Food Nostalgia

[oc_in_fw]

Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 20 Minutes
Ready In: 30 Minutes
Servings: ~6

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cube beef bouillon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
2 1/4 cups Milk
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Directions:
Brown beef in a large skillet over medium high heat. Stir in flour, bouillon, salt and pepper. Sauté all together for about 5 minutes or until flour is absorbed. Gradually stir in milk and Worcestershire sauce. Bring all to a simmer, stirring constantly. Cook until thickened, about 5 to 10 minutes. Serve hot!

Optional: Brown some onion in bacon fat prior to beef.

Thanks

 

[BubblesTGB]

Postum, that roasted grain instant hot beverage. You can't buy it in the stores here any more. I guess I'll have to break down and order some from Amazon.

My mother used to make a thing with dried salt cod, which was soaked and rinsed, then boiled and added to a white sauce of some sort. Throw in cut-up boiled eggs, and serve over mashed potatoes. Peas on the side are nice too. It's similar to (but not quite, because there's no onions) a New England states recipe, whose name escapes me. I'll have to get the recipe from her again.

Sounds like Portuguese Bacalao. A friend's grandmother was part Portuguese and made something quite similar. The SE part of Massachusetts, before you get to Cape Cod, had a large population from Portugal and this was pretty common.

 

[langod]

My mother (raised in the 40s and 50s by very frugal parents) used to make some sort of hot dog casserole for us. Consisted mainly of cut up dogs with an onion and tomato (soup?) base. I think she served it over mashed potato. I remember it being pretty yummy.

She also had a recipe for spicy hot peaches. Served as a condiment. I think it was curry flavored and it was pretty spicy. I remember the parish priest being over for dinner once and she served some -- the poor guy didn't know they were spicy and ate a big mouthful. He was NOT a Pepper Head......

 

[KeenDogg]

Applesauce cake always makes me think of granny.

Pancake jelly rolls.

Peanut butter, mustard, and sugar sandwiches.

Cream of wheat with brown sugar and butter

Apple butter

These things all remind me of childhood.

 

[langod]

My mother (raised in the 40s and 50s by very frugal parents) used to make some sort of hot dog casserole for us. Consisted mainly of cut up dogs with an onion and tomato (soup?) base. I think she served it over mashed potato. I remember it being pretty yummy.

She also had a recipe for spicy hot peaches. Served as a condiment. I think it was curry flavored and it was pretty spicy. I remember the parish priest being over for dinner once and she served some -- the poor guy didn't know they were spicy and ate a big mouthful. He was NOT a Pepper Head......

I've got to add Liverwurst sandwiches to that list. My mom used to make them all the time when I was a kid. Squishy white bread, sliced onion and lots of spicy mustard. Mmmm. Every couple of years, I'll buy some liverwurst and make myself a few sandwiches. Really takes me back.

 

[R100]

I miss my grandmother's chicken gravy that we had at Thanksgiving and Christmas. It wasn't very thick, kind of soupy, and I would often eat the leftover gravy as a soup. It was great for breakfast. I've tried to make it myself by cheating with Campbell's cream of chicken soup and adding boiled eggs and chicken. But I can't remember what else she put in it. Whatever it was it made all the difference.

I remember some odd things from my elementary school cafeteria that were popular with the kids. One was called Mexican Hats and it was fried bologna with a scoop of mashed potatoes on top, kind of resembled a sombrero. Another one was a dessert that had the consistency of soft fudge but was made, I think, with peanut butter and oatmeal and maybe some chocolate. First you played with it like playdoh and then you ate it. Good stuff.

And I remember bringing cocoa powder to school in a plastic baggie and pouring it into my milk carton.

 

[KeenDogg]

I've got to add Liverwurst sandwiches to that list. My mom used to make them all the time when I was a kid. Squishy white bread, sliced onion and lots of spicy mustard. Mmmm. Every couple of years, I'll buy some liverwurst and make myself a few sandwiches. Really takes me back.

