Dishes that remind us of the Good Old Days

[Old Timer]

How often do we wish we had spent a little more time with mom or grandma in the kitchen learning how to prepare those wonderful dishes that became family favorites? It did not matter if the dish was "gourmet" or not. It was simply a family staple.

And now, years and generations later these dishes that could evoke memories of happy family times are in many lost to the ages.

Fortunately, I did learn a few hand me down recipes that I make from time to time just to bring back memories of days gone by. My grandmother who by herself raised 8 children through the Depression often served a dish called "Depression Spaghetti"

1 pound of fried bacon that has been chopped

Large package of spaghetti noodles

canned diced tomatoes

Velveeta Cheese

Fry the bacon and save the drippings.

Add cooked noodles to the pan and stir coating evenly and heating throughout.

Stir in the tomatoes and several 1/2" cubes of Velveeta

Stir until Velveeta is partially melted then add the bacon back in.

Another dish is called Sultze, more commonly known as souse.

I can remember my uncle making pans of Sultze for the entire family. On "Sultze Making Day" He would start early in the morning chopping the meat and veggies. It seemed that he cooked the meat for hours. When the meat was cooked, he clamped an old Universal hand grinder to the kitchen table and slowly turned the crank while he filled the tiny hopper with the hot mixture. Sometimes he would even let me crank it as he filled it.

I remember him using everything from pie plates to bread pans to hold the gelatinous mix until it hardened and I can still (45 yrs. later) taste the wonderfully flavored meat that missed the bowl under the grinder and fell to the table. My family had a love/hate relationship with the stuff. Either you loved it or you hated it, there was no in-between.

For those unfamiliar with the proper way to eat Sultze, it must be served with loads of fresh ground pepper and smothered with white vinegar.

3 lb Pork, Beef, Veal or Chicken

1 Onion, large, chopped

2 Celery, sticks, chopped

1 Tbsp Butter

1 Tbsp. each salt & pepper

1 Tbsp Gelatin

1/2 cup Water, cold

Cut meat in pieces, add the onion, celery, butter and seasoning to taste. Cover with water and let cook slowly until meat is tender and liquid is reduced to about 2 cups. Soak gelatin in the cold water for 5 minutes. Grind the meatl. Strain the stock and dissolve the gelatin in the hot stock. Add ground meat and mix well. Pour into loaf pans to jell.

Edited January 14, 2008 by Old Timer (log)

[prasantrin]

Four dishes that remind me of my childhood are garlic-pepper spareribs, pork corn balls, gkai pad gkaprow (thai chicken with basil), and grilled cheese sandwiches. I can make the first two, and the last one, but I've never been able to make gkai pad gkaprow like my dad's.

[hummingbirdkiss]

our heirloom foods

marinara sauce (Providence RI style)

curry anything ...I was taught how to do Caribbean curry at about 5years old and have been making it as "comfort food" since then ...

clam cakes and chowder (clam fritters dipped in home made chowder)

apple pie

Fall River Chow Mein

oatmeal nobake cookies

I will stop because my list is much longer .. my entire life had been centered around food!

Edited January 14, 2008 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[zeffer81]

mmm...my grandmom called it "chicken soup," my brother and I called it "carrot soup." Basically just shredded carrots in canned chicken broth. There was something about it, however, that was just incredible. My mom tried to replicate it once (which shouldn't be that hard. Step One: Shred carrots. Step Two: Open can and dump contents in pot. Step Three: Heat.) and it just didn't taste the same. I guess there's just something about a grandma's love.

My 90-year old great aunt (grandmom's sister) is still an incredible baker. She makes the best jewish desserts which I would list here if I had any idea how to spell them! However, she's unfortunately past her apple cake making days, which is quite unfortunate. I'm salivating as I remember the extremem MOISTNESS of this cake. And besides, it had fruit to it was good for you, right???