Value Of Food - Anything Special For You? (1 Viewer)

[belljr]

The onyl thing remotely close - I'm not a foodie even a little...   I barely Grill cause its too much work...

Is my moms sweet cabbage/coleslaw...

She told me how to make it once so I could do it....   Was way too much work.

I went to chick-fil-a bought a bunch of coleslaw when they used to make it.

Put it in a bowl a served it... Told everyone I made it   then came clean after dinner

 

[Deepster]

Mom's Thanksgiving Stuffing.  As simple as could be.

3 loaves of Wonder bread (cubed)
3-4 stalks of celery
1 large yellow onion
1 stick of butter
2 tubes of Jimmy Dean sausage
Chicken stock, salt, pepper and poultry seasoning.

Saute the onion and celery in the butter.  Toss over the cubed bread.  Brown the sausage.  Toss over the cubed bread, with drippings.  Add salt, pepper, poultry seasoning and mix with your hands into a loaf.  Cook in a 350 degree oven, basting with chicken stock every 30 minutes.

The pan weighs about 20 pounds and none of it's ever left by nightfall.  Of course, I make myself a separate batch at home and eat it cold all week....just like my Mom did.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Makes little sense to me. Thanksgiving is an American holiday. Why would you not celebrate with an American traditional dinner....regardless of where you came from. 

I don't think you meant it this way, but this comes across as pretty crappy. 

 

[Doug B]

Yep.  And if we do it at my place in FL we now incorporate a fishing challenge the day before.  Best we've done so far is five and supplement with some squid and shrimp.

Hey -- shellfish is still 'fish' from a Catholic viewpoint 
 

EDIT: Since you guys are in Florida ... alligator is 'fish', also.

 

[Bull Dozier]

I don't think you meant it this way, but this comes across as pretty crappy. 

I think he means it in the same sense of people who make corned beef and cabbage on St Patricks Day, or going out for Mexican on Cinco de Mayo, even if they are not of that ethnicity.

If someone said to me they celebrated Cinco de Mayo with a cheeseburger and fries, that also would make little sense, right?

 

[mr. furley]

Because immigrants are more comfortable cooking food they know.  I guarantee you my mother in law is terrified of cooking a Turkey.

also, maybe because Thanksgiving isn't a tradition anywhere except America?

over time i'm sure people start to adapt to the local traditions but... what if a Vietnamese grandma just hates turkey and stuffing? she's got to make it anyways because AMERICA!? 

 

[CurlyNight]

Sure thing. Years ago my mom put together a couple of recipe books. One from her recipes and one from my grandma's.   

Every once in awhile I'll make something from my grandma's recipe book. She made a great Croatian potato salad (she and my grandpa were Croatian immigrants.)

Here are the ingredients - almost exactly as they appear hand-written in this book:

Potatoes

Salt

Pepper

Oil

Onions

That's it. No quantities, no measurements, no "how many this can feed". Cracks me up every time I see it. 

My mom is the opposite. She writes everything. A recipe that could be a paragraph or less is 2 pages. It's like a video in writing.

 

[CurlyNight]

Anthony Bourdain had it right. Food brings people together. 

 

[Osaurus]

Love this.

I add just a bit of cayenne. Not enough to be remotely hot. Just enough to play off the sweetness. 

Cayenne is a nice touch and part of my carrots from now on. Most appreciated.

 

[Joe Bryant]

Cayenne is a nice touch and part of my carrots from now on. Most appreciated.

Awesome Buddy. I'm glad you liked it. 

I thought of you today making the Sweet Potato Casserole as I added cayenne there too. Barely could taste it - more just a little zip. 

 

[Osaurus]

Awesome Buddy. I'm glad you liked it. 

I thought of you today making the Sweet Potato Casserole as I added cayenne there too. Barely could taste it - more just a little zip. 

Mrs O made a very nice cranberry chutney with pepper jelly that was terrific. Sweet and heat. Delicious.

