Family Culinary Repertoire

[anotherDan]

My mom was an inspired cook, and she instilled in us a love for good (if not fine) food. All her sons enjoy cooking. I love the old standbys, and we have invented or stumbled upon some keepers over the years that have become new standbys.

Here's my list of standbys. What are yours in your family?

A good old "regular" potato salad. Some hardboiled egg in it. We also have a German style, with bacon.

Spaghetti with meat sauce, real veal parm, egg plant parm, and lasagne. We also do a clam sauce.

chili -- dark red, with beans

"white chili" this is made with white beans, chicken breast, and green chilis and tomatillos

salmon and steak on the grill. We've become fans of mahi mahi (get it at Trader Joe's, frozen, wild-caught)

beef stew and pot roast

meat loaf -- we have a red and a brown

spicy shrimp, New Orleans style (recipe below)

tacos, burritos, home-made flour tortillas. Ground beef is fine, but also crock-potted beef or pork.

_______Liz makes a GREAT salsa

corn cakes (pancakes) with bacon in it and fresh corn. It should go without saying, but real maple syrup is not optional.

We have two distinct favorites of turkey stuffing: my mom's, and my wife's.

_______We generally have one at Thanksgiving and the other on Super Bowl Sunday.

Daddy makes manhattan clam chowder (that's red).

Spicy Shrimp, n'awlins-style

I think the provenance of this recipe is: a chef in New Orleans, H0ward Stein's boss, Howard, D0ug S33d, and now us. We may have mangled the recipe in translation, but it's one of our family favorites, and oft-requested for birthday dinners. (When it's your birthday, you can have anything you want, right?)

Now, you have to trust me and not second-guess me. My brother had his mind blown by this recipe when he came out for Sarah's wedding, but he hasn't been able to reproduce it at home. This is because he's a chef, and he thinks he knows better than I do, so he changes things.

Medium shrimp (about 25-count per lb_) raw, "easy peel", thawed. You can thaw these in water in about half an hour. The easy peel is split up the back, deveined, but with the shells still on. Heads are off, legs are still there.

2 or 3 sticks of butter: melt in cast iron frying pan. add:

a couple of tbsp of cooking oil. This helps the butter to not burn. add:

half a handful of chili powder or more. Don't worry about it. The shells keep the shrimp from absorbing too much heat.

Chili powder is only as good as it is. And it's only as hot as it is. You can find flavorful, non-hot chili powder if you

can't handle spicy. You can use VERY hot stuff, which we like, and once you peel the shells, you're OK. We're always

trying out new sources for chili powder, and have a few favorites. add:

maybe 2 tbsp of coarse salt. The recipe we got said that it's hard to add too much salt. We found out otherwise.

Get the mixture almost smoking hot. Put in the shrimp for just a few minutes. Do NOT overcook or they will be tough and tasteless. We often add more of the butter and other ingredients to the pan if we're cooking a lot of shrimp. Don't overload the pan with shrimp. Cook in batches. (Batches? We don't need no stinking batches!)

Pour the chili/butter mixture into small bowls. You use this to dip crusty french bread into while you're eating the shrimp. This is NOT optional! This is some VERY good "bread and butter." The chili powder sinks to the bottom of the bowl, and if you like it spicier, you dip deeper. You can cover the table with newpaper, and provide a roll of paper towels, and a big bowl for the shells. Beer is good. Fresh corn on the cob is good company. The shrimp is very good.

So what are your "family favorites"?

Edited September 3, 2007 by anotherDan

[Abigail]

Family favorites:

Matzoh Ball Soup!!! (definitely number one on the list - cures what ails you!!!)

Stuffed Cabbage

Potato Latkes

Noodle Kugel

chopped liver

REAL corned beef sandwhiches :) (no sauerkraut and salad dressing - use cole slaw instead!!!!!!!)

