Mac and Cheese Surprise

[jhopp217]

I told someone last night I didn't really like mac and cheese. When her jaw was lifted from the floor, she said "we grew up on it, how can't you like it." I then floored her again, with "I had never had it until about five years ago (I'm 42). I said, I don't really like it unless it's from KFC and I prefer it cold, haha.

Anything anyone else went years before having that is considered a childhood staple?

[HillJ]

jhopp, you really blew up (in a good way!) the whole childhood comfort food/nostalgia thing so beautifully w/this thread. And, I'd be total remiss if I didn't include my childhood and adult food affair with PUDDING.

While Mom was a.o.k. with the boxed stuff my great grandmother saved the day (especially after school) with pots of rice pudding, chocolate, caramel and vanilla pudding and her oh my god good flan. I lived on pudding in my wee teens.

Pudding makes me happy!

How about you?

[jbsiegel]

Pudding - LOVE! Especially that skin that formed on top of the "non-instant" box mix. My mom made rice pudding a lot, but I'm not a huge fan of that one. Love tapioca too. Hate pistacio (which she insisted on making as well).

[jhopp217]

I was just going to write how this is one of the few "almost all positive" fastest growing threads I've posted. I love hearing about what people grew up on. My parents were so against processed and boxed foods. I think we were the last family in America to have a microwave. I remember the biggest treat ever was when I was a kid and for my birthday, my mother bought McNuggets. They had just come out I think and everyone loved them. I don't think I had them again for about five years after that party. My only guilty pleasure was a Whopper.

[eclecticsynergy]

Oh yeah PUDDING!! The real cooked kind, not the instant dreck. I could happily live on the stuff.
That leathery skin was my favorite part- I used to peel it back, eating the soft pudding out from underneath and saving the best for last.

Tapioca. Flan. Rice pudding. Bread pudding. Butterscotch. The fancier grownup versions like Creme Brulee. And I'll never forget Mississippi Mud Pie, with the scrumptious layers of chocolate pudding & graham crackers...

[thimes]

Chitterlings!

I never had chitterlings (seems weird spelling it out like that since no one says it like that either) until college. I had them when I went to my roommates house for Thanksgiving. They were horrible but I can imagine that much of the southern US would be surprised that I never had those until college. Actually the same with collard greens - same meal - but I liked those.

It was my first real - true southern soul food meal.

[Linda VH]

This is a great post! Got me thinking of my favorites. Making cinnamon toast - you put the toast (I was an athlete so no weight problem so I used 4 pieces) in the broiler and when one side is done butter thickly (clumps are okay) and then sprinkle cinnamon and sugar mixture heavily on the toast. Put it back in the broiler and you have the best cinnamon toast ever. Never did get the kind you buy in the store. I will have to try it in my toaster oven....

[HillJ]

Cinnamon Sugar French Toast is on the breakfast menu at my B&B in CA. If I took it off (which I did once) my clients would hog tie me. Something about cinnamon/sugar & toast just brings folks back to a very comforting moment. I keep cinnamon/sugar mixtures in large mason jars on hand.

[Perilagu Khan]

This certainly brings back the memories. Both mom and my grandma made great cinnamon toast. And vanilla toast, too. I may have to whomp up a load o' this stuff over the weekend.

[jhopp217]

I remember at 26 years old having grits down south at a diner for the first time. I had to ask how to eat them. Then I tasted it. I couldn't wait to get back to NY and tell all my Italian friends that their fancy polenta was nothing more than grits

[thimes]

(I'm really enjoying this post)

I guess my family was "adventurous" eaters when we were young - so it is almost easier for me to recognize foods that I had that other people find unusual than the other way around.

KNISH come to mind though. I didn't have it until High School and I remember so many people being shocked that I had never had one before. In fact the first place I had one was at a Ranger's hockey game at the Meadowlands if I remember correctly (though it could have been Madison Square Garden) and I didn't know how to pronounce it. I remember the woman in line next to me saying "It's K-nish, I can't believe you've never had one." So I ordered it. Not the best knish I've had but my first none the less.

Growing up in (at least High School years) in NJ - I had a lot of friends from many different immigrant populations, so we always had different things to eat at different people's houses. So I had a lot of "staples" from other cultures growing up.

