Tasty versions of horrible foods

[Stephen Tashiro]

There are many types of food that are horrible in their supermarket versions, such as Pop Tarts, Spam, corned beef hash, "pressed" sandwich meats etc. I wonder if there exist tasty versions of these foods or appetizing ways to prepare them.

For example, one can make delicious fruit tarts, but can anyone make a nice pastry from the dry tasting filling in Pop Tarts?

Was there once a version of corned beef hash that people actually liked?

I've seen many recipes for preparing Spam, but none that would make me prefer it to hamburger.

Luncheon meats that are simply "sliced" make a good sandwich, but the ones that are "chopped, pressed and sliced" are disgusting. Nowadays you find this done to chicken and turkey as well as the traditional baloney.

[Frank Guerin]

Road kill and the microwave. Still not as good as dupster diving. And people wonder why I'm still single.

[Bill Cunningham]

Luncheon meats that are simply "sliced" make a good sandwich, but the ones that are "chopped, pressed and sliced" are disgusting. Nowadays you find this done to chicken and turkey as well as the traditional baloney.

They are chopped, pressed, and sliced for a reason. If you seen what they were actually chopped, pressed and sliced, 'from' you might become a Vegan! (Old Indian word for lousy hunter:D) Hail the Tofudibeast :p

[Belinda Barfield]

They are chopped, pressed, and sliced for a reason. If you seen what they were actually chopped, pressed and sliced, 'from' you might become a Vegan! (Old Indian word for lousy hunter:D) Hail the Tofudibeast :p

Come on Bill, what you got against chicken lips and pig hoof jam? Once diced and sliced you can barely tell it's not the real thing!:p

[John Coloccia]

Real corned beef hash is good. It's like comparing Hormel chili to my chili. It's just not in the same league. Spam can be grilled up on the BBQ. It doesn't actually taste any better, but it does get crispy, and anything crispy is better.

[Curt Harms]

.............
Was there once a version of corned beef hash that people actually liked?
............


There's a diner near the Eagle County airport in Colorado (between Vail & Aspen) that makes their own corned beef hash. The only place I've ever had a home made version. One thing they did was add Worcestershire sauce. I carried that to the canned version, it helps some.

[Burt Alcantara]

You can buy pre-rolled puff pastry. I believe it's made by Pepperidge Farms. Just take a sheet out and fill it with anything sweet -- jam for example. Fold it up and bake until brown. For the pop tart experience, take some apples, add sugar with a little butter, mix well and use as a filling. Of course, if you really want to make it good, make your own puff pastry or use brioche dough.

Try to avoid anything that comes in a box. These products are made for shelf life, not humans.

[Rick Markham]

They are chopped, pressed, and sliced for a reason. :

As my father used to say "That's the stuff they sweep up off the floor after making everything else"

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Boiled okra.

I spent 8 years in the U.S. Navy.......most of it in the deep South.......Brunswick, GA, Meridian, MS, Kingsville, TX and Charleston, SC.

They have this prerecorded message they play if you turn down the local version of boiled okra......"You haven't eaten my boiled okra.......ya'll should try it.......Ima sure you like it...." So trying to be nice you take some.

I remember being in kindergarten and we had wooden desk that had a hole in the top .....a little glass container in that hole with a lid that had a brush in it. Inside that jar was glue and it looked and tasted just like boiled okra. I'm sure boiled okra is made from that glue and visa versa.

Fried okra is a different matter.


grits.....now there is another one. They play another version of that recording again....."Try my grits. Ima sure you will like it." IMHO....there is nothing known to mankind that will make grits tasty.....NOTHING KNOWN TO MANKIND.

[Stephen Tashiro]

Real corned beef hash is good.

I can imagine a tasty hash made with beef and potatoes and cooked the normal way, but is the real corned beef hash you mention made with real corned beef? - brine cured?

As to grits, many Southern dishes are simply an excuse to eat salt and margarine, a combination that I enjoy. For this purpose, I enjoy grits more than hash browns.

[Marty Paulus]

I used to think that of grits as well Ken. That is before a I was shown how to properly season them. Butter and sugar! How can anything taste bad with butter and sugar on/in it? Of course my wife thinks I am nuts for liking grits but that is a whole 'nuther discussion on my mental status.....

[Dick Adair]

I guess none of you good people would like scrapple or pig stomach, so I won't even mention it.

[Leigh Betsch]

You should try head cheese! Only once though.

[John alder]

boiled peanuts not on my fav list

[Belinda Barfield]

Boiled okra.

I spent 8 years in the U.S. Navy.......most of it in the deep South.......Brunswick, GA, Meridian, MS, Kingsville, TX and Charleston, SC.

They have this prerecorded message they play if you turn down the local version of boiled okra......"You haven't eaten my boiled okra.......ya'll should try it.......Ima sure you like it...." So trying to be nice you take some.

I remember being in kindergarten and we had wooden desk that had a hole in the top .....a little glass container in that hole with a lid that had a brush in it. Inside that jar was glue and it looked and tasted just like boiled okra. I'm sure boiled okra is made from that glue and visa versa.

