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Grandmom's Home Cooking - 6/1/2011 6:16:36 AM

MasterJohnSteed

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Well, My Grandmother taught me how to cook for a small Army. Well, because she was taught that way. She was taught by her mother and her grandmom how to cook for a family of seven plus three hired hands.

My Grandmother was raised on a farm and died at 102. So there was none of this cooking that they put some thing on your plate that looks like a multi colored dime and charge you 50 bucks for it. No exotic ingredients, no Anthony Bourdain, Julia Child, or Chef Ramsey.

My Grandmother Cooked what is today called either Soul Food or "Classic Southern Cooking"

Recently I have taken what I learned all those years back and have started cooking again

So far, I have made

Chicken Purlio (Rice Cooked in Chicken broth instead of water, Boiled Chicken and Onions mixed in)
Mac and Cheese Pie
Grits
and when I can we are going for the south's Holy Grail Chicken and Dumplings.

What do you cook that you got from your Family?

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RE: Grandmom's Home Cooking - 6/1/2011 6:24:34 AM

pahunkboy

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From: Central Pennsylvania
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I make a good salad, (trust me- you cant buy it that way I make it) and can fry up meat to be just right.

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RE: Grandmom's Home Cooking - 6/1/2011 6:28:26 AM

ChatteParfaitt

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Joined: 3/22/2011
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Nothing, my mother was a horrible cook. She did cook for our family of seven (I have four sisters) but she shouldn't have. As soon as I was old enough I taught myself how to cook and took over for her. My father was most appreciative.

I cook like your Grandma, except I have learned to incorporate french cooking basics (learned from Julia) with healthy heart aspects. My oven fried chicken is to die for, and doesn't have anywhere near the fat and calories of "real" fried chicken.

It's possible to eat fantastic food w/o all the grease and fat and sugar.

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RE: Grandmom's Home Cooking - 6/1/2011 6:38:54 AM

NuevaVida

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quote:

What do you cook that you got from your Family?

I really only knew my Italian grandmother, since my Spanish grandmother lived in Spain and I only met her twice. My Nonna (although we misspelled it Nona when we were kids and it stuck) made the most amazing gnoche I've ever had. The recipe is a family tradition now - all of it made by hand, even the potato pillows. She was also known for her several-course meal. An example of dinner would be a salad, bread, gnoche, some sort of meat, sauteed zucchini, wine, and some sort of cake for dessert. My siblings and I got our love for authentic Italian food for her. And wine

My mother is from Spain and we had a big family, so dinners were served "family style" - a big pot on the kitchen table with a large serving spoon and we'd pass our plates around for helpings. Sometimes it was as simple as spaghetti, other times a big bowl of arroz con pollo, or albonidas, or puchero. Or she'd make a roast and Dad would slice it up on a platter and make the gravy, and the platter would be at center table for us all to dive into.

We were spoiled with good food...I've taken a lot of my mom's recipes and built upon them. My brothers have done the same. One thing's for sure - we had healthy meals and healthy appetites. I admire my mother for consistently serving up a nutritional hot dinner night after night, for 7 people.

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RE: Grandmom's Home Cooking - 6/1/2011 6:50:18 AM

MissAsylum

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Cottage pie. I'm English so this is a serious comfort food for me. When I eat the whole pan, I had to do it to keep from having a mental breakdown.

Or I was really hungry.

Anyway, my version is a little bit traditional in the non-traditional sense. I cook the beef in a small bit of bacon fat, and I put cornbread in the bottom, as a nod to my mother, who is from the south. I make a BANGING cornbread. I also think it helps to round off the dish that it is a completely balenced meal.

Ingredients i use: 70/30 ground beef, bacon fat, brown gravy (from scratch), corn bread finely minced white onions, sugar snap peas, diced carrots, corn ( i either shuck the corn myself, or buy the corn in the can (not creamed, i despise the stuff)), homemade garlic and butter mashed potatoes, and shredded white cheddar cheese. Loads of it.

Its not the healthiest thing, hence i only eat it every so often, but it really makes me happy.

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RE: Grandmom's Home Cooking - 6/1/2011 6:59:22 AM

SternSkipper

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I'm a fabulous cook... the only trait besides being charming to a fault, that I picked up from that dear lady. Oh, that and I know how turn take the largest humans down to their knees in tears by one ear 8-)Course she mostly ended up doing that with my older brother and cousins... We had a treaty. She taught me an interesting approach to cooking. Learn first about the flavors and cooking styles (basically how to heat the food, certain cuts), then h=get a look at the dish you want to replicate, maybe a taste, and have at it.
While I often do a hybrid of that and google an actual recipe, I have almost mastered latin cooking styles and am pretty damned good a asian cookery, Italian ... It's already completely my bitch. my subs have always loved my cooking
But that's really cool you're getting in touch with your family roots through cooking.