[DamnedScholar]

Mayonnaise is something I never had until recently, thanks to my mother's aversion to the stuff. Cheap yellow mustard is also something I didn't have as a kid (we always had dijon mustard in the house).

[jhopp217]

I don't think I had "yellow" mustard until my first Yankees game at 8 years old. Since then, I can only eat it on a hot dog

[al b. darned]

In our house there was "Mustard," usually French's yellow mustard, and "Dad's Mustard," usually Mister Mustard, which was Off Limits to all of the grubby little crumb snatchers in the house.

[jmcarthur8]

Growing up, we always had yellow mustard, Gulden's mustard and Dijon to use depending on what we were preparing. I still do have at least a half dozen types of mustard in the pantry at any given time.

[MonMauler]

Growing up, my parents usually had French's yellow mustard, Gulden's spicy brown, and Dijon in our fridge. I almost always have the same three in my fridge.

However, I was visiting my parents, maybe about a year ago, and I guess my father had purchased a jar of Mr. Mustard, and I broke into it with some good jarlsberg, and, man, is that stuff good. I really need to remember to keep that in my fridge from now on.

Another mustard brand I never had when I was young, but have grown to love, is Ingelhoffer's. I usually have the stone ground variety in my fridge, but all of their mustards are fantastic, IMHO.

[HillJ]

Other childhood staples for us included Tree Tavern frozen pizza which was considered a movie night treat when I was a kid. We'd all sit in front of the television and eat slices.

No one has mentioned TV DINNERS! Gosh, we had them all the time with a working Mom at the ready to pull a fried chicken or salisbury steak version out of the small freezer and leave us in charge to watch the timer! I use to reuse the tin plates for painting.

[jbsiegel]

Oh gosh yes...we had those too! We even had those folding individual tables that we could set up in front of the TV to eat on...

[HillJ]

LOL, folding tables, wow-you were living fancy smancy, jb! Good times.

[Perilagu Khan]

My mom pretty much forbade eating in front of the boob toob. She would relent only for a very big football game.

[HillJ]

Movie night was the one allowable with meals. Mom loved the cinema. Eating frozen pizza when The Wiz of Oz was on television was a big deal. Not too much sports ran in our home; just basketball.

[Emme]

my grandparents had those tables! they ate *every* night in front of the tv... i sort of found it irritating to have a slightly precarious eating surface. but that was them.

[DamnedScholar]

I've still never had a TV dinner. My parents are both pretty good cooks, and if neither of them were up to doing anything or going out, frozen pizza or Hot Pockets would suffice (both of which my sister and I could prepare ourselves from a very early age). We always used the toaster oven or regular oven, too, never the microwave.

[HillJ]

re: DamnedScholar HillJ Aug 02, 2012
As a widow of 4, working Mom of 44 years and a all too early passing (because after all that she should have lived to 100 just to travel and enjoy retirement) the gal was an ok cook but a huge lover of good food and good cooks. Her elders, who lived with us on occasion, kicked ass in every kitchen. Early on, this family brew had a humbling impact on me. We never owned a microwave, Mom didn't trust it. But the oven and stove top were never OFF. Convenience dinners entered our lives when Mom was promoted at her job. We had a big party for her and that's when she introduced tv dinners and the marvel of toaster oven cookery :)

[DamnedScholar]

The toaster oven is indeed a wonderful thing.

[HillJ]

Sadly, a huge no-no in college dorms and many Univ owned apartments. None of my kids could use one at school. Microwaved food leaves alot to be desired...and how much popcorn can sustain the undergrad brain? :)

[Perilagu Khan]

Depends on the undergrad. The smaller the brain, the less popcorn required. Most of today's undergrads can fuel themselves with two kernels a day and an iPad. ;)

[HillJ]

oh don't stop there...Red Bull chaser.
But I don't subscribe to such folly :)

[Perilagu Khan]

No energy drink (save Gatorade) has touched my lips, and I doubt it ever will.

[HillJ]

Me either, including Gatorade (too sweet)...but the cans being dispensed out of Univ cafeterias tell a diff story.

[Perilagu Khan]

Oh yeah. They absolutely guzzle that bilge. Can't be good for 'em, surely.

