Childhood Food Memories

[jaybee]

Hamburgers and mashed potatos all smooshed together and laced with ketchup.  My favorite lunch home from school in 1-4th grade at PS73 on Anderson Avenue in the Bronx.

Nathan's hot dogs and crisp crinkled fries from the original stand in Coney Island.  Washed down with a foamy cold root beer. (5 yrs. old).

My first real delicatessen corned beef sandwich with full sour pickle and Dr. Brown's Cream Soda.  (8 years old).

Addy Vallens hot fudge sunday with real whipped cream. (11 yrs. old)

[researchgal]

Freshly made cinnamon donuts from a farmstand we drove by on the way to spending the day at the beach--they'd put them in a brown paper bag that would glisten with the grease!  On the way home, there was (and still is, thankfully) an ice cream stand next door to the farm--the best ice cream in this area and they'd use stawberries and black raspberries from the farm in it.  

Ipswich fried clams.  

My dad's special hamburgers on the grill with secret ingredients (black pepper and dill seed).

Grilled lamb kebobs.

Jiffy pop popcorn with coke and tv.

Mom's frozen chocolate mousse that we only got to have when she made it for company.

My grandmothers roasted potatoes cooked with leg of lamb, we'd fight over the ones that were brown and crispy on the outside.

I could keep going on, but need to stop or I'll have to leave work and go get something to eat, immediately!

[Sandra Levine]

Thank you for starting this wonderful thread, Blue Heron.  

[cakewalk]

Borscht. Oh what memories. My grandmother used to make a huge pot of borscht, which she would then distribute to various family members and friends. She would put the borscht into empty Nescafe instant coffee jars..

That sounds like heaven in a Nescafe jar.

Any chance you still have her recipe?  And, if so, would you share?

Oh if I had the recipe not only would I share, I would write out thousands of copies in magenta beet ink on pieces of white paper and rain them down on all the world! Alas. In truth, I don't think my grandmother worked from a recipe either.

[Suvir Saran]

Thanks Blue Heron!

Cinnamon donuts sound wonderful.  I love donuts made at home.  But I can eat all kinds.  Even Krispy Creme.

Grandmas roasted potato salad sounds yummy.

And best yet.. Addy Vallens Hot Fudge Sundae with real whipped cream... magic for my sweet tooth.

[jaybee]

It's good to be talking food again.. More memories of favorite eats from my yoot...

Cupcakes with hard yellow icing from H&H

Jelly rolls, with real jelly and little pebbles of sugar on the outside

Charlotte Russes (They got Danny Fisher laid).

Bungalo Bar toasted almond pops

Good Humor creamsicles

Nehi orange soda

Nediks hot dogs

[Sandra Levine]

There was a drugstore with a soda fountain a few doors away from the library.  On a hot summer day, I would walk to the library, choose a book, take it to the soda fountain and read  in air-conditioned comfort while I sipped my five-cent (yes) vanilla soda -- just vanilla syrup and seltzer, cream soda, really, but so much better.

[Suvir Saran]

Jaybee, what is H&H or shall I ask where is it?

And where does one find Nehi Orange Soda?  I love that too.  Thoug nothing like a good Cream Soda.

Cream Sodas are my favorite.  They do not taste the same as those made at the soda fountain at Delhi Gymkhana.  The soda fountain closed and with that my memories are all I have of that experience.

[Sandra Levine]

H & H in this context means Horn & Hardart, a now-defunct chain that deserves a thread of its own.

[Suvir Saran]

Thanks Sandra!

[Jaymes]

Nehi orange soda

In Texas, of course that's an "Arnge Drank."

[Blue Heron]

I've loved reading everyone's favorite childhood food memories.  They are so varied, and all wonderful to read.  Sandra, I like the idea of a fish and vegetable truck coming around...that would be nice!  Some places have started up with the milk trucks again.  My next door neighbor gets her milk delivered by truck and she has a milk box outside her door.

more of favorite childhood food memories:

Sloppy Joes served on open faced hamburger buns.

