What foods bring up good memories

Same here on the sardines. Dad would take us down to the Gulf of Mexico to fish for flounder. It was an early morning to late night gig. Dad would bring food. It was always tins of sardines, cheddar cheese and saltine crackers. I wish I could go back to just one day of that.

DoctorShavegood said:

Same here on the sardines. Dad would take us down to the Gulf of Mexico to fish for flounder. It was an early morning to late night gig. Dad would bring food. It was always tins of sardines, cheddar cheese and saltine crackers. I wish I could go back to just one day of that.

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Never had cheese with my sardines- I need to try it.

on edit: In fairness, I didn't start eating sardines until six months or so ago. I was always nervous about not liking them.

oc_in_fw said:

Never had cheese with my sardines- I need to try it.

on edit: In fairness, I didn't start eating sardines until six months or so ago. I was always nervous about not liking them.

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Cheese and sardines...that does sound like a "no go"doesn't it. We ate them separately. Although we didn't really care after fishing all day.

DoctorShavegood said:

Cheese and sardines...that does sound like a "no go"doesn't it. We ate them separately. Although we didn't really care after fishing all day.

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Oh, okay. Might be worth a try, though.

I was about five years old and out with my dad; just me and him. He was holding my hand and we walk into a pastry shop. That was a first for me. He told me I could get whatever I wanted, I looked around and picked a cream roll. Never had one before and I figured it was a safe bet because of the cream. After the first bite I thought I was in heaven and couldn't believe something so delicious existed. I wanted another but didn't have the guts to ask him. It is one of the best memories of my life.

In a time long ago, my dad owned an office products store. Behind his store was a really good German restaurant. At 5 o'clock he would lock the doors and the guys(sometimes mom) would go to the restaurant and sit and drink coffee, smoke cigarettes, tell stories and jokes. Where did those days go? I miss it. Sometimes when I drink coffee I think of that time.

DoctorShavegood said:

Same here on the sardines. Dad would take us down to the Gulf of Mexico to fish for flounder. It was an early morning to late night gig. Dad would bring food. It was always tins of sardines, cheddar cheese and saltine crackers. I wish I could go back to just one day of that.

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Government Cheese?

techblade01 said:

Government Cheese?

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Ha, ha...could be. It didn't have any mold though.

noahpictures said:

I was about five years old and out with my dad; just me and him. He was holding my hand and we walk into a pastry shop. That was a first for me. He told me I could get whatever I wanted, I looked around and picked a cream roll. Never had one before and I figured it was a safe bet because of the cream. After the first bite I thought I was in heaven and couldn't believe something so delicious existed. I wanted another but didn't have the guts to ask him. It is one of the best memories of my life.

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Cool story. I am like that with cake donuts. My grandfather was a Methodist minister, and every summer they would hold their convention in a town called Lakeside- it was close to Sandusky on Lake Erie. In the mornings my sisters and I would go with him to the little donut shop where we got freshly made cake donuts. Then, he would go to his meeting and we would go play putt putt, shuffleboard, or swimming. I still have the freckles on my shoulders from a bad sunburn I got once (forgot the sunscreen). I think of that (with the exception of the sunburn) whenever I have cake donuts.

Hmmm....let me see.

I remember cooking sliced apples (I must have been 8 or 9yrs), in a small pan (water / sugar & reduce), which I occasionally burned and caused my Mother to scold me “So you want to be a Chef when you grow up…eh? You can start by helping me cook dinner”.

I was so happy because not only would I get out of ‘doing some of my chores’ (I have 3 other brothers and 5 sisters by the way), I was the only one in the family to help Mom in the kitchen and I guess from the early days of learning how to cook (back in those days…if you remember we did have to take Home Economics (we just called it ‘Home-Ec’ and you know I got straight ‘A’s), classes, I wanted to be a Chef first…and then after that...a Fireman.

