 2009 4819857 105717 alkapal 3 4821538 hah! thanks for the link. i don't care for the kraft french though, the wishbone is much better. who knows why? i think the french has more vinegar? i will try the ranch and french, sounds like a modified russian? Wed Jul 01 10:43:02 -0700 2009 4820151 147296 kimeats 3 4823441 If I am dressing a salad with blue cheese dressing, I nearly always drizzle just a little french dressing over it. That combo is dynomite. Wed Jul 01 21:53:37 -0700 2009 4820151 290845 KristieB 3 5111259 I have spent a bit of time in Wisconsin. It is very common to see people combine blue cheese dressing and another, ISTR, thousand Island. So common that restaurants frequently brought them out together so people could mix their own. Sat Oct 17 18:30:19 -0700 2009 4820151 111267 meatn3 1 4819959 Yogurt on pizza. In particular, blueberry yogurt on cheese or pepperoni pizza. I can't remember when (or how) I first tried it, and I haven't been able to have it for a long time. I thought it was awesome, though, and I sometimes wonder if I'd still like it... Tue Jun 30 19:46:34 -0700 2009 4151290 185066 db1618 2 5251028 Whoa. How in the world did you come up with that...and why? Mon Dec 14 12:34:45 -0800 2009 4819959 11106 tatamagouche 1 4819993 mustard, mayonaisse and peanut butter on white bread sandwiches. do not hate, just try it. my house was also a liverwurst house. school lunches could be the source of my abuse. Tue Jun 30 20:00:28 -0700 2009 4151290 1089936 keef 2 4820311 ding ding ding we have a winner lock this thread down (I can see mayo and PB, but mustard?) serve it and I'll eat it. but not a combo I would consider (sober) Wed Jul 01 00:31:16 -0700 2009 4819993 163722 hill food 3 4821541 PB and mustard go very well together. I make a spicy pb mustard for dipping soft pretzels in. Don't knock it until you try it :) Wed Jul 01 10:43:51 -0700 2009 4820311 147296 kimeats 4 4823281 oh I'd try it, just prob. not make it. cut me a corner of yours. Wed Jul 01 20:40:31 -0700 2009 4821541 163722 hill food 5 5251033 My SO eats PB and mustard sandwiches too. http://denveater.typepad.com/denveater/2008/06/squishy-disquisition-on-peanut-butter-part-2.html As much as I love both things, though, I honestly haven't found the combo I like much. Maybe honey mustard and creamy PB? Mon Dec 14 12:36:32 -0800 2009 4823281 11106 tatamagouche 3 4824313 I used to eat ketchup, relish and mayo sandwiches, on white bread. I should have just gotten the thousand island dressing out. Thu Jul 02 08:46:21 -0700 2009 4820311 94635 adventuresinbaking 1 4820849 My SO grew up with slices of green bell pepper, butter and white bread sandwiches. I've tried it, but don't get it. Wed Jul 01 07:44:35 -0700 2009 4151290 1090018 xxuviolkd 2 5111236 That actually sounds pretty good! In summer I sometimes get small crusty rolls, slice up a green pepper from the garden, and spread a lot of coarse-grained mustard on the roll halves to make a sandwich. They're good on days when it's so hot that you just aren't that hungry and can't stand the thought of eating meat and they're economical too. Sat Oct 17 18:19:46 -0700 2009 4820849 1107449 tonina_mdc 1 4821790 Hmm. a) we always had our eggs sunny side up. I thought this was the 'standard' way to cook eggs and would always be dissapointed when a plate of scrambled eggs appeared in front of me at diners. b) LEMONS! I grew up in an Israeli/Sephardic household so there were tons of foods that we ate that I knew weren't 'normal' but I do remember going to a friends' house as a kid and being very confused that they only had salad dressing. We always just mixed fresh lemon juice/olive oil/salt and used that as dressing, so the fact that she had no lemons in her house was quite shocking to me. I just figured that was something everyone had at their house as a pantry staple [it's still a pantry staple in my place to this day! No scurvy for me!]. Wed Jul 01 11:58:33 -0700 2009 4151290 76364 yse 2 4823284 lemons - can eat 'em like an orange. Wed Jul 01 20:41:26 -0700 2009 4821790 163722 hill food 1 4821893 Collard green or just greens sandwich. Greens with sliced raw onion on white bread. I liked that the bread got all green and moist. Wed Jul 01 12:31:37 -0700 2009 4151290 135170 kpaumer 1 4823845 Some of these have already been mentioned: Peanut Butter and Pickle Sandwiches Butter and Sugar Sandwiches (I think this is a dutch thing) Pizza Casserole, which I later found out contained all of the ingredients needed to make lasagna, just assembled in a sloppy fashion, and cooked stove-top Peanut Butter and Pancakes (not spread out over the