 

[Tony Jabroni]

It is called "Schmidt Dip". Named after my Grandma. It is simple chip dip at EVERY family function.

1 large container cottage cheese

1 square cream cheese

2 medium onions

Dash of milk

Blend/puree. It's good. 

ETA: She passed away at 98 a few months ago. The recipe is probably just as old.

ETA 2: Everyone has different apps made, cheese & sausage, veggie tray etc...everyone hovers over this dip. It also lasts forever in the fridge.

 

[krista4]

Cayenne is a nice touch and part of my carrots from now on. Most appreciated.

Mr. krista has been using harissa on so much stuff lately.  I recommend that for a little kick instead of the cayenne, to mix it up.  Today he roasted some carrots with honey and harissa - omg.  But he uses it on prawns, brussels sprouts...well, everything.

 

[shuke]

A thought on the value of food.

We have Thanksgiving Dinner and Christmas dinner at our house. We do pot luck style with my Dad and Step-Mom bringing most of the food. She's a great cook so it's fine. My Mom and Step-Father (Pop) also always join us. My Mom and Dad divorced almost 50 years ago. It's not weird.

My Mom always made a Sweet Potato Casserole. It wasn't particularly special or unique. Like a million other Better Homes and Gardens type recipes. Sweet Potatoes, Half and Half, Sugar and Vanilla with a Marshmallow topping.

The last few holidays, as my Mom's health declined, bringing that Sweet Potato Casserole was about all she could contribute. And that was of course great. It wasn't about the food.

This will be the first Thanksgiving I believe in my 55 years that she won't be with me.

I'm going to try and make her Sweet Potato Casserole.

It's a big deal.

I love how food is so much more than just fuel for our bodies. It's a zillion times bigger. So in some ways, it sort of is about the food. Because sometimes food and memories are all we have left.

And I don't want that to sound sad. I'm thankful.

Rock on, Mom.

Do you have anything similar in your family where you have things "just because" that's what you always have? 

My grandma always hosted Thanksgiving, and all the food was great.  But what everyone always talked about was the pumpkin bread.  She would make what seemed like dozens of loaves of it.  I don't really know if anyone would think it was anything special, but it has a different taste/consistency than any other I've ever had.  She passed in the mid-90's.  For the past 20 years it's been my job to bring the pumpkin bread to Thanksgiving.  And Christmas.  

 

[Uruk-Hai]

When I was a kid, we lived with my great-great aunt. She had a recipe book she started when she was a girl. She was born in 1887 and died in 1981. Some of those recipes were written in that book 120 years ago.

My mom inherited that book and still makes stuff from it, like corn pudding and pecan pie. Mom could make those dishes with her eyes closed, but always gets the book out: "Aunt Edna would kill me if I messed this up".

The corn pudding is still a holiday staple and I will fight people for it.

My aunt hosted. There were 15 of us, including my cousin's future in-laws who I'd never met before. Food served buffet-style. Fantastic day.

Mom brought the corn pudding. I got at the back of the line so I wouldn't growl at any folks behind me. 

 

[Brunell4MVP]

Pretty standard stuff here...

Turkey gravy on anything - turkey, lots of mashed potatoes, whatever is being cooked

French green beans mixed with cream of mushroom

The ends of a can of cranberry sauce, where I can cut around the ridges the can makes in the jelly

Chocolate meringue pie

 

[parasaurolophus]

  I have one like that from my grandmother, listing ingredients such as "enough sugar" and "some strawberries."

To the original question, my Mom insists on making persimmon pudding either at Thanksgiving or Christmas since we always had it.  I'm pretty sure I've never had persimmon pudding anywhere else, but both of my grandmas made it.  It's tasty but a bit weird and not something we'd have if it weren't for the tradition.

My grandma's recipes all had one ingredient missing. It was never something crucial. It was just enough that it made hers stand out. When i finally learned this i actually enjoyed her cooking even more. It became such an experience eating her stuff and to this day we try to solve the puzzle.