Speaking of food, and granmas. What did your Grandmother fix that was your favorite thing?

[texas1928]

Mine made the best fried chicken, I miss that.

She also made great Scottish Eggs.

I miss her mash potatos and cream gravy, too.

She also made a mean pot roast. Her collard greens were good, lot's of bacon.

She made the best pickles, and pickled okra. She would make a special batch just for me, she would make standard dill pickles and okra, but then put a jalapeno pepper in them for me. I loved those things. She used to pickle watermelon rind for my sister, she would pickle them with red hots.

Thinking about it, I miss a lot of her cooking.

[Parche]

1. Breakfast

She put some different seasoning on fried eggs, and scrambled ones
that were awesome!!
:hi:

[texas1928]

6. Actually my mom's dad made the best breakfast.

He owned a truck stop, and ran the kitchen for years, OH MAN he made the best eggs and hash browns. And he made great bisquits.

I miss him. He was the guy who taught me to be a cowboy.

[Inchworm]

2. Stuffed Cabbage

She called it something else, but I remember it being one of my favorites.

:9

[texas1928]

7. I have heard of it, but can not think of its name.

It is good though.

[dolo amber]

16. My gran too...best cabbage rolls ever

:9

[Inchworm]

38. Golumkis - I'm pretty sure

Yum!

:9

[WCGreen]

109. Gumpki...

That's what my granny called the stuffed cabbage...

[Mezzo]

116. GLUMPKIES. Here's a link:

http://www.tubecodes.com/watch=MmKU3PviSJc

I grew up in a Polish neighborhood. These are what's up.

[miss_american_pie]

137. It's halupki, people

And my gran made the best. :hi:

[many a good man]

145. We called it "Pigs in a Blanket"

even tho twas ground beef.

[Shell Beau]

3. I was lucky enough to know my great-grandmother until I was 18!

She made the world's best banana pudding. No one knows her recipe either. She didn't even know it. Just a heapin' half of flour, etc. Bless her heart. She was one helluva cook!

[texas1928]

8. I knew mine til I was 17.

She never really cooked a lot, but I do remember some how she made great bologna sandwiches. Don't know what was different about her's.

[Shell Beau]

18. We were lucky to have known our great-grandparents for that long.

A lot of my friends grandparents died before my great-grandma did. She was 96 I think. And I knew my great-grandpa until I was 15. I hope I have those longevity genes they had!

[texas1928]

64. On my mom's side they died before she was born.

My Mom's dad was raising his two youngest siblings for a little bit. My Dad's side, I never met them they passed before I was born. My great grandfather on my mom's side died when I was about 5, all I remember was he was a big, gruff man.

[AlCzervik]

4. everything, best macaroni and cheese, she made the best clam chowder with bits of salt pork

seafood newburg, homemade chicken pot pie and all served on my favorite red dishes. I miss my Nana's cooking so much.

[texas1928]

9. I forgot her macaroni and cheese.

It was awesome and you would not want the stuff from the box. Oh and her brocoli and rice casserole, man, you could put some of that on the top of your head and your tongue would beat your brains out trying to get to it.

[sakabatou]

121. Yep, mac and cheese.

[youthere]

5. boiled potatoes (seriously)...

she boiled them in salted water..and then drowned them in melted butter after they were drained, and then topped them with toasted breadcrumbs (browned in more butter of course). She always saved the buttery crumbs at the bottom of the potato bowl for me.
She also used to make spaetzle topped with tons of sweet carmelized onions, swiss cheese and more toasted breadcrumbs.
She made her own sausages and wursts...and even though I've since stopped eating meat, if I had a plate of her Weisswurst in front of me, I'd fall into it, face first.
Grandma's rotkohl was amazing..she'd serve it hot and drizzled with a little bit of bacon grease. She made plum filled dumplings that were gently steamed and then topped with poppy seed and brown sugar ground together (she had a tiny little grinder that clamped onto the table...It looked like something from a play kitchen, and that was always my job while the dumplings steamed...to grind the poppyseeds and sugar together to sprinkle on top).
Her dumplings were the best, she'd boil them and then serve them on a bed of sauerkraut fried with shredded potatoes, onions and apple.
Grandma made black walnut cake so good, that if you took one bite you would slap your mother because she never told you something could taste so good.
She also always made rouladen, and would always make a special one for me with just a little extra pickle inside, and when she made rouladen, she always served it with boiled potatoes.
I miss my grandma...she never hugged or kissed me my entire life (she was your typical old school German-very reserved), but she poured all her love for her family into her cooking...and anyone who tasted it never doubted it for a moment.

