Favorite childhood foods/meals
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
expatgirl
Master Chef
my mother was not a cook by any stretch of the imagination.........but my grandma was wonderful.........my favorite was her "brined" fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and homemade pie on Sundays.........she would soak the chicken( that she had plucked herself the day before---not a pretty sight believe me) early in the morning in salt water and we'd go to Mass and then when we got home she would take off her hat or veil (women back then wore something on their heads for mass---yeah, I know) and when we arrived home she would change into a comfortable housedress and homemade aprons..............those were the best meals ever.........and when they tell you to imagine yourself in a safe place it's always at my Grandma's
GrantsKat
Executive Chef
Oh I have quite a few!!! At Christmas time my Mom would make a whole bunch of different cookies, my favorite being klejner, its a Danish fried cookie..yum!! Another is a Christmas eve dish that my Grandmother would make....kale & pinklewurst with a big slab of some kind of bacon
and boiled potatoes!! I wish I had the recipe
and boiled potatoes!! I wish I had the recipe
kitchenelf
Chef Extraordinaire
Shepherd's Pie, (our version), Texas-style pork ribs and sauerkraut, but my favorite food memory is smoked oysters and Saltine crackers with my Dad. We were a family of swimmers/divers and went swimming EVERY Friday and Saturday at the Y and this was our snack that would keep Mom OUT of the kitchen
MexicoKaren
Head Chef
Such a coincidence! My dad and I used to snack on the same thing. No one else in the family would eat them, and they remain one of my favorite comfort foods. I've passed this on to my daughter, but son and hubby can't even be in the same room!kitchenelf said:
Constance
Master Chef
I have fond memories of my grandma's fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy...her apple pie...little individual egg custards...chicken a la king...pot roast and gravy...and green jello with pears in it.
My mom's spare ribs in sauerkraut, and the yorkshire pudding she made with pot roast are two things I really miss, in addition to all the wonderful Christmas cookies she made.
My mom's spare ribs in sauerkraut, and the yorkshire pudding she made with pot roast are two things I really miss, in addition to all the wonderful Christmas cookies she made.
kitchenelf
Chef Extraordinaire
Bigjim68
Head Chef
Growing up in Denver, and walking the 3 blocks to school and home for lunch, meant that we many days would be walking through 2 ft snowdrifts. The best food memories for me is the pot of either potato or tomato soup that we knew would be waiting when got home for lunch.
Clienta
Senior Cook
Favorite childhood foods....
My mom's chicken & artichokes in a lemon sour cream sauce over rice.
My father's Chinese lemon chicken, hot & sour soup & potstickers.
My grandma's caesar salad & spinach salad.
My great-great Aunt's leg of lamb.
My best friend's mom's black bean soup & crab salad on toast.
My mom's chicken & artichokes in a lemon sour cream sauce over rice.
My father's Chinese lemon chicken, hot & sour soup & potstickers.
My grandma's caesar salad & spinach salad.
My great-great Aunt's leg of lamb.
My best friend's mom's black bean soup & crab salad on toast.
deelady
Executive Chef
My dad's and Grandma's Prime Rib and Yorkshire pudding every Christmas! The best!
Also my dads spagetti, it was just the Lawyrs dry sauce mixture in a package made with ground beef but he made it somehow taste oh so yummy!
My best friends grandmother's stuffed grape leaves with lamb, I can make a good grape leaf but I could never get it like hers....oh well never give up they say....I'll enjoy all the failed attempts!
Also my dads spagetti, it was just the Lawyrs dry sauce mixture in a package made with ground beef but he made it somehow taste oh so yummy!
My best friends grandmother's stuffed grape leaves with lamb, I can make a good grape leaf but I could never get it like hers....oh well never give up they say....I'll enjoy all the failed attempts!
Bigjim68
Head Chef
With my dad, it was fresh oysters. Around Christmas, he would order a gallon of fresh oysters, and he, I, and anyone around who wanted them, would dig into the gallon. Neither my mom or sister would go anywhere near them. At around 14 or so, it was also my only authorized time to drink a beer. Coors 3.2. Mom would then turn the remainder into oyster stew. Mom would eat the stew, never the oysters.Yep, LOL, I was assured "Daddy time" with the smoked oysters
MexicoKaren
Head Chef
Bigjim68 said:
Our family did the same, Bigjim. We always had oyster stew on Christmas Eve. And despite the fact that my dad loved smoked oysters, he would never eat the oysters in the stew, like your mom.
