JennotJenn

What was your family food culture when you were growing up? My parents are both first generation out of the Appalachian mountains, which at the time was like coming from a third world country. Dad didn't have indoor plumbing until he went to college, and he and his brothers and sisters shared 5 to a bed so they didn't freeze to death when snow would fall through the rafters and pile on the quilt. Anyway, they're both mostly German, going way back, with some Dutch thrown in on dad's side and a very healthy portion of Creek Indian thrown in on mom's side (her great grandma). Eating with mom and dad was a mixture of middle class American and hillbilly. We had pinto beans and cornbread (not the yummy sweet kind, the course bland kind) at least 3 times a week for dinner. When it wasn't that, we had things like meatloaf and mashed potatoes or spaghetti with meat sauce. Lots of ground beef. If we were lucky, mom would make stuffed green peppers. Not like the ones you guys know. These were stuffed with hot breakfast sausage, corn, home canned tomatoes and leftover cornbread. Mmmmmmm. This was like a twice a year treat, though. In the summer, lots of "yucky" stuff...fresh tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, all served with cornbread. And God love her, on nights when she didn't cook it was cereal or (uuuugh) tomato or banana sandwiches on white bread with mayo. At grandma's, it was pork products and cornbread for breakfast, then pintos and cornbread for lunch and dinner. Home canned stuff in winter, garden fresh stuff in summer (mmm...fried squash). Rarely was any meat present, even in the beans. Neither she nor my mom ever used pork in their beans. Oh, and she and my grandpa make (made, he died last year) the most amazing kraut. Damn. And if you visit often enough, she'll give you a quart or two. Was meal time important? Yes, it wasn't a set time but we all ate together. If daddy was working late at school we'd get take out and bring it to him and eat in his office. Was cooking important? The process? God no, not to my mom. It was something she had to do so we didn't starve, but that's it. My grandmas see it like I do, as an expression of love for one's family and friends. What were the penalties for putting elbows on the table? None, but God forbid you should burp. Who cooked in the family? When we were little, my dad cooked because my mom worked night shifts at the battery factory. I remember helping him make spaghetti (not from a can!) and steakums. When she got an office job, she cooked. When I became a latchkey kid (after years of begging), I did (I was 12) because I loved to. Were restaurant meals common, or for special occassions? Once a week we'd eat out at a local place. This is weird, but I was mortified of restaurants (I have a mood disorder, which as a child manifested itself as a fear of being poisoned), so I usually was locked in the car while my family ate. Did children have a "kiddy table" when guests were over? Guests? Dude, my parents didn't have any friends. Very clannish were we. Dad's best friend was his brother (he has since branched out...30 years off the mountain will do that to you). But people never came over to eat. Now, at grandma's we never sat. It was buffet style. Men through the line first. There was a small table with four seats. The men got the seats and the barstools. The rest of us womens and childrens stood and ate (there were usually 20 of us at any one time). To this day I have never seen my grandmother sit down to eat a meal. At my husband's fam, we still sit at the kiddie table (the kiddies are 27,26,25,22 and 19). When did you get that first sip of wine? 19?20? Our church didn't even give out real wine at communion (try telling the Baptists that the passage doesn't read "and this grape juice, my blood") Was there a pre-meal prayer? "God is great, God is good, let us thank him for our food. Amen" They tried to start this weird hand holding thing with the prayer when I was in junior high, but thank God that didn't play out. Was there a rotating menu (e.g., meatloaf every Thursday)? Does pintos every night count? No, and I'm still facinated by those who experience that. How much of your family culture is being replicated in your present-day family life? Kraut is very important. I once broke a lease with a roomate because she wouldn't allow me to keep kraut in the fridge.

Good tip about the peanut oil. Are we talking the regular, refined stuff that no longer tastes like peanuts? I have some of the unrefined oil (lovely stuff) that I use for stir fries...but I assume you're talking about the other stuff. Secondly, I have an electric stove. I've learned how to use the pressure cooker very successfully on it, but not so w/the frying.

