Following WindyWave’s trend of fun and non-political threads… I saw a similar thread on another forum and was surprised at the variation of the foods that they remember from childhood. Some people even talked fondly of liver - yuck.
So, what are some meals that you remember fondly from your childhood?
For me, there are several.
Chicken and Dumplings - Talk about a comfort meal. I always looked forward to when she would make them, and she learned from my grandmother. I learned to make them about a year or two ago and my mom says they are as good as hers. I don’t cook them a lot since they are calorie dense, but man are they good.
Butter beans and fried cornbread - I loved fresh picked (and shelled) butter beans and fried cornbread. I haven’t tried to cook those, but may do that this year.
Split-Pea Soup - My wife won’t eat english peas without throwing up, so those are out.
Butternut Cake - My mom bakes me a cake for my birthday every year and that’s what I always want. I don’t need any presents, but bake me a butternut cake. She always brings it over on a plate that her favorite aunt gave her 40-50 years ago.
Same here with split pea soup, loved it is a kid when my mom would make it and my wife still makes it now. Need homemade corn bread on the side to go with. I mostly remember soups/stews that my mom made that were standouts - clam chowder was always a specialty and turkey barley to make use of leftover turkey carcass after Thanksgiving/Christmas etc.
My mom never knew how to cook small where I was one of 11 kids, so meals were often what she could stretch together with leftovers (like the turkey barley soup). Same thing with corned beef where I loved the corned beef hash that would be the next meal after a traditional boiled dinner. My folks were big into gardening and had a huge vegetable garden that took up about a third of our back yard, also had a pair of plots on town conservation land so they froze/canned quite a bit, would also make their own pickles/relish etc.
Rosol - Polish chicken soup. Involves boiling a chicken till its falling off the bone, and then adding tons of veggies (carrot, leek, parsnip, celery root) - don’t over-biol veggies to keep them crisp.
Serve over boiled potatoes (boiled and drained personalty) or over egg noodles. Add parsley or dill on top for garnish.
My mother always said “I don’t cook, I warm things up.†Most of my memories are of hamburger casserole, tacos on cheap corn tortillas that broke apart on the first bite, “salads†consisting of iceberg lettuce and sliced apple, just sturdy artery-clogging midwestern fare. Oyster stew on Christmas Eve was a tradition, though once I was old enough to know about food poisoning I always wondered about the condition of oysters that had made their way to Wisconsin. Also, a dessert we called pineapple rice, which unsurprisingly consisted of sweet rice and pineapple chunks.
But the one I really remember was something my dad used to make for me. He was a much worse cook than my mother, but in the evenings if I was still hungry before bed he would make me a grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwich which always got served on a little tin plate with a circus elephant etched into it. My go-to comfort food is Kraft mac and cheese, but if I’m having an astronomically shitty day, a grilled PB&J is the comfort food of last resort.
Bonus - This is our new favorite - Thai Curry Chicken. But you have to use the curry paste - which can be found on Amazon.
Dumplings only count as long as they were real dumplings like my mom made. I use this recipe for the dumplings, but do something different for the chicken and broth.
For me it was my moms spaghetti sauce. IT was packed with stuff, you could stick a spoon in it and have it stand up. She would simmer it all day long, and it would have the fat of the beef and sausage float on the top. Lots of mushrooms, meat, onions, and garlic. It was the meal I requested every birthday, along with a home made German Chocolate Cake for desert…
My mom is polish, so, rouladen, cabbage rolls, perogies, etc are all comfort foods for me.
A common side dish we would have was, I believe, shredded carrots, cabbage, and one other veggie, steamed in some white wine concoction. It still makes me think of childhood.
For me it was my moms spaghetti sauce. IT was packed with stuff, you could stick a spoon in it and have it stand up. She would simmer it all day long, and it would have the fat of the beef and sausage float on the top. Lots of mushrooms, meat, onions, and garlic. It was the meal I requested every birthday, along with a home made German Chocolate Cake for desert…
When I was in my early 20’s (too dang long ago) I worked as a fireman. One of the guys on my shift was an excellent cook, so he made meals pretty regularly. He made the best spaghetti sauce, nice and thick like your mom’s. Up to that point, I hated mushrooms - but he used them so well that I learned to like them.
He also made a phenomenal chicken and yellow rice dish - again with mushrooms.
We have the same tradition that you did - kids get to request specific meals. It makes me feel good when my wife and kids always request some form of meat that I grill or smoke.
I’ve recently started making Chess Squares for dessert. My wife requested those for her birthday. Though her Death-By-Chocolate is out of this world because she uses brownies (from scratch) instead of cake mix.
I was thinking about something in my last reply to Monty. Years from now, I hope that my kids say “I used to love it when my dad made XYZ for dinner”. Long after I’m gone, I hope those memories will bring a smile to their face.
My wife is a great cook and they’ll say the same thing about some of her dishes - which is great too.
Oyster stew on Christmas Eve was a tradition, though once I was old enough to know about food poisoning I always wondered about the condition of oysters that had made their way to Wisconsin.
Oh my stars I thought my family was the only one with this weird tradition - is it a German thing? My grandma’s family was from Germany, but no one can remember why we do this or when it began. My family uses canned oysters and it literally makes me nauseous. I’ve refused to eat it for the past 30 years, but man they literally can’t have Christmas Eve without it. So gross.
One of my favorite comfort foods growing up with a soup my mom made that she called Cheddar Chowder. It was basically a Velveeta and broth base with some veggies, potatoes and ham.Salty and cheesy goodness in a bowl.
Oyster stew on Christmas Eve was a tradition, though once I was old enough to know about food poisoning I always wondered about the condition of oysters that had made their way to Wisconsin.
Oh my stars I thought my family was the only one with this weird tradition - is it a German thing? My grandma’s family was from Germany, but no one can remember why we do this or when it began. My family uses canned oysters and it literally makes me nauseous. I’ve refused to eat it for the past 30 years, but man they literally can’t have Christmas Eve without it. So gross.
One of my favorite comfort foods growing up with a soup my mom made that she called Cheddar Chowder. It was basically a Velveeta and broth base with some veggies, potatoes and ham.Salty and cheesy goodness in a bowl.
Not sure but German origin is plausible - my family is primarily of German and Scandinavian descent. Oyster stew and Swedish meatballs were the taste of Christmas for me.
Not really meals - but my grandmother’s apple pie was the best I have had to date. The whole family still talks about during the holidays, and the last time we had it was probably ~ 25 years ago.
