food diversity

[flea]

Last night our nearest neighbors came over for dinner - the father was at work late, so it was two women and 4 kids, ages 6-18 months. Went fine, if a bit chaotic, but what else is new, and it was nice to have the company. I had easy-most-from-cans chili and egg noodles, and she brought au gratin potatoes, cheesy bread, and apple slices. All of which were good, but none of which were things I would ever cook for my family. And then I was heating up some leftovers at work just now (yes, I had first lunch at 10am - I'm on the desk 11-1 today, so it makes sense), and several of the housekeeping staff were having lunch. S. was opening two cans of those little Viennese franks, and another woman was heating up what I guess were frozen chicken patties to eat between slices of white bread. I remember having those little franks as a tiny kid - I guess they were easy meat for toddlers? Although I ate a lot of odd things as a kid, thanks to my grandmother - liverwurst, and tomato aspic.

I just find it fascinating what people choose to eat, and how thoroughly dictated it is by family, and culture, and the whole concept of comfort food, food that we like as much for the fact that we've always eaten it this way as for how it tastes. My "comfort food" dishes from childhood - now very rarely made - are tuna noodle casserole with cream of mushroom soup, egg noodles, peas, and NOT crunchy things on top, and macaroni and cheese with elbow macaroni, sliced white American cheese, and cream of mushroom soup. (My maternal grandmother was firmly in the "I hate to cook so I'll do it with canned soup" camp of the 1950s.) What are your family comfort foods?

A much easier morning with Dillo today, although I was up with him at 4 and never really got back to sleep.

Comments

[veejane.livejournal.com]

I remember both of those casseroles in great detail. But I don't generally eat tuna any more, so the former is out; and the latter I make from scratch. So good! So good! So good!

(There must be a reason I switched away from the can approach; probably it has to do with the hothouse-artificial flavor in the can. Or possibly the saltiness; I find a lot of canned soups way too salty these days.)

I do make potatoes au gratin sometimes, or something like it: sliced layers, some cheese, milk, and a stint in the oven. However, my Best Evar comfort food, or anyway something I love a lot, is to slice potatoes (and when I could tolerate them, onions) into the bottom of a pan, perch a couple of chicken thighs and maybe a bit of bacon on top, and roast the whole thing. The potatoes fry/bake in the chicken fat, and are awesome, and except for the slicing the recipe basically involves waiting for everything to come out of the oven.

[forodwaith.livejournal.com]

We make almost the same thing, with the addition of carrots and/or sweet potatoes. The family name for it is "dog food" because it is, no word of a lie, what my late MIL used to cook to feed her dogs.

[casperflea.livejournal.com]

I can't really do much meat any more. Like, the idea of cooking chicken thighs kind of makes me feel ill. So greasy!

On the other hand, I could eat bacon every day. I contradict myself.