[Perilagu Khan]

Always loved the Hungry Man Salisbury steaks and turkey dinners, but they never filled me up. Even when I was a li'l Khan. We also got the Patio cheese enchilada plates which were nothing but six cheese enchies in an aluminum tray. To this day I'd damage somebody to get a hold of these. Alas, they're no longer made.

[HillJ]

Patio cheese enchilada plates, wow! Having a tv dinner that was off the "traditional American fare" placed you at the world food traveler level in my neighborhood circa 1964.

[Perilagu Khan]

Heh. Well, down in Texas circa 1974 they weren't too exotic.

[jhopp217]

I have had a TV dinner only one time in my life. The amount of salt, literally shocked my body. NO lie...I was not right for days

[splatgirl]

OH! Swanson fried chicken dinner with mashed potatoes and the apple dessert. I think it also had peas, which is about the only food hate holdover from my childhood.
Or a Swanson chicken pot pie. Holy cow, the memories.

I love how y'all are calling them "folding tables". Ever heard of TV trays?

[HillJ]

We didn't call them TV trays because we didn't always use them to enjoy a meal in front of the tv. As sibs, we were more likely to lay out a big blanket and pretend we were at the beach or camping out...on the floor.

But the "grownups" used folding tables for all sorts of reasons.

[Perilagu Khan]

Used to like the Swanson pot pies, but now have upgraded to Marie Callender's. They really are very good.

[jujuthomas]

I don't remember that we had tv dinners, but we used to get salisbury steak in these little boil-in bags. This is when I was very small - I remember watching in fascination as mom pulled those little bags out, cut them open and slid out the meat and gravy. I tried them once as an adult - ugh - what a salt bomb!

[HillJ]

Right! The frozen imitation veal patties was another one...and what a salt bomb those were too!

[Perilagu Khan]

The company should be charged with "a salt and bombery."

[HillJ]

Theft by salt shaker!

[jujuthomas]

wasn't there a turkey and gravy one also?

[HillJ]

Thanksgiving in a box, right. I recall meatballs and spaghetti dinner with garlic bread, chicken and gravy, chicken and dumplings...and often with the apple sauce (hot) and green peas with many of the choices.

[Emme]

my never hads:
PB & Jelly (i didn't eat sandwiches)
Green Bean Casserole (does this count?)
Jack in the Box, Taco Bell
Sloppy Joe's
and the aforementioned nutella and fluffernutter.

[Emme]

almost forgot Potato Salad and Coleslaw... potato salad is okay done the right way; coleslaw i'll never understand.

[jbsiegel]

Have STILL never had Taco Bell. We occasionally went to McDonalds. I remember it being such a novelty! Never had Burger King until college. My mother LOVES fried chicken (yuck!), so she'd bring KFC home every once in a while. For the most part, though, she cooked everything.

[Emme]

lol me neither on Taco Bell or Del Taco -- i think i may have had a soft drink from the drive-through with a friend, but never a meal or food. i think i can count how many times i went to mcdonald's, but i liked the nuggets and the frozen yogurt / ice cream cone.

[jhopp217]

I would advise you to keep the Taco Bell streak going. I had it one day after about a 15 year hiatus. I no lie had to pull over and, er pull the trigger. It was that bad and made me instantly ill. That being said a friend talked my into the Doritos Burrito. Equally, blah.

I gotta question the "yuck" in concerns to Fried Chicken. KFC is by far the best chain food there is, IMO

[jbsiegel]

Not "yucking" the KFC..."yucking" the whole concept of fried chicken. Not high on my list of favorites!

[Perilagu Khan]

Wow. I haven't had TB in many a moon, but always thought it was reasonably good for fast food Tex-Mex.

[jhopp217]

TB was good in the mid 90's. awful now

[Christina D]

I wouldn't eat any kind of eggs until I was in college. I could only choke down scrambled if covered in ketchup (and always under duress). I thought fried eggs were an abomination and I despised hard boiled. Of course, I had never heard of poached.

Somehow, in college, I developed a taste for egg salad. That, apparently, was my gateway egg drug. Now, I'm a huge fan of all preparations.

