jilli42

I have almost the entire collection of those Better Homes & gardens cookbooks from the 70's and early 80's. For example: Meat Cookbook Best Buffets Meals Men Like Salad Cookbook Country Cooking Mexican Cooking and many, many others........ I just can't stop myself from buying them. I think it is more of a Lileks Regrettable Food Gallery type thing more than I would actually cook anything from them...although I do have one that has handwritten recipes inside the back cover. The one for "crumble" is delicious !

Ok, the duck made me laugh out loud because it reminded me of A Christmas Story at the end... Those little flat pretzel things, I can find in my local grocery stores (Weis, Bloom & Giant), but not in cheddar horseradish flavor...I bet those tasted good !

Ketchup, mayo/ketchup or sriacha mixture, malt vinegar, gravy, cheese sauce are all good. But it really depends on the fries: McD- Honey or their sweet & sour sauce. Or plain, they are always good plain. BK- Honey or ketchup. Checkers - Chili cheese fries. Wendys - Salt, always need salt and ketchup, if not dipped into a Frosty. Five Guys- Malt vinegar with cajun seasoning and ketchup. Chick Fil A - Ketchup & mayo, occasionally their Polynesian sauce. KFC- Ketchup. Popeyes- Cocktail sauce (they always have that b-cuz of their shrimp baskets !) Cluck U Chicken - Buffalo wing sauce & blue cheese dressing mixed together. For the fries and the wings ! Arbys - Horsey sauce and/or cheese sauce (Curly fries only for me !) Various casual dining restaurants - usually just ketchup or the occasional blue cheese dressing. Homemade - endless variety of dips, as I am always experimenting. Last experiment was thickened teriyaki sauce after I made a teriyaki basted grilled steak..that was really good ! Whew ! That is alo of fast food fries !! But I love fries !

Ooooh the BK Rodeo Burger.....BBQ onion-ringy goodness. I am also missing the Arby Q...Arbys chopped BBQ beef sandwich..... (SOB)

Jell-O pudding pops are back under the Popsicle umbrella. I bought them about two months ago. They come in chocolate, vanilla and your beloved chocolate/vanilla swirl. They still taste almost as good as I remember them as a kid. And I still enjoyed the icy/crunchy exterior of the pop. My favorite is chocolate. As for fast food favorites that I miss: McDonald's fries cooked in beef fat McDonald's fried apple pies Wendy's Monterey Ranch chicken sandwich Burger King's honey mustard chicken baguette Someone posted a while back that the KFC Little Bucket parfaits were gone. But I still see them sold at all KFCs in my area. Chocolate and Strawberry. I also agree with the poster who said that KFC's cole slaw isn't as good as it used to be. ← Be still my beating heart !!! I haven't seen these yet, but I will keep my eyes peeled !! Thanks !

- Butter & hot sauce - California onion powder and garlic powder with freshly grated parmesan - Seasoned salt or 'Hot Salt' with pepper - Penzeys 'Sandwich Sprinkle' with freshly grated parmesan - Wasabi powder with furikake - Penzeys 'BBQ of the Americas' seasoning - Unused portion of ramen flavor packets - Mini marshmallow, peanuts and chocolate syrup, or powder (my kids came up with that one) - Penzeys 'Bangkok Blend' with Sriacha

Red Hot Cheese Curls. I can eat the whole bag in one sitting. I always hide the bag in the trash after I polish it off 'cause I don't want to hear, " You ate the WHOLE bag ?"

My best find was a large cast iron chicken fryer. It was in excellent condition. It cost me $1. I use it all the time, it makes the best fried chicken. My grandfather is a great "yardsaler". He is always buying cooking related things for me & my granmother. Recently, I have gotten cookbooks, cake pans, a set of vintage glassware and a curly fry maker. The kids love it !

I find that very alarming. I always read food labels before I purchase foods, I want to know what I am getting.

Like: onions/garlic frying in butter bread baking chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven Hershey, PA - whole place smells like chocolate onion confit in the slow cooker chicken stock simmering on the stove roasting chicken fresh basil & cilantro, most fresh herbs actually lasagna in the oven pot roast cupcakes/cakes baking in the oven fresh roasted coffee Krispy Kreme donuts - when the HOT sign is on steaming shrimp grilling meat driving by the spice manufacturing plant lemon; citrus smells Dislike: burnt onion or garlic the lingering aroma after frying salmon cakes kimchee unfresh fish markets chitlin's

I do the same thing ! And I got it from my dad too !