cake, just on the side, so you can get a little bit with each bite) Ketchup on Eggs, and Steak, and Baked Potatoes, and everything else Mayo on Fries (again, I think this is Dutch) Apples and Cheese (a slice of cheddar and an apple slice) Pickles and Cheese My family put oatmeal in everything because my dad worked at a grain mill and we got it for free, so I was used to hamburgers, meatloaf and meatballs all made with oatmeal instead of breadcrumbs. My first roommates in college were really weirded out when I did this to hamburgers. My dad always made ranch dressing out of sour cream and powdered ranch seasoning, instead of buying ranch dressing. I didn't know that ice cream could be served in a cone until middle school. I didn't have a corn dog for the first time until two years ago (I'm 22 now). I thought flavored rice cakes were cookies until I was about 10! Thu Jul 02 06:12:54 -0700 2009 4151290 1090284 mha1 2 5221294 Ah, yes butter on white bread sprinkled with sugar! Wed Dec 02 06:03:54 -0800 2009 4823845 189169 ChrisOC 1 5111258 I'm way late to the party, but I love this thread! My mother always served circle-sliced cucumbers and circle-sliced white or yellow onions swimming in a bowl of white vinegar. Don't ask me where she got the idea, but every summer this dish would appear, often with produce from our own garden. I'd get a bowl, lade some of the contents into it, and add salt and pepper. It was so cool and zingy that I loved it on hot days. I've posted elsewhere about our "green junk" tradition at holiday dinners; it took until I was ten and brought leftovers to school one year after Thanksgiving for it to dawn on me that this was not a common dessert in other central Ohio households! It consisted of pistachio pudding, drained pineapple chunks, chopped drained mandarin orange segments, and chopped walnuts, with a bit of whipped cream. I still beg for it to be on the menu for our holiday dinners every year! Sat Oct 17 18:30:17 -0700 2009 4151290 1107449 tonina_mdc 2 5111619 I never realized that the rest of the country was leaving Santa milk and cookies while I was leaving him a shot of whiskey and a mince meat tart. Sat Oct 17 23:55:02 -0700 2009 5111258 18970 Val55 2 5111693 cukes in diluted white vinegar was a dish on our summer supper and lunch tables, too! Sun Oct 18 03:42:19 -0700 2009 5111258 105717 alkapal 3 5112715 Alkapal's cucumbers in vinegar is, with just a dash of sugar and salt, a normal Hungarian cucumber salad. Since my grandparents came from Transylvania, we often had "mamaliga" cornmeal mush usually with Brindza or some other hard white cheese. But, I think the prize went to a lady friend of mine in Paris. Her mother (from Poland)would set out cups of milk on the windowsill to coagulate. The result wasn;t yoghurt, but just stinky, coagulated milk. They both loved it, and couldn't understand why i often seemed hesitant. Sun Oct 18 14:23:53 -0700 2009 5111693 54222 ekammin 4 5118476 ekammin, how was the cornmeal mush seasoned? some fat? salt, pepper? yellow or white cornmeal? coarse or fine meal? Tue Oct 20 17:17:09 -0700 2009 5112715 105717 alkapal 2 5205546 In our house we always had the pistachio pudding dish at holidays too! The only difference is we added marshmallows...we called it "green death" Tue Nov 24 12:25:09 -0800 2009 5111258 1127163 ntmyslftdy28 1 5120238 My grandparents are Irish. They had a difficult time conceptualizing salad, so they would just put together a few leaves of Iceberg lettuce, some tomato slices, and a big slathering heap of mayonnaise (or, worse Miracle Whip) on top. I thought a heap of mayo was a normal salad dressing for quite awhile. They also cooked everything -- EVERYTHING -- in beef or pork grease/drippings (except on Fridays). Meat. Potatoes. Carrots. String beans. Eggs. Pancakes. They would save the drippings from the roasts to use for later meals. Everything tasted like roast beef, which was just how everyone liked it. My husband is from Oklahoma. He made something called Watergate Salad for our family Thanksgiving (my family is from Philadelphia). None of us had heard of it. He claims every Midwest family has a recipe (it involves pistachio pudding, cool whip, pineapple...and after that I just didn't want to know). I was dubious, but I figured at least one person on here might be able to back him up. Wed Oct 21 11:36:56 -0700 2009 4151290 48540 merrymc 2 5120348 The dripping part sounds familiar, but just for meat - my mother would keep the fat in her electric frying pan for several days and just keep frying whatever in it (she was 3rd-generation Irish Canadian). And the