[jmcarthur8]

Oh, I'd never actually had a twinkie of my very own till a few years ago. I'd had a bite maybe of someone else's, but when I finally had my own twinkie, I took a bite and gave the rest to my son. I just could not do the whole thing. I love sweets, I love food, I love sweet food... but a twinkie just doesn't feel like food.

[jhopp217]

Twinkies are like Vampires. They live forever. I don't believe there is any food in it

[al b. darned]

DW had never had a Twinkie before we got married, so for her birthday the first year after we got married I made her a Twinkie birthday cake. OK, it was only three Twinkies stacked with raspberry syrup poured over the top and a birthday candle stuck in it. She often requests repeats of something I have made. This has not been one of them.

I wonder if I submitted it to Bon Appetit.....

[jmcarthur8]

Hmm. Not surprised that she didn't ask for an encore. The raspberry syrup is brilliant, though!

[Emme]

if you ever do a homemade version of twinkies, try filling them with a raspberry cream...

[splatgirl]

I'm pretty sure the window on Twinkies being good slammed shut about 1983. I bet you would have liked them back in the day, before they started processing the processed.
Plus you didn't say you had it with a beer. That was key.

[browndogs2]

To this day, I have never had Marshmallow Fluff or Nutella, which, based on my unscientific survey of people I know, puts me in the minority. At least as to the Nutella.

And we never had beans & weenies. Separately yes, but never together. Or pigs in a blanket or Manwiches/sloppy Joes. Or Hamburger Helper. Or Rice-A-Roni. Those all seemed to be staples in friends' households as a kid, but not mine. I've still not had any of those except for Rice-A-Roni a few times in college.

I'm a CA native in my 40s, FWIW, if anything at all.

[Perilagu Khan]

Made hawgs in a blanket tonight. A good ol' standby.

Never tasted Hamburger Helper, and I'm not sure if I've every had Rice-A-Roni.

[browndogs2]

You know, my husband grew up with that dish (pigs in a blanket) & I have a lovely mil who now lives in the same city as we do. Perhaps I should request it? I know she would make it for me. I'm curious. As of today, I've shaken the GERD diet - perhaps for something more ominous but heck, I'm off the GERD diet so I'll take the good news I can for now. Perhaps I should take advantage while I can. :)

ETA: Oh, no. I've just learned my husband hasn't had the version I'm thinking of, either. His mother's version came from her Austrian mil, & it is flank steak, bacon, & onions rolled in a ball with a toothpick through it. No hot dogs or dough in sight. Hmmm. Well, that's not the pigs in a blanket I was thinking of. He swears it's good, as I just told him it sounds unappealing.

[Perilagu Khan]

My MIL's pigs in a blanket are actually cabbage rolls made with ground beef! Obviously, this dish means many different things to many different people.

PS--Good luck on your health issues.

[MonMauler]

Cabbage rolls stuffed with a ground beef mixture is always what my mother called "Pigs in a Blanket," as well. I was surprised when I first saw the other variations, listed above, and now just refer to the dish my mother made as "Cabbage Rolls."

Pigs in a Blanket is many different things to many different people, it seems.

[HillJ]

Stuffed cabbage rolls in some part of our family tree is always ground beef & ground lamb, rice and softened cabbage braised in tomato puree, garlic, cumin and rosemary. Served with sour cream. We didn't call them pigs in a blanket because we didn't use pork.

Pigs in a blanket would cover hotdogs, sausage, ground pork balls, even kielbasa wrapped inside some form of bread dough and baked. Served with mustard.

[Perilagu Khan]

I always think of pigs in a blanket as a poor man's kolache.

[HillJ]

Kolache as I know them are small cookies stuffed with fruit, semi sweet. Where as klobasniki are filled with meat and cheese type fillings. I think of pigs in a blanket as a more modern version for home cooks who don't want to spend hours in the kitchen preparing special dough.

[Perilagu Khan]

In Texas kolaches are some type of wurst wrapped in a biscuit-like dough and then baked. Mustard is the condiment of choice.

[jhopp217]

Aren't golashes the thing you wear when it rains?

[Perilagu Khan]

What is this thing called rain?

[julesrules]

Interesting. Not that I am an expert on cabbage rolls but I would never think to put rosemary and cumin together. Do you think this is a specific ethnic variation or a family recipe?