Fried okra is a different matter.


grits.....now there is another one. They play another version of that recording again....."Try my grits. Ima sure you will like it." IMHO....there is nothing known to mankind that will make grits tasty.....NOTHING KNOWN TO MANKIND.

Boiled okra - BLECH!!!!

Cheese + grits - TASTY!
Shrimp & Grits - TASTY! :D

[Abi Parris]

Mmmm, Scrapple! Don't forget haggis - great stuff. No, really. :)

[Rick Prosser]

Mmmm, Scrapple! Don't forget haggis - great stuff. No, really. :)

I had haggis once
In Scotland
At a nice restaurant known for excellent haggis
...
nope, I did not care for it. I just don't get along with liver...

I will take good, home cooked grits most anytime :D

[Larry Bratton]

I used to think that of grits as well Ken. That is before a I was shown how to properly season them. Butter and sugar! How can anything taste bad with butter and sugar on/in it? Of course my wife thinks I am nuts for liking grits but that is a whole 'nuther discussion on my mental status.....
Butter and Sugar!!!! Are u nuts? I have grits almost everyday with nothing except some margarine on them. Love em for breakfast with my eggs. If you have never had Shrimp and Grits, you don't know what you are missing. Now that is a dish fit for anyone, made from the lowly grits.

[Larry Bratton]

Boiled okra.

I spent 8 years in the U.S. Navy.......most of it in the deep South.......Brunswick, GA, Meridian, MS, Kingsville, TX and Charleston, SC.

They have this prerecorded message they play if you turn down the local version of boiled okra......"You haven't eaten my boiled okra.......ya'll should try it.......Ima sure you like it...." So trying to be nice you take some.

I remember being in kindergarten and we had wooden desk that had a hole in the top .....a little glass container in that hole with a lid that had a brush in it. Inside that jar was glue and it looked and tasted just like boiled okra. I'm sure boiled okra is made from that glue and visa versa.

Fried okra is a different matter.


grits.....now there is another one. They play another version of that recording again....."Try my grits. Ima sure you will like it." IMHO....there is nothing known to mankind that will make grits tasty.....NOTHING KNOWN TO MANKIND.

Being a true born and bred Southerner..even I concur on boiled okra. I can't stand the stuff unless it is cooked in a soup or gumbo. Stand alone boiled okra is repulsive.
However, I disagree on the grits. They may be an acquired taste, but that being said, I guess I acquired it. I have mine with margarine on them and maybe some black pepper. I have them a few times a week with eggs and homemade biscuits. They do have to be salted properly when cooked. Shrimp and grits together sounds awful, but it is absolutely a wonderful dish. You would have no idea you are eating grits unless somebody told you. So, to say Nothing Known to Mankind will make them tasty is not exactly true (my opinion of course).

[Charlie Reals]

I guess none of you good people would like scrapple or pig stomach, so I won't even mention it.

I love good scrapple, if pig stomach is like tripe it sounds good. I make no bones though:D grits aint gravy.Y'all can keep em ;) I tried several times and ways to eat chitlins and until I tried them in a traditional oriental dish it was a no go.

[Benjamin Heuer]

Man, ya'll are makin' me hungry. Time to rustle up some dinner!

[ray hampton]

I love good scrapple, if pig stomach is like tripe it sounds good. I make no bones though:D grits aint gravy.Y'all can keep em ;) I tried several times and ways to eat chitlins and until I tried them in a traditional oriental dish it was a no go.
chitlins, I need to go back to the store

[Lupe Duncan]

Don't know what scrapple is but sounds interesting.

In the morning were having barbacoa with big red.

Won't touch SPAM, it's an acronym you know, stands for
Squirrels, Possums And Mice. Yuk, makes me Ralph.

[Art Mulder]

Cheese + grits - TASTY!
Shrimp & Grits - TASTY! :D

But Cheese WITHOUT grits is already tasty!
Ditto for Shrimp...

[Ken Fitzgerald]

But Cheese WITHOUT grits is already tasty!
Ditto for Shrimp...

Well said!

[Jim Koepke]

Was there once a version of corned beef hash that people actually liked?

There still is.

I make my own out of a real corned beef brisket. My mom used to have a hash grinder she used to make it when I was a youngun. I just chop it up real small by hand. It isn't as mushy that way. Don't use mashed potatoes. Left over boiled or baked potatoes are OK, but fresh are easier to chop into small cubes. Don't forget the onion. For those who are not well versed in onions, there are a few different types that can change the whole taste of a dish. I like all kinds, but switch them around from sweet, yellow and red. Occasionally just because that is what we have from the garden green onions are chopped up and tossed in.

I like to cut everything down to about a 1/8" cube size.

Then the seasoning is to how I feel at the time.

Worcestershire sauce, maybe some garlic, dill and mustard powder. Summer savory is also good as is some celery seed ground up with a mortar and pestle.

I like mine on the crisp side. So a big pan is best so it can be spread thin.

Guess what's going on the grocery list, it has been too long and I don't think I want to wait till Saint Paddy's.

jtk

[David Peterson MN]

I had haggis once
In Scotland
At a nice restaurant known for excellent haggis
...
nope, I did not care for it. I just don't get along with liver...