Watergate Salad: I'm sure I'll only be the first of many posters to have experienced it in the midwest (my husband's great aunt was the queen of jello salads, some more successful than others). The concept of jello as salad is a testament to the power of advertising in shaping food preferences. Wed Oct 21 12:11:10 -0700 2009 5120238 13709 buttertart 2 5121057 we had 'watergate pudding' every easter, but it was called something like 'ew, that gross green crap that looks like puke.' Wed Oct 21 16:32:55 -0700 2009 5120238 136025 dogthis 2 5121177 Oh yes, see my above post! The pistachio pudding concoction is actually delicious, at least the way my mom makes it: the pudding, slightly drained chopped pineapple, chopped mandarin orange slices, chopped walnuts, and some real whipped cream. It may sound weird to the uninitiated, but trust me - don't knock it till you've tried it! However, I don't know how much the cool whip in place of the real whipped cream would affect the taste. Wed Oct 21 17:23:16 -0700 2009 5120238 1107449 tonina_mdc 3 5122228 Some jello salads (made with good ingeredients) would make nice light desserts. Thu Oct 22 06:24:28 -0700 2009 5121177 13709 buttertart 4 5133253 I have made myself try a couple of jello salads at potlucks. Every time I have tried one, I have regretted it! However, I suppose it's possible a jello salad made with only decent ingredients could prove to be reasonably edible. I just have a low opinion of jello salads in general from past unpalatable experiences. Mon Oct 26 18:46:20 -0700 2009 5122228 1107449 tonina_mdc 5 5133958 I find them edible IF there are no savory ingredients in them (mayonnaise, vinegar, onions, celery etc) or Cool Whip, marshmallows and so forth. The fruit ones can be OK. My mother-in-law makes a nice one with blackberry jello, blackberries, and bananas, and a frozen fruit salad (also uses gelatin) that has a unique texture and is nice with poultry and pork. Tue Oct 27 06:15:22 -0700 2009 5133253 13709 buttertart 3 5122744 Cool Whip was added at his insistence...it probably would have been much better with real whipped cream (which we actually had, for the pies). Though that reminds me that my family makes something called "Cheesy Glow" for the holidays...some sort of whipped-up Velveeta concoction with pieces of stuff floating in it. I don't know what stuff (ham, maybe?), as I never tried it. Also, I never heard of it elsewhere, thank goodness! Thu Oct 22 10:28:51 -0700 2009 5121177 48540 merrymc 4 5124712 oh, i just saw a queso yesterday that might fit the bill. but it looked quite delicious, in a trashy, quickie queso kind of way! http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/chile_con_queso/ and a variation: http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/appetizers-and-snacks/cheryle28099s-kicked-up-queso/ Fri Oct 23 05:18:19 -0700 2009 5122744 105717 alkapal 1 5120912 My mom would buy one candy bar (I remember Milky Ways specifically) and cut it into thin slices to share among the four of us. I don't know if she was being frugal or didn't want us to have too much sugar. Probably the former since we had white bread, butter and sugar sandwiches at other times for our sweet treat. I was in my teens before I realized The Others considered a candy bar a treat for one. Wed Oct 21 15:31:44 -0700 2009 4151290 64491 mickie44 1 5135136 I was raised in northern North Dakota in Scandinavian country (read: cold), but I thought lefse (Norwegian potato flat bread) and melk suppa (rice pudding/mush) was standard American holiday fare for an embarrassingly long time. Tue Oct 27 12:38:10 -0700 2009 4151290 1116292 smkit 1 5147910 My mom would give us orange juice with brewer's yeast mixed in - I guess for the vitamins? To this day, when I drink OJ I taste the yeast too. It's not a bad flavor, just...distinct. And not orangey. Sun Nov 01 18:12:05 -0800 2009 4151290 75421 caerphilly 2 5147921 This is a wonderful thread! I just thought of another one. An ex-boyfriend's family put grape jelly on their mac and cheese. That still blows me away when I think about it- it actually tasted okay, but still seems deeply wrong. Sun Nov 01 18:17:11 -0800 2009 5147910 75421 caerphilly 3 5148223 that's something my cousin might have tried - she also did catsup soup (which was really good after nearly drowning one March afternoon - here's to you Nance ) Sun Nov 01 21:47:07 -0800 2009 5147921 163722 hill food 4 5160093 Normal foods: Bierocks, Case-Noodle, spare ribs & sour kraut, Kraut soup. My fathers parents were from Russia, but were of German decent. Thu Nov 05 22:33:59 -0800 2009 5148223 