This is good question and got me thinking about why I like/don?t like certain foods. I grew up ?food-challenged,? or maybe better put, deprived of a variety of food experiences. Neither my mother nor my grandmother (who I spent a lot of time with as a child) seemed to enjoy cooking. My grandmother left most of the weekday cooking to her maid. She was a Polish lady who would occasionally cook up some traditional Polish fare which I always enjoyed. My grandmother cooked only on the weekends. Many Sunday dinners after church featured a culinary abomination called ?city chicken? ? skewered pork and chicken cubes that were either pan fried or braised. These were cooked until the last vestige of juice was gone - rendering the meat as tough as cheap shoe leather! My mom must have inherited this kitchen antipathy as she seldom cooked much except for holidays. On occasion, though, she would serve the family liver and onions because ?its good for us.? :shock: I suspect she felt particularly blessed when the corner grocery started stocking the new Swanson?s frozen TV dinners in the 1950?s. These soon became a fine-dining staple in our house later to be joined by the contents of those little blue Kraft boxes. Fortunately, I think I was off to college when Hamburger Helper was brought to market or I would surely have endured an intimate relationship with that brand.
So with this as my introduction to foods, how did I turn out some fifty years later?
I like almost all seafood and shellfish with the exception of eel. I?ve never had it, but I don?t like they way they look. I love oysters, except the kind from the ?prairie.?
I like almost all fruits and vegetables, although I wouldn?t spend much energy chasing a cauliflower down if it fell off a produce truck! Brussels sprouts were in this category until I tried them saut?ed with radicchio and pancetta. This made a grayt Thanksgiving side dish!
I like all cuts of beef, chicken, pork, veal, lamb, goat. I skip most organ meat, but I do like hogsheadcheese and chitterlins. And cracklins, because, you know, ?its good for you.?
I like most all cheeses, even the stinky ones.
I won?t eat Hamburger Helper, frozen TV dinners, and city chicken! Although I?ll eat it, I?ve never developed a fondness for either Chinese or Thai food. It glistens too much!
So with this as my introduction to foods, how did I turn out some fifty years later?
I like almost all seafood and shellfish with the exception of eel. I?ve never had it, but I don?t like they way they look. I love oysters, except the kind from the ?prairie.?
I like almost all fruits and vegetables, although I wouldn?t spend much energy chasing a cauliflower down if it fell off a produce truck! Brussels sprouts were in this category until I tried them saut?ed with radicchio and pancetta. This made a grayt Thanksgiving side dish!
I like all cuts of beef, chicken, pork, veal, lamb, goat. I skip most organ meat, but I do like hogsheadcheese and chitterlins. And cracklins, because, you know, ?its good for you.?
I like most all cheeses, even the stinky ones.
I won?t eat Hamburger Helper, frozen TV dinners, and city chicken! Although I?ll eat it, I?ve never developed a fondness for either Chinese or Thai food. It glistens too much!
