Childhood into Adulthood

[maggiethecat]

You mean my Mom's family weren't the only ones to do this? Where did the practice originate, do you think? I can't eat "toasted cheese" (that's what we called it) without jam to this day. It's just missing something.

Nightscotsman: I infer from your handle that you have bloodlines originating in the British Isles? I'm a Canadian...paternal side Scots, maternal Lancashire. Maybe that's the connection. Caledonians do it.

The jam and grilled cheese thing....like apples and cheese, perhaps? Or those little bries en croute with fruit garni?

Or maybe our families were just on to something. Buttery crispy bread, melted cheese, that little contrast of cool soft jam against hot crust...

Until you brought this up, I had no idea how much I missed it. Now here's an easy way to relive childhood!

[kitwilliams]

We grew up eating our grilled cheese with sweet pickle relish. kinda like the jam thing sorta maybe. recently in the UK I had grilled bleu cheese with mango chutney -- an adult version of my childhood favorite!

but the original has to be orange cheddar cheese (not "american" or velveeta) with Del Monte sweet relish.

[Rachel Perlow]

My favorite lunch as a kid was peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with iceberg lettuce (the whiter leaves closer to the core the better) with Campbells' chicken noodle soup.

But do you still eat them now? That's the question.

[Rachel Perlow]

Grits with crispy bacon crumbled in them.

A little cheese is good, too. As is a soft-cooked egg. And scallions. And country ham. And mushrooms.

MY GOD, grits are the ultimate food!!!!

Both of you would love Fink's restaurant in River Edge, NJ. He's got great grits - may even be worth the detour if you're ever visiting NYC.

[Jim Dixon]

Campbell's tomato soup (made with milk, not water) and enough saltines (and only Premium brand) to make a thick mush.

And yes, I'll still eat it, but not very often.

Jim

[mikey]

I third cantaloupe with salt.

Elbow macaroni with milk, butter, salt & much(black) pepper.

[Marlene]

I third cantaloupe with salt.

It's nice to know I'm not alone.

See awbrig!

[Jinmyo]

Marlene, I would only eat cantaloupe with salt.

And fresh black pepper. And creme fraiche.

Or with roe.

[oraklet]

"You mean my Mom's family weren't the only ones to do this? Where did the practice originate, do you think? I can't eat "toasted cheese" (that's what we called it) without jam to this day. It's just missing something."

i think that as a child, upon telling my family about having experienced this strange mixture at a friend's home, my mother told me it was a lower middle class thing. actually 50% of all danes do it, only it's not roasted. i still feel it's

[maggiethecat]

my mother told me it was a lower middle class thing.

Orkalet: Well, my Lancashire grandparents would certainly qualify as "lower middle class"--altho' my Nana is rolling in her grave to hear herself so described! Still, after Nightscotsman's musings, guess what I'm having for lunch?

Speaking of exotic...at least to a ten-year-old Nordamericaine like me: My friend Edith Ridder's parents were from Holland. A sleepover breakfast at the Ridder's was a banquet of cheese and cold meat and bread and jam---with a big jar of chocolate sprinkles which they put on everything. Yes, the meat too. I regret that I was too young and chicken to have enjoyed this to the fullest.

[coolranch]

I never tried salt on cantaloupe, but I have always put salt on watermelon. Creeps Mr. coolranch out.

Jinmyo: Have you tried Jean-Georges Vongerichten's recipe w/watermelon, goat cheese w/cracked black pepper, drizzled w/EVOO? Quite tasty.

I also have always eaten my French toast w/sour cream and salt. I just can't do the powdered sugar thing.

I'm seeing a pattern; perhaps that's why I definitely prefer savory to sweet.

[Jinmyo]

coolranch, as I don't do recipes, no. But I've read of it and it makes sense to me.

I'm with you on savoury French Toast as well.