1122159 DallasChic 5 5160174 DC: that would have been good too Fri Nov 06 00:56:01 -0800 2009 5160093 163722 hill food 6 5389446 My mom would make us drink orange juice with a spoonful of bran stirred into it. Tue Feb 09 12:53:50 -0800 2010 5160174 1146185 mookie4177 1 5184150 I don't really have "weird" foods sinceI was fortunate to be raised by a foodie dietician mom, ahead of her time. But because of that, I thought homemade salad dressing was normal: I didn't knowingly eat the bottled stuff until I was in college. We had a fresh salad for every meal except when we had tacos, because you basically put a salad in the shell along with the meat and beans (lettuce and tomatoes), I really thought this was the way everyone ate. Sun Nov 15 17:50:50 -0800 2009 4151290 1121504 capicksnw 1 5186040 Someone else mentioned this one: bacon baked into the waffle-oh boy, good! A friend of mine got me to eat my liverwurst sandwiches with both mayonaise AND mustard and a slice of tomato. I'm getting hungry for the weirdest things now........... Mon Nov 16 12:07:57 -0800 2009 4151290 84693 mtm7654 1 5187056 In honor of my grandmother who passed away in the early nineties, these are some of mine: Sardine curry (dry w/tomato) spam curry or spam with pineapple curry (even though we did eat canned polish ham) Corned beef from can, sauteed wtih onions and chillies Fried eggs with soy sauce and sambal belacan over rice and my favorite, Calf brain cutlets (brain, dipped in Ammachi's particular batter, pan fried) In honor of my mum: Cheese Macaroni (yes, in that order) made with Kraft cheese that came in a Blue CAN I think from Australia Banana and honey sandwiched in whole wheat bread I'm Tamil (South Indian), but 4th generation Malaysian, (Penang). In general, my family ate really well and variously -- but I think those above dishes are holdovers from the WW2 of my grandparents and my mum's childhood. Every time,my mum, now in her seventies, passes a can of sardines, she thinks of that curry. Me, I get cravings for spam and corned beef, but have never been able to get it to taste just right. I did share my spam curry recipe with an (italian American) boyfriend in college, and surprisingly, he really liked and "owned" the spam curry. I think he was also raised by parents with a keen appreciation for wartime food. My present husband, Israeli via Soviet Odessa, thinks spam and corned beef are gross. More for me. Mon Nov 16 17:34:32 -0800 2009 4151290 1107881 sharmilad 2 5187898 sharmilad, welcome to chowhound. mr. alka is tamil (sri lanka) and we love indian, sri lankan, thai, chinese, etc. i'm looking forward to your posts on the home cooking board! Tue Nov 17 04:47:43 -0800 2009 5187056 105717 alkapal 3 5200921 Thank you for the welcome, Mr Alkapal. I'll have to check out the home cooking board. I'm very homesick for Cini Appam and Idiappom right now. Can't find anything like it anywhere in NYC unfortunately. Sun Nov 22 17:10:53 -0800 2009 5187898 1107881 sharmilad 2 5251048 What else is in the sardine curry? Mon Dec 14 12:39:35 -0800 2009 5187056 11106 tatamagouche 1 5198801 Such a great and funny thread, lots of nostalgia... We put ketchup on anything and everything: fish, steak, hot dogs, whatever. Except for pork chops, which were served with applesauce. My Nana buttered all sandwiches, too. She'd also always butter pasta before adding red sauce (at home, though, we never added butter if there was red sauce). The best was when we'd get tuna fish sandwiches with potato chips on white bread. You'd add the chips and then squish the sandwich down with your palm to break the chips. Mmmm. Sat Nov 21 14:03:35 -0800 2009 4151290 1112008 watch me boogie 1 5200957 jelly-filled omelettes. S.O.S. (Shit On Shingles). chicken gravy on pancakes, plus maple syrup. cabbage pancakes with soy sauce. coffee-Cokes with plenty of half&half. frosting toast! curried fruit every thanksgiving. Sun Nov 22 17:30:38 -0800 2009 4151290 1109094 bathtubninja 2 5200990 We could be half-related with the jelly omelets and SOS. ;) And more so because I've never had coffee-Cokes or frosting toast, but both sound right up my family tree as to something we would like. Sun Nov 22 17:50:45 -0800 2009 5200957 249664 kattyeyes 1 5205558 we didnt really eat it but...in my house and my grandmothers we gave all the babies chicken bones(cleaned off) to gnaw on when they were teething ...the first time I did this with one of my children I thought my mother in law would pass out! Tue Nov 24 12:29:17 -0800 2009 4151290 1127163 ntmyslftdy28 1 5205565 I thought everyone put salt on their watermelon and canteloupe