[texas1928]

11. Mine were German, Irish, English and Scottish decent.

I get Irish, English and Scottish from my dad's side. And German, French from my mother's side.

The two things I can not eat from my German side, is Sauerkraut, and german potato salad. I never really got hugged by my mom's mom. But my Dad's mom was my main granma. She was Irish, and Scottish. She spoiled all her grandkids rotten.

[grasswire]

12. nice tribute

You don't happen to have her recipe for black walnut cake, do you?

[youthere]

28. Here you go...

It's not exactly the same, as grandma was a "fistful of that" kind of cook...but one of my aunts translated the recipe pretty close. I included her frosting recipe too. Let me know if you decide to try it. It's a lot of work...but really worth it. Also..I've never been able to find square cake pans like my grandma had..I always use round ones and I only make two layers. And my advice would be, do not omit the sifting step, and do not substitute shortening for the drippings. My husband still eats meat, and adores bacon, so I always save the grease.

Ingredients:
1 cup chopped black walnuts meat
¼ cup butter
¼ c. bacon drippings
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
3 eggs, separated
1 tsp vanilla extract (don’t use imitation…omit if you don’t have the real stuff)
3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
pinch ground cloves
3/4 cup buttermilk
½ c. finely chopped nutmeat

Place 1 cup chopped walnuts in boiling water 3 to 5 minutes; drain well and set aside.
Cream butter and drippings; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add egg yolks and vanilla; beat well.

Combine 2 3/4 cups flour, baking powder, salt, and spices; mix well and sift. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix well after each addition. Dredge black walnuts in remaining 1/4 cup flour; fold into batter. Beat egg whites (at room temperature) until stiff peaks form; fold into batter.

Pour into 3 greased and floured 8-inch square cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove layers from pans, and let cool completely. Spread frosting between layers and and frost whole cake. Sprinkle finely chopped nutmeats over entire cake.

Frosting in a jar:

1 cup milk OR mix half milk and half buttermilk
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
Directions
Sift the flour. Pour milk into quart jar with tightly fitting lid and add sifted flour.Shake hard for a minute and a half. Pour into a pan and cook over medium heat stirring constantly, to form a paste that will thicken as it cools. Remove from heat and cover the paste with wax paper so it doesn’t form a skin. Allow to cool completely. Cream the butter and then add the sugar. Mix until it’s completely dissolved. Then slowly add the cooled paste a bit at a time. After all the paste has been mixed in, stir in the vanilla.

[grasswire]

42. you might find vintage square pans on eBay

thanks for the recipe

[grasswire]

128. I cross posted your cake recipe over to the baking & cooking forum

I thought all the cooks over there might like to see it.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=236x42270

[1gobluedem]

10. Pumpkin pie

It was a pumpkin chiffon pie and my grandmother made the best piecrust ever.

She also used to build log cabins out of cinnamon toast; she would cut the toast into strips and build the walls up. We thought that was a huge treat.

[texas1928]

13. Yeah, they know how to do things that make us feel special.

But my wife makes the best pumpkin pie, her pie beats all of them hands down.

[DarkTirade]

135. That's awesome... I gotta learn how to build log cabins out of toast.

Too bad french toast isn't as good a building material... :P

[jpak]

14. Cretons and Tourtiere Pie - the best

Yum...

[texas1928]

15. Never had those, or if I did, I did not know it.

[jpak]

24. French Canadian ground pork breakfast spread and pork pie

seasoned with onions, cloves and cinnamon

"Toochay" Pie has a thick "biscuit" crust.

Yum yum yum

:)

[texas1928]

Ok never have had any of those.

[zanne]

133. Not in Texas, you haven't!

It's French-Canadian food. Or should I say "American French-Canadian" food?

