auntdot

Right now both of us are down for the count. One of use has diagnosed pneumonia and I refuse to see the doc. Wake up every so often, drink some OJ and a slug of Scotch to ease the sore throat, go to the web for a few minutes, and almost crawl back to bed. Rats. But it will pass. When it starts to, I will want soup. My favorite is the Senate bean soup, which we can get in cans. It is a bit dear, but it is so good when you feel so bad. Afraid I am hitting the wall, time to go back to bed.

Happy to play this game. Find the responses fascinating. Unfortunately am computer challanged so the responses will not look as snazzy as some of yours. But am going to give it a try. Please excuse any lapses. What was your family culture when you were growing up? Basically grew up in the fifties. During most of that time the we purchased food at the grocerery, the green grocer, the butcher, the fish monger, etc. There were no supermarkets where we were (unless you consider the A&P that was less than half the size of your average 7-11 and where you would tell the clerk what you wanted and he would get it off the shelf. It had no meat or produce.) People wanted to make tasty meals but did so with a limited choice of ingredients. This was just after WWII and people were used to living without. Was meal time important? Dinner was, generally. We would all eat together until we got a TV, and then, except on Sundays, dinner became more of a tray table event than a meal at a table. Was cooking important? Not really. But I don't remember anyone thinking cooking was important when I grew up. Cookbooks, and I own a number from the fifties, were rather limited. Many sources of recipes were booklets from the A&P. Remember when Chung King Chow Mein (in cans) was introduced and that was considered exotic. Oh yeah, and we did not have pizza until I was twelve. People wanted to put a tasty meal out for their families, but the number of food items we had to choose from was limited and creative cooking was not something anyone did. Love James Beard, probably the best known cookbook author of the time, and even his recipes are fairly stodgy by modern standards. What were the penalties for putting elbows on the table? None that I recall. Although, other than that, we did have to mind our manners. Conversation at dinner could include almost anything. Almost, because most of us could eat and discuss the goriest of matters without skipping a mouthful. My dad, however, did not share that trait. When the conversation tended to the, well, medical or anatomical, he would ask for us to change the topic. Which we did. Who cooked in the family? Generally my mom. She stayed home to raise us (I shudder to think how we would have turned out had she not). For Sunday dinner, and Thanksgiving and Christmas my dad would be there doing his share. Usually my dad would make us breakfast (letting my mom sleep). He would make us hamburgers, franks, sausages, never anything traditionally associated with breakfast (we hated the traditional breakfast regimen and he figured that a hamburger was at least as healthy as a bowl of corn flakes with sugar and milk). He was a pretty good home short order cook and could make some fine egg dishes. Were restaurant meals common, or for special occasions? As young children we would occasionally go to a local seafood restaurant, generally for lunch on a Saturday. We did not have much money for extras, ever. As we got a bit older, would go to Chinese restaurants on occasion. Never went out on special occasions though. Did children have a "kiddy table" when guests were over? On occasion. I hated them. When did you get that first sip of wine? Gosh, who remembers. Was there a pre-meal prayer? No. Was there a rotating menu (e.g., meatloaf every Thursday)? No, my mom really tried to vary our meals. But in the fifties the choices of food were limited to most regular folks. Much of the produce was seasonal, but my mom would use what she could find at the local stores (most of my time growing up was before we had supermarkets). We always had fish on Friday though. No, we were not Catholic, but the local butcher always stocked fish on that day. Or we could take the trolley and go to the fishmonger. Always looked forward to Friday (end of the week, and a good fish dinner). How much of your family culture is being replicated in your present-day family life? Not too much. There are two of us, no kids. And though we love to cook, we rarely have formal meals, that doggone TV and computer.

Vindaloo and Church's. Reminds me of a time I was told about a fantastic Indian takeout. One day was in the area, and we went in. Realized it was vegetarian, but I ordered anyway. On the way home, got tired of the protestations about the vegetarian stuff, so pulled into a Popeye's. The combination of the fried chicken and the vegetarian Indian dishes (I ordered almost everything they had at the Indian place, it was cheap) worked perfectly.

Potter, totally agree (have already been counted as enthusiast though, but if they want to count me twice, so be it). Two years ago, not knowing anything about the plant, put in two okra plants (we have very little space for a garden, and did not know what to expect). Found out they were lovely plants with beautiful flowers, but we could rarely get enough produce to make a recipe for the two of us. Wish we had room to put in more plants. The okra kept going into the fall long after the other plants had bellied up from the cold. May put one in this year, love the pretty flowers. Fortunately the local stores and farmer's markets always have plenty of okra in the spring and summer, and can often find it in the off season. Was not aware there were still A&P markets anymore. Grew up with them and as a kid worked in a competitor. Thought they had all closed. Just a thought from one okraphile to another.