Grandma's homemade fudge

chicken and rice stew

chili

rice pudding

Noodle Kugel - if you have kids (or grandkids ;) ), they will LOVE this

0

Cook up a bag of egg noodles

Mix in a large container of cottage cheese

3 - 4 eggs (I like mine on the eggier side)

throw in brown sugar and cinnamon (I guess on these, like most ingredients - mabye 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/8 - 1/4 cup sugar

raisins - you can NEVER Have too many raisins!!! buy a big box and use at least half of it

Bake in the oven on 300 for about 1 1/2 hours

Let it cool and set for 15 - 20 minutes

EAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Shellon]

Some of the yummies my brothers and I grew up on and still cook for our own families

Meat 'n tators. Usually a pot roast with mashed tators and a veggie

Venison, a Michigan staple! :)

Goulash, made with elbow noodles, ground beef (I use turkey for my family), tomato's, green chili's, onions. Often served with boiled tators.

Fried chicken!

Liver and Onions, although I can't seem to get my own kids to eat it.

Wilted Lettuce

Cucumbers and Onions in a great vinegar liquid

Smelt

Morel (sp?) mushrooms

Chicken and dumplings

Home made pies

[doojable]

Spaghetti and meatballs - with angel hair pasta

Baked Ziti, Lasagne, homemade ravioli

Minestrone

Beef stew

Chicken noodle soup - sometimes with little meatballs in it.

Steak with lemon served with tomato salad

potato salad made with red potatoes

chickpea stew with dumplings

I'll post a recipe later - there are quite a few of these posted already.

[Abigail]

Cucumbers and Onions in a great vinegar liquid

Smelt

Morel (sp?) mushrooms

Shellon!!!!! I forgot about the cucumber and onion dish. That is a MUST at every family gathering for us!!! I thought we were the only ones who made that!! How funny - now I know what to make the next time we get together. :)

Smelt! Oh man, I haven't had smelt but once or twice since we left the U.P.!

The Morels you can keep though - YUCK!! My mom and step-dad used to go morel picking. Watching all the bugs drop off as they cleaned them left me so ill that I could never even bring myself to taste one.

[Shellon]

Ha, yeah, the bugs are kinda nasty and if one doesn't find enough for a meal on a picking outing, they are way too expensive to buy now. This last spring they were going to 60$ a pound, GAK!

But oh so good when cooked like my mama does em.

Smelt too, a lifetime as a child going smelt dipping with my dad, coming home with barrels of them, getting the scissors and cleaning them, then supper!

AH! So wonderful.

And pheasant, squirrel, duck..........yummy when we knew we'd also hunted them ourselves.

[anotherDan]

Abi.... Sushi's sausage gravy doesn't make the top list? :huh:

My mom used to make cucumber / onion salad, too, with vinegar, salt, and sugar. Sliced the onions and cukes very thin... better the next day!

I forgot one of our real favorites: Stroganoff with egg noodles. I tried what turned out to be an outstanding recipe for this while looking for something to make with the finest cuts of venison I got one year. The recipe is from the New York Times Cookbook.

[Abigail]

Sushi's sausage gravy is a "Greasespot Gathering" favorite, to be sure. It is definitely a Jacob favorite as well. But sausage gravy was not a food I grew up with, in fact I think I only ever ate it once before I met Sushi.

As much as I enjoy it, I part-take of it very seldom as it is not so good for the arteries. :)

Ha, yeah, the bugs are kinda nasty and if one doesn't find enough for a meal on a picking outing, they are way too expensive to buy now. This last spring they were going to 60$ a pound, GAK!

But oh so good when cooked like my mama does em.

Smelt too, a lifetime as a child going smelt dipping with my dad, coming home with barrels of them, getting the scissors and cleaning them, then supper!

AH! So wonderful.

And pheasant, squirrel, duck..........yummy when we knew we'd also hunted them ourselves.

I remember going smelting a time or two as a kid! I remember catching a snapping turtle once while doing it, too!!