Yep. We just did liverwurst on bread. Sometimes I would just slice a piece off and eat it.

Kindly,
Adam

 

[adamchur]

I've ordered it in restaurants, tried making it myself following recipes, and eaten it when somebody else made it, but..........

Nobody (including me) ever made a Sherry Trifle that tasted anything like the ones my Grandad used to make in the early 1970s when I was 3 years old.

I vaguely remember....
Sponge cake or swiss roll cut up and soaked in sherry as the base
Tinned fruit cocktail set with fruit jelly
Custard
Whipped cream topped with 100s and 1000s

The recipe should be a no brainer, but the trifles that we used to eat on Sunday afternoons at Grandad's house always tasted best

 

[kingfisher]

All the stuff that my mom made that I really enjoyed I still make and enjoy. My favorite nostalgic meal is
"tuna-noodle casserole." It's really simple. Cook up some noodles. Make a sauce of the following 3 ingredients: Cheez-whiz, sour cream, and melted butter. The ratio was always "winged" or eye-balled. More cheez-whiz if you like it cheesier, more sour cream if you like it creamier. Add tuna fish to taste. Salt and pepper to taste (usually doesn't need salt because of all the salt in the cheez-whiz and butter, lol). Stir to combine, and serve hot. I always ate soda crackers with this meal and I still do. I upgraded the recipe by using pouch tuna instead of the canned tuna my mom used.

Then there is chocolate-ice box cake, which was a recipe from my great-great-grandmother that got handed down to my mom. I'll have to find the recipe and post it here because this is an amazing dessert that's really easy to make.

 

[redrako]

I resemble your remarks!

As for the bread in red, I would hazard a guess it is a homage to Yorkshire puddin's soaked in roast beef juices. In modern times you would typically bake up the puddings and then pour the beef 'leavings' over them whilst still piping hot. In older days when the beef would have been roasted over coals in an open fireplace or similar, the pudding batter would have been put under the roast spit and the juices that ran off would have dripped right into the batter and would have provided the fat for the batter mix. It would bake right under the roast. Very delicious that. Do you know your family's heritage? If from the British Isles and/or Ireland this would have been a very common serving...when you could afford meat. I suspect there is a Germanic version of such dishes as well. Rustic hearty dishes like this were common in most European cultures.

Todd, thanks for expanding on my post.

Bread in the red comes from my father's side of the family which is old Boston, originally from England. Some years ago I learned about Yorks hire pudding and realized that we were having A poor man's version of it. Your origin story is fascinating and makes complete sense.

A funny story - About five years ago, myself and two younger sisters, with each our families, met for a big Roast Beef dinner. One my sisters disappeared at the end of the dinner and returned with a loaf of Pepperidge Farm white bread. With a mixture of interest and horror, our families watched as the three siblings all eea h enjoyed a slice. It was as delicious as I remembered, now with the added jokes about cholesterol.

 

[langod]

All the stuff that my mom made that I really enjoyed I still make and enjoy. My favorite nostalgic meal is
"tuna-noodle casserole." It's really simple. Cook up some noodles. Make a sauce of the following 3 ingredients: Cheez-whiz, sour cream, and melted butter. The ratio was always "winged" or eye-balled. More cheez-whiz if you like it cheesier, more sour cream if you like it creamier. Add tuna fish to taste. Salt and pepper to taste (usually doesn't need salt because of all the salt in the cheez-whiz and butter, lol). Stir to combine, and serve hot. I always ate soda crackers with this meal and I still do. I upgraded the recipe by using pouch tuna instead of the canned tuna my mom used.

Then there is chocolate-ice box cake, which was a recipe from my great-great-grandmother that got handed down to my mom. I'll have to find the recipe and post it here because this is an amazing dessert that's really easy to make.