I am willing to spend up to $35 for the wine. The chicken will be sauteed and the wine will be used for the cream sauce to go with it. Other flavors in the dish as a whole are thyme, lemon and scallions. Thanks.

I need a recommendation for a good dry white wine. I am using this to cook and drink with a chicken focused dinner. I am looking for something moderately priced but good tasting. I don't drink wine that often so I am in need some help. TIA

I agree with you on the crabcakes !!! Nothing like a good MD crabcake stuffed with lump crabmeat & not much else ! Real cheddar cheese. (Recent conversation with the deli guy at my local supermarket..) "I would like 1pd NY Sharp Cheddar please" He grabs a hunk of cheese, not really looking at the label... "Ummm is that NY Sharp Cheddar ?" DG- "Yeah, I guess..." Yeah ok, it isn't going to be that easy with me "Can I see that please ?" I examine the label and proclaim "Oh I don't want this, it's processed cheddar not real cheddar" DG- "What's the difference ?" My hubby swears he is not coming with me to the store anymore after that exchange, as once the guy said "what's the difference" I had to explain the difference to him ! My grandfathers tomatoes. The ones he grows are so red & juicy & full of flavor.

My grandparents are still living (they are in their late 70's) and I spend at least 2 weeks a year with them on their farm. Everytime I leave I am loaded down with fresh squash, zuchinni, tomatoes, corn, onions, cucumbers etc. I used to spend summers there when I was younger and was raised by my grandparents for the most part, before they moved away. I will always remember picking and preparing vegetables fresh from the garden. I would eat the vegetables raw most of the time, they were just so good. The tomatoes that my grandfather grows are beyond compare. I remember always picking the blackberries and raspberries that grew wild along the fenceline and the strawberries my grandfather grew in his garden. I used to love picking the sunflower seeds and roasting them over an open fire. I really learned an appreciation for fresh fruits and vegetables as well as how to grow and prepare them. I will always remember catching crawdads and fish in the river and hauling my catch home, where my grandmother would fry or boil it up and it would be included in dinner. No matter how small that sunfish or trout was or how few crawdads I had, she always made sure I got to eat my catch. She was always so proud of my prize. My grandfather would alway show me the best place to get worms before I went fishing and provided the old coffee can to keep them in. I learned the best cuts of venison and how to make sure a deer was properly dressed. I also learned how to help cover up a venison that was a little too gamey and how to make a great venison sausage. I started cooking with my grandmother when I was very young. I loved it (as my daughter does now) and always wanted to help. Even though I am sure I was more of a hinderance than a help sometimes. She is a down home cook, fried chicken, greens, chicken soup, breads, biscuits, gravy, squash casserole that type of thing. But she is always trying new recipes and on the look out for any new ideas. We e-mail each other with recipes & "food talk" several times a week. My grandfather would always eat my creations and tell me they were delicious. Although looking back at some of my handwritten recipes now (I love my grandmother for the fact that she kept all my handwritten recipes and made a "cookbook" with them which she just gave me not too long ago), I can imagine they were pretty bad. But he ate them all with a smile and praise. She taught me how to make jams, jellies, relishes and pickles. I learned how to "put up" or can, my vegetables, jams, jellies and pickles from her. My grandfather is a lover of all things sweet, he always has to have dessert after dinner. I will always remember the different desserts that my grandmother made. She has a HUGE repetoire of desserts, cakes, pies & candies that she makes. She can easily go 2 months before repeating a dessert, unless my grandfather requests something specific. My grandparents both let me get hands on with everything they did. I helped my grandfather put new tin on the roof and I helped install an additional bathroom. I helped mow and put up the hay. I fed the cows and the goats. My grandmother always had some new art project for me to do. My grandfather goes to yard sales and is always on the look out for new cookbooks for me. He has a list of ones that I want that he is on the lookout for. He also buys me cast iron cookware, lugs it home, cleans it up and my grandmother will season it up before they give it to me. She has a large collection herself so she doesn't really need anymore pieces. Beyond all the food memories, I will always remember the love. The love, affection and tenderness between them and the love that they have always shown me. WHEW, that was long !!