[zanne]

96. Pork Pie and Meat stuffing!

Everybody's pork pie is different, but always sinfully delicious. We used to stuff our turkey with a mixture that was alot like pork pie. I'm hungry just thinking about it.

[zanne]

132. "gorton" sandwich spread.

My husband loves it. It's sold in a couple of corner stores around here. (It must be 90% fat).

[Heidi]

17. Southern-fried chicken, mashed potatoes, blackberry cobbler

with homemade vanilla ice cream. YUM!

[texas1928]

21. OOOHH Blackberry cobbler.

DROOOOOOLLLLL


I found a place here that makes the best. It is not to sweet and not to tart, it is just right.


I may have to go get me some.


My grandmother made the best apricot fried pies. :9

[azmouse]

19. My grandmother was a terrible cook.

I love her. I miss her... but I don't miss anything she ever cooked.

[texas1928]

That was my mom's mom.

Though she introduced me to RC Cola and Moon Pies. She kept them in the fridge.

[Bzzzz]

146. Gawd...does that bring back a memory...

Hubby and I rode our Harley from Indiana to the Tail of the Dragon in Deals Gap, NC. We had been on our bike all day and it was dark and raining when we got there. We were staying in a quaint little resort(Tapoka Inn) and we were late due to the weather. Our supper was suppose to be part of our reservation. When we got there, a little old lady probably in her late '80's greeted us and said she was just getting ready to close for the night. We explained that we hadn't eaten and could we please have our meal. She said the kitchen had closed a few hours before, but if we walked down to the next door outside, she would see that the kitchen would have us something made to eat. Imagine our surprise when we opened the door and on the counter sat 2 Moon Pies and 2 RC Colas!! I cannot stand marshmallows. I was starved by the next morning. It was a lovely resort, very isolated. Our room had no phone, TV, radio...nothing but a bed and bathroom, but we did have a lovely homemade quilt on the bed. We still laugh and reminisce about that trip.

[mondo joe]

20. All her Sicilian food was great, her American food was fair to poor.

She cooked almost every meal of my childhood. Her American food was next to tragic, but her Sicilian food was excellent - any pasta sauce, braciole, fritatta and so on.

[texas1928]

25. Well that was probably what she grew up with.

My Dad's mom made the best Irish and Scottish dishes.

[mondo joe]

43. Totally. But it was weird being the only kid eating old Sicilian lady food when everyone

else was getting McDonalds. So she'd try to whip up American food and it was probably better she just skip it.

[jgraz]

27. BINGO. My grandma and mother were excellent Sicilian cooks. But non-Sicilian food? YIKES

The worst was the still-frozen pork chops baked with Ore-Ida tater tots and two cans of Campbell's Cream of Random soup. :scared:

[mondo joe]

44. ROFL...we could have had the same grandma.

Thanks for the memory!

[Swede]

22. boulettes and rice.

There was some kind of gravy. It was fantastic. We used to call it bullets and rice.

[texas1928]

26. Never had it.

[The Animator]

23. Well both of mine have made dishes that I love.

My grandmother on my father's side makes a phenomenal roast pork. My grandmother on my mother's side makes my favorite food of all time. Pallomia steak. It's a thin cut, breaded steak. freakin' awesome.

[texas1928]

29. My Mom's mom never really was a great cook.

My dad's mom, OH MAN.

[jgraz]

30. Stewed tripe, manicotti and Sunday "Gravy" with meatballs

My grandma was the reason I learned to cook, just so I could have that food once I moved away.

[texas1928]

32. I wish I had gotten some of her recipes.

But never got the chance.

[jgraz]

41. Yep, I've never been able to duplicate her tripe recipe

It was honestly the best thing I've ever eaten.

[mondo joe]

46. Me too. And snails. I remember going with my grandmother to buy snails at the grocery store.

They'd be in a big basket in the produce area and you could always find one or two escaping.

The tripe memory I have is of my grandmother scrubbing it clean and then holding it above her head and saying "Look - a bathing cap!"

[jgraz]

48. Oh yeah, the babbalucci!

From Papa Fraboni's deli:



We'd take them home and put them in water until they came out and crawled around the house. Drove my mother crazy.