[HillJ]

jules; probably a meeting of the family minds. ground beef (cumin) and lamb (rosemary). I'd call it a compromise (wink). Tastes delicious.

[biondanonima]

In our house, pigs in blankets were breakfast sausage links wrapped in pancakes. I've never heard of cabbage rolls being referred to that way!

[kubasd]

That's what pigs in a blanket are to me, too. The first time I ever had them was at the IHOP right before the bridge to the Cape, and they forever remind me of my parents house there :)

[jmcarthur8]

Yep, me, too - pigs in blankets were what I always got at IHOP after church when I was a little girl in the 60's. Sausage in pancakes.
My mother's cabbage rolls (Slovak) were just called cabbage rolls.

[kubasd]

ah, those were golumpkies for me (Polish).

[jmcarthur8]

kubasd,
Golumpkies, that's what they called them in the Chicago area where I lived for years. Lots of old Polish ladies who knew how to cook back in the day!

[kubasd]

I've never had them as good as the ones my grandfather made.... must have been the love :)

[HillJ]

Did anyone ever include bacon in their recipe for cabbage rolls?

[kubasd]

Not in the ones I've had... Just ground beef (meat wise).

[jmcarthur8]

No bacon! Beef, onion, rice, parsley, salt, pepper, egg. Simple, simple.

I made them with a different recipe once and it was just wrong. The best cabbage rolls are the ones your family made.

[HillJ]

In my family recipe was a complicated affair. The elders on both sides had strong skills and dinner conversation was often a quibble over a particular version of cooking the same dish. I have this fuzzy memory about bacon being added to the broth and this causing a commotion. Hence my question here.

For me, the best everything was what's made by family :) no argument there!

[HillJ]

but, it is a fuzzy memory and for all I know the bacon could have been part of a different one pot dish that they quibbled over. Great memories, but mine is sometimes mixed up because there were so many conversations about food, recipes and who made the dish best.

[al b. darned]

My mom made golumpkies out of ground beef with a bit of rice mixed in and called them "pigeons."

[browndogs2]

Thank you. Things are looking up currently.

This whole thread has made me hungry for some things I haven't eaten in a long time. :) It's been a very nice walk down memory lane. The homemade cinnamon toast discussed below is one I had forgotten about. My mom used to make that when we were kids & I have made it occasionally as an adult.

[Jeri L]

I remember going to a friend's house for dinner in the early 70s (when I was about 10)--her Mom served Hamburger Helper Potato Stroganoff with frozen peas mixed in. I was SO impressed! We NEVER had anything like that at home.

[HillJ]

Slumber party food if I ever heard it! The first time I had an English muffin toaster pizza was at a slumber party in 5th grade (& man that's going back some years!). I couldn't wait to tell my mother that pizza could be made in our toaster! ha!

[Perilagu Khan]

Never had E. muffin pie, but IIRC, did have pizza made with pita bread. Seems like you could buy a special pizza sauce for this. And it was none too good!

[HillJ]

Did you slice the pita bread open and then fill it with sauce & cheese or just lie it flat and top it?

[Perilagu Khan]

Everything was slung atop the pita.

[jhopp217]

I had never had anything involving hamburger helper until my late teens..had it once...never again

[jbsiegel]

Pigs in a blanket, yes. But I've still never had rice-a-roni or the HH.

Not sure I've ever eaten a Corn Dog. All kids of other hot dogs tho (including cut up and added to Spaghettio's.

My mom made sloppy joes a lot, but I was never a super huge fan. Something about the sweetness bothered me. Now...offer me thick meat spaghetti sauce on a bun, and I'm all over it!

[HillJ]

My middle child has a major jones for spaghetti sauce on a bun with lots of thick ground meat too. When he was 25 he won a contest for eating the largest qty's of said meal in some restaurant in PA.

[biondanonima]

My husband loves this too, although he prefers garlic bread to a bun. I have to admit, it's delicious, although I also like the traditional sloppy joe (Manwich please!).

[Perilagu Khan]

I never dug Sloppy Joes (or Manwiches) either, and for the very same reason. Sweet, sweet, too dam' sweet. Now a nice smoked chopped brisket sandwich with pickles, onions and a hot, tangy BBQ sauce, on the other hand, is right up my street. Literally!