Cracker Jacks w/peanuts w/ the little toy prize inside.

Mom's tacos...served American style, which meant crispy shells, hamburger filling w/taco seasoning package, cheese, lettuce, tomato, bottled taco sauce, and sour cream if we were lucky.  Taco nights were a real treat.

A couple of times, my mother served us bacon, scrambled eggs and toast for dinner - we thought that was the coolest.   Breakfast for dinner.  (mom said those were for nights we had nothing in the house for dinner).

I used to love cream soda, too.

Suvir, you have an incredibly good memory, if you remember at age 2.  I have a brother who can remember back that far, too.

[jaybee]

I think Nehi is no more.

Boylan's makes a good cream soda.

Horn & Hardart was a chain of cafeterias that had food behind little glass doors.  You put money in a slot and could open the door and remove the dish.  People behind the wall would then refill the empty place with a new item.

The place was called the "Automat" for that reason.

[Jaymes]

Survir, your lyrical writing skills and remarkable recall of nuance are truly wonderful.  I felt as though I, too, were in that house, in that kitchen, searching along with that small boy the night sky for that one special star.

If eGullet did not a single other thing for me, I would feel blessed to have been introduced to you.

[Suvir Saran]

Blue Heron,

I do have a good memory.  But when it comes to names?  I cannot remember them even the next hour.  Shame on me!

I love most all of Boylans Sodas.  We get them near the apartment in nice tiny store called Taylors.  They have great muffins, cookies, sandwiches and other goodies and of course Boylans.

I like their orange soda, the black cherry and also the cream soda.

[Jaymes]

Charlotte Russes (They got Danny Fisher laid).

Who were the Charlotte Russes and how did they get Danny Fisher laid?  

PS (I think maybe I went to high school with them.)

[Lady T]

My dad was head bartender for the Wrigley Building Restaurant in Chicago, and during my undergrad years he often took me with him (I attended the U of Illinois, at the campus just west of downtown) on mornings when I had classes.  He left the house at 6:15 a.m., in order to arrive at the restaurant in time to do the regular beverage orders for the following day, attend to personnel matters and paperwork, and review/do orders as necessary for the restaurant's wine cellar, which he also oversaw.

What I remember most fondly was sitting in the restaurant's huge professional kitchen with Dad, already in his bartender's uniform, eating breakfast with him (and many others of the Wrigley's morning staff) as fixed by the morning-shift cooks.  It might be that my memory is too rosy in retrospect, but nobody ever seemed too rushed or overloaded to pour some juice and fix a plate of eggs and toast, and often they came up with a pan of cinnamon rolls or some French toast; I'm pretty sure my first experience with huevos rancheros happened in that 7 a.m. kitchen as well.

My dad died of cancer not long after I graduated, but that series of early-morning memories is a treasure of mine for all time.

[Liza]

I don't think there's a recipe per so for potato chip chicken. I think it's simply coat chicken thighs with crushed up potato chips and fry until they're done and crispy. Drain on paper towels if you're so very health conscious.  

[Suvir Saran]

Lady T, thanks for sharing your memory of your father and those early AM meals.  They are beautiful memories to have.  And I am so happy I was at the site to read them.  Very moving.  Bring one to understand the gilded edge of everything we can easily take for granted.  You also shared it most beautifully.

And Liza,  thanks for sharing the gist of the recipe.  I would use paper towels.

[jaybee]

Who were the Charlotte Russes and how did they get Danny Fisher laid?

Unless you went to school with Elvis...