[livetohike]

31. Both Grandmas were excellent cooks and bakers

I miss my paternal grandmother's homemade puff pastry filled with apricot or lekvar. It would just melt in your mouth. Both made excellent nut rolls and poppy seed rolls too.

[texas1928]

33. Granmas just knew how to do...

it must me some magical granma power.

[redwitch]

34. The best cuppa ever!

Also, anything she baked was perfection, her pie crusts shoul have had sonnets written to them. Ditto her rice pudding.

That was my maternal grandmother. Paternal grandmother was not such a great cook but her whiskey sours were superb and readily available at a moments notice.

I miss my grandmas.

[texas1928]

49. Never had a real good baker in our family.

My mom makes great bread and rolls. but pies and stuff, they are good, but nothing to write about.

[redwitch]

85. I wish I had paid more attention then.

There is a definite art to a flaky crust that I never mastered. I don't even try anymore. Her Spritz cookies at Christmas were just the right texture, I frustrate myself every year trying to make them but she turned them out by the hundreds with no problem at all.

[stuntcat]

35. chicken and dumplings

it looked like this, mmm numma num :9 It's been decades since I had it but I remember it. I don't eat meat now but I might be temped if it was just like my Grandma's, it would remind me of being at her house. I have food deja-vu a lot.

[texas1928]

50. My Dad makes awesome chicken and dumplings.

He taught my wife, and so now I get the good stuff.

[stuntcat]

79. hahah the good stuff

I can taste it, I swear. I've been hungry every since I saw this thread.

[Critters2]

36. This frozen strawberry salad. She called it a salad, but it was more like dessert.

It was wonderful. My dad recently gave me my mom's recipe box, and I found it in there, labeled "Grandma's Strawberry Salad". Haven't made it yet, but I will!

[texas1928]

51. All southern granmas have an ambriose(sp?) recipe.

You know the fruit and jell-o salad with the marshmellows.

[NV Whino]

37. Donuts and dill pickles

Not necessarily together.

[texas1928]

52. Dill pickles were my granma's specialty.

Loved them.

[Akoto]

39. Pizza Freet.

It's basically just fried dough topped with different things, but I swear, I've never been able to make it like my grandpa used to. I think he first ate it when he was overseas during the war.

[texas1928]

53. Yeah you can never make it the way they did.

[Magrittes Pipe]

40. There are two dishes that really stand out, one on each side.

Both born of the Depression, cheap ingredients prepared simply.

My maternal grandmother browned some ground beef, then put it in a casserole with cabbage, cooked rice, and salt and pepper. She baked it all up till the cabbage was soft and everything had been flavored with the juices from everything else.

My paternal grandmother made a sort of depression goulash out of (again) ground beef, an onion, salt and pepper, and a can of tomato juice. After it had all reduced, it was served with egg noodles.

[texas1928]

54. It is the simplest stuff that is the best.

I never really cared for all this gourmet stuff on the Food Network, but Alton, and Paula Deen, make stuff that is close to my heart. It is the comfort and familiarity of the food.

[MassLiberal]

45. neither of my grandmas liked to cook

nor did my mom. But my maternal Grandma did make shepherd's pie, which I loved, and a creamed fish dish that I only ever had at her house that was delicious. Her scrambled eggs...not so good. :-)
My other grandma made yummy meatloaf, but that was about it. She would usually take us out for dinner when we visited. :-D

[texas1928]

55. My Mom's mom was that way.

the only thing she used to make that was the thing, was Mississippi mud cake. :9

[La Lioness Priyanka]

47. my grandmother could make the simplest dishes the best you have ever had

it didnt matter what she made it was fabulous

[texas1928]

56. Granma's just have the knack for it.

It has to be magic.

[fight4my3sons]

57. my grandma

on my dad's side died when I was 12 of Cancer and since my mom took me to Texas when I was 6 I only got to see her in the summers. I remember that she used to make me Cinnamon and sugar toast and to this day I love cinn/sugar toast.

My Grandmother on my mom's side is still alive. She lives in Texas and she makes Grammy soup. Actually, I think my Grandfather (also still alive after 3 strokes and triple bypass) is the one who taught her to make it. It has chicken and veggies in it. My Granddad makes the best cornbread and peach cobbler. My great-grandmother from Wilson, TX used to make her own sweet pickles and they were so good. She also made the best corn bread and fried okra.