[splatgirl]

Baloney sandwiches. Eu. I still haven't ever eaten one. Even as a kid I think I objected to the processed-ness of baloney. I can't imagine how much more disgusting it is now--lunchmeat baloney, I mean.

I also never liked the kid staple that is tater tot hot dish. I've never had that as an adult, either.

Spaghettios, same. GACKY.

[jbsiegel]

Balogna sandwiches...staple of my childhood (since I refused those PBJ). Love them!

I have never ever (yet) had tater tots. Guess there's still time?

[thimes]

Blasphemy about the spaghettiOs.

Yes they are horrible, fake, pink slime meat balls, and mush pasta but they are one of my FAVORITE things from childhood. I still crave them about once a year and everyone who knows me is shocked that I eat them. But they scream childhood comfort to me.

:D

[HillJ]

So true, the Fluffernutter and English muffin pizza most definately falls under the category.
That's the whole point :) childhood comfort.

[browndogs2]

+1 on the SpaghettiOs but with franks. I loved them. I had them recently, though, & they tasted really sweet. I still love some junk food & am not ashamed to indulge on occasion, but my palate is definitely more sensitive to the salt, sugar, and/or chemicals used, depending on the product.

We got little junk food growing up, so SpaghettiOs was one of the few things I had regularly. I so loved them. Thanks for the memory!

[Terrie H.]

I really disliked the baloney sandwiches packed in my lunch, too, but remember having a slightly better opinion of the stuff once I had a FRIED baloney sandwich. My mother picked up that idea somewhere and it made it edible for home cooked lunches, but I haven't eaten it since I was about 10.

Until I met mortadella.....

[jhopp217]

You had me at Mortadella, haha

[Perilagu Khan]

To this day, I've never eaten a PBJ sandwich. Of course, I'm only three years old.

[HillJ]

For a 3 year old your typing and language skills are remarkable. Just think how well you'd do with a PBJ sandwich in your belly :)

[Perilagu Khan]

Well I do have a PBJ-flavored pacifier! ;)

[Sandwich_Sister]

My husband grew up in a house hold where there were some really bad food allergies. Nuts, and Dairy were not permitted.

At almost 30 years old he has never had a Peanut butter and Jelly Sandwich, or Mac and Cheese.

He did try a grilled cheese this year but didn't get the hype. He likes a grilled ham and cheese though.

Scalloped Potatoes, peanut butter cookies, peanut M&M's, Peanut butter cups are all things he's never had either.

[jhopp217]

Do you ever let him out of the basement? hahaha JK

[Sandwich_Sister]

Hahahahaha! :P

Since being with me he has tried a lot more things and found out he likes them. His refusal to try peanut butter but tends to love peanuts in a jar is really confusing to me.

[HillJ]

My husband has the same 'quirk' about PB jarred & peanuts in a jar. Something about the roast & crunch from whole shelled nuts doesn't work for him..even the roasted and crunchy brands of PB. The # of x's I've tried to make homemade for him...he's happier with Planter's.

[Sandwich_Sister]

Hehehe, ye. I finally got over it and just let him eat the peanuts and not give him a hard about the peanut butter.

[Janet from Richmond]

My husband has the same quirk. Has a handful of peanuts every day but doesn't like peanut butter.

That mean more PB for me and our pup.

[thimes]

We grew up eating - among many other things - grilled peanut butter sandwiches.

I'm always surprised how many people have never had them - whether you like them or not is different I guess - but never having them surprises me only because we had them all the time especially in the winter.

For those of you who have never had them - essentially "grilled cheese sandwich" but with PB instead of cheese (so buttered bread - griddled until toasted). I like them better with bananas now that I am older but we never had them that way as kids (unlike Elvis).

[jujuthomas]

thimes, I have never heard of a grilled PB sandwich until your post, but it is now on my "must try" list! I love PB toast when the PB gets all melty so I'm sure I'd like a grilled PB even more. :)

[thimes]

well I hope you do and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

I like the sliced bananas in them now as an adult only because now I find the hot melted PB a bit too "sticky" in my mouth now as an adult and the banana helps with that - but that is exactly why I loved them as a kid.