In the days of my raging hormones, I was turned on by a book written by Harold Robbins called "A Stone for Danny Fisher." (circa 1952?) It was about a teenager from Brooklyn who lived in a gang neighborhood.  The Elvis movie, King Creole was based on  this book. In the book, steamy scenes were written about a "loose" girl on the block who would let guys screw her under the stairs if they bought her a Charlotte Russe, which is:

A cold dessert, similar to the original charlotte, and most likely created by Carême (1783-1833). The charlotte mold is lined with ladyfingers (usually soaked in Cognac or coffee liqueur) and filled with Bavarian Cream, chocolate mousse, coffee mousse, ice cream, or uncooked gelatin custard.

Can I buy you one?  

Danny was killed in a gang fight at the end, hence the title "A Stone for..."

Or was that more than you wanted to know about Danny Fisher?

[cakewalk]

Charlotte Russes (They got Danny Fisher laid).

Bungalo Bar toasted almond pops

Good Humor creamsicles

My goodness. Charlotte Rousse, Bungalow Bar and Good Humor all in the same breath. Even if you hadn't mentioned the Bronx in one of your recent posts, those are dead giveaways. (But really: do you mean to say you actually BOUGHT things from Bungalow-Bar-tastes-like-tar-the-more-you-eat-it-the-sicker-you-are?)

[SobaAddict70]

Well, well, dunno where to begin.

I suppose I'll list my top 5 faves per cuisine (I come from a multi-ethnic Asian background, so here goes):

Filipino:

Sinigang (si-ni-GUNG) -- this is, if done correctly, a refreshingly tasty, sour soup/stew made with shrimp, pork, tamarind juice, white daikon radish, long green beans, bitter melon, tomatoes, garlic, onions and ginger.  Some versions also include fish (various kinds of fish).

Kari-kari (ka-RI ka-RI) -- basically stewed oxtails with vegetables and ground peanuts.  Vegetables vary according to seasonality, but the version my mom made included eggplant, long green beans, onions, cabbage, okra and mild peppers.

Pakbet (pronounced pak-BET, the a is pronounced in the same way as the "u" sound in the word "up") -- this is a salty, pungent vegetable stew.  Different versions depend on what's available....the version I'm familiar with included tomatoes, bitter melon, eggplant, okra, onions, LOTS OF GARLIC, long green beans, dried shrimp, baguong (fermented dried shrimp paste; a little goes a long way), patis (fermented fish sauce), and ginger.

Dinuguan (DI-nu-GU-an):  not for the faint of heart (show me someone on egullet who's a wimp!), this is an offal/pork stew that usually has some combination of the following:  finely chopped beef hearts, kidneys, chicken liver, pork, gizzards, vinegar, GARLIC, pickled chilies in vinegar, onions and pig's blood.  In fact, without pig's blood, its not dinuguan, as the blood is what gives the stew its characteristic black color.  This is a great dish that actually improves in flavor the second or third day after you make it.  The downside is of course, that it turns most people off if they knew what went into it.  Side note -- my mom is now quite Americanized, and this is one of the dishes that she WON'T make unless I have an incredible hankering for it, and then only like once in a blue moon.  Second side note -- to illustrate JUST HOW AMERICANIZED, she now cooks steak medium well, as opposed to nuclear-broiled well done.  

Lumpia.  These come in two varieties, fresh or fried.  The fresh version is basically the Filipino version of a Vietnamese summer roll.  Cooked chicken, partially cooked veggies, bean thread noodles, all of which are wrapped up in a fresh cabbage or lettuce leaf, then dunked in a sweet plum sauce.  The cooked version is essentially the same contents this time wrapped in a rice flour pancake or wrapper and then deep fried, and dipped in a pungent, sour sauce.

There are others that I remember, like halo-halo, which is sort of like a cross between liquid Jello, red bean soup, crushed ice and iced tea, but much better; adobo rellenong (a sour chicken stew with tons of garlic and vinegar); and menudo (not to be confused with the Mexican version, this is a ground beef stew with chickpeas, carrots, potatoes, raisins, onions and tomatoes).