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Post #: 6

RE: Grandmom's Home Cooking - 6/1/2011 7:05:46 AM

angelikaJ

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I was lucky enough to know both my grandmothers.
One of them basically boiled everything

except she did have a chicken and rice dish ala Campell's that I liked a lot.

The other one was my mother's mother: Nanny.
I loved her cooking and cooking and baking with her.

I loved that she made all my favourite things and that was easy because my brother was so picky he had very few...and I liked those too.

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RE: Grandmom's Home Cooking - 6/1/2011 7:10:37 AM

LDVixen

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From: Southern CA
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My grandma taught me how to make sausage gravy, fried eggs, bacon and biscuits. Other grandma taught me to make meatloaf, great tacos, chicken pot pie. Mom taught me how to make things like swiss steak, a dish she called hawaiian goulash, and baked chicken. Meals that could feed a large family fairly fast. I love the memories of grandma's house where I would go gather the eggs before breakfast, and then go pick strawberries for later. There is nothing as tasty as a egg cooked within minutes after being laid.

I enjoy making roasts, and I make a really great stuffed pork loin. I learned these myself by not being afraid to try a recipe. I tend to cook easy, comfort food that is easy to get on the table with a minimum of fuss. It doesn't always look fancy, but it usually tastes very good. Still eating on a tri-tip I roasted Monday night. I'll be making either beef and noodles or pot pie with some of it tonight.

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Post #: 8

RE: Grandmom's Home Cooking - 6/1/2011 9:00:29 AM

lizi

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My mother was a minimal cook. She wasn't bad in the sense of making things that tasted terrible, but she made things that didn't taste like anything. She always made some kind of meat...a roast or chicken or whatever, by baking it in the oven with no spices or sauce, and then opened cans of vegetables or made instant mashed potatoes to go with it. Almost every night, the meat and the canned stuff. It was either that or sandwiches and canned soup. We were very poor and never went out either. I somehow knew there was more to it and started cooking exciting things from scratch like ravioli, bread, cakes, and pies. I cooked the entire Thanksgiving dinner for my family at 13, it was the first time any of us had sweet potatoes that weren't canned and stuffing that had'nt come from a box. It a good memory, I was very proud of myself.

She did however have one thing that wasn't her usual throw in the oven or in a pot and it's good and I still make it. She learned it in Home Ec in high school...creamed chicken. It's very easy to make for me, but since her usual efforts were minimal I'm sure this constituted a huge effort on her part. Basically a white (bechamel) sauce with chicken in it served over toast points or rice. In fact it's my youngest son's favorite dish so it lives on in my house on a regular basis when he's home from college.

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Post #: 9

RE: Grandmom's Home Cooking - 6/1/2011 9:10:00 AM

LaTigresse

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Joined: 1/15/2006
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My mother cooked......mediocre, few seasonings beyond salt and pepper.

My maternal grandmother was an okay cook but pretty basic stuff. Midwest farm cooking. It was excellent because she always had excellent ingredients. But still, basic and with few seasonings.

My paternal grandmother was a horrible cook.

I am fearless in the kitchen. I love spices and all sorts of seasonings. I love to explore new types of foods and cooking. I have totally surpassed any other family member in cooking ability and the outcome.

Right now I am building a flagstone patio that will incorporate a stone fireplace, grill, and oven along one side. I cannot WAIT to use a wood fired, stone oven!

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Post #: 10

RE: Grandmom's Home Cooking - 6/1/2011 9:17:37 AM

pahunkboy

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Joined: 2/26/2006
From: Central Pennsylvania
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: lizi

My mother was a minimal cook. She wasn't bad in the sense of making things that tasted terrible, but she made things that didn't taste like anything. She always made some kind of meat...a roast or chicken or whatever, by baking it in the oven with no spices or sauce, and then opened cans of vegetables or made instant mashed potatoes to go with it. Almost every night, the meat and the canned stuff. It was either that or sandwiches and canned soup. We were very poor and never went out either. I somehow knew there was more to it and started cooking exciting things from scratch like ravioli, bread, cakes, and pies. I cooked the entire Thanksgiving dinner for my family at 13, it was the first time any of us had sweet potatoes that weren't canned and stuffing that had'nt come from a box. It a good memory, I was very proud of myself.

She did however have one thing that wasn't her usual throw in the oven or in a pot and it's good and I still make it. She learned it in Home Ec in high school...creamed chicken. It's very easy to make for me, but since her usual efforts were minimal I'm sure this constituted a huge effort on her part. Basically a white (bechamel) sauce with chicken in it served over toast points or rice. In fact it's my youngest son's favorite dish so it lives on in my house on a regular basis when he's home from college.