Deep frying is the one thing in the kitchen at which I am utterly inept. I rarely do it, and when I do the results are less than optimal. Last night I made Balkan Moussaka with Fried Kale Leaves from Paula Wolfert's Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranian. I was a bit apprehensive, since I'm not a big fan of cassaroles to begin with. I got even more nervous once I finished with the frying of the kale. I got the oil up to temperature, and made a good faith effort to maintain that temperature throughout frying. I thought it was going ok until I tried the kale (after draining, of course). It wasn't un-tasty, but it had absorbed a good bit of oil and tasted sort of like kale funnel cake. Not bad, but not something you want to eat a lot of. I went ahead with the cassarole, and true to my intial suspicions, it was not a success. Like funnel cake cassarole, really (the meat mixture was damn tasty, though). We ordered pizza. I can only assume that I did something wrong in the deep frying. I mean, people eat this stuff. I'm presuming that Paula ate it. And I cannot imagine anyone in their right mind eating what I made last night. It was wrong. Previous attempts at deep frying have given less than desirable results as well. The fact that I live in a small apartment with poor kitchen ventilation doesn't help the situation, either. Anyway, I must be doing something wrong. Does anyone wish to instruct me in the ways of the deep fryer?

If you really want to try it in NC, Grand Asia in Cary stocks it on a regular basis. I've always been too afraid of the quality to buy it there (I mean, it looks fine, but...).

I hate them except in this chicken salad the Lebanese deli in our town makes. The raisins are huuuuuge plump golden things almost the size of my thumb. Not the nastiness I usually expect with raisins. And growing up in a town that processes flue-cured tobacco, you soon realize that Sun Maid raisins and a fresh box of (unsmoked) cigarettes smell virtually identical. Ugh.

I wouldn't include the English Market in the picturesque category Tourist category, maybe Student living abroad category, certainly (its nickname was "The American Market") I can only imagine they included it for the unimaginable quantity of meat, meat parts, meat by-products, etc. The quality/variety of the produce was not so great. I used to go there to get pesto, though. There was a stall that sold some of the better pesto I've ever eaten. I was a vegetarian at the time and it took quite a lot for me to be able to walk into that meat stinking market, even if it was to get really tasty pesto. I agree that there are far better markets elsewhere (thinking about just about every market I ran into in various French cities).

Thanks, Craig! I was most concerned about age. I'd seen some of the names you mentioned before, but had no idea about what vintage to buy for immediate consumption. I'm also going to check out your list of more modern producers as well. Those seem like they might be more accessable to me for the momnet, both in terms of style and local avaliablility. Thanks agaiN! Jen

Sorry to hear about your MIL, Varmint. Hope she has a speedy recovery. I would be just fine with putting this off until a later date, especially since it seems like there weren't too many takers for Friday anyway. How about the Friday after next, the 26th. Is that ok for everyone?

[The pineapple and cottage cheese is pretty normal, you can buy it that way ready-mixed. My mother depended on cottage cheese as a source of protein for managing diabetes, and routinely added pineapple so she could do a protein AND a fruit exchange in one, if she didn't buy the premixed (frankly a bit overpriced). And they have peach, and strawberry nowadays. The OLIVES, though.....I will grant you that is weird. Although I suppose the brine and the sharpness contrasts with the sweet....what kind of olive? the pimento stuffed small green kind or some "olive bar" sort? Do you avoid olives usually? Perhaps you qualify, we need more details. edited to fix quote source Pimento-stuffed. And it's not the olives or the pineapple that I think is weird. My mom used to mix pineapple w/cottage cheese all the time when we were growing up (80's diet food!), so I've eaten that before and I know that I don't like it. Besides, it's the cottage cheese itself that is odd. Normally I think it's vile. The mere mention of it makes me shudder. But once or twice a year, I think "I must have cottage cheese" even though I know I'm going to want to be sick halfway through eating it. And yep, I always feel sick once I realize that I'm eating cottage cheese. But I must have it or I can't think about anything else. And it's not like I'm thinking that if I keep trying it I'll like it, or that I even want to try to like it. I hate it and am ok with that. It baffles me. I get plenty of calcium otherwise, so my body's not wanting for that (besides, you'd think I'd have the good sense to crave ice cream).