[texas1928]

60. Great grandmother was not far from me.

My granma canned all the time, they had a HUGE garden. And we never had to buy a lot of vegetables, always had stuff from them.

[fight4my3sons]

75. I just noticed where you are from.

My grandmother and granddad live in Lubbock. My mom grew up there. My grandparents have lived in the same house for probably 55 years. My mom and uncle went to Tech. I lived in Midland for part of my childhood (born in NY though).

My great-grandmother had a big garden also. She canned everything! She gardened until she was well into her late 80's. She died at the age of 96.

[NewWaveChick1981]

58. My grandmother was a horrible cook... BUT...

...there were two things she could actually do very well. One was cheese biscuits (exactly like cheese straws but they were round) and the other was country style steak. :)

[texas1928]

61. Well some had their faults but they all made up for it in ways.

My mom's mom could not really cook, or choose not to. But she did clue me into the wonders of RC COLA and Moon Pies.

[TrogL]

59. Cherry cheesecake

[texas1928]

62. We weren't fancy...

My Mom's mom it was Mississippi Mud Cake, and my Dad's mom it was peach cobbler.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

63. My momma was so old it was she who made grandma-ish food. Lots of it.

But my favorite was this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tortilla_de_patatas

[texas1928]

65. Looks interesting

Would like to try some.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

68. I highly recommend it. Do try it -- it's hardly rocket science to do.

I've made it myself a number of times, and it came out tasty every time.

[Maestro]

66. It was a dish that came from our descendants in England.

My family called it pasti or pastie. I am not even sure how to write it, but it is basically ground beef, potatoes, onions and spices wrapped around a pie crust I think. My wife now makes it and she rivals my grandmother's version. Delish!!!!!!

[texas1928]

67. Sounds like a form of Shepherd's Pie.

I may be wrong.

[Maestro]

126. Thanks

I am going to investigate this.

[Maestro]

141. You are right.

The Cornish Pasty is sometimes called the Shepherd's Pie.

[NashVegas]

77. Cornish Pasties

I had one when I was over there a few years ago. Didn't really care for it because of the potato / onion combo.

[Maestro]

125. Thanks.

I am going to look into this more.

[Maestro]

142. Thanks for the lead on this.

My mom's mom's side of the family is from Redruth, Cornwall, England and after looking at some of the recipes for Cornish Pasty this is exactly what my family makes. It also makes sense why my family has this.

[Mezzo]

69. Sour Beef and Dumplings, the BEST German Potato Salad You EVER tasted

and all things Thanksgiving. My grandmother Milly is still with us, and she is the only grandmother I have ever known. She is an amazing baker too, everything from scratch.

She had eight kids in her house, and my pop pop was a plumber, so she had to learn how to make it for the masses, and make it on the cheap.

Now she doesn't know how to cook for a small group, and neither do I. :)

Her daughter (my mom) is a terrible cook because she always had my grandmom to make everything. (aside: my Mom is still a vibrant, brilliant, and witty woman, and she did learn a dish or two over the years, but the culinary took a back seat to the books for her)

[texas1928]

72. My granma could not cook small either.

I think it was the large families they grew up in.

[Mezzo]

87. Yep...we're catholic

I had long standing joke that you could *probably* come to one of our family functions, just say you're (insert the first name of your mother here)'s (son or daughter, or boy or girl) and get by just fine.

And a few years later, some lady did EXACTLY that. No I am not kidding. She didn't have a tribe and wanted to belong to ours so she started comin' around, and everyone calls her our "cousin" now. lol I swear to Gawd I am not making this up.

[Fox Mulder]

70. My grandma couldn't cook.

My grandpa did all the cooking.

I loved his beef jerky and his stuffing. Mmmm...I can taste them now...although it's been four years since I've had them. :(

[texas1928]

73. My granpa made the best breakfast.

I loved his scramble eggs.

[Mezzo]

78. OMG!! The STUFFING!

To this day, they can keep all the fancy oyster stuffings (each year I try one other, along with grandmom's staple sausage celery sage stuffing) That stuff smells like home each time I make it.