My mom also was a bland cook. I prefer bland foods. Some people over do the salt- and the like.

(in reply to lizi)

Post #: 11

RE: Grandmom's Home Cooking - 6/1/2011 9:25:00 AM

LDVixen

Posts: 131
Joined: 11/28/2010
From: Southern CA
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I tend to not use a lot of salt, but I use other spices. I once was making chili, and my husband at the time tasted it and complained. He said "It's not spicy enough." Dang it, don't offend a woman in the kitchen. I dumped in about 1/3 of the chili powder can. We ate because we didn't have anything else. It was so hot it nearly melted our mouths. I asked him "Spicy enough?" He nodded, "Yes, thank you." We both had tears coming down our faces.

Also been known to dump the entire dinner in the sink when someone ticked me off over the way it was seasoned. Thankfully I don't do that anymore, my temper has mellowed.

I spice to the taste method, and now am the first to admit, "This didn't work as well as it should have. What does it need next time?" I like making soup, especially bean soup and cornbread. Grandma used to make a pot of bean soup once a week. Again, you use the to taste method, just adding a dash of this and a dash of that, and a dash of something else until it smells right.

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Isn't it obvious that cats are the true Dommes of the household? Mine can motivate me to do her bidding with a look.

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RE: Grandmom's Home Cooking - 6/1/2011 9:28:51 AM

LadyConstanze

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My grandma was Italian and thought no education is complete if you don't know how a dish is made (part of her education - another generation - was to learn all this so you could grill anybody who applied for the position of cook in your household), I didn't cook for ages as I was quite busy living out of a suitcase most of the time, now that I'm more stationary and don't call hotel rooms and planes home anymore, I love cooking and experimenting, about twice a month I go all out and make a several course menue (nobody allowed in the kitchen while I cook) where we invite friends, my other half said people are so friendly to him and are angling for invitations...

The only problem is that if I start cooking, it always gets a bit out of hand, today I wanted to make a gratin dish, I ended up with 6 different ones, because I had 3 different sauces I wanted to try and then each sauce then was used for one dish, half of it was used for experimentation and another dish... Other half said "We're going to eat this for days" so I placed a phone call to a friend and said I made a bit much, now (and the dishes being still in the oven) 3 people already reserved slices and H is fending calls with "NOOOO, the rest is mine, maybe next time..."

Guess I haven't poisoned anybody so far....

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RE: Grandmom's Home Cooking - 6/1/2011 9:38:12 AM

VaguelyCurious

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Growing up I only had one living grandma.

She made Iraqi food - biiiiig meat stews and enormous platters of rice with fried onions through it. Dessert was for losers - if you had room for dessert then you were doing it wrong.

She only ever really made seven or eight different dishes. But they were all amazing. Beef with aubergine, lamb with okra, semolina meatballs in beetroot broth (that stained the semolina this amazing ruby colour), a whole chicken stuffed with spiced rice and then packed into a pan with more rice and slow-cooked, chicken and carrots/chickpeas/pumpkin...

The last one (just called 'chicken and' in our house) my brothers and my parents and I all make our own versions of. Same basic recipe, but if you had a mouthful you'd easily be able to tell which of the five of us had made it. I have no idea why that is, or what exactly we all do differently.

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RE: Grandmom's Home Cooking - 6/1/2011 9:53:08 AM

suhlut

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Neither of my grandmothers ever left any memory of cooking for me.
One passed away..when i was around 6 months old... and my paternal grandmother was someone i seldom saw, after the parents split apart.

and so..it was my mother.. that cooked. She HATED her kitchen though, so most meals as a child were spent in local restaurants.

But when she actually bothered to go in the kitchen.. ooh the Miracles she could create.

Sadly, my mother was also the type of woman that insisted that her kitchen..was HER KITCHEN..and everyone else must stay out while she used it.

And so, no practicle lessons were ever learned under her wing. LUCKILY.. for whatever reason, her cooking skills must have been hereditary, because all 5 of her children inhereted her abilities to some extent or another.

I was lucky in that I inhereted it strongly, as did her second daughter.

Her three oldest children were all 12 and older, when I was born... and so my sisters werent only sisters, but also mothered me as well.

Pam, her second daughter, has always been the exact opposite of my mother. Her kitchen..has and always will be everyones kitchen and so, Its her that I learned from, by standing at her side..sharing the joys of cooking. The mess wed make, just to bake a homemade apple pie.. lol

And so, my kitchen is also a bit of a mixture of both my mother and my sisters.. sometimes i want it all to myself..and sometimes I gladly invite my children in..to learn. And my kitchen is always a huge mess. Flour everywhere.. when I bake. Ingredients spewed all aound ANYTIME I am in there. Just cant cook good food..without there also being a huge mess...is my motto.