Haggis I like. But you haven't lived until you have tried Balut. Just google it.

On a side note, at my wedding, my sister had seconds of what she thought was potatoes and mayo. She found out later it was pig brain and mayo. She admitted it was really tasty.

[Belinda Barfield]

There still is.

Guess what's going on the grocery list, it has been too long and I don't think I want to wait till Saint Paddy's.

jtk

Jim,
How would you feel about making a trip to Savannah for St. Paddy's. You can be in charge of the traditional Breakfast Before the Parade!

[Rich Engelhardt]

I hate to admit it (being a yankee and all) but - I like grits....I don't have them often though.
Salt and pepper and butter,,,a splash of Tobasco or two or three or four...along w/some has browns.
Yumm.

[Curt Harms]

I grew up in Wisconsin and my maternal Grandfather was a butcher who I never knew. (Presumably) he bequeathed a dish pronounced kanip. I have no idea if that spelling is correct--probably not. It's similar to scrapple but not formed into a loaf like scrapple, just served loose, sort of like oatmeal. The idea was the same as scrapple, use whatever's left over. I recall trimming skinned boiled hog's heads. Cook the meat, grind it up and mix with cooked steel cut oats. Serve with syrup. I recall a batch made soon after my father discovered the wonders of liquid wrench penetrating oil. He used it to lubricate the grinder he used for kanip. Nuthin' like kanip flavored with a hint of liquid wrench :eek:.

While I'm started down memory lane, anybody else remember cracklins? They were what was left after pork fat was rendered and pressed. The cooled liquid fat was(is) lard. What was left after pressing was cracklins and as I recall tasted pretty similar to fried pork skins today. I can see the health professionals recoiling in horror at the saturated fat & cholesterol but my father lived to 86 and my mother to 94. Looking back I believe the unfiltered camel cigarettes were far more of a health hazard than animal fat to that generation.

[Charlie Reals]

David Peterson MN; But you haven't lived until you have tried Balut. Just google it.

David,It actually doesn't taste all that bad, the first time was a $100 bar challenge.I have enjoyed it twice since then. It's not top on the menu but when in the company enjoy the cuisine .;)
Charlie

[jason thigpen]

there is a guy i work with that slathers his pop tarts in butter every morning. he weighs close to 350, which isn't surprising! of course, if you subscribe to the paula deen philosophy, a stick of butter per serving will make anything better!

[Brian Libby]

Hogs head cheese is also yum yum!!! (not sure how it got that name ) If you were an farmer you did not waste anything!!!!

[Doug W Swanson]

I had 'Tacos De Lengue' in Mexico once. It's cow tongue and it was TASTY! Basically they take the tongue, boil it until it falls apart and then put it on a tortilla. Some of the best tacos I've ever had....

I've also had Cebeza. It's cow head where they roast it and then take the meat off and put it in tacos. Also tasty!

[Jim Koepke]

Jim,
How would you feel about making a trip to Savannah for St. Paddy's. You can be in charge of the traditional Breakfast Before the Parade!

I am not very fond of flying and my wife would likely get jealous.

jtk

[Bill Huber]

Well I am one of the ones that like grits. Grits, fried eggs and some ham..... how could ask for anything more.

Now on the Spam, when I was a kid mom would fry it, put it on toast and then cover it with melted cheese, I liked it then.:(

One of the other things we had when I was a kid was cottage cheese, apple sauce and potatoes. Now this is still one of my favorite dinners.

Boil some potatoes then smash them on a dinner plate about 3/4 or an inch thick with butter, salt and pepper. Now put a 1/2" layer of cottage cheese and then a 1/2" layer of apple sauce and dig in..... now that's good.:)

[Belinda Barfield]

LOL . . . so drive. Of course your wife was invited as well!

[Bob Turkovich]

LOL . . . so drive. Of course your wife was invited as well!

It's only about 2900 miles, Jim. If you leave now, you might make in time for St. Paddy's. (Weather permitting.....)

[Larry Bratton]

My dad and mom owned a small grocery business when I was a kid. My dad went into business right after WWII and had the very first commercial refrigerator in the small Alabama town where we lived. A meat market was his claim to fame. They brought in locally slaughtered beef and pork, and sold it to the public. Sunday morning was his best business day because most of the country folk that were his customers didn't purchase their meat for their Sunday meal until then. Now this meat market kept us in all kinds of bazaar things to eat at home. Anything left that was on the verge of spoiling got cooked at our house. My mother cooked fried chicken, steak and various kinds of meat for breakfast. My dad sold cheese that he bought in whole "hoops" that came in a round wooden box. He also sold salted mackerel that was packed in brine and came in a wooden tub. (My mother was always extremely watchful of me as a little boy that I did not turn over that tub of salted fish..pewww that stuff smelled fishy) However, fried crispy and served with my mother's homemade scratch biscuits and real home churned butter-I still remember how good that was. You can't find that stuff anymore. Probably the most unusual thing though, that you certainly don't see any more are the organs of liver, lungs (called "lights") and heart of fresh home slaughtered pork. Mother cooked it all together in a big pot with lots of pepper. It was served with green leafy vegetables like collards or turnip greens with her homemade corn bread. Yes, Curt, cracklins were also sold here and they were used to make cracklin corn bread. Another favorite of our family was mother's chicken cornbread. She fried chicken, then put that in her cornbread batter and then cooked it all together in a big iron skillet. Those days are long gone though. My cardiologist saw to that many years ago. Oh well, I'll just sit back here and have another carrot and remember yesteryear!

