sharing the fun of cooking, crafting, and other satisfying habits of home
This is possibly the most controversial dish in my father’s family. It was an invention of the days when meat wasn’t to be eaten on Fridays. It seems a little strange to serve rice and cheese as a main dish, but it’s quite similar to macaroni and cheese in that regard. So how is it controversial? I think people either loved it or hated it. Continue reading “Cheese Dish”
This was a dish that was a true favorite of one of my uncles. He says:
I also loved Barbeque pork chops. On our birthdays, Mother would often ask us what we might want to eat for the meal. I very clearly remember Mother asking me one year on my birthday, when I was about 12 or so, what I might want to have for the family birthday meal. I immediately replied, barbeque pork chops. I was quite disappointed when Mother said that it was too hot to have them. I was so surprised to hear that. It had not occurred to me that with the temperature in the 90’s that day, July 12, that working in a hot kitchen cooking meat, in a house without air conditioning, might be a difficult thing.
Today wasn’t too hot to be in the kitchen. It’s spring in Minnesota (or “second winter”) and there are still piles of snow on the ground and the highs are barely above freezing. Having the oven on a long time for a low and slow cook time was just perfect.
My grandma made the best rhubarb pie. The best. It was tart and absolutely full of wonderful rhubarb flavor. No strawberry to get in the way of tasting just pure rhubarb. Or at least I thought it was pure rhubarb. It wasn’t until very recently that I was informed that grandma added something else to her rhubarb pie. Most people are surprised when they hear what it is. Continue reading “Rhubarb Pie”
Grandma’s “stuffed hamburgers” were remembered fondly by more than one of my aunts and uncles. The recipe reads more like a very basic meatloaf mixture shaped into patties and fried in oil on the stovetop. More than one person mentioned how they were the best hamburgers. The handwritten recipe mentions MSG. I didn’t include it. Not because I’m opposed to MSG in principle, it’s just not something we keep on our spice shelves anymore and they were quite tasty without it. Continue reading “Stuffed Hamburgers”
“Baked chili” was a hugely popular dish in my dad’s house growing up. Many here in Minnesota would also know this dish as “goulash” (even though it bears no resemblance to Hungarian goulash). My uncle Mark remembers requesting this for his birthday meal with regularity. There is a bit of disagreement on whether or not the dish contained corn. The most likely explanation is that the recipe lent itself to variation and sometimes it did and sometimes it didn’t. There were also differing memories on the type of pasta used. While the recipe calls for linguine, all of the memories were for small pasta such as elbow macaroni or ready cut spaghetti. Continue reading “Baked Chili”