Yanno, truth be told, we can learn a lot about people by the food they like. When I was little and in day care, they had a picnic, and I was asked if I wanted potato salad. I told them how much I liked potato salad, and when my teacher returned with a plate full of american potato salad, I could say, "It's yellow". It's so silly, but to this day, it is how I describe cognitive dissonance with disappointment. hee hee!

[riona]

71. My grandmother was something else

There were three possible scenarios if she did step into the kitchen - you wish you ate somewhere else, you went into hysterics at some of the unbelievable stunts she pulled, or you called the fire dept.

[texas1928]

74. Well not all of us could be cooks.

Now give me a grill and I can make you drool

[NashVegas]

76. It Wasn't What She Made, So Much as When

My cousin and I had a ritual where, every year at Christmas eve, we would attend midnight mass and then stop at a famous local hot-dog joint for take-out. When we'd get them to our grandmother's, she'd have *real* hot cocoa waiting for us.

I haven't been to church for anything other than weddings, for decades, but I miss our Christmas eves. :cry:

[texas1928]

82. Yeah I miss some of our traditions we did around the holidays.

they are cherished memories.

[CTyankee]

80. What are Scottish eggs? n/t

[texas1928]

83. These...

http://www.glasgowguide.co.uk/scottish_recipes_Scotch_Eggs.htm


They are GOOOOOOOOD

[CTyankee]

88. Oh dear.

I was born and raised in Texas and my people are part Scot but I never had that!

We had fried chicken with cream gravy, chicken fried steak, turnip greens with pot likker and cornbread, boiled okra (which I still love slime, hair and all!), peach cobbler, ham steak with red eye gravy.

I cook none of those things now, though.

[texas1928]

91. Don't know what you are missing.

They are good with beer.

I love me some chicken fried steak. Boiled okra EH... but fried okra... :9

[CTyankee]

99. Well, actually, no.

I'll be going to the two top culinary regions of Italy in May: Emilia-Romagna and Piemonte. So far the best meals I have ever had have been in two little Tuscan towns, Lucca and Montecatini. And some great food in Rome,just by going out and walking around and just walking in some trattoria.

This is my "thing" now and I've never had a bad meal in Italy, unlike here in the U.S. I just wish we had the respect for food freshness and devotion to good taste in food here...

[flvegan]

81. Fish 'n chips

Truly Brit style, too. Oh, man...the house stank, but man was that good!

[texas1928]

84. My granma would make homemade sauerkraut...

You could smell it a block away.

[cmf]

86. Oh man

One of my grandmothers is still around. My favorite thing of hers were her pancakes. Soooooo good, because she made them from scratch, not from a mix like my Mom or other grandmother. Other than that, my favorite things of hers was her baked macaroni and cheese and her homemade rolls. For a Southern lady, she cooked pretty healthy though. Which equals not memorable in general.

My other grandmother made all sorts of down home Creole stuff that makes memories. I miss all sorts of her food. Fried chicken, gumbo, sauce piquant, fig pie, coconut cake and pound cakes were my favorites. Man, could she bake.

My mom's been gone a while and I miss some of her food too. Her fried shrimp and catfish were the bomb. And she made pralines every Christmas that everyone misses. After she died, we scoured the house for a recipe for the pralines and couldn't find one. :( She never wrote it down, so now it's gone forever.

[texas1928]

89. A southern granma cooking healthy???

WHAAAA


:wow:


Hey, it was healthy, I mean as much as we did outside, and played, and ran, and got into stuff. We could eat anything, we burned it off.

[hippywife]

90. Both of my grandmother's were excellent cooks.

I spent more time with my paternal Italian gran all my life until she died when I was 36. I was so incredibly blessed (and I never use that word!) to have her in my life as long as I did. She and I spent a lot of time in the kitchen together so I learned by watching and doing, not by recipes. To this day, everything I make I eyeball the ingredients, except when I'm baking and even then I do a lot of deviation from recipes. She never cooked fancy, just typical peasant fare, but it was always delicious! Even as arthritic as she was, she baked so many different kinds of cookies at Christmas, it puts me to shame to this day. I have her cookie recipes, just written in her hand in a steno notebook, that is my most treasured possession. So the best thing she every gave me, besides her unconditional love, a whole lot of laughter, and a lifetime of wonderful memories was confidence in the kitchen.