Tue Nov 24 12:31:57 -0800 2009 4151290 1127163 ntmyslftdy28 2 5215885 we did in s.w. florida! i add pepper on the cantaloupe, too. Mon Nov 30 07:16:03 -0800 2009 5205565 105717 alkapal 1 5219626 How about taking pickled eggplant sandwiches to school? I was teased and asked if it was dolphin, but I didn't care because they didn't know what they were missing. I also took Nutella sandwiches to school before anyone knew what it was (mid-70s in Michigan!) Tue Dec 01 12:42:46 -0800 2009 4151290 1095697 italgal 2 5251054 More about the pickled eggplant sandwiches please! Mon Dec 14 12:40:28 -0800 2009 5219626 11106 tatamagouche 3 5289792 i agree, those sound awesome... Sat Jan 02 05:07:19 -0800 2010 5251054 264146 kubasd 1 5219788 Homemade popcorn covered in Brewer's yeast. No butter necessary. This is so popular where I'm from (Northern California) that they even have it at the movie theater! My famiy ate lamb on all special occasions, and everyone would fight over it. All my friends thought that this was absolutely disgusting. We also ate blue cheese all the time. Never, ever had ranch dressing, american cheese, or white bread. Our grilled cheese sandwiches were always made on either whole wheat or sourdough bread with either cheddar or swiss cheese. Needless to say, the first time I ate grilled cheese at a friends house I was shocked. Tue Dec 01 13:34:48 -0800 2009 4151290 1128680 CaitK 1 5221432 Veal – my mother loved veal and we ate veal scaloppini with different sauces 3-5 times a week, I just thought it was normal food. Campbell’s Soup and Jell-o when you were sick, it didn’t matter what you had or what you wanted to eat you were served this, ironically we never ate Campbell’s soup or Jell-o any other time in my house. My mother would make wonderful home-made soups but not if you were sick. There were only two salad dressing in the world – Green goddess and Russian My mom made almost everything from scratch (unless we were sick), even bread and pasta, however I was convinced that all cakes must come from a boxed mix. NOT my house but friends houses when growing up. Miracle whip was the only salad dressing and it was only to be topped with Bac-O’s (imitation bacon bits) Vanilla ice cream with BBQ sauce on it. Powdered Mashed potatoes with Chocolate chip cookies served as an accompaniment to our main course of waffles – dessert was celery stalks with honey dribbled on them - she was a strange lady, nice but very strange. Wed Dec 02 07:08:12 -0800 2009 4151290 131643 RetiredChef 2 5222712 For strange, I think the ice cream/BBQ sauce combo MUST take 1st prize here. When we were sick, mom always made us 1)drink watery jello mix (you know, before it sets) I used to have nightmares about the jello congealing inside while I was sleeping., 2)homemade Tupperware popsicles (OJ, grape juice, apple juice), and 3)cream of wheat. I haven't eaten any of those things since, although I might kill to get my hands on those old Tupperware pop molds! Wed Dec 02 13:47:58 -0800 2009 5221432 181204 stuck in Hartford County 3 5222721 Ooh, we had those plastic popsicle molds too, and made juice pops all summer. Boy, does that bring me back! And if you really want some - I just checked ebay and there are tons of them out there, cheap. Wed Dec 02 13:51:46 -0800 2009 5222712 14386 BobB 3 5224316 Cream of wheat is my personal nightmare food - was forced to eat it by a truly evil nurse after having an operation on my eye as a four-year-old still nauseated by the anesthetic, and awoke to find it on my breakfast tray the morning after being admitted to hospital for tests for suspected rheumatic fever as a teenager. Cannot bear even to look at the package in the store! Thu Dec 03 07:14:04 -0800 2009 5222712 13709 buttertart 2 5227163 re: boxed cake mix . . . i remember being horrified that my mom made angel food cake from a box throughout my childhood. i actually felt like a piece of me died that day . . . Fri Dec 04 08:17:39 -0800 2009 5221432 1121504 capicksnw 3 5228044 That reminds me of the time I made an angel food cake from scratch for someone's birthday. When I tried to impress my friend who is known for her baking, she said "You're kidding, right? That's the one thing that's better from a box!" Fri Dec 04 13:05:23 -0800 2009 5227163 64491 mickie44 1 5227271 "Salmon loaf". To this day, I've never seen it anywhere else, nor in anyone else's home. Think "meatloaf", only pretty lousy. Edible, yes, but certainly enough to get this guy believing that salmon, in all of its forms, was just bad. Mom used canned salmon for this "dish", and I've come to the conclusion that