[HillJ]

Such a comforting sandwich, thimes. Here's what my brothers did:

Spread marshmallow cream or FLUFF on one sliced and toast it a few secs in the broiler. Then, spread creamy PB on the other slice. Slap together and grill it.

[Sandwich_Sister]

You just reminded me that I didn't even try marshmallow fluff until I was an adult. They did not sell it down in Florida when I was a kid.

[jhopp217]

I honestly don't know if I've ever had it.

[thimes]

FLUFF - while I"m sure I've had it at some point . . . I can honestly say I don't have any concrete memory of ever eating it. I've heard it is great with PB too. Maybe I'll have to try that one.

[jujuthomas]

I do adore a PB and Fluff sandwich. Altho I'm not sure my 40-ish metabolism could handle it the way my much younger self did!

I went to the kitchen @ lunch to make grilled peanut butter since I'm working @ home today... TRAGEDY... I'm out of bread! oh, the humanity! lol. Will have to wait until the weekend now. :)

[julesrules]

I've never had it either. I think we have it in Canada these days but I don't believe it was around when I was growing up. I would like to try it. I wonder about broiling it in my toaster oven, does it get toasty like marshmallows?

[HillJ]

Sure does and very quickly under the broiler so leave space over the heating element and keep an eye on it.

[CanadaGirl]

We definitely have Fluff in Canada. It's been around as long as I can remember (I'm 38). It will get toast under a broiler. I've made "s'mores" that way often :)

[julesrules]

Also 38 :) Maybe it just wasn't popular with my set... there wasn't a whole lot of junk food around my or my friends' houses growing up... with certain exceptions ie. Kraft Dinner!

[jmcarthur8]

I never had till I was an adult:
Marshmallow cream
Lobster
Olive oil
Fresh garlic
Capers
Lamb
French Onion soup

And I've still never had a Fluffernutter sandwich!

(My sons grew up on all of these, but they've still never had a Fluffernutter either)

[jbsiegel]

+1 on the Fluffernutter! Never had Nutella either.

[HillJ]

Fluffernutter and Nutella are both cheer me up foods in our home.

Even with 4 adult-children...a loaf of my whole wheat bread, jarred or homemade mallow, jarred or homemade Nutella and a big jar of PB (creamy) and we can figure out ANY challenge.

[Emme]

me neither me neither!

[splatgirl]

OMD. I am so trying this asap. I have been into PB and banana since I was a kid, but I've never heard or thought of it being grilled. Genius.

[jhopp217]

Gotta add bacon

[Janet from Richmond]

I like grilled pb & j :-)

[jujuthomas]

apparently my sister has had grilled PB & J and never told me about it!

[jhopp217]

Grilled Peanut butter, banana and bacon sandwiches are the single greatest indulgence known to man.

[Frosty Melon]

Grilled peanut butter sandwiches are delicious. Even better when spread on top with jelly or preserves.

[Linda VH]

My Mother made the very best mac n cheese. She made it from scratch and there was no recipe (of course not aaaaah!) as she said she just "threw cheese in, etc.". Yum!!!! We were allowed to have anything we wanted for dinner on our b-days and I would always have hot dogs and mac n cheese!

[HillJ]

Cream cheese and olive sandwiches, liverwurst and tunafish with relish sandwiches were all favorites of my childhood friends==never touched my lips until I was well into my college years.

Mac and cheese on the other hand was a constant and variations abound. My favorite burger topping happens to be mac and cheese.

Another childhood staple was the English muffin pizza in the toaster oven. Ever try that, jhopp217?

[al b. darned]

I have, and they're great! Not a childhood food, tho. I didn't discover those until I was in my late 20's.

[jhopp217]

I didn't like Olives until later in life and I cry about it. we lived near the best middle eastern store and they had the best olives...I lost out

Mac and Cheese as a burger topping. Never dreamt of it.

EM Pizza...of course. My friend puts ketchup and cheese on it and calls it pizza. That to me is gross

[Perilagu Khan]

Yeah, I didn't get into olives--so to speak--until I was probably in my thirties.

[jhopp217]

I just ate one for the shame of both of us, haha

[Terrie H.]