Actually, if you can get true calves liver it will be light pink, and it has a delicate flavor and texture. Most of the stuff we can usually get in the supermarkets is very thinly cut beef red liver with a very firm texture. It that came from a calf, I am on my first set of teeth and not my third. I like it rare, but medium rare may be more to your liking. There is little better than chicken livers (put them in an omelet, they are fantastic). Sweetbreads are OK, but I find them rather tasteless (I know others love them). And cooking them at home is a bit of a chore if you are not fond of them. Kidneys to me taste somewhat like a mild liver, but we can almost never find them. My suggestion is calves liver, cut about 1/4 inch thick, and sauteed with caramelized onions and bacon. Liver will take many accompanying sauces and flavors, and I think it is a good place to start.

I have to agree with JerzyMade, afraid I am just cynical enough to have had the same idea. The question will be what is the food actually being sold as Cuban. If it is undeniably Cuban, then I agree there should be no problem. But if it has a striking resemblance to Mexican cuisine, no matter what the dish is named, am afraid there could be grounds for litigation.

When we go to a potluck we usually bring something we know everyone will like and try something 'exotic', like hummus. OK, OK, hummus is not exotic to us, but where we live it is. And we think we make a pretty good one. At the end of the party, the stuff is usually left virtually untouched. For a long while, we would try some other 'extra' dishes (Asian salads, home made wild boar sausage with Cumberland sauce, you name it) with the same result. Now we just go with the standards. If I spent all the time required to make those fantastic brownies browniebaker kindly gave us her recipe for, and someone wanted to toss on CoolWhip, I would smile and say fine. And then make a note that the next time I go that potluck, I will just go the store and buy the box.

Almost never deep fry and have not done so since our fryer was ruined in a flood about four years ago. For Superbowl however, decided to buy a fryer and make wings (supposedly according to the original recipe which included drying them out in the oven prior to frying) and they came our great. They were the McCoy. One of our favorite deep fried dishes is quail. Take the suckers (we can usually only find the little guys frozen, so have to thaw and dry very well) and just deep fry them. Was told about this by a woman who worked for the Asian market we frequent. There is little better. Maybe fried fingerling catfish, but I cannot find those guys anymore. We almost never eat deep fried food, but there is certainly a place for it. Edited for spelling, twice, please don't tell me if I ignored another error. Thanks.

Definitely yes. Grew up a DamnYankee and never tasted okra until I was older and had moved to the South. Fresh okra has become one of the joys of spring. Pickled okra, fried okra (even the frozen stuff in the bag works OK), okra in tomatoes is fantastic. Wonder how okra in Rotel would taste? Just thought about it and have to try it. Okra may not be something that a fine restaurant would choose to serve, but it makes fine eating, at least for this ex-DamnYankee.

Thanks for the posters who serve salt and pepper. Personally, I do not need very much salt at all in a dish, but know many others do. My dad was a person who used a heck of a lot more salt than I ever have. So I may serve a dish with less salt than some might like, and am more than happy to let them adjust it. I also like a lot of pepper, but would not impose my heavy hand on others. Cannot believe my palate is the standard to which others must adhere. And if someone wants to slather ketchup over osso bucco, fine. They are my guests, and deserve to be treated as such. At least that is my two cents.

I try to be scrupulously honest, but there are times a bald-faced lie is called for. For example, when the IRS auditor asks you, oops, wrong thread, sorry (I gotta get that delete key fixed). If a friend at a function asks you if you like her dress, you certainly do. Of course if she asks you beforehand, you might say that you always liked the blue dress on her, hoping that will change her mind. When served food I don't care for will eat as much as I can tolerate and then, if asked why I had not chowed down, will give an excuse about a sour stomach or some such. "There was something about those oysters I ate last night I didn't like." And pass on dessert. That is to prove my insides are in turmoil. If someone is cooking a dish and shoves a spoonful of the stuff in my face and asks what it needs, I will offer creative advice if I can (avoiding terms like a hand grenade or TNT). But once the dish is cooked and presented, I love as much of it as I can handle. And yes Mr. IRS man, I did give $2000 cash to the Salvation Army Santa. Edited for grammar, I hate when I have to do that.

For us, run for the border. When I was in my early twenties was transported to CA and fell in love with the place (twenty five cents per item, you could pig out on a couple of bucks). Always missed them after returning to the East coast. Now that they are everywhere, we go about once a year and spend about $35-40. Mostly on the low end stuff (simple tacos and burritos) and engorge for three or four days. It is a compulsion, but I guess this is what this string is all about.

Gjetost, at first could not stand the stuff, now I am addicted. But cilantro, have tried to like it, heck so many people adore the stuff, but it is something I still cannot abide.