there's a very specific/important reason that the canned salmon manufacturers use a close-up of a salmon head prominently on the front of the can: they do that because that's probably the only part of the actual fish that they use. Thankfully, I've learned that salmon is *far* better than this early exposure but still, some things just shouldn't be done. After all: what's that poor salmon ever done to *you* to deserve such treatment? Fri Dec 04 08:50:17 -0800 2009 4151290 44316 boagman 2 5227434 Hurl! My mom used to make salmon "burgers" with this gross canned salmon that had these small, firm, white, bony things shaped like tiny boat winches, in them- and they crunched! She "breaded them w/grits and fried in Crisco. Once I caught her grinding the whole foul mess up in the blender to "get rid of" the bony things. Did she think I was a moron?! God awful stuff. I refuse to eat salmon to this day. Bologna, for us, came in a red, plastic cylinder- about 3 inches in diameter. You cut off the amount you "needed". She also bought bologna "loaf" that had olives and peppers in it. That wasn't bad on cheap white bread w/mayo. Maybe I WAS a moron. Fri Dec 04 09:50:05 -0800 2009 5227271 181204 stuck in Hartford County 3 5227541 We had a variation on those canned salmon "burgers," but my mom called them salmon croquettes. There were pretty much at the bottom of the list in our food rotation, favorites-wise. And yeah, those bones were nasty. Fortunately, being Jewish, I was also raised on smoked salmon so I knew salmon could be good. Just not the canned stuff. Maybe something edible can be made from canned salmon, I don't know, I just can't stand the sight of those cans and have never let one cross my threshold since I moved out of my parents' house. Fri Dec 04 10:20:52 -0800 2009 5227434 14386 BobB 4 5227676 In our house, canned salmon was heated in milk and served over mashed potatoes. Truly awful. Like Boagman, I grew up thinking this WAS salmon, and wouldn't touch the stuff in any form until well into my 20s. (Yet another of my "Is THAT what this is supposed to taste like?" moments.) Fri Dec 04 11:11:11 -0800 2009 5227541 101727 brandywiner 5 5227764 No way is canned salmon over mashed potatoes "normal" food! Sometimes I wonder why parents served this stuff- were they like "Why don't I serve something really gross (but "good" for you) w/something the kids love (like milk and mashed potatoes)- maybe they won't notice, since it all goes to the same place, anyway!" Another food mom mangled was scallops. She boiled them until they were like marbles. "That way, all the parasites are killed". I had my "Is THAT what scallops are supposed to taste like" moment on the Cape one winter, when I was in my 30's. Fri Dec 04 11:34:36 -0800 2009 5227676 181204 stuck in Hartford County 5 5227995 Now that is truly disgusting. Almost inspiringly so - I'm tempted to start a "worst thing your family did with canned salmon" thread. But if I did I don't know whether I would put it on General Chowhounding or Not About Food. ;-) Fri Dec 04 12:43:03 -0800 2009 5227676 14386 BobB 6 5228053 Hold the phone! I as well as I am sure a lot of other people of Canadian origin were raised on canned salmon sandwiches (red sockeye please) (was more common than tuna where I grew up) and like it very much indeed. Canned pink salmon heated in anything IS revolting. Fri Dec 04 13:08:53 -0800 2009 5227995 13709 buttertart 7 5228087 Heh. You, as well as you? You sure about that? You want to check with yourself, first? ;) Just kidding. I recently tried some canned salmon from a local Costco here, and while it was better than I expected it to be, it was hardly anything I'd call "good". That being said, I have no idea whether it was red sockeye or not. Fri Dec 04 13:19:38 -0800 2009 5228053 44316 boagman 8 5228112 I as well as (I am sure) a lot of other people of Canadian origin...it's a childhood thing, one of the few ways fish was served in my house. Maybe tuna was more expensive (and canned tuna is one of the very few things I never got a taste for). Fri Dec 04 13:25:05 -0800 2009 5228087 13709 buttertart 9 5229273 you all might want to know there are fans of canned salmon "patties" on these boards. they were delicious to me when i was growing up, and my mom insisted on crushing the bones so they disintegrated (good calcium, she'd say). she mixed in a little flour, egg to bind, salt and pepper, and shaped it like a thinner, smaller burger. then she fried it in a cast iron skillet in, most likely, crisco or some vegetable oil. when they came out of the skillet, she put them on a paper towel on a plate