My mom and step-dad used to hunt pheasant dear, but hunting is something I never developed a "taste" for.

[anotherDan]

Noodle Kugel - if you have kids (or grandkids wink.gif ), they will LOVE this

0

Cook up a bag of egg noodles

Mix in a large container of cottage cheese

3 - 4 eggs (I like mine on the eggier side)

throw in brown sugar and cinnamon (I guess on these, like most ingredients - mabye 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/8 - 1/4 cup sugar

raisins - you can NEVER Have too many raisins!!! buy a big box and use at least half of it

Bake in the oven on 300 for about 1 1/2 hours

Let it cool and set for 15 - 20 minutes

I'd like to try this one, Abigail. Is it a Jewish thing? Is it supper or dessert?

[Sushi]

I'd like to try this one, Abigail. Is it a Jewish thing? Is it supper or dessert?

All depends on the raisin percentage, ADan. Less raisins, supper. More raisins, dessert.

[Sushi]

***ABIGAIL here posting on Sushi's puter**********

It is a traditional Ashkenazi Jewish Holiday dish. But I say, supper, lunch, breakfast - it has all the basics serve it when you want. :)

Oh yeah, another childhood dish that I just loved - kid friendly

Mix sour cream and sugar until you have it nice and sweet. Add a bunch of sliced bannana. Oh man, makes a yummy lunch or desert. :)

[doojable]

Abi are you sure you weren't raised in New York?

My Jewish friends used to talk about sour cream and bananas all the time.

[Abigail]

I wasn't, no. But my family all landed in Yonkers when they came to the U.S.

[doojable]

I wasn't, no. But my family all landed in Yonkers when they came to the U.S.

Oh geez! Someday I hope to be able to tell you in person a story involving a person who could not say, "Yonkers."

[ChasUFarley]

Mac 'n' cheese

American chop suey

Beans & hot dogs

Crab quiche

Chili (Mathman makes awesome chili)

Beef Stew & buscuits (Chas makes awesome beef stew)

Cubed steak

Potato soup (homemade)

Liver & Bacon

Fish & chips

Steamed clams (or muscles)

Pea soup & cornbread

Seafood Newburg

Grilled steak & baked taters & garden salad

Meatloaf

Baked chicken & stuffing w/ acorn squash

Pancakes (we call them "Oofie cakes" because those were Andreas' first solid food!)

Fluffernutters

[anotherDan]

chas: would you post recipes for your stew and potato soup?

[ChasUFarley]

BEEF STEW

1lb of stew beef or ground beef or leftover steak

3 cloves of fresh garlic - chopped

1 small onion - chopped

1 - 2lb bag of frozen mixed veggies (corn, greenbeans, peas, carrots)

2 med taters - cut in bite size pieces

1 lg can of V8 juice

2 tbsp of A1 sauce (or similar steak sauce)

2 tbsp of cooking sherry

2-3 Bay leaves

1 cup of mashed potato flakes

Spike

Brown the beef (if it's not leftovers) in a skillet with the garlic and onion. Drain grease.

Put beef, frozen veggies, V8 juice, seasonings, etc. in a slow cooker.

Cook for 4-6 hours on low.

About an hour before serving, gradually add and stir in the mashed potato flakes to thicken the stew.

Remove bay leaves, if you can find them.

Serve with biscuits.

================

TATER SOUP

6-8 taters - cut into bite size pieces (peeled or unpeeled)

1-2 cups of mashed tater flakes

1/2 stick of butter

2-3 cloves of garlic - chopped

1 small onion - chopped

1-2 cups of milk (maybe more, if you like your soup thin...)

salt

pepper

bacon bits

cheddar cheese - shredded

sour cream

diced scallions

Boil taters until very soft. Mash with butter and milk. If you like your soups very smooth you can put the cooked potatoes in a blender with milk.

Use less milk if you like your soup thick - use more milk if you like your soup thin.

(If you make it too thin, you can thicken it with the mashed potato flakes.)

