Moms old recipes/meals

[MichaelB]

My mum always had a vegetable garden and canned many of the veggies we ate. Her pasta sauce was always made with her home made canned tomato juice. It wasn’t until I went to college that I realized just how delicious it was and how much a difference it made.

 

[CardsFan]

Both Mom and Grandma were good cooks. Nothing fancy, just good home cooking.

Two things they made come to mind: Green Tomato Piccalilli and Bread and Butter pickles. Dad would hit the wholesale market in South Boston and bring home a bushel of green tomatoes and cucumbers (not at the same time). Old fashioned hand grinder and slicer.

Every once in a while I find a Farmer's market that has something close, but never as good.

 

[Stormy Kromer]

My grandma made the best lefse in the USA, maybe even Norway. She taught my mom and hers was just as good.

 

[pacergal]

Many good meals listed here! Some I also remember from both Mom and Grandma.
Thanks for sharing.

 

[Born2BRetd]

My mother would roast a leg of lamb with small potatoes nestled next to it. The potatoes would cook in the drippings and develop a beautiful fried exterior with a creamy center. Everything was topped with a delicious gravy.

Mom is still alive but no longer cooking. One of the reasons she stopped making it is they stopped selling American lamb and she didn't care for the imported Australian lamb.

I'd love to have this dish again but even though we cook a lot I haven't attempted to make it.

 

[Walt34]

The stuff of family lore is Grandma's chicken pot pie. There is no recipe; Grandma used the TLAR (That Looks About Right) method of cooking and despite several people watching carefully and taking notes as she proceeded no one has ever been able to duplicate her efforts. The world suffers the loss.

My all time favorite dessert was and is cherry dumplings. A fairly quick and easy recipe consisting of dumplings and two or three cans of cherries with copious amounts of sugar. Alas, since I can no longer eat anything with gluten in it, that had to go from my diet along with a lot of other favorites. I am still in mourning.

 

[REWahoo]

The stuff of family lore is Grandma's chicken pot pie. There is no recipe; Grandma used the TLAR (That Looks About Right) method of cooking and despite several people watching carefully and taking notes as she proceeded no one has ever been able to duplicate her efforts. The world suffers the loss.

Brought a smile to my face.

My mom never used a recipe for any of her "signature" dishes. I'll never forget my wife asking her to tell her the ingredients and steps she took in cooking a particular dish. Her measurements were always "some of this and a good bit of that". If questioned on how much a "good bit" was, she'd say, "oh, a right smart."

 

[braumeister]

T no one has ever been able to duplicate her efforts. The world suffers the loss.

That reminds me of another great loss. A few blocks from where I grew up in Brooklyn was an old fashioned delicatessen run by a German couple. One of their signature items was the best baked beans anyone has ever tasted. Made by the wife at home and brought over to the deli already made, so nobody ever saw exactly what she did.

Nobody ever learned the recipe for those beans, and she took it to her grave. I've tried every possible recipe and eaten baked beans all over, but nothing has ever come close. A great tragedy. I would give a lot to be able to duplicate that one.

 

[MarieIG]

My mum always had a vegetable garden and canned many of the veggies we ate. Her pasta sauce was always made with her home made canned tomato juice. It wasn’t until I went to college that I realized just how delicious it was and how much a difference it made.

Oh yes. My father grew vegetables, with tomatoes being his favorite. There was no comparison to the store bought. We had fresh salads and a lot of homemade tomato sauce. We also gave away bags full to neighbors, which were happily accepted.

 

[Sue J]

I make my mom's chicken soup. Chicken thighs, celery, carrots and parsnips, salt and pepper. And if I have the stuff I need I make matzo balls, if not then I use oyster crackers.

This will cure just about anything. It's even better the next day.

When our daughter-in-law gave birth to our grandson last year she asked me to make this for her for when she came home from the hospital. She's Chinese and a much better cook than I am! Her asking me to do this got me all verklempt. I was very honored.

 

[Badger]

From what I remember my mother was just an average cook. I think she may have learned by reading "The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cook Book" or something similar. When you are young you eat what is put before you. I think after many trials she finally learned how to make real Maine molasses baked beans that my father used to make (Bean Hole Beans) when he was young and worked in the logging woods of Maine. Saturday was always molasses baked beans and brown bread night.
I remember she made great Popovers too like you get at Jordan Pond House in Acadia Maine and also Angel Food Cake.

Cheers!

 

[CincyDave]

Mom was a great cook. Some of my favorites I remember were spinach and pork sausage ravioli, sauerbraten, and pecan pie. I do have to say I like my goetta better than hers. I use a lot more spices.

 

[pacergal]

Remembering some more of my Moms cooking--some I have made, some I still can't get the recipe right:
Hot German potatoe salad, Glorified Rice

home canned vegetable juice, pickles, peaches, pears, apple sauce and apple butter

Mom was a big baker. Growing up Thursdays was bake day for the week--loved coming home from school that day!: pies, cakes, cookies, home made doughnuts, cream puffs, chocolate eclairs.
Both Grandmas and Moms big yeasty cinnamon rolls were to die for!

No wonder I have always had a sweet tooth

 

[ncbill]

I wish my mom had been a good cook since I could have learned from her.

I'm glad my wife ( a good cook, but not quite as good as her mother) taught our kids how to cook.

 

[CRLLS]

This reminds me of the recipe passed down from generation to generation about cutting off the end of the ham. It was a good story when I first heard it.

 

[old medic]

||||| SHUDDER |||||
My mom was the world's worst cook....