to cool and drain. i'd sneak them off that paper towel, i loved them so much. i think the canned salmon was a food common in the depression, when my mom grew up. i actually looked forward to those salmon patties. Sat Dec 05 04:54:56 -0800 2009 5228112 105717 alkapal 10 5233208 Same here, child of people who went through the depression. My mom always took out the bigger bones and the skin, and mashed the rest up for sandwiches. Calcium was adduced as the reason for leaving in the smaller ones as well. My mother-in-law makes a very good salmon loaf with red salmon. Have not had salmon cakes, but I bet they would be tasty too. I'm just not keen on creamed pink salmon on anything (grade 8 home ec trauma). Mon Dec 07 06:20:48 -0800 2009 5229273 13709 buttertart 10 5239241 I thought we must be related, due to the fact that seem to agree with about 99.9% of your posted opinions. But then again, you say there are "fans" of these patties out there?! AND YOU ARE ONE OF THEM???!!! I feel so cheated! Wed Dec 09 09:45:05 -0800 2009 5229273 181204 stuck in Hartford County 11 5240757 LOL! i love my mama's salmon patties, yessirree! they make a good sandwich on white bread the next day. (i'll bet that one got ya, too!). ;-)). Wed Dec 09 19:23:56 -0800 2009 5239241 105717 alkapal 12 5241810 Try my mom's special sandwich: drained and picked-over canned red salmon mashed with a good bit of black pepper, on buttered whole wheat, with a layer of peeled thinly-sliced cucumbers that have been salted, drained, and marinated in cider vinegar. Or the salmon on buttered toasted white bread, no cukes. Thu Dec 10 08:49:18 -0800 2009 5240757 13709 buttertart 10 5270386 Child of people who went through the depression and refugees from WWII as well as a Canadian here and I remember loving canned salmon so much that, as kids, my brother and I ate it straight from the can, bones and all. Had no qualms about crunching down on those bones. Also ate sardines straight from the cans, My daughter, on the other hand, would not even consider eating salmon bones or sardines in any form, probably more averse than a flu shot to her and she's needle-phobic. Tue Dec 22 14:40:34 -0800 2009 5229273 98493 JamieK 11 5270442 Canned salmon? "I'd rather stick needles in my eye!". (Jack Nicholson and I) Tue Dec 22 15:07:03 -0800 2009 5270386 181204 stuck in Hartford County 12 5283046 That's hilarious. Good call! Tue Dec 29 17:09:24 -0800 2009 5270442 98493 JamieK 1 5231031 The only one I can think of is "Catalina Chicken" basically my mom cut up a whole chicken, glugged a bottle of Catalina dressing on it and baked it. It's actually really good, but none of my friends had ever heard of it, and one of them actually wouldn't eat it. I was really embarrassed. Sat Dec 05 23:30:56 -0800 2009 4151290 1129775 FreshMango 2 5231230 i think we had a discussion about something like that, and i believe the one we discussed also had mayo. it was a "famous" dish from somewhere. (maybe it's hidden over there in the "strange combinations" thread). if you deconstruct the dressing (and the mayo) it would be normal, but it is the thought of using the prepared dressing (i guess) that drove some hounds off the cliff. does anyone recall the thread? ~~ edit: now i recall, it was *french* dressing, like the kraft version. that's pretty close to catalina dressing, more or less. i guess catalina has more tomato? Sun Dec 06 06:23:02 -0800 2009 5231031 105717 alkapal 3 5233210 Is it more tomato or more paprika? Not sure. More tangy/garlic-y as I recall. Mon Dec 07 06:21:47 -0800 2009 5231230 13709 buttertart 4 5233251 you're right -- catalina is *tangier.* it's been a long time....;-). Mon Dec 07 06:41:21 -0800 2009 5233210 105717 alkapal 5 5233390 For me, too. It was my favorite dressing when I was in my teens. The chicken dish sounds...intriguing? Mon Dec 07 07:48:00 -0800 2009 5233251 13709 buttertart 6 5235806 that's apt! i'm almost tempted to try it. LOL. Tue Dec 08 05:15:06 -0800 2009 5233390 105717 alkapal 7 5235911 Intriguing being one step away from scary in this case! Tue Dec 08 06:07:43 -0800 2009 5235806 13709 buttertart 8 5246498 My mom used to make something called Catalina Chicken, but I can't remember what it was like- odd, since I remember almost every meal I've eaten. We always had a bottle of that dressing around-sticky, unnaturally red, sweet/tart, totally processed. It tended to glob-up at the mouth of the bottle-repulsive goo. Did she dump it on chicken and call it Catalina Chicken? I'm going to ask. The recipe, undoubtedly, includes margarine in some way or another... Sat Dec 12 07:45:12 -0800 2009 