Return tater mixture to soup pan.

Saute garlic & onion - add to soup.

Season with salt and pepper - to taste.

I like to make this thick and garnish it like a loaded baked potato - bacon bits, cheese, sour cream, scallions - whatever you like!

[doojable]

Chas - can you post a link to these in the soup thread?

They look GREAT!

[Belle]

Company Chicken (dried beef wrapped chicken in a cream of chicken sauce)

Tacos

Greek Pasta (made with fresh spinach & cannellini beans)

Hummus & Tabouleh

Chicken Nachos

Greek Chicken Salad

Tuscan Tuna Salad

Orange Walnut Salad

Chicken Caesar Salad

Ginger-Lime Salmon

French Onion Soup

Grilled Cheese Sammiches & Tomato Soup

Pick Up Sticks Scallops

Blue Cheese Bulgur Bowls

DANG! Now I'm hungry!!

[Abigail]

OMG!!! CoolChef mentioned cucumber sandwhiches in another thread and it reminded me of an old childhood favorite that I have not had in probably 20 years!!! I'm buying the fixings this weekend

Slice Tomatoes, onions and cucumbers

spread cream cheese on bread

add the veggies, salt and pepper to taste. Oh man - better than a BLT anyday!!!!!!

[anotherDan]

Chas.... thanks for the recipes

and thanks all for the "family favorites" lists.

Man shall not live by bread alone. That would be boring.

[RainbowsGirl]

I Come from Norwegian/English/ French Ancestry; but mostly Norwegian. Sandbakels are my favorite Norwegian cookie. They are pressed into cupcake looking tins and generously seasoned with cardamom. My favorite spice. I could eat cardmom plain out of the jar.

Here are some of the recipes I use:

We traditionally serve our chicken made from seasoned boiled chicken stock. I use Skinless chicken and a hearty rich bouillon. Into the stock we put in the following seasonings and ingredients in amounts to suit your personal taste: onions, chives, celery, and garlic. I put a lot of each in. After it is cooked I remove and debone the chicken. Then I boil Klushi's old fashioned Noodles in the Bouillon. We serve them over mashed potatoes and with biscuits!

Gramma's Pineapple Desert

The crust:

Make a graham cracker crust with 2 cups graham cracker crumbs/ or 14 graham crackers crushed

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter or stick margarine: melted

Mix together the crust ingredient and sprinkle 3/4 of this mixture into a 9 by 13 inch pan. Reserving the remaining 1/4 of the crumbs to sprinkle on the top of the desert.

Filling:

1 10 ounce package of large marshmallows. (not the jet puffed ones..either campfire or generic marshmallows

1/2 cup milk

Melt in a double boiler; then let stand until entirely cooled.

Next fold into the totally cooled marshmallow mixture:

1/2 pint whipped cream - which has been whipped with 3 to 4 Tbs sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract or Cool Whip may be substituted

1 20 ounce can drained Dole pineapple tidbits

1 10 ounce jar of maraschino cherries drained

Spread this mixture gently over the crumb crust and sprinkle with the remaining crumbs. Cover and chill over night before serving

(I am an innovative cook, so I usually add more than is called for or double recipes so if you prefer substitutes as I do at times go ahead...play!)

[now I see]

Another Dan, Your shrimp sounds very good!!!

I make a similar shrimp dish, the method is the same as yours except I saute the shrimp in the butter with lots of cayenne pepper and regular pepper, some salt, and a few squeezes of lemon juice.

They're peel n' eat like yours, and we dip the french bread in the leftover butter mix and then in some sour cream to cool the heat of the cayenne. It is soooo goood!!

Cheers!

[anotherDan]

I'm digging the other contributions too. I love eating in someone else's kitchen! This is a cyber version of that! Yum!

I'm gonna try it your way!

Edited September 8, 2007 by anotherDan

[washingtonweather]

when little - I ate a lot of

Cream cheese and olive sandwiches (green olives)