As a child.. the few times I snuck into my mothers Kitchen when she wasnt around...well.. I have no clue how she ever worked her magic the way she did.. Spices were hardly around. A small spice jar set, that hardly ever seemed to be used, she for sure knew how to use them very sparingly, but still to amazing effect.

But we must all remember, back then..spices were EXPENSIVE.. In my first kitchen of my own, I couldnt afford spices, with the very bare minimum making its way home to my cupboards. I then understood why my mother always used them so sparingly. Cost was prohibitive. Then.. I rejoiced.. when I discovered Dollar stores.. Big lots.. General stores sold TONS of spices all at a dollar or less a bottle.

I must admit.. I went a lil crazy. Guess I keep worrying that dollar stores...ect might someday stop selling them so cheaply.. cause my cupbards are PACKED with zillions of spice jars. Or.. maybe I have an obsession? lol

Much of my cooking, at first, was a zealous attempt at copying the "taste of my Mothers meals" Took at least 5 tries before I was able to copy the exact flavor of her stuffed peppers... but I finally discovered her evil lil secret.. shhhh In a microwave cookbook. (garlic) hehe..

But, sadly... I have never..not once..ever been successful at copying her homemade fudge. I so miss that candy. Her secrets for that, went with her when she passed away.

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RE: Grandmom's Home Cooking - 6/1/2011 9:54:02 AM

flcouple2009

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What my maternal grandmother cooked was barely edible on a good day.

My paternal grandmother was just awful with a couple exceptions. She made pancakes and biscuits to die for.

My mom on the other hand was great cook. That's where I learned from. I am a damn fine cook without any of the patience required to make a Chef.

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RE: Grandmom's Home Cooking - 6/1/2011 11:03:55 AM

needlesandpins

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i can't say as i picked up any recipes from my grandparents, and i certainly don't remember anything from my maternal grandmother, but my paternal grandmother was great. she also cooked for a big family in a kitchen that didn't have a conventional oven until i was quite a bit older. the fire heated the ovens next to it. it's hard for me to picture it now, but i remember that even when she did get a new oven she still used the old ones in the fire until the pit authority modernised the house. her cooking was traditional meat and two veg as a rule, but her baking was fabulous. she'd let me watch and help out with decorating. it was novel for me as my mum owned her kitchen and you kept out of the way. baking was done very rarely although she was good at it, but always when i was at school or in bed.

i learn most of my cooking skills from my dad who had worked in kitchens. he would cook on a saturday while mum was at work and is actually a much better cook than mum. having ponies meant that if what mum made couldn't be reheated (no microwave for years) then i had to fend for myself. i also looked after my brother alot while my parents were at work so i also cooked for him too. when i moved out of home i took the basic skills my dad taught me and experimented. i'd never had a huge choice of what i could have at home so i kinda went nuts trying stuff out. i'm definately a play it by ear cook and tend to throw it all together and see what comes out. i've been told i have a good taste for things so can usually replicate what i eat without a set recipe to follow.

last night i was talking about a dish my dad used to do that i love. it's so simple but very comforting and one of those things that takes my straight back to saturday nights with dad cooking. take a roasting tin and layer with sliced potatoes and loads of onions, plenty of fresh ground black pepper on the onions, salt to taste. top layer is finished with potatoe and nobs of butter with a little water in the bottom for steam. bake in the oven on a highish heat untill the spuds are soft. it's great comfort food served with any meat or fish. i've not had it for yonks so will be cooking this on sunday. yum

needles

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Post #: 17

RE: Grandmom's Home Cooking - 6/1/2011 11:29:09 AM

DomKen

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My grandmothers and my mother were amazing cooks but they didn't think boys should learn to cook so I never got taught a thing by them. Thankfully my aunt, also a spectacular cook, needed some stuff done around her property one year when I had some vacation time coming and in exchange for the work she taught me how to make all the basics of the southern kitchen: cornbread, biscuits, fried chicken, chicken and dumplings, collard greens with ham hocks, deep fried catfish etc.

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Post #: 18

RE: Grandmom's Home Cooking - 6/1/2011 11:44:27 AM

pahunkboy

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From: Central Pennsylvania
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SU:

You are right spices were always expensive. I too got excited when the dollar store got in a decent collection.

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Post #: 19

RE: Grandmom's Home Cooking - 6/1/2011 11:45:34 AM

ChatteParfaitt

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From: The t'aint of the Midwest -- Indiana
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I buy all my spices in bulk at the health food store. Not only are they free of additives, they are wonderfully inexpensive.

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