Oh my gosh -- Tuna noodle casserole! I'd almost fogotten about that! A favorite in my family too. We called it "Tuna Wiggle."
Mom used cream of mushroom soup in place of your cheeze-whiz.

... I haven't had that in decades probably.

 

[DoctorShavegood]

Chicken spaghetti was popular around our house growing up. It was basically a casserole with cheese on top and baked in the oven. Haven't eaten it in 35 years.

 

[Clausewitz]

The Carnegie Deli is closing on 12/31/16 and I miss it already.

Thanks for ruining my day.

 

[Clausewitz]

Bacon noodles - basically it's a brown butter sauce with garlic over pasta of your choosing. With a boat load of bacon mixed in, it's surprisingly good.

cream of chicken & rice - chicken breasts cooked in cream of chicken, sour cream & cheddar cheese served over rice.

I still make the above on occasion but I really need to break out Gmom's recipe book and do the below for Thanksgiving. Everyone would probably really appreciate it

Apple butter - fudge (chocolate & peanut butter) - oatmeal cake - all specialties that my grandmother made for our holiday visits.

 

[Snappy Lunch]

My mother's pasta sauce. It contained the following meats: meatballs, pigs feet, lamb shanks, spareribs, sausage, and braciole. She would brown garlic and onions and put it a huge pot that contained tomatoes. She would then brown the meat and put that in the pot. All of that would simmer for hours.

My grandmother and great grandmother (from Sicily) would also put in ox tails and chicken necks. Good stuff. My grandmother had a large family, six sisters and two brothers. We all lived in the same neighborhood in Omaha. My brother and I couldn't get away with anything, somebody was always watching.

 

[R100]

Ah yes, tuna noodle casserole, that was a staple at our house, too. Cream of mushroom sounds right, not sure. And I recall frozen peas being added. I guess my mother figured there ought to be at least one vegetable as part of the meal.

 

[John Rose]

My favorite nostalgic meal is "tuna-noodle casserole." It's really simple. Cook up some noodles. Make a sauce of the following 3 ingredients: Cheez-whiz, sour cream, and melted butter. The ratio was always "winged" or eye-balled. More cheez-whiz if you like it cheesier, more sour cream if you like it creamier. Add tuna fish to taste. Salt and pepper to taste (usually doesn't need salt because of all the salt in the cheez-whiz and butter, lol). Stir to combine, and serve hot. I always ate soda crackers with this meal and I still do. I upgraded the recipe by using pouch tuna instead of the canned tuna my mom used.

My wife and I have downgraded the recipe to Kraft Dinner and a can of flaked tuna. Maybe some shredded Cheddar on top. We make it when we're feeling really lazy. For some reason though, we have to have pickled sliced beets on the side. It gives the illusion of having a vegetable, and the colour complements the orange of the KD.

 

[jlanger]

Good fresh Liver and onions, with mashed potatoes and mom's milk gravy with it.

Haven't had it since I was a kid as the livers these days are not looking terribly good coming out of cows/deer.

Brown sugar ham/augratin potatoes.

Grandma's potato pancakes. Speaking of lard, this was literaly the only thing other than boiled dinner that she could make and be edible, but no one I know can make them as good she could, all in their greasy goodness, mixed with some real homemade maple syrup, applesauce, and a pickle (I still don't like pickled herring, which is what the "grown ups" would eat) Still makes my stomach queasy with all the grease, but dang were they tasty.

 

[Fgl28]

It is kinda funny how Today's foodies abhor liver wurst but call it pate.......

The Koreans have a Tongue BBQ that I wish I was served when I was a kid.

I miss Swisssteak, mashed potatoes and canned green beans

 

[oldtree]

It is kinda funny how Today's foodies abhor liver wurst but call it pate.......

The Koreans have a Tongue BBQ that I wish I was served when I was a kid.

I miss Swisssteak, mashed potatoes and canned green beans

i miss my mother's swisssteak with garlic mashed and baby peas.