I also remember getting 'ribbed' by my other brothers 'cause they had to 'take up the slack' of my chores while I helped Mom cook dinner M-F and breakfast & dinner on weekends....if I was not playing hockey, skiing, swimming, baseball, homework, friends, ect...

I think my Mothers Southern Fried Chicken (she told me to "Always season the meat…not the flour…that’s the 'secret' and that's why we call it Southern”.), comes to mind as a great memory.

She used to fry the chicken in a cast iron skillet and then make Cream Gravy (add flour to some of the reserved oil to make a roux, cook [stirring well whip a whip], until the roux looks like peanut butter, add Chicken Stock and stir to make your gravy and lastly add milk to finish), to go with the fresh mashed (that was a treat to use the 'masher'), potatoes.

I also remember helping Mom (cutting chicken, dredging w/ flour ect...), while I stood on my little hocker / step-stool (Mother Dear won’t let me have it…as she put it…"Until the groundhogs start bringing my mail"), in front of the prep island or stove making Southern Fried Chicken with Cream Gravy with my Mom (If memory serves me right...I think that's when I wanted to be a Chef).

"A good teacher is like a candle - it consumes itself to light the way for others". Author Unknown

My Mammaw (my Dad's Mom) always made the best green jello. It had nuts, grapes, pineapple, cottage cheese and some other ingredients. I recently got a copy of the recipe from my Aunt in WVa. TLOTH happens to be a wonderful cook, so she was able to duplicate this wonderful desert from my childhood for me. Now I can remember my Mammaw with every delicious bite. Recipe is available by PM if you wish to give it a try. Here is a pic to make your mouths water...

P.S. This recipe wouldn't be good for anyone unfortunate to have diabetes as it includes condensed milk which is not made sugar free yet!

Pasta (orzo) with butter and Parmesan. Pure comfort food. I still love it.

Any pasta with my Mother's tomato sauce. Heck, just the sauce with a half a loaf of Italian bread and a few meatballs.

My grandfather grilling steaks on the grill, and cutting off the tips and letting us (the grandkids) nibble them before dinner. You'd burn your mouth, but you didn't care . . . I miss him. And the steaks!

Teppanyaki said:

Pasta (orzo) with butter and Parmesan. Pure comfort food. I still love it.

Any pasta with my Mother's tomato sauce. Heck, just the sauce with a half a loaf of Italian bread and a few meatballs.

My grandfather grilling steaks on the grill, and cutting off the tips and letting us (the grandkids) nibble them before dinner. You'd burn your mouth, but you didn't care . . . I miss him. And the steaks!

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Do you happen to have that tomato sauce recipe

Perfect tomatoes with salt. Happens maybe once a year, if you are lucky.

Some of the dishes from restaurants I've worked in, most especially the boudin I made so much of.

DoctorShavegood said:

Same here on the sardines. Dad would take us down to the Gulf of Mexico to fish for flounder. It was an early morning to late night gig. Dad would bring food. It was always tins of sardines, cheddar cheese and saltine crackers. I wish I could go back to just one day of that.

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We ate that when we were too far out in the sticks home building to run to a store and it was too much hassle to bring a cooler. Good stuff.
I miss my late Grandmothers Yeast Rolls , soft warm fluffy with butter oh a meal unto it's self!

A couple things my Grandma made Red Chili was one tortillas (flour) the other fav, and for dessert rice pudding.

UPDATE: Photos of the wife's latest batch of my Mammaw's (my Dad's Mom) best green jello. It has nuts, grapes, pineapple, cottage cheese and some other ingredients.

I've had this before...it's certainly a confusing delicious sort of a combination of goodness. Southern for sure.

DoctorShavegood said:

I've had this before...it's certainly a confusing delicious sort of a combination of goodness. Southern for sure.

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Maybe more country- I had this in my youth and I'm a yank

oc_in_fw said:

Maybe more country- I had this in my youth and I'm a yank

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This yank has seen that also.

How about icebox cake?