Bigjim68
Head Chef
Does anyone have any idea where the tradition of oyster stew on Christmas Eve came from? I come from 4 generations of Nebraska Danes, about as far from oyster beds as you can get, and, for as long as I can remember, oyster stew has been on the Christmas Eve menu in the family. I've ofter wondered, never had a clue.
expatgirl
Master Chef
goodness, where do we protest against our horrible cooks of parents????? My mom's best meal was a terrible beef steak..............ok....it was a meat loaf ( stretch your imaginations)and it was horrible..........and she forced us to eat it..........yeach...............
Bigjim68
Head Chef
You are so right. My mom could make the best ever potato salad, tomato and potao soups, fried chicken, and pie crust. Past that, I beat her every way. Dad and I used to hunt a lot, and he had a friend that fattened a steer for him each year, and we grew our own vegetables. Everything was overcooked. Meat had to break or no go. Vegetables boiled to mush, usually with some form of grease She used to absolutely cringe when I cooked an antelope steak in a red hot skillet for a couple of minutes, then ate it. Never did get that terrible disease she knew about.
expatgirl
Master Chef
oh, goodness, BigJim,,,,,,,,,,,oh my I'm laughing my head off at your description of your Mom's cooking.........we're both in the doghouse.........my mum was great at other things........just not cooking.......I feel sorry for whoever inherits my daughter.......she can bake but that's it.......my d-i-l is worse........her mom told me when i first met her........Kayla will be a great Mom (which she is) but Chris will starve (my son) and she's right....she does NOT cook.......has NO interest whatsovever like my daughter either..........my son has learned to cook himself......he's had to........now he is a cop.........I don't know where this is going to go...........but I know that Kayla isn't going to cook
We were not well off, but mom was a great cook and frugal. The ham became pea or bean soup and to this day I love homemade split pea or bean soup served with popovers.
Lamb chops were cheap and we often got those, the shoulder chops. Yum. Liver and onions and a baked potato...fresh liver not frozen. It was and still is a fave. Salmon loaf or cakes with drill cheese sauce. A pork roast became savory pot pie the next day with a cheddar cheese crust. And of course pot roast (beef stew as left overs) and stuffed and roasted chicken. These were the "comfort foods of my childhood", and I still love them. Luckily, not one of mom's recipes died with her. We have them all as we cooked as a family.
Lamb chops were cheap and we often got those, the shoulder chops. Yum. Liver and onions and a baked potato...fresh liver not frozen. It was and still is a fave. Salmon loaf or cakes with drill cheese sauce. A pork roast became savory pot pie the next day with a cheddar cheese crust. And of course pot roast (beef stew as left overs) and stuffed and roasted chicken. These were the "comfort foods of my childhood", and I still love them. Luckily, not one of mom's recipes died with her. We have them all as we cooked as a family.
I'm glad I'm not the only one! I used to think I was a picky eater. I hated mashed potatoes, roast, most meats, Mexican food,etc., etc, etc. Why? Because it was all bland and hard to chew.
Then when I started going out to eat as a teenager/young adult I realized that the whole time it was just my mom's mashed potatoes, roast, meat, Mexican food, etc. I didn't like.
Don't you dare tell her though! Oddly enough, DH felt the same way about his mothers cooking.In our house now we put plenty of flavor and plenty of moisture in the meat!
MexicoKaren
Head Chef
Robo, my mom was a great cook, too. Not fancy, but good food. She taught school all day and came home and cooked a well-balanced meal for us every night. Even dessert! Meat loaf, pot roast, pork chops, fried chicken, corned beef hash, macaroni and cheese...her recipes live on as well, through my sister and me. Both of us love to cook, and it is a gift we got from her.
expatgirl
Master Chef
BigJim it was probably trichinosis that she was worried about............from pork.........my mother OVERCOOKED everything. as a result of worrying about it.......I remember..............just a bad cook.......but I loved her just the same..........terrible, terrible food, however................at least it sounds like you got some decent foods......not my mother...........all was bad.....except for maybe potatos but who could mess those up..................anyway I sound really down and I'm not........my mother I love very much tho I lost her at age 9 to breast cancer............girls have your breast exams........and, no, guys, unless you're a GYN you're not involved..........