[Steve Costa]

According to my wife, a Texas lady converted to Californian, there was a dish whipped up in West Texas called "son of a gun stew" Seems this was made with rabbit entrails and when the folks would finish their stew the quote was "son of a gun". Surely this will make some mouths water....not mine!!!!

[Brian Elfert]

Personally, I like Pop-Tarts and I actually don't mind pressed turkey and the like. When I do eat Pop-Tarts I don't warm them up at all.

[Bill Cunningham]

My wife is from the Weymouth/French Shore part of NovaScotia. There is a dish there called Rapier Pie (Rappie Pie locally) To the uninitiated, it resembles a pan of wallpaper paste, with a nice brown crust, brushed down with margarine (butter was always too expensive in this area) but it tastes quite good (it's the texture that put some people off). I was born in Toronto, and I love it. Two out of three of my daughters like it as well (the youngest -34- is too fussy) My brother-in-law makes a great Rappie Pie, and he uses a 'juicer' to grind and remove the juice from the potatoes, before adding beef or chicken, broth and baking.. Below is a less modern method, but it's the only printed recipe I could find.. If you have French shore ancestry in your family, the oldest members may remember this..

This is something you eat for dinner and made its appearance in Nova Scotia around the year 1755. People in the French Acadian region (Southwest Nova Scotia) are still eating this to this day. The recipe is as follows:

Rappie Pie: Cook meat of your choice ( (http://forums.dealofday.com/#)Chicken or Beef) in (30 cups) water, onions, salted chives, 3 tbs. salt and 1 tbs. pepper. In a large (http://forums.dealofday.com/#)Bowl put (4 lbs) grated potatoes, 1/4 lb margarine, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper.
Stirring constantly;
GRADUALLY pour your boiling broth in 3 stages over mixture to the amount of 20 to 22 cups. Mix thoroughly!
Grease large pan (12" x 18"). Spread half of mixture in pan. Add boneless chunks of meat evenly. Cover with the rest of potato mixture. Bake at 350 degrees F for 3 hours. Should be brown crusty and delicious.

[Jim Koepke]

Bill,

That Rappie Pie sounds like a different version of Shepherd's pie.

I know when I was a kid I didn't like one dish and I haven't had it since, but my mom learned some of her cooking from her dad being an Army officer. Some people like the Army dish that can usually only be mentioned by its initials, S.O.S. (something on a shingle)

I think it was that dish that made me not like anything on white bread.

jtk

[Bill Cunningham]

Nope Jim.. It's not even close to shepherds pie.. As a matter of fact, if someone did not tell you it was made from potatoes, you would never in a million years guess that was the main ingredient.. It's almost like transparent gelatinous goo with a crust on it..
But a tasty transparent gelatinous goo:rolleyes:.. Especially with lots of black pepper..

[Belinda Barfield]

Yes, Curt, cracklins were also sold here and they were used to make cracklin corn bread. Oh well, I'll just sit back here and have another carrot and remember yesteryear!

My parents have never been big on Christmas. Gifts were most often functional rather than fun - with the exception of the year I got a chemistry set and a microscope. This year for Christmas my mother gave me about ten pounds of fresh sausage and a big bag of cracklins. My cousin and his wife grow their own pigs and make and sell the sausage, along with lots of other pork parts. The day that my parents went to pick up my Christmas gift my cousin and staff had made 700 pounds of sausage. They were already sold out of smoked sausage - dang it! I made cracklin cornbread last Wednesday night. Does it count that I had roasted carrots with it?

[Larry Bratton]

My parents have never been big on Christmas. Gifts were most often functional rather than fun - with the exception of the year I got a chemistry set and a microscope. This year for Christmas my mother gave me about ten pounds of fresh sausage and a big bag of cracklins. My cousin and his wife grow their own pigs and make and sell the sausage, along with lots of other pork parts. The day that my parents went to pick up my Christmas gift my cousin and staff had made 700 pounds of sausage. They were already sold out of smoked sausage - dang it! I made cracklin cornbread last Wednesday night. Does it count that I had roasted carrots with it?

well Belinda, the cracklin cornbread tells me your a bona fide southern cook. I'm not sure what the roasted carrots qualifies you for? I guess if I knew what the rest of the menu was I could make an educated assessment. My dad used to process people's meat into sausage. They would bring in the meat, he would add the seasoning, run it through his grinder for them. That was good stuff also. People used to smoke hams, bacon and sausage in a smokehouse. I have to admit though that I found some of that stuff I saw questionable as far as human consumption.
You probably know Paula Dean huh?