My one funny memory was one of the many times I spent the weekend with her when I was very, very young. I asked for French toast for breakfast, something she had never fixed me before. I didn't watch her fixing it. I took one bite and spit it out...it tasted horrible. She fixed it the way she normally did for grandpa, putting parmesan cheese in the egg batter. She never anticipated that I would put syrup on it. We totally crossed wires on that one! LOL

I didn't spend much time with my maternal gran. She was a southern cook and I do remember one thing she made once when spending time at our house when I was a teenager and my mother was undergoing treatment for cancer. She took a roast (what type I don't recall, may have been chuck) and cut tiny holes into it. In each hole she put a clove of garlic and seasoned it with just salt and pepper. She browned it well in melted suet in a cast iron skillet and then put it in the pressure cooker. Best piece of meat I've ever had, before or since. We no longer eat much meat at all but if we did, I'd try to duplicate that particular recipe.

[texas1928]

92. Oh yeah, pot roast with garlic stuffed into it.

:9

[hippywife]

93. I think it was that

and browning it in the suet that really gave it so much flavor. Really incredible!

[easttexaslefty]

94. gumbo

Stuffed green peppers
red gravy {spaghetti sauce]

[texas1928]

95. Never had one that could make good gumbo.

But my parents made a good gumbo.

But it has to have okra in it.

[easttexaslefty]

107. Must have okra

My maternal grandma was sicilian born in New orleans. She could cook now. Boy I miss her!

[matcom]

97. she fixed the dog

:cry:

[texas1928]

100. I bet it was good though.

[Orsino]

98. Sweet 'tater souffle, with marshmallows on top.

My grandpa grew them, and she baked 'em. Mmmmm.

[texas1928]

101. Bet it was good.

I like my mom's Festive sweet potatos, have it every year at thanksgiving.

[Vinca]

102. I loved my grandmother dearly, but she was the world's lousiest cook.

Whenever a new prepackaged food appeared in the 1950's, she stocked up on it. I remember horrid pie crusts made from grayish sticks of claylike glop you mixed with water and Shake and Bake for chicken that tasted like a strange chemical stew. To her credit, she made great baked beans from scratch . . . every Saturday. I really miss her.

[texas1928]

See she fixed something that you liked.

[texas1928]

104. Damn finger spasms.

[SallyMander]

103. Monkey bread!

:9 *drool*

[texas1928]

105. Looks like sticky buns.

[Darth_Kitten]

106. Polashinta

Don't know if that's the spelling, but it's Hungarian for crepes. :)

Also, homemade chicken soup, hungarian goulash, rice pudding.

[texas1928]

108. I've had crepes....

They's pretty good.

[grasswire]

127. palascinta (I think)

something close to that.

[Darth_Kitten]

136. Thanks, never spelled it, just ate it. LOL

:D

[Rowdyboy]

110. Freshly grated coconut cake.....it was awesome

She gave my mom (her daughter-in-law) the recipe years ago but "accidently" left one ingredient out so the recipe was never quite as good. After her death we found her "real" recipe and uncovered her secret.

[texas1928]

111. Sneaky.

[ordinaryaveragegirl]

112. Homemade Key Lime Pie.

She hand-juiced the Key Limes (which took forever), and made a buttery, real graham cracker crust. And she made the sweetest, fluffiest meringue I've ever tasted - it was always toasted just enough, nice and golden. I've never had a Key Lime Pie as good as hers, anywhere. It was absolute perfection.

[texas1928]

113. I have never had one at all.

I always wanted to try one.

[applegrove]

114. Mine made bran cookies. They tast like sweet muffins and were full

of walnuts and raisins. Nothing was ever better fresh out of the oven than granny cookies.

[texas1928]

115. Yep.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

117. Tang. No, I'm serious.

It was really good at her house.

[Onlooker]

118. Banana bread, but later on I discovered it was overrated ...

... there are better recipes on the web.

Still the thought of grandma's banana bread makes me smile.

[S n o w b a l l]

119. Blackberry cobbler...

And many other things...she was excellent cook and fortunately passed it down to my mother who's taught me....but, I'm not half as good.

