Favorite comfort food . . .

[LizzieMaine]

Taste the meat? Just go straight to steak tartare:

When I was six I ate a handful of raw hamburger on a dare from my cousin. Same thing. I drew the line at a spoonful of Alpo though.

 

[Zombie_61]

And let me guess----you want it WELL done too? :doh:
I cringe every time I have a BBQ and someone wants their steak black. :doh: I just did the BBQ thing for about twenty people a few weekends ago and a lot of them wanted it BLACK on the outside and gray on the inside. :eeek:

No Sir, I like my steaks so rare that a good Veterinarian could bring 'em back to life. Unfortunately, in this part of the world there aren't many cooks who know how to grill 'em that way without leaving them stone cold in the center, so I've grudgingly been forced to start ordering them medium rare at most establishments.

When we first started dating, my wife didn't care much for steaks. On one date I had ordered a steak, rare as usual, and when our dinners arrived at the table my wife looked at my plate and asked, "What's that???" She had never seen a rare steak before because her mother (who was otherwise an excellent cook) always cooked them until they were like old shoe leather; that's how my father-in-law liked them, so that's how she prepared them for everyone. Once I educated her (my wife) on the concept of not cooking all of the flavor and nutrients out of them, she came around to the idea that steaks weren't such a bad thing after all.

...On the other side of the spectrum form your mom, my mom's parents had very, very little money...

That was my dad. Born in 1913, his parents died when he was very young so he spent his adolescent years being raised by an aunt, with seven children of her own, on a farm in Nebraska. As such, he learned the value of a dollar and developed a strong work ethic when he was still young, and both served him well throughout his life. Unlike mom, somewhere along the way he did learn to cook--quite well, in fact--and he prepared our delicious Christmas dinners every year when I was growing up.

 

[jamespowers]

When I was six I ate a handful of raw hamburger on a dare from my cousin. Same thing. I drew the line at a spoonful of Alpo though.

Nah, raw hamburger is not seasoned and topped with capers.

 

[jamespowers]

No Sir, I like my steaks so rare that a good Veterinarian could bring 'em back to life. Unfortunately, in this part of the world there aren't many cooks who know how to grill 'em that way without leaving them stone cold in the center, so I've grudgingly been forced to start ordering them medium rare at most establishments.

Cold in the center is fine with me.

 

[Zombie_61]

Cold in the center is fine with me.

Cold is one thing, but I've had a few served to me over the years that were still semi-frozen. :nono:

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I'll take mine pink,juicy and warm..thank you....

 

[sheeplady]

"Like many things, if you keep it simple you can't go wrong"

You are spot on. Yes, complex interesting foods have there place - and (as opposed to my mother) my girlfriend is a talented and always experimenting cook, so I am always eating different and well-thought-out dishes now - but we also still enjoy the simple - everything on my list in my earlier post is regularly eaten in our home.

On the other side of the spectrum form your mom, my mom's parents had very, very little money - just enough to survived - but she has almost no cooking skills. From what she's told me, her mom didn't cook much either, they lived in a city, ate very simple stuff - toast was dinner many nights - and food just wasn't a big deal. They did have enough to eat she said, but it could be rolls with butter, or a sandwich from the local deli (not a fancy deli like many are today, but as she described it, a very frugal affair to serve a very poor neighborhood) or a can of sardines or things like that. Most people in her situation seem to have developed incredible cooking skills just to survive (I just re-read "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" and that woman knew how to make a meal out of nothing), but for some reason, my mom and her mom didn't.

In some cases, cooking and entertaining skills skip a generation. For example, if your mother was a good cook, she tends to do all the cooking so you are never forced to learn (and sometimes too intimidated to try). If your mom is a poor cook, you often learn through experimentation because she never taught you any rules.

My mother and father were poor cooks. Many of my meals growing up were pasta with watered down spaghetti Sauce (to stretch it into something like a soup). If we were lucky, a bit of grated cheese. And boiled vegetables.

When I was 12, I became responsible for making lunches and when I was 14, made all the holiday dinners. I had no place to go but up.

 

[jamespowers]

Cold is one thing, but I've had a few served to me over the years that were still semi-frozen. :nono:

You are going to the wrong places man. :doh:

 

[jamespowers]

I'll take mine pink,juicy and warm..thank you....

All you have to do is get the OUTSIDE of the steak to 180 degrees to kill off any stuff that could get you sick. That is about 3-5 minutes on each side depending on the BBQ grill temperature. It is hard not to get the inside warm that way though.

 

[LizzieMaine]

My mother and father were poor cooks. Many of my meals growing up were pasta with watered down spaghetti Sauce (to stretch it into something like a soup).

We had this at least twice a week, sometimes with tiny bits of hamburger thrown in. We called it "slum."

 

[sheeplady]

We had this at least twice a week, sometimes with tiny bits of hamburger thrown in. We called it "slum."