[Belinda Barfield]

I don't know Paula Deen, though I have laid eyes on her from a distance. The rest of the menu for that night was venison roast with gravy, crowder peas, rice, roasted carrots, and the cornbread. This was a combo dinner - the SO doesn't like cracklin cornbread and I'm not a huge fan of rice and gravy. Any way you look at it, not really a healthy meal. In my defense, I've been eating a lot of rabbit food lately.:rolleyes:

[Larry Bratton]

Sounds pretty southern to me, especially if the deer meat was whitetail variety.
I figured all you Savannah folks made a point of meeting Paula. I reckon though when you get to be rich and famous you don't hob nob around with the local folks too much. Does she still have a restaurant in Savannah?

[Belinda Barfield]

Sounds pretty southern to me, especially if the deer meat was whitetail variety.
I figured all you Savannah folks made a point of meeting Paula. I reckon though when you get to be rich and famous you don't hob nob around with the local folks too much. Does she still have a restaurant in Savannah?

A lot of locals do make it a point to meet Ms. Deen. As far as I'm concerned she's just another resident of Savannah, albeit a very famous one. She still has the Lady and Sons restaurant here. In 2007 I volunteered in Ware County when southeast Georgia was being destroyed by forest fires. Ms. Deen agreed to go halves with me to provide one of her famous meals for a group of volunteer fire fighters. She gives a lot back to the community and is, by all accounts, a fine lady.

[Larry Bratton]

" Ms. Deen agreed to go halves with me to provide one of her famous meals for a group of volunteer fire fighters."
Did you do the meal? I'm sure u did, what was it? Bet it was a hit.

[Belinda Barfield]

" Ms. Deen agreed to go halves with me to provide one of her famous meals for a group of volunteer fire fighters."
Did you do the meal? I'm sure u did, what was it? Bet it was a hit.

The Lady and Sons agreed to provide 75 meals at a discounted price and I covered half of the cost. As best I recall we served Ms. Deen's famous fried chicken, mashed potatoes, some type of greens, corn on the cob, biscuits and cornbread, and peach cobbler. Seems like there was something else but I can't remember what right now. Oh . . . and lots of sweet tea.

[Rick Markham]

I guess none of you good people would like scrapple or pig stomach, so I won't even mention it.

I LOVE Scrapple!!!!! But it has to be sliced thin and pan fried crispy on the outside... that's how my Grandma made it! (scrapple is where my father's saying, posted above, comes from)

[Rick Markham]

Cebeza, is Excellent!!! I agree completely... You sir, are awesome!

[Larry Bratton]

The Lady and Sons agreed to provide 75 meals at a discounted price and I covered half of the cost. As best I recall we served Ms. Deen's famous fried chicken, mashed potatoes, some type of greens, corn on the cob, biscuits and cornbread, and peach cobbler. Seems like there was something else but I can't remember what right now. Oh . . . and lots of sweet tea.

Sounds like that would be good for enough energy to fight a fire (assuming you could get by lying down and taking a nap!) Oh and glorious sweet tea! Love it.

[Ben Franz]

Hash is a time-honored way to serve leftovers in a way that tastes good. Corned beef hash is probably the best known since people had to find some way to make the boiled, tasteless hunk of leftover beef edible. Now, before you punch the screen, I know that YOUR corned beef isn't mushy, tasteless and nasty and neither is MINE. You do have to admit, though, there have been a lot of culinary sins committed in the name of corned beef. Add in the equally uninspired cabbage and you have a truly serious problem - something we need to get the government addressing NOW! Oh, wait, we actually want to help the situation? Maybe just invest in a decent cookbook or two.

I make hash from almost any leftover meats and even serve a smoked salmon hash to company (store bought salmon, usually) with a little chive and lemon sour cream and a fried egg on top; good for brunch or dinner.

Grits are like most starches - they have to have salt during cooking or they never taste right. Lots of places are selling stone ground "artisinal" grits that have the whole grain, not just the germ. There's more flavor but the uncooked grits are more perishable and have to be refrigerated. Cheese is a great additive but doesn't take the place of quality grits - forget completely about Instant Grits, Quick grits - IMO a waste of money and time. If you STILL don't thinks grits are food, just double the price and call 'em polenta.

If you're interested in making a better Pop-tart, Alton Brown did an episode of Good Eats that had a homemade toaster pastry - didn't use puff pastry dough IIRC.

[Bill Cunningham]

If you want to try something simple and tastes great try this..
1 Can of Campbells Italian Wedding soup
1 Can of Stag Chilli (or any good chilli)
mix em together and heat n eat..

This was discovered by accident. A friend of my son-law has a son that plays hockey for the Ottawa Senators, one day while waiting for a game I suppose, he was looking for a quick meal and that's all he had on hand, mixed them up, and bingo a great new soup with body and bite. I swear, campbells could make a fortune canning, and selling this stuff..

[John Coloccia]

As a child I was known to put animal crackers in my beefaroni, straight from the can, cold. Yuuuummmm!