I apologize for giving advice, I hate to do that, but feel I must. Never, ever, ever go to a thread that is talking about fast/inexpensive restaurants in the middle of the night when you are both hungry and expecting a blizzard to start in the next few hours and will not be able to run for the border for probably, oh, a week or so. Yes, love Taco Bell (was introduced to it as a student in CA some 40 years ago as a student). I know it is not even Tex-Mex, but adore the stuff about once or twice a year when we go and buy everything on the menu (is $40 to go for two people a lot?). This is torture folks, think I will just go to bed.

Don't post often, but this thread hit a nerve. Lived on a barebones budget for several years, hardly every bought prepared food. And was always amazed when the folks with food stamps (we never applied) were buying the frozen and boxed stuff. Really appreciate all of the ideas, including the outreach. Believe there is another opportunity to help, all children should be made to take a cooking class, or classes, in school. What could be a more important aim in a child's education than to teach someone how to feed him/herself and the family on basic, and generally cheap, foodstuff. People just have to be taught how to do that, and the best way, in the long run, is to teach the kids. And it can only be done, I believe, in the schools. Have believed that for years. How eGullet could help make this happen, I have no idea. But there are a lot of smart people here. Just a thought.

When I need a quick fix to a dull soup will add white vinegar, just a tad. Also agree with hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce.

Agree with some previous posters, all I want is an address, phone, seating times, and menu with prices. Don't need reviews as they are only going to post the positive ones. Make it easy to navigate the site. When the site gets too complicated or takes too long to load, I go elsewhere.

Don't know how much meat you need but can you either buy a larger ( 7-rib) roast, have a few ribs cut off and put them into the pan earlier than the rest, or alternatively buy a second small roast. That way the folks who like cremated meat can have it and your other guests will enjoy the meat the way it should be eaten.

Just remembered about donuts. Used to live in New England and those folk are donut happy. Used to be available at every meeting, lecture I went to. Got to the point where I can no longer stand the things, even Krispy Kremes.

Flapjack, you are not alone. My dad would not eat anything not made by him, my mother, or in a restaurant. And it wasn't that he was sqeamish about seeing food made, he would cook with my mom all the time. He always said it was because he was passed around from relative to relative as a kid. Don't know exactly what memory precipitated that aversion, and would not ask. My aversion to snails is that when I lived in Southern CA would have to walk across a long lawn after dark to get to the apartment. There were so many snails that one could not take a step without crushing at least one. The next morning you would see the corpses. It turned me off to the buggers. But adore raw clams and oysters. Go figure.

Have stayed a number of times at the Millenium Gloucester, just across the street from the Millenium Bailey. The Sainsbury's, by the way, is about a quarter of a mile west of the Gloucester tube station on Cromwell (158a Cromwell Rd). It does have a better selection than Waitrose, but, as you, we usually find the Waitrose sufficient for our needs. For Polish food have not tried Wodka, but there is the Ognisko Polish Club, 55 Princes Gate (just walk down Exhibition Road). It is located in a Georgian Mansion (look for the address, the only sign is a relatively small bronze one on the building itself) and is fairly well appointed. They serve traditional Polish food, such as beet soup with dumplings and galonka, as well as a more continental cuisane. The cost for an entree is, as I recall, about 10 to 17 pounds or so. Were at 1880 at the Bentley (27-33 Harrington Gardens) just a short stroll from your hotel just a few weeks ago. The tasting menu was good but not inspired, and there was almost nobody there when we went. The Bombay Brasserie we found good but overpriced. Rules is great, and we like the Dorchester and Connaught, but the latter two are a bit stuffy, particularly, I would think, for children. Have not been to Le Gavroche or the Savoy in a number of years, so am no help there. Except they get great reviews. Enjoy.

We use a heck of a lot of hot sauce, and own bottles of many. Generally prefer the milder ones: Crystal, Texas Pete, Louisiana, and yes, Franks. They have more flavor to me than many of the really hot ones. And no, Tabasco is not a real favorite although I agree it goes very well in Bloody Marys. And will often use it, but more as a hot additive to food rather than for its taste. Two relatively mild brands we really enjoy are Cholula and Tapatio. They are certainly more pricy than Texas Pete or Crystal, but have enjoyable tastes.

I found Mr. Rogov's statement quite appropriate, and I am the person sitting down in the restaurant. But I will address the issue of cell phones in restaurants. If I don't know you are talking into one, I don't care. But the problem with cell phones is that people usually yell into them. And that is annoying.

Fatmat, this new format confuses me and I am not sure I doing this right. But I will eat almost anything with peanut butter. And usually add a bit of Worcestershire sauce to it. Never thought of your combo, but it sounds like it might work. Will give it a try. Thanks.

Ok, I admit it. I really, really like Head Cheese. I also love pickled hot sausages and pickled pigs feet. But my favorite cold cut is Olive Loaf! My Mom told me that when I was about 4-5 years old, we were in a supermarket and I (normally well-behaved) made a bit of a fuss until she bought a jar of pickled pigs feet. I ate the whole darn thing.