I am also interested in exploring the wines made from the Nebbiolo grape. I love wines made from Pinot Noir, and based on that I'm thinking Nebbiolo is a good place to start branching out (am I wrong?). If I were to purchase one of the less expensive varieties what vintages can be consumed now? Can these be consumed fairly young? Will the require a great deal of aeration? I am very interested in exploring the Barolos of the more conservative wine makers eventually, once my palate has become acclimated to the characteristics of the grape. Based on Craig Camp's articles, they just sound really interesting and quite appealing. However, I don't want to blow money on something that I can't really appreciate. Once I do get a feel for the wine (and assuming that I like the characteristics of the grape), though, can you suggest something specific from the conservative camp that runs between, say, $50-100 that is drinkable now? Is that possible? Also, and this may be the stupidest question ever: how do I go about buying something that the wine shops here don't have? Can they order it for me? TIA, Jen

Dredging up a somewhat older topic, but I just read this article and it brought back memories. My family is from western North Carolina (the far northwestern corner), and when we were little kids my grandpa would pile me, my sister and assorted cousins into the Escort (or bed of the pickup) and we'd all head across the Virgina line to a trout farm down by the South Fork of the New River. It wasn't that well stocked, so there was some waiting involved to catch a fish, but not enough so we lost interest and wanted to go home. Personally I think this is a pretty good way to introduce little kids to fishing, since as I remember that we all had pretty short attention spans when it came to standing around and waiting for something to happen. Also, this place had an outhouse, which we all remember being pretty interesting. My grandparents got indoor plumbing a couple of years before I was born, so I always felt like I missed out on the thrill of going to the outhouse, where you were scared out of your mind that a snake or spider was going to drop down from the rafters at any moment, or jump up and bite your butt. Ah, the adrenaline rush of the outhouse. My job, once we caught the trout and got them back to papaw's farm, was to take 'em out of the cooler and bash their heads against the side of the shed to kill them. Then papaw and the boys (my daddy and uncles) would behead, scale, and debone the fish the best they could. I always watched the entire process with cold scientific fasicnation, from the moment my Uncle Stan began sharpening his knife until it was all over and the heads and guts were thrown to the barn cats. There is no way that I know of to get all of the bones out, by the way. That's why mamaw served cornbread with them. It helps get the bones down easier. Actually, mamaw has served cornbread at every meal, breakfast, lunch and dinner since I can remember, so it was going to be present on the table anyway, though it was especially important to take a piece with a (cornmeal breaded and fried) trout dinner. My Uncle Stan tried to take his daughter stream fishing once. The poor girl weighed in at 70 pounds soaking wet and she almost drowned when her waders started filling with water. So it was back to the trout pond for us, where we could catch a few fish and use the outhouse with reckless abandon.

Nope, my mom has the same aversion, but only to ripe bananas. She likes green (really green) ones. She is not otherwise normal food wise, though.

Vulcans, Klingons, it doesn't matter. I think live anything is on my list of things that I will not try. Ok, maybe I'd try live bugs. Anything smaller than my pinky finger would be fair game, I think. I am a little sqeamish about fetuses in an egg shell (I don't like unfertilized eggs!) clotted blood or eyeballs, but I might try them. I would need some reassurance about the eyeballs (are they crunchy???). I used to be squamish about the thought of monkey, but my uncle unknowingly ate that and dog in Thailand and said it was good (even after he found out)...said monkey was prepared very well and delicious (a colleague said it was stringy, but uncle disagrees). I draw the line at primate brains, though. But free range rat, fried bugs, fermented shark, bring it on. Oh, I'd eat human flesh too, if I was starving to death, no problem. I think any flesh for me is fair game...it's the offal that gets questionable. For instance, I'm pretty sure I don't like tripe. I had some in pho recently, and it was like eating plastic netting. I'm not saying I wouldn't try it in a different preparation, though. Poor husband. He turned green and left the room...I'm watching a National Geographic special on taboo food. It was the goat fetus that made him leave.

We like the Castle Rock, too. Usually $9.99 around here. We're trying out the Lindeman's tonight, though.

You've obviously never been to the Fresh Market (several NC locations). They make Whole Foods look cheap. I actually find that Whole Foods is cheaper on a lot of produce here than any of the regular grocery stores in the area unless something is on sale at the other stores. I will agree, however, that the broccoli at WF is quite pricey, and of course I can get Asian greens much cheaper at the Asian grocery. But on a whole I don't find them to be bad at all (at least here in NC, where choices can be limited).