[Don Alexander]

Grits are like most starches - they have to have salt during cooking or they never taste right. Lots of places are selling stone ground "artisinal" grits that have the whole grain, not just the germ. There's more flavor but the uncooked grits are more perishable and have to be refrigerated. Cheese is a great additive but doesn't take the place of quality grits - forget completely about Instant Grits, Quick grits - IMO a waste of money and time. If you STILL don't thinks grits are food, just double the price and call 'em polenta.




personally i think that anyone who wastes money on instant grits could have just gone to the beach and eaten some sand ................same stuff and doesn't cost as much :eek::D

[Belinda Barfield]

personally i think that anyone who wastes money on instant grits could have just gone to the beach and eaten some sand ................same stuff and doesn't cost as much :eek::D

There should be no such thing as instant grits, or instant oatmeal for that matter.

[John Coloccia]

There should be no such thing as instant grits, or instant oatmeal for that matter.

Even *I* know this, and I'm a Yankee.

[Mack Cameron]

[quote]Won't touch SPAM, it's an acronym you know, stands for
Squirrels, Possums And Mice. Yuk, makes me Ralph.Actually the acronym is "Some Parts Are Meat"!

[Bill Cunningham]

Grits are unheard of in Canada.. The only place I have ever encountered them is in the U.S below the mason/dixon line.. They always seemed like something a little gritter than cream of wheat, but basically the same! Oatmeal, now that's something else.. Anyone of Scottish descent knows that 'good' ootmeal should be thick enough to stop a bullet!

[ray hampton]

is the MASON-DIXIE line the southern border of Kentucky or the Northern border ? I can get Grits at my local Waffle House in Northern KY

[Laurie Brown]

There was a time long ago when Pop Tarts WERE good. It was 30-40 years ago. The frosted cardboard filled with tasteless paste they sell now are not Pop Tarts. Frosted Blueberry were always my fav, toasted till the edges were golden and slathered in butter. Yum. siiiiiiigh, just a memory now.

My hubby likes grits (we're Yankees relocated to Virginia) with butter and sugar and who knows what else he puts in them. Never liked em myself. But, I love a good home-cooked biscuit with gravy! It took me years and some good local recipes to master, but I make a mean one myself now. I don't care much for sausage gravy, though. I make mine with chipped beef. A local restaurant here even sells tenderloin gravy, now THAT is good!

I also make a home-cooked corned beef and cabbage for hubby on St. Patty's day. I'm not a big fan of corned beef or of cabbage, but the recipe I use even I like.

Haggis!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuixJaAia84

Now THAT's a haggis. ;)

[Jerry Lawrence]

I like a good fresh corned beef hash. I'm not sure who decided to add beets to it and call it 'red flannel hash', but ewwww! As far as grits goes, I hardly ever have them, but being a Vermonter I like mine with maple syrup (real only!).

[Bill Cunningham]

It been a while since I been down there by road, but the northern border was the line back in the 60's :D Wasn't it a North/South War thing a hundred years previous?

[Chris Padilla]

Well, I guess I'll be the lone gunman in support of Spam! I haven't had any in a few years (ok, it just isn't that great for you but, c'mon, slathering stuff in salt and butter isn't either but I digress...) but as a kid, I had quite a bit.

When my father would drag my brother and me up to the Colorado Rockies for firewood 3-4 times per summer, we'd bring along bread and Spam and just eat it like that. Vienna sausages would often accompany it as well.

Otherwise, I'd most often pan fry it and eat it with ketchup. Absolutely delicious!! Hmmm, I may just have to pick up some this weekend but as soon as I twist my wrist and read the label, I usually put it back.... :(

[Charlie Reals]

Spam is #1 in Hawaii and was in east Oakland in the 50-60's.It's good stuff, I sneak a can or two in with the packages to my boys overseas, they love it even if it is against the rules.
Sheepherder bread, Mayo,fried spam and a slice of pineapple. top off with a pint of stout. Goooooood eats

[Bill Cunningham]

I've heard that Kentucky Jelly tastes pretty bad:D

[Mike Null]

My wife makes outstanding corned beef.

I don't recall anytime that Pop Tarts ever tasted good.

My Dad taught me how to eat grits as a child. Grits, butter, salt and over easy eggs all mixed together.

Oatmeal is not a favorite but instant is as good as cooked.

Way back we used to eat fried mush with butter (actually margerine) and syrup.

[John Coloccia]

Sauerkraut. I always hated sauerkraut. Then business took me to Germany. I hadn't had kraut since I was a kid, but to be polite I tried some. It was AMAZING. I loved it!

On my first day back from 2 months in Germany, what were they serving in the cafeteria at work? Sausages with kraut! I asked the guy behind the counter for a plate of kraut. He looked at me like I had two heads. Shoot, that's how they do it in Germany. Anyhow, I tasted it and it was AWFUL, just like I remembered from my childhood.

Kraut, properly down, starts with the bag of cabbage, but then gets cooked with ham, allspice, bay leaves, maybe some apple juice and some brown sugar. It is wonderful when prepared as they do in Germany. My wife lived in Germany for a year, and she makes our kraut now. This is definitely a case where the proper preparation makes all the difference in the world.

[Michael O'Sullivan]

Sauerkraut. I always hated sauerkraut. Then business took me to Germany. I hadn't had kraut since I was a kid, but to be polite I tried some. It was AMAZING. I loved it!