My mother would make English muffin pizzas for an occasional Saturday lunch treat when we were young - diced salami, american cheese and Heinz chili sauce sprinkled with green can parmesan cheese, broiled until bubbly. I need to make one of those again and see if it still tastes as good as I remember....

[HillJ]

Great memories!

[jhopp217]

I do that now, but it's with pesto sauce, mozzarella and grilled chicken

[jbsiegel]

English muffin tuna melt in the toaster oven...YUM!

[HillJ]

Oh heavens yes, gotta be Jarlsberg swiss tho...

[browndogs2]

+1

[jhopp217]

Now we're talking. I remember a friend invited me over for lunch and made that...his wife...at the time about 30 had never had one. Now it's her favorite

[JungMann]

I didn't grow up in an American household, so a lot of what my friends here consider staples: mac and cheese, penne ala vodka or even a grilled steak, are foods I didn't try until I was much older. I've had lots of Hungarian goulash, but have yet to try the macaroni and mincemeat dish most Americans tend to call goulash. As a child, I also hated peanut butter, just like jbsiegel. But I got over my aversion in college when I tried to allocate my meager resources between cheap protein and cheap beer.

[jhopp217]

>>>>But I got over my aversion in college when I tried to allocate my meager resources between cheap protein and cheap beer<<<< Love It

I have had a few classic Hungarian dishes...made by my mother (which was praised by a native Hungarian). Don't remember if it was goulash, but it was great.

[ferret]

I also grew up in a Hungarian household but my mom had an adventurous spirit so we always tried new things.

[juster]

There's one -- I've never had vodka sauce, though I wouldn't really have considered it a standard thing. I hear it's good. Does it really taste different?

[jhopp217]

I love a good vodka sauce, but basically it's a light tomato sauce with some cream. The vodka adds some body supposedly, but wouldn't know...haven't had it without. I am very picky about my vodka sauce...has to have slices or chunks of proscuitto in it or it's not vodka sauce to me.

[JungMann]

The vodka theoretically should not add body or much of a taste, however every time I've had it, I swear there is the unpleasant grainy taste of cheap vodka in the background, just without the burn. Never had it with meat, though. It seems to be the safe choice crowd-pleaser for Italian-Americans on the East Coast... unless of course your crowd is vegan alcoholics.

[rohirette]

It isn't a standard on the level of mac and cheese or a grilled cheese sandwich. I'm with you there.

[jbsiegel]

I was in a similar boat with the Mac and Cheese. Probably never had it until in my 20's. Never even liked it until sometime in my 30's. Never really enjoyed pizza much as a kid either. Love it now, though!

Not sure Chinese is a childhood staple, but never had that until in my 20's either.

Hated (still do) PB&J as a kid, so didn't have that much. Lots of other sandwiches, tho.

[jhopp217]

JBS, can I assume you're not a NYers from the pizza comment?

I've been eating Chinese (standard takeout and exotic) since I can remember.

It's funny. I hate PB&J, but love straight PB

[jbsiegel]

NJ...I can't explain the pizza thing! And...I'm right there with you on the PB. Mix it with anything other than jelly (or straight from the jar), and I'm good!

[jbsiegel]

One more I just thought of...no bagels until probably college.

[jhopp217]

Wait....I apologize for this assumption, but how's someone named Siegel go 18 years bagel-less?

[jbsiegel]

Ha ha! Siegel by marriage...

[Perilagu Khan]

Mandelbaum by birth?

[jhopp217]

HA

[Georgia Strait]

me too --- circa 1982 ---- i have never known of a bagel -- it was exotic "ethnic" (with due respect) food

in the pac nw we had SAGA "food services" at our college/university and therefore we all lived on cereal and bagels (so healthy, i'm paying for that to this day)

[jhopp217]

I think a bagel might have been one of the first things I've ever eaten...c. 1970

[jujuthomas]

I don't know that I had a real, fresh bagel until college - my parents always had the frozen Lenders' for their evening snack. they're decent but...

[Perilagu Khan]

I've eaten my share of bagels, but to this day I don't know that I've tasted the creme de la creme.

[jujuthomas]

you're just gonna have to keep trying them until you find that perfect ultimate one! :)

[Perilagu Khan]

Dirty work, but I spose somebody's gotta do it.