Very helpful. Thanks! I did a little taste test last night (dipped my finger in) and it seemed much nicer than it did 3 months ago. I'm limiting refined sugar for a little while (and there's a ton in this stuff), but as soon as I get a chance, I'm going to imbibe!!!!

The amount of alcohol in most home liqueurs is sufficient to preserve them indefinitely, refrigerated or not. The exception would be anything made with cream (like Irish Cream), or anything diluted with water to less than about 40% alcohol. I'm actually not sure how alcoholic it is. It could well be under 40%. It's about the same concentration of fruit/sugar/liquor as schnapps.

How long will homemade cordials keep? I made a pomegranate liquor (vodka, poms, sugar) in November...it came to maturity in December, and the leftovers from Christmas are still in my fridge in the now-unsealed jar. Should I toss it?

here in northern nj it is just soooooooo annoying and the central casting actors are just so - perky. kinda like gerbils on uppers That's better than the Quiznos hamster-creatures on downers. They're spongemonkies. And I love them.

Ditto. Oh lord how I miss that sweet, sweet, frozen pudding goodness. Ok, nobody pee your pants...but pudding pops appear to be back on the market, at least in NC. The Husband and I were in the frozen goods and looked over, and right next to the sugar free fudgesicles (Milhouse, it's FUDGE-sickles, not Fudgicles), there they were. Pudding Pops. I could not get them (Lent), but The Husband and I were jumping up and down like little kids, we were so excited. Damn I love those things. So be on the lookout. "Eat the pudding" Does anyone remember Pudding Roll Ups? Like fruit roll ups, only with pudding. I do not miss those. I miss Chillie Willies. Husband does as well. JennotJenn, WHERE IN NC? I live in NC and I NEED pudding pops. Which grocery store? Please tell! SML Edit: And yes, nice Simpsons quote...saw that one the other day. Maybe we're watching the same network? WB at 6 PM? OK, they have them at the Food Lion at the intersection of Hwy 70 and Lynn Road in Raleigh. Popsicle markets them. If you don't live in Raleigh, check out your local Lion. If they don't have them, they'll probably special order them for you. FWIW, I used to hate the Lion, but they have improved dramatically in the past year. Good luck in your search!

My poor husband has food poisoning or some other equally horrible ailment and has retired early, so I decided to experiment w/blood oranges. I made this: 4 oz vodka 4 oz blood orange juice 3-4 healthy dashes Angostura bitters top with club soda Very tasty. Too bad The Husband is missing out on my lovely dinner of coctails and frozen eggrolls (with my parents visiting tomorrow I needed both a drink and a dinner with minimal cleanup).

Whew. I was a bit worried there. No, the very thought of cottage cheese usually makes me sick . But maybe once a year or two, I get a craving for it, usually w/pineapple. This time olives were also involoved. I'd never had that combo before. The really weird thing is that halfway through eating it, the cottage cheese is gross feeling comes over me again. But I have to indulge or I just don't feel right. I did think that my best friend's combo of apple butter and cottage cheese was strange, but she ate it all the time and loved it *shudder*

yes, in Canada corndogs are called "Pogos", after a brand name of the leading manufacturer. fifi: you may be delighted/alarmed to learn that there's a National Corndog Day, March 20th... March is also National Frozen Foods Month. No better way to celebrate both than by going to the supermarket and picking up a dozen frozen dogs. I'm still a little disturbed that no one thinks cottage cheese with olives and pineapple chunks is strange. Do people really eat that normally?

Oh, why the hell not. Count me in for Friday. Husband will probably come too, if that's ok. He's been lurking a bit on egullet on the Scotch threads and he seems to like the place. A hearty thank you to Varmint for making the Executive Descision (as it is called in our house, anyway). edited for extreme spelling and grammatical errors...though I'm sure some less obvious ones remain...

The same thing happens to me as well. I know I'm not cooking at too high a heat (it happens on the lowest setting on my stove), but I don't use a lot of oil in my cooking. I'm guessing that this is my problem. Thanks for mentioning that---I sorta guessed that might be it. I'll don't think I'm making anything else in it this week, but will see what happens when I make my tomato sauce in it next week using more oil. And thanks to fifi for the tip on the Dawn Power Dissolve. I don't have any serious problems getting the gunk off the bottom of the LC, but it sounds great for my broiler pan (I use it for bacon and it gets nasty).