On my first day back from 2 months in Germany, what were they serving in the cafeteria at work? Sausages with kraut! I asked the guy behind the counter for a plate of kraut. He looked at me like I had two heads. Shoot, that's how they do it in Germany. Anyhow, I tasted it and it was AWFUL, just like I remembered from my childhood.

Kraut, properly down, starts with the bag of cabbage, but then gets cooked with ham, allspice, bay leaves, maybe some apple juice and some brown sugar. It is wonderful when prepared as they do in Germany. My wife lived in Germany for a year, and she makes our kraut now. This is definitely a case where the proper preparation makes all the difference in the world.

If you could post a full-ish recipe, that would be awesome. I have tried to mimic the taste of real German sauerkraut a bunch of times. But I have never been able to reduce the acidity that makes generic American sauerkraut so unpleasant without it becoming bland.

[John Coloccia]

Recipe. LOL. We don't use those :)

Let's see. Start with some ham of your choice. Chop it up, toss it in a sauce pan or pot and brown it a bit. Put the kraut in your ham pan. Don't put all the kraut juice in there if you want it less acidic. Then toss in some allspice berries (or grind it up if you wish, but usually leave them whole), some bay leaves and some brown sugar. Also put in a little apple juice.

If you do all of that it will be good.

Now for the variations:

1) add carraway seeds (I don't like this, but most do)
2) replace allspice with pepper corns.
3) add onions (I like this one!)
4) replace ham with bacon
5) replace apple juice with beef bullion and red wine
6) add a potato, grated
7) add garlic

So a popular variation would be:

chopped bacon in a pan
add onion, garlic, boulion, brown sugar and caraway seeds to the bacon
add grated potato
Simmer and add red wine and black pepper
Add the kraut and keep simmering until yumminess is achieved.

Think of it like the kraut is noodles, and you're making a tomato sauce for the kraut. Now leave out crushed tomatoes! What you have left is that yummy base that you start the sauce with, and that can be just about anything. When that's cooked, you add the kraut and let all the flavors combine. If you think in those terms, you can come up with all sorts of great variations and they will all be good. My variation is healthy and works well on its own or with sausages. The second one I gave is very flavorful and really stands on its own very well. It wouldn't go so well on a hot dog, IMHO.

[Stephen Tashiro]

Recipe. LOL. We don't use those :)
Let's see. Start with some ham of your choice.

Now wait! What do I do with the cabbage? Just chop it into fine strands? Does it have to age?

[Carl Miller]

Potted meat is, I'm sure made from spilled or drop things on the killing floor - the stuff is ground up fine and cooked with lots of grease and fat. I would not touch it ------ except when it is mix with eggs and scrambled, then spread on white bread with Miracle Whip. I swear it then becomes the food of the gods. I get a craving about once a year - it's my only comfort food.

[John Coloccia]

Now wait! What do I do with the cabbage? Just chop it into fine strands? Does it have to age?

I buy my cabbage in bags marked "Sauerkraut". Sometimes I age it in the freezer until I'm ready to use it.

I like my kraut, but I'm not hardcore :D

[Darius Ferlas]

If you could post a full-ish recipe, that would be awesome. I have tried to mimic the taste of real German sauerkraut a bunch of times. But I have never been able to reduce the acidity that makes generic American sauerkraut so unpleasant without it becoming bland.

There is a simple way to reduce the acidity. Rinse it with cold water. You can do it using running water but this may take too much acidity away. For some sauerkraut recipes where rinsing is recommended I usual give sauerkraut a cold water bath in a proportion of 1 part of water 3 part of sauerkraut. Rather than poring out the excess water after about 10 minutes, I scoop the kraut out of the water. The proportions can be changed to suit your taste.

Another way is to add grated apple or carrots. Not too much though. I'd say 1/4 of a medium apple to a quart of sauerkraut and let it bite through (i.e. stand for 2-3 hours).

This won't work with most US and Canadian sauerkraut brands though. They add all kinds of things that are pure blasphemy in the production of real sauerkraut. If you want a genuine taste then all you need is cabbage, salt, stoneware to make it in, about an hour of work and 4 to 6 weeks of wait time. Some recipes suggest adding a handful of grated carrots, apples (my choice is Egremont Russet), or wine. Never add vinegar! That's what they do around here to speedup the fermentation process.

If you're not into making food yourself you can try to locate the nearest Polish or German store - same difference when it comes to food. I'm not sure about German brands as our local German store carried Polish made sauerkraut. Look for labels such as Krakus, Pinczow (where I was born), Pudliszki, S&F (they import from Europe). Do not buy food with a prefix "German Style..." or"Polish Style..." since these are equivalent to "Kinda, sorta...".

I know there are over 100 recipes based on sauerkraut but back at home we used only about a dozen or so.

[george wilson]

The Spam mention reminds me of a WWII story: The officers from an Aussie group who never got anything to eat but corned beef(bully beef to them) were invited to dinner with American officers. The Americans apologized for the Spam,but the Aussies loved it,having not had it before. Thereafter,a trade of canned corned beef for Spam was arranged.

I'll tell you what I think is bad: Quaker packaged red eye gravy flavored grits!!!! It ISN'T the real thing!!! Not that I am crazy about salt cured ham either,but the grits taste rancid to me.

