Food you Haven't Had Since your Grandmother(s) Died

[puff_not_snuff]

My maternal Grandmother passed...well, too long that I care to recall but I think of her often, weekly at least and still get a tear in my eye. Getting to the point, since she died I have rarely eaten perogies which she made en masse (they freeze very well). When I was young and she was still living I certainly took her cooking for granted although I also know she knew I appreciated it. Anyways, I just can't seem to get myself to eat perogies despite Polish places nearby which I know make good ones. The real shame is that I didn't pay more attention to her making them although I was often the one who fetched the piece of Formica in her garage which she rolled them out on. Anyone else care to share something similar?

 

[mikethompson]

. When I was young and she was still living I certainly took her cooking for granted

This is the real tragedy.

When my son was born I decided that I wanted to learn how to make my mother's pasta sauce. I didn't want the recipe - I wanted her to show me how to make it. I took one morning and went over to my parents and made a lasagna, with my infant son in tow.

Now I can make a lasagna almost as good as hers, and I have some great memories of that day when she passes away one day.

 

[puff_not_snuff]

This is the real tragedy.

When my son was born I decided that I wanted to learn how to make my mother's pasta sauce. I didn't want the recipe - I wanted her to show me how to make it. I took one morning and went over to my parents and made a lasagna, with my infant son in tow.

Now I can make a lasagna almost as good as hers, and I have some great memories of that day when she passes away one day.

It's one of the many many mistakes of youth that only time can teach...

 

[mikethompson]

It's one of the many many mistakes of youth that only time can teach...

Like that first bowl of Amphora

 

[Kobold]

I was the same way when I was a kid. I definitely took my grandmother and her cooking for granted. Whats funny is my friends never took her cooking for granted and would all come over or visit her because they knew they would get fed the best food. I can’t bring myself to eat Italian food from restaurants now. I tried for years and used to go to little Italy in baltimore to see if something would come close but nothing did. She had it down to an science. Everything she made tasted amazing. Haven’t had a decent cannoli or sauce in years. Feel like the last scene in Goodfellas sometimes.

 

[huntertrw]

White cream gravy made from the drippings from pan-fried chicken, and spiced with black pepper and salt. I was never particularly crazy about my grandmother's fried chicken, but her gravy...WOW, now that was good! I could (and oten did) make a meal out of just that.

 

[sablebrush52]

My mother could make anything my grandmother could make. My maternal grandparents were bakers and my mother worked in the bakery. The foods my grandmother made were available to me long after her death. And after my mother become too old to cook I made them for awhile but stopped after my father passed away. I can make many of the same dishes, though I haven't done so for ages.

Among the currently moribund foods are Pirogi, blintzes, kreplach, kishke, knishes, borscht, gefilte fish, kugels, and a smattering of other middle European and Jewish foods.

Great food if you are doing a lot of heavy manual labor, but death on a plate for the modern day city dweller.

 

[ashdigger]

Kuchen and stollen

Plus she made homemade fruitcake from scratch including the drunken little fruits.

She was an interesting human, and we rarely got along, she was extremely political, I am not, but she was an exceptional cook.

 

[puff_not_snuff]

Among the currently moribund foods are Pirogi, blintzes, kreplach, kishke, knishes, borscht, gefilte fish, kugels, and a smattering of other middle European and Jewish foods.

Great food if you are doing a lot of heavy manual labor, but death on a plate for the modern day city dweller.

I certainly wouldn't call pirogis death on a plate. Carb heavy maybe but not necessarily high in cholesterol or saturated fat depending on the filling (my Grandmother's were always potato and a scant amount of cheese)- and perhaps if you pan try them in lard or such and even if you do they don't really absorb much fat.

 

[puff_not_snuff]

White cream gravy made from the drippings from pan-fried chicken, and spiced with black pepper and salt. I was never particularly crazy about my grandmother's fried chicken, but her gravy...WOW, now that was good! I could (and oten did) make a meal out of just that.

Is that what some refer to as "saw mill gravy" such as the flavorless version Cracker Barrel churns out?

 

[huntertrw]

Is that what some refer to as "saw mill gravy" such as the flavorless version Cracker Barrel churns out?

Yes, it is, although Cracker Barrel's is sawmill gravy in name only.

While he was still living, Bob Evans (the founder of Bob Evans Restaurants) served up a darker gravy that was simply delicious with their biscuits. Apparently, when he died, he took the recipe with him, as their gravy is now dreck.

 

[username]

My step grandma used to make a really awesome fruit cake soaked on brandy. My mom and I never could duplicate it even tho we had the recipe she used.

 

[AppalachianPipe92]

My grandmother taught my mother to cook. My mother, a professional chef, throws out all she's learned about fine dining to make my favorite southern dishes the way my grandma made em. Luckily my wife, who cooks for me daily, has also learned the art of both fine dining and southern cooking. I'm a lucky (and well fed) man.

 

[woodsroad]

Both my grandmothers were 25 years gone by the time I was born. My mom, though…I’m just glad that I have her recipe box.

 

[AppalachianPipe92]

Both my grandmothers were 25 years gone by the time I was born. My mom, though…I’m just glad that I have her recipe box.

My mother gave her mom's recipe box to my wife. Along with cook books that have been edited and highlighted, and mason jars full of seeds she's saved over the years.
I've wondered how common it was for these things to get passed on.

 

[bullet08]

My grandmother on father's side passed away way before I was born. My maternal grandmother didn't cook much. She had her maids. My oldest aunt on father's side did cook amazing stuff. And so does my mother. Always enjoyed their cooking.

 

[sablebrush52]

I certainly wouldn't call pirogis death on a plate. Carb heavy maybe but not necessarily high in cholesterol or saturated fat depending on the filling (my Grandmother's were always potato and a scant amount of cheese)- and perhaps if you pan try them in lard or such and even if you do they don't really absorb much fat.

Not pirogi, perhaps, but the rest of that stuff? Death on a plate, especially kishke, which is Jewish haggis, or knishes, which if not done correctly can be fired out of cannons to demolish castle walls. I made pirogi with potatoes, sometimes with sauteed mushrooms, onions and a little garlic mixed with a little sour cream, or sometimes other ingredients. When I was in college I would make trays of them to bring to concert after parties. People would devour them like they were the last meal they would ever get.

 

[Rossi320]

Babakia it always reminds me of her never liked potato pancakes or bacon but it is a polish thing

 

[anotherbob]

good cannolis on one side and good Kielbasa on the other.

 

[cshubhra]

For people in NJ. At the Wildwoods Boardwalk there is a shop which sells fantastic Pierogies. After a frolic at the beach and a long walk at the boardwalk they taste out of the world.

Edit : I went to their website and looks like they now have 4 stores and planning to open a fifth

The Pierogie Place

thepierogieplace.com