Chinese:

My grandmother's version of Lion's Head meatballs.  If you look on the Dinner thread, you'll find the recipe buried somewhere there.  The name comes from GIANT pork meatballs which have slices of bok choy draped over the meatballs, giving the appearance, speaking metaphorically of a lion's head and its flowing mane.

Congee.  My favorite toppings include (at least in our family), ground pork stir-fried with fermented black beans and scallions; wood ear mushrooms, sliced Chinese black mushrooms, shredded chicken and ginger paste; and shredded roast pork, water chestnuts, garlic and spicy bean paste.  In fact, congee was often used as an excuse to have leftover dinner for breakfast, using the porridge as a base to top off with our choice of leftovers.

Steamed fish with ginger, scallions and black beans.  Another, not for the faint-hearted -- in much the same way that people here in the US like dark meat and drumsticks, I really liked (and still do) fish eyes, not to mention fish heads in general.  Of course, if you're still reading, I suppose mention of eating fish heads doesn't come close to stewed chicken feet.  

Winter melon soup.  I'm not sure how many of you here have had the real thing in Chinese restaurants.  Usually this is served at a banquet, but in our family, this gets rolled out on special occasions.  Its basically a hollowed out winter melon which has been filled with chicken stock, black mushrooms, ham, onions, ginger, other vegetables and the cooked flesh of the winter melon itself.  Sometimes the sides are decorated with dragons breathing clouds of steam -- this has been carved straight onto the melon.  We usually just had the melon undecorated.

Fried rice.  If you look on the Dinner thread, you'll see the recipe I give for my mother's basic Chinese fried rice, which is a far cry from the unidentifiable glop you'd get from Occidental Chinese restaurants.  Its in one of the most recent postings.  

Other noteworthies:  steamed tofu with honeycomb (better than flan); spicy onion potstickers; my grandmother's version of ma-po tofu (sometimes she used chicken instead of pork, and also lots of garlic).

Hungry yet?  

[Jaymes]

Lumpia.  The cooked version is essentially the same contents this time wrapped in a rice flour pancake or wrapper and then deep fried, and dipped in a pungent, sour sauce.

Aadobo rellenong (a sour chicken stew with tons of garlic and vinegar);

I lived in the Philippines for three years and make pretty good adobo and lumpia, but my lumpia sauce sucks.  Everytime I ask someone how to make it, I get the ole', "Oh, it's easy, just a little of this and that....whatever you want."

I'm obviously using the wrong "this" and "that," or too much "this" and not enough "that."  Because "what I want" is a good sauce.  I like the kind of thickish, sweet and sour sauce (but NOT the ubiquitous reddish-orange sweet & sour sauce found in "American Chinese" restaurants) ...I'm sure it must have a vinegar base...maybe some soy sauce..sugar, chopped green onions, sesame seeds.... I'm not sure exactly what all, obviously.  

I'd be so appreciative if you could see your way clear to part with a recipe.  Salámat.

[SobaAddict70]

Sweet and Sour Sauce (for Lumpia)

Makes about 1 cup

1 c. pineapple juice

1/2 c. banana ketchup (available at Filipino specialty markets); substitute tomato ketchup if unavailable.  Banana ketchup tends to be slightly sweeter and spicer than tomato ketchup.

1/2 c. soy sauce

1/3 T. red wine vinegar

2 T. brown sugar

1/4 t. minced fresh ginger

1 T. cornstarch or arrowroot powder

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Combine cornstarch and 1/4 cup pineapple juice, mix well and reserve. In a saucepan combine pineapple juice, ketchup, red wine vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar and ginger. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.

Stir cornstarch / pineapple mixture and add to simmering sauce. Reduce heat and whisk. Simmer sauce over low heat until sauce thickens.

Season with salt and fresh ground black pepper.

Remove from heat and reserve.

[Jaymes]

Oh yum!  Does that look good.  Thanks so much.... I've put it the recipe in my "best of" box, and I really appreciate your taking the time to do that.  It looks just like what I've been searching for.   Maráming salámat and Mabúhay!