5235911 181204 stuck in Hartford County 9 5248901 Well, if you're going to go there, you might as well go all the way! Sun Dec 13 15:08:22 -0800 2009 5246498 13709 buttertart 2 5231587 My mother made that too, I think it was a very common dish from the 50s-60s. One night when I was very short of time I made it and my son pretty much told me not to bother making it again. Sun Dec 06 10:16:59 -0800 2009 5231031 14447 rednails 2 5263359 Catalina dressing does not have any mayo in it, so it isn't creamy, it's kind of "clear" . The ingredients are mostly tomato, vinegar, garlic, and HFCS, with some paprika for color. It's still my favorite basic bottled dressing besides Lighthouse creamy chunky blue cheese. As for "additions" there were none. The only steps were : Cut up chicken (or take cut up fryer out of package) Place in glass baking dish Open bottle of Catalina dressing Pour dressing on chicken Bake. Sat Dec 19 13:02:54 -0800 2009 5231031 1129775 FreshMango 3 5263685 Yup, my mom confirmed this when I asked her for the "recipe". Was all cooking that easy back then? I can't bear to think about all the chemicals we (unknowingly) ingested as kids. At least my mom drew the line at King Vitamin. I had to have go across the street to my friend's house for that. Sat Dec 19 15:46:28 -0800 2009 5263359 181204 stuck in Hartford County 1 5273361 Canned tuna mixed with mayonnaise. I don't know why, but everyone I talk to about it tells me it's good mixed with shoyu and thinks that tuna + mayo is gross. It's a natural sandwich filling combo, following eggs + mayo and chicken + mayo! We also grew up eating chicken with ketchup because that's how my grandma ate it. I also love tomato sandwiches with just a little salt and pepper. Wed Dec 23 22:26:34 -0800 2009 4151290 1130773 pantsless 2 5274125 Where did you grow up? In the US tuna with mayo is the most standard of all standard forms of tuna salad. There are hundreds of variations and optional additions, but a base of tuna and mayo is darn near universal! Thu Dec 24 11:21:29 -0800 2009 5273361 14386 BobB 3 5274252 Ditto. At least in North America, just about every tuna salad I've ever seen starts with tuna & mayo. Thu Dec 24 12:47:24 -0800 2009 5274125 101727 brandywiner 1 5275352 My mom used Campbell's condensed cream of tomato soup as a spaghetti sauce, right out of the can. Just plopped it on or heated it up, no water or milk. She called it Jewish Spaghetti. Sweet. I still make it for myself. No one else seems to eat this. Fri Dec 25 12:34:08 -0800 2009 4151290 1134435 bobbybologna 1 5286525 Cheerios with cream cheese as the perfect finger food for toddlers. Or kids older than toddlers. I was a little chagrined when I mentioned this to a pregnant friend and she made a face. I guess it isn't that common after all . . . Thu Dec 31 08:42:37 -0800 2009 4151290 52237 guilty 1 5290271 The only salad dressing I knew growing up was French/Russian dressing, which consisted of mayo and ketchup. Maybe a little relish if Mom was getting fancy. I still make it from time to time and serve over iceburg. Sat Jan 02 10:05:37 -0800 2010 4151290 65673 monavano 1 5331019 Jello with milk.... Mon Jan 18 12:19:13 -0800 2010 4151290 1141131 foodmongrel 2 5332868 Hey! We used to eat that too. Red jello pls. Tue Jan 19 07:50:09 -0800 2010 5331019 13709 buttertart 1 5387406 My mom regularly made french toast with cheese - two pieces of white bread coated in french toast batter with a slice of processed cheese in the middle. Almost exactly the same as grilled cheese but served with pancake syrup. I'm vegan now but when I think of comfort/mom food I think of things like this. Other not so normal foods my mom would cook - fried bologna sandwiches, mashed potatoes mixed with ground beef and leftover gravy (gross! she called it slop and it was mostly to use leftovers), etc. My grandmother also ate ketchup on toast frequently. I think if we ever have kids they will grow up and post many of my parters favourite foods on a board like this. He lived in Newfoundland, what more do I need to say... Mon Feb 08 17:15:16 -0800 2010 4151290 1147428 michelleTO 1 5388015 Easting pickled herring w/ onions and sour cream on rye bread for breakfast. All my WASP buddies were horrified, and come to think of it, I still eat it and my Yankee friends are still horrified. I think I'll go have some. Tue Feb 09 00:00:39 -0800 2010 4151290 93538 Passadumkeg 2 5388417 Sounds good to me. Love the fish things for breakfast...another favorite of mine is a side of kippers with my soft scrambled eggs. Yum. Tue Feb 09 07:32:07 -0800 2010 5388015 116047 The Professor