What's Cooking?

[Johnsfolly]

46 minutes ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

Replace half of that burger with Italian sausage to kick it up a notch....

Great point @rps! I always try to mix a blend of burger and sausage when I make my meat sauce.

[rps]

"I always try to mix a blend of burger and sausage when I make my meat sauce."

As it turns out, I have an Italian sausage red sauce simmering in my slow cooker.

 

[Chief Grey Bear]

I’m not much of a pie maker. I’m not much of a pie eater either. Don’t get me wrong, I love pie, I just don’t eat a lot of it. I don’t eat a lot of any sweets really. And again, I love them. 

I’ve made a couple of pies over the years. Cherry and Apple mostly. But really, my all time favorite ever in the world is Mincemeat. You just can’t have a better autumn/winter pie. 

My grandma Nina, my dads mom, used to make one every Christmas. I think I shocked a lot of adults when a small child went bonkers for mincemeat pie. Hell, there are not a lot of adults that like it. 

So it’s been a few years since I’ve had one. And after a few years of telling myself I was going to make me one, I did! 

Eating this pie takes me back many years. The smell. The taste. The memories. Ronada is not really a fan of this pie. 

And tonight as I was eating another slice after dinner, I said, “ya know honey, I’m kind of sad that you don’t like this pie, but I’m really glad too”. 
And she said, “Why? So you can eat the whole thing?” 
And I just looked at her, smiled great big and said “You do love me don’t you!”

[snagged in outlet 3]

Hmmm.  I thought you would be taller😂

[ness]

@Chief Grey Bear, tell us about the filling please. 

[Chief Grey Bear]

15 minutes ago, ness said:

@Chief Grey Bear, tell us about the filling please. 

Well I cheated a bit and used a store bought filling. 
But if you’ve never had mincemeat, recipes vary, but most have a very earthy, cinnamon, nutmeg aroma and flavor. It’s mostly fruit such as apples and raisins and such.
And it does have meat in it. Some recipes call for suet other have actual meat. Very fine meat not large pieces. But you could have it however you want. 
I highly recommend the brand pictured here if you don’t want to go to the trouble of making by scratch. 

[ness]

1 minute ago, Chief Grey Bear said:

Well I cheated a bit and used a store bought filling. 
But if you’ve never had mincemeat, recipes vary, but most have a very earthy, cinnamon, nutmeg aroma and flavor. It’s mostly fruit such as apples and raisins and such.
And it does have meat in it. Some recipes call for suet other have actual meat. Very fine meat not large pieces. But you could have it however you want. 
I highly recommend the brand pictured here if you don’t want to go to the trouble of making by scratch. 

I’ve had it, but it’s been many years. I like those flavors. That brand looks familiar to me. 

[rps]

Sick wife pasta.

 

[ness]

15 hours ago, Chief Grey Bear said:

My grandma Nina, my dads mom, used to make one every Christmas. I think I shocked a lot of adults when a small child went bonkers for mincemeat pie. Hell, there are not a lot of adults that like it. 

 

15 hours ago, Chief Grey Bear said:

Eating this pie takes me back many years. The smell. The taste. The memories.

Food memories can be some of our strongest. My dad always raved about his Aunt Gertie's mincemeat pie. No other mincemeat pie came close. She died in 1957, and he died in 2004. 

Lot's of food I remember and associate with family and friends: Mom's beef stew and her vegetable beef soup; that fruitcake with bourbon my dad got a few years in a row; Grandma Vi's pancakes, wilted lettuce, and her strawberry rhubarb, raisin cream and custard pies; Aunt Mary's grape leaves with labneh; Aunt Jo's fried chicken; Aunt Maraland's hot cheese dip. Mr. Galvin's hamburgers; Sandra's baklava (no office Christmas party this year, no baklava). 

I think I've planted a bit of a seed too. ness 2.3 remembers me making Bierocks 'every Sunday', 2.1 loves Guinness beef stew. 2.2, who's had stomach issues off-and-on his whole life, has a very short list. It includes spaghetti with regular Prego and meat balls. He feels the need to ask, 'Did you add anything else to this, Dad?' before he eats. He also loves pumpkin pie. 'This isn't sweet potato pie is it???'. Nope, pumpkin recipe is right off the can. 

 

[rps]

46 minutes ago, ness said:

Food memories can be some of our strongest.

Oh yes. Most of mine are not my mother's cooking and the relatives did not live near. The queso I have posted about is one, and the gold standard in my brain as I prepare it now days. Another is Al Saab's tabouli and his wife's green beans and tomatoes stew served cold as an appetizer. A local dairy in Tulsa had a ice cream bar at its front. To this day I can taste their vanilla malt. They used real vanilla and real malt they added in front of you.

Better stop before I fall down the rabbit hole.