My Mother was able to burn water.... My Grandmother on the other hand....
My wife is an awesome cook and has been able to replicate several of her recipes...

 

[Bamaman]

My ancestors were all from the Deep South, and they cooked just like the recipes used at the Old Cracker Barrel Country Store. I don't care if you're from South Carolina or Arkansas, that's how families ate in the 1940's, 50's and 60's. And that's how we eat today.

With my wife in the hospital recently, I've been having to eat out, and the food's been just so unappetizing. I took the 11 year old granddaughter we're raising to the Cracker Barrel the other night, and she inhaled the meal.

When we travel to other parts of the country, we actually have difficulties eating for a fair price. But when we were in Las Vegas a year ago, we found a Cracker Barrel out by the racetrack, and we were good to go.

 

[Venturer]

My DW's mother was a great cook and her bisquits just soooo good. My mother never learned to cook but her mother/my grandmother was also a wonderful cook. My DW has many of her mom and my grandmothers recepe's in a wooden box on the counter. If I come in and see it out I know i'm gonna be in for a treat. She has come a long way from when we 1st married 50 yrs ago.

 

[Time2]

When I was a kid, 55 years ago, my aunt would make from scratch, home made egg noodles, biscuits and gravy. As a 12 yr old, I would eat a dozen biscuits with gravy on top.

 

[oldphd]

There is no recipe; Grandma used the TLAR (That Looks About Right) method of cooking and despite several people watching carefully and taking notes as she proceeded no one has ever been able to duplicate her efforts. The world suffers the loss.

My mother-in-law, who is no longer with us, was born in Italy and immigrated to the US at a young age. She used to make homemade ravioli once a year for a large group. As the years went by, DW and a couple of nieces offered more and more help, it's a big job. But MIL always oversaw the filling and the sauce. Despite writing everything down, and multiple observers over a number of years, it's still never quite the same when it's done by the next generations. Still not bad, though!

 

[ponyboy]

A post in the dining out thread got me thinking about Moms cooking growing up.
One thing my Mom made was homemade ham "pot-pie". It is like a hearty soup with ham, potatoes and pieces of dough that cooks and absorbs some of the delicious broth. (gnocchi comes to mind as something similar).

I have her recipe, have tried to make it, but end up with a doughy mass as the bottom of the pan. Even making it with store bought gnocchi is not the same. So finally gave up and simply remember that meal as one of my favorites! I think it has an Amish or Mennonite origin, as my mom was raised Mennonite.
Luckily, I have been able to make many of her other recipes, but the pot pie is just a delicious memory.

Do you have a favorite "Mom meal" from childhood?
Have you been able to replicate it?

We're from PA and chicken pot pie is a staple here. I have to remind myself that most people have no idea what it is. Its a Pennsylvania dutch thing. Same with shoofly pie, its also PA dutch.

I would also say I remember mom's chicken pot pie. She rolled hers out and cut into large squares. We make it by scooping the flour mixture and dropping it into the boiling liquid. Its really sticky but the hot water makes the mixture fall all the spoon. Im surprised you havent been able to make it...its really hard to screw up.

I have a theory about not being able to replicate recipes. First of all, food is usually better if someone else makes it. You can love to cook but food is just better when you dont have to do anything. The other reason and this is probably the most true, a combination of our memories are terrible and our longing for nostalgia. It reminds us of a parent or loved one, and that automatically makes the food better in our minds. Thats the reality.

 

[folivier]

Your pot pie sounds similar to chicken and dumplings.
My wife makes an excellent pot pie which has a bottom, sides, and top crust like a regular pie.

 

[GaryInCO]

My grandma was a great cook, but she used the TLAR method, so not many of her recipes survived.

My mom was a good cook but nothing really stands out.

I never got married until mid-30's, and she didn't cook, so I taught myself. I ended up specializing in killer desserts (mainly chocolate), which always went over big at the potluck dinner parties my friends threw every month!

 

[marko]

I mentioned on the Dining Out forum that mom just didn't cook and that sandwiches were about the limit of her skill.

How does tartar sauce on Wonder Bread sound for a school lunch?

Yeah, we grew up in restaurants.

 

[HGTVFanatic]

A post in the dining out thread got me thinking about Moms cooking growing up.
One thing my Mom made was homemade ham "pot-pie". It is like a hearty soup with ham, potatoes and pieces of dough that cooks and absorbs some of the delicious broth. (gnocchi comes to mind as something similar).

I have her recipe, have tried to make it, but end up with a doughy mass as the bottom of the pan. Even making it with store bought gnocchi is not the same. So finally gave up and simply remember that meal as one of my favorites! I think it has an Amish or Mennonite origin, as my mom was raised Mennonite.
Luckily, I have been able to make many of her other recipes, but the pot pie is just a delicious memory.

Do you have a favorite "Mom meal" from childhood?
Have you been able to replicate it?

My SIL makes this and gave me the recipe. She uses a leftover ham bone with meat still on it. The dough is biscuit dough from the can and rolled in long strips. Boil the bone in water covered for 1-1/2 hours. Cut meat from bone. Add a sliced onion and potato slices. Cook until potatoes are soft. Drain about half the liquid. Slice biscuits into thirds or fourths. Roll pieces into strips and roll in flour. Throw biscuits into pot and cook 10 minutes covered. Cook another 10 minutes uncovered. You can also add Cannellini beans or cabbage to this.

I think your issue might be adding the dough too soon. Mine have never sunk.