We called it "slurry." But most of the time it was dinner.

We did eat a lot of ground lamb growing up on a sheep farm, but only a few times a week at most. A lot of Americans eat meat everyday.

 

[Fading Fast]

We called it "slurry." But most of the time it was dinner.

We did eat a lot of ground lamb growing up on a sheep farm, but only a few times a week at most. A lot of Americans eat meat everyday.

To your last point, to some Americans who lived through the depression, eating meat everyday was comforting and a way to put distance between how they were living now and how they struggled during the depression. My Dad would never have put it that way, but to him, a meal without meat was not a meal and I think a lot of that had to do with how they couldn't always afford meat in the depression.

Oddly, my Mom's family who was even poorer than my Dad's in the depression, seemed to have developed a disinterest in food and, to my Mom, bread and a small piece of cheese was a meal even when should could afford more. But I do think her family and its attitude was atypical; whereas, my Dad's was a very common '60s American view of food: meat and a lot of it (subliminally, we are no longer living in the depression).

 

[Zombie_61]

You are going to the wrong places man. :doh:

[huh] This is southern California. You can throw a rock and find good Mexican food, but finding a good steak takes a little more effort.

 

[jamespowers]

[huh] This is southern California. You can throw a rock and find good Mexican food, but finding a good steak takes a little more effort.

That figures.

 

[sheeplady]

To your last point, to some Americans who lived through the depression, eating meat everyday was comforting and a way to put distance between how they were living now and how they struggled during the depression. My Dad would never have put it that way, but to him, a meal without meat was not a meal and I think a lot of that had to do with how they couldn't always afford meat in the depression.

Oddly, my Mom's family who was even poorer than my Dad's in the depression, seemed to have developed a disinterest in food and, to my Mom, bread and a small piece of cheese was a meal even when should could afford more. But I do think her family and its attitude was atypical; whereas, my Dad's was a very common '60s American view of food: meat and a lot of it (subliminally, we are no longer living in the depression).

I can understand that perspective. Growing up I knew families who ate meat everyday. I've also met families where milk must be drunk with dinner, etc. For me growing up, meat we didn't raise ourselves was an exceptional treat. We ate two small hams a year and a turkey (sometimes we had a chicken instead). Hotdogs were a treat, especially if you could have a whole hotdog to yourself, as opposed to cutting it up into pieces. The first time I ate a pork chop was when I was in sixth grade. I didn't have mac and cheese until I was in college.

Different strokes for different folks, I guess. I turned out ok for not having had meat everyday.

 

[AmateisGal]

[huh] This is southern California. You can throw a rock and find good Mexican food, but finding a good steak takes a little more effort.

Come to Nebraska! Lots of good steak here.

 

[AmateisGal]

I can understand that perspective. Growing up I knew families who ate meat everyday. I've also met families where milk must be drunk with dinner, etc. For me growing up, meat we didn't raise ourselves was an exceptional treat. We ate two small hams a year and a turkey (sometimes we had a chicken instead). Hotdogs were a treat, especially if you could have a whole hotdog to yourself, as opposed to cutting it up into pieces. The first time I ate a pork chop was when I was in sixth grade. I didn't have mac and cheese until I was in college.

Different strokes for different folks, I guess. I turned out ok for not having had meat everyday.

I think we had meat for lunch and dinner almost all of the time. And bread. We had bread at every single meal - without fail. I think it's because my Dad comes from an Italian family.

 

[pawineguy]

Nah, raw hamburger is not seasoned and topped with capers.

Yes, I am a meat fan, in almost any form and prepared in any manner except for well done. The caper is a nice addition to many dishes. I was lucky enough to be eating dinner one night with John Ash at his eponymous restaurant, and while he entertained us with many tales that evening, he introduced the group to the deep fried caper... it was a kick that he was on and to this day I can't remember what he served them on top of, but I'm sure I could have eaten a plate of them on their own.

 

[pawineguy]

From my Scottish grandmother, any type of noodle, a heap of butter, a package of cream cheese, salt and pepper. The cream cheese melts in quickly and you have "cream cheese" mac and cheese. Unlike other mac and cheese it doesn't reheat well, but right off the stove it's a treat for me. My family finds it odd because when I make my own homemade mac and cheese, there's onion, hot sauce, dijon mustard, etc... but the simplicity of this dish (and a fair amount of butter) is what I love.

 

[jamespowers]

From my Scottish grandmother, any type of noodle, a heap of butter, a package of cream cheese, salt and pepper. The cream cheese melts in quickly and you have "cream cheese" mac and cheese. Unlike other mac and cheese it doesn't reheat well, but right off the stove it's a treat for me. My family finds it odd because when I make my own homemade mac and cheese, there's onion, hot sauce, dijon mustard, etc... but the simplicity of this dish (and a fair amount of butter) is what I love.

Sounds good to me.