[nightscotsman]

I'm actually a big fan of savory with sweet - as in:

meats with dried fruit (mmmm... pork)

chocolate or strawberries with black pepper

apples with cheese (cheddar, thanks)

toasted cheese with jam (as mentioned)

tuna salad with sweet pickles

sweet and sour chicken or pork (from really bad Chinese restaurants)

French onion soup made with apple cider

turkey stuffing with prunes

herbs in sorbets and ice creams

chicken apple sausage

bacon and maple syrup

foie gras and any number of sweet-ish sauces

But I'm getting off topic here as most of these things I never had in childhood.

[SobaAddict70]

Cheap-o ramen noodle soup, made with 2 packages of ramen noodles. The soup base in one giant pot of boiling water, followed by one and a half packages of ramen, cooked in the usual manner, topped off with sesame oil, chopped scallions, and whatever Mom happened to have on hand, (i.e., chopped hardboiled eggs, leftover congee, leftover minced pork with black bean sauce, tofu, stir-fried sliced beef tongue with chili paste, etc.), and the remaining dried ramen noodles (broken up into bits).

On occasion, I still have some. Mmm-mmm-good.

Jason: you should try this sometime. Its great.

SA

[snowangel]

It's cupcakes. The ones my great-grandmother made for my grandmother, my grandmother made for my mother, my mother made for me and that I know make for my kids.

Chocolate (buttermilk/cocoa recipe; I still have the card, handrwritten by my great grandmother), with frosting (1 cup cream, 1 cup sugar, cocoa so it looks right, cooked to soft-ball stage).

First, you grease the cupcake tins. Not just the cupcake parts, but the whole top, too. Then you will cupcake tins too much, so that when they bake, you get this crispy part that goes onto the top of the cupcake tin.

Remove carefully, you don't want to break these brims! Frost.

Eat the crunchy "brims" first, then eat off the frosting, then eat the rest of the cupcake.

[nightscotsman]

Chocolate (buttermilk/cocoa recipe; I still have the card, handrwritten by my great grandmother), with frosting (1 cup cream, 1 cup sugar, cocoa so it looks right, cooked to soft-ball stage).

Cupcakes

Recipe please?

[snowangel]

Chocolate cake/cupcakes

Cream 1/2 cup butter and 2 cups sugar.

Add 2 eggs, beat well.

Add 1 cup buttermilk (or milk that has vinegar added; OK per great grandmother if you don't have buttermilk).

Then add 1 t. baking soda dissolved in a bit of hot water and 2/3 cup cocoa dissolved in 1/2 cup hot water.

Mix in 2-1/4 cup flour.

Bake in 350 oven "until done" (sic).

Makes "enough" cupcakes (sic) or 3 9" layer cakes (I still have her pans!). Both she and my grandmother said that this would also work in a 9x13 pan, but that was "cheating." If you do cupcakes, remember to fill the cups (grease cups and top of cupcake pan well) enough so you get the brims. They also indicated that cupcake liners were a "waste of money and space on the grocery list."

Frosting:

Mix 1 cup sugar and enough cocoa so it looks right, then stir in 1 cup cream. Cook to soft ball stage (I'm not sure what that is on candy thermometer). At that point, the bubbles will be nice "splat" bubbles and if you are stirring fast, you will be able to barely see the bottom of the pan (that's how I learned). Beat frosting until spreading consistency.

Frosting does not work well in humid weather -- it wants to slide off the cake or seep into cake.

I also have killer recipe for burnt sugar cake.

Recipe written on card with a fountain pen. Well used.

[nightscotsman]

Thanks so much! Can't have too many chocolate (cup)cake recipes .

By the way, do you use Dutch processed or regular cocoa?

[snowangel]

Thanks so much! Can't have too many chocolate (cup)cake recipes .

By the way, do you use Dutch processed or regular cocoa?

Regular. It's what my great-grandmother and grandmother used. I don't think you could get dutch processed early in this century in Walton, NE.