[harmonicon]

120. lots of things

my first thought was these little pecan pies that she called taffy tarts - amazing things. but loads of other stuff.

her stuffing was the best - supposedly my mom and I both make it the same way grandma did, but it's just not as good.

All of her pies were fantastic, and so were her pancakes..... the best.

Also, really really good strawberry jam. To be fair, I can't tell the difference between what she made and how my mom makes it. Really it's no secret - you just need good strawberries. Once or twice a year, we'd go to this place in the middle of nowhere and pick up, literally, pallets of strawberries to make strawberry jam for the year.... or years. Canning was big. She made really great bread and butter pickles, and some sort of green beans with a cheese sauce.

The strangest thing is probably also the easiest: oyster cracker's backed with oil and spices. They're meant to go into oyster stew that we had at christmas, but I don't like oyster stew - I would just eat pounds of the crackers.

[yellowdogintexas]

122. Fried Pies. She even sent me a box when I was away at school

also green tomato ketchup and Brazil Nut Chocolate cake, and boiled custard

my other grandmother made tons of goodies @ the holidays, she was Norweigan and made a lot of traditional treats ...and she made a mean steak too.

My great aunt made the best biscuits

my mother made the best pies

[femmocrat]

123. Chicken soup with home made noodles.

She made the world's greatest chicken soup..... I always used to ask her if she would make it for my wedding. Unfortunately, she didn't live that long.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

124. Best. Kreplach Soup. Ever.

[Adsos Letter]

129. Oh yeah...

Grandma #1:

Roast Beef, Mashed potatos, gravy, peas w/pearl onions, green beans, Pecan pie...


Grandma #2:

Cornish Pasties from an old, old family recipe...and hot english tea


:9

[elleng]

130. Chicken soup!

Rarely find comparable one now, and realized some time ago that 'special' ingredient was dill.

That's my mother's mom; my father's mom died in 1918 flu epidemic, so my dad's father raised the crew of 5. Have cabbage soup, from that side.

THANKS for this great thread!

[michaz]

131. Donuts. I loved to sit and chat with Gramma while she made

these. I can still feel the excitement waiting for her to take them out of the grease. They were the best. The most significant part, now looking back on it, was the time we spent talking and laughing while waiting for the donuts to finish. Gosh, I really miss that!

[laylah]

134. Almost anything she made; however,

my favorites were the homemade beef and noodles and fresh apricot pie she made me every time I hitchhiked home from Colorado to Illinois. Oh, then there were the kippered herrings...soaked overnight in water, sauted in butter for breakfast the next morning. Her yorkshire pudding and hard sauce. MMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmm...she was quite a cook.

[annonymous]

138. Poppy seed cake and homemade sweet pickles

My father's mother was from Poland and didn't speak much English. She died when I was 11 so those two foods are the only things I remember her making.

My mother's mother was a good plain cook. My family always spent Thanksgiving dinners at Grandma's until my grandmother died when I was 15.

[WinkyDink]

139. Lasagne. And iced cake-y cookies she called "knots".

[grannylib]

140. Both of my grandmas were wonderful cooks; Norwegian and

some German food, but mostly Norski and plain but tasty standard American fare - homemade bread, garden veggies, pot roast, egg noodles, etc.

I remember the holiday stuff most: krumkake, sandbakkels, kringle, rosettes, lefse, and the best meatballs in cream gravy...
Never did go for the lutefisk, but all of my grandparents and both my parents like the stuff.

[amitten]

143. Fried chicken. And she was the best cook in the world. n/t

[puerco-bellies]

144. Simple refried beans, with hand made tortilla and sauce from chiles she crushed herself

She also made a mean pot roast and mustard greens with home made rolls she called bolitos. And when we had tummy aches she would brew us mint tea that alway seem to grow at her and our house. She used aloe vera, yucca teas, and many other potions. On drive with my grammy we could at any time pull over for her to collect some plant or other.

[ChazII]

147. Fried chicken. n/t

[wain]

148. Floating Islands

n/t

[Bombero1956]

149. basic breakfast food

my grandmother on my mother's side made the best oatmeal I ever had. God I miss her food. She also made farina and at Christmas she made Candied Coconut Rice with raisins.