[Curt Harms]

George's thread reminds me of something sorely lacking in the Northern larder--Country Ham!!!! I love the stuff for breakfast with eggs and haven't been where it's sold for quite a while. At least some Cracker Barrels will sell it by the pound so I may have to stop in to one of those. When I was growing up I had a distant relative that had a "locker plant". Does that ring a bell with anyone? This was before home freezers were common. It was a butcher shop with a freezer room and a bunch of big drawers in it. You'd have the owner process a critter and store it in one or more of these lockers. Then you brought it home a few pieces at a time to store in the refrigerator/freezer. He processed ham that tasted like country ham although it had to be frozen and the process was not as long as real country ham.

[Belinda Barfield]

You non Southerners got no grits . . . you got no country ham . . . you got no sweet tea . . . how DO you survive?:D

Do y'all have "Pig Pickins" or "Pasture Parties"? If so that would at least make life almost tolerable. Oh, and 'maters . . . do y'all get good fresh 'maters?

[Curt Harms]

You non Southerners got no grits . . . you got no country ham . . . you got no sweet tea . . . how DO you survive?:D

Do y'all have "Pig Pickins" or "Pasture Parties"? If so that would at least make life almost tolerable. Oh, and 'maters . . . do y'all get good fresh 'maters?

T'aint easy, Belinda. We do get 'maters though not as early as I'd like. Somehow I just can't envision "Pig Pickins" or "Pasture Parties" in "Upper Buckingbury" as my realtor wife refers to an area near us with way too many McMansions.

[John Sanford]

Another defender of Spam here. I like it grilled up nice and crispy with breakfast, and Spam Musubi is a joy, plus Spam is a good ingredient in Hawaiian Saimin (noodle soup.)

I also like grits, courtesy of the US Army Military Police School, formerly located at Fort McClellan, Alabama. Grits with butter and maybe sugar. (depends on mood and availability of the sugar.)

Good corned beef hash is a joy, lousy is a change from other breakfast meats.

Macaroni and Cheese: the bizarre thing about Mac and Cheese is that the Kraft Mac and Cheese is so much better than the store brands and knock offs. It's scary how dreadful the knockoffs are, because classic Kraft Mac and Cheese is merely tolerable. It can be dressed up by adding some Velveeta (started doing it before Kraft figured it out), or even some real cheddar, just not too much. Lots of pepper helps.

And then I went to Smith and Wollinsky here, and one of the side dishes was Macaroni and Cheese. Ohhhhhh my, it was heavenly. It was a close thing between what was better, the prime rib, or the Mac and Cheese.

Now, here are two foods for which there simply are no tasty versions:

Poi. If it has taste (other than perhaps a little bitterness), it's not poi. Poi has the texture of the paste we ate in gradeschool, and less taste.

Camp pie. The only way to describe it is "tinned sheep", because that's what it is. It sounded interesting, and it was "interesting", but then, so is a root canal. Not fun, not pleasant, but definitely interesting.... The cat wouldn't touch it, and even the dog was hesitant. If anybody can think of a tasty version of it, I'd like to hear it.

Btw, frying okra does nothing to improve it. Boiled okra is slime covered slimey core. Fried okra is crunchy covered slimy core. Notice the commonality?

Beef tongue is actually quite tasty, as is beef heart. Both are simply muscle, and both have fairly strong beefiness.

[John Sanford]

Ohhh, ohh, I missed one, related to the grits.

There's one other way I like my grits. With butter and syrup. And that brings up a horrible food, "pancake syrup", and the wonderful real thing, maple syrup. Real maple syrup.

[Jim Matthews]

Spam is pork shoulder.

It's shelf-stable for AGES.

Roasted, or cooked in a toaster oven, sliced to 1/4" thick it's excellent.

Straight out of the can, it's a consistency repellant to most white people (we don't seem to like jellied things, other than fruit cups).

As someone who has lived and worked on four continents, let me say this about food:
Lower on the food chain is cheaper, and often safer.
Closer to the bone for better flavor.
If you're going to kill it, you should eat it all.

I can only imagine what posters on this thread think about raw oysters. (Or durian, for that matter.)
More for me!

[Stephen Tashiro]

Btw, frying okra does nothing to improve it. Boiled okra is slime covered slimey core. Fried okra is crunchy covered slimy core.

If you slice it and fry well enough, it isn't slimy. Sliced and breaded okra can be excellent. Unfortunately the fried breaded okra at most restaurants doesn't taste much like okra. It usually has too much bread on it.

I prefer a modest amount of okra slime as a thickening agent over thickening with corn starch. Corn starch doesn't have a bad taste but it gives things the feel of sauces at inexpensive Chinese restaurants.

[Chris Fournier]

So far I haven't really seen anything truly horrible but I confess that I do have a bit of a "Circus Geek Streak" in me. I can offer up my experience of a horrible version of a tasty food as a twist.

My wife taught in the Eastern Canadian Arctic. I came up to visit her in the winter for a couple of years running. She had warned me of some of the peculiarities of the culture but kept her mouth shut about others. One of these others was the "Community Feast". For a week there was a buzz in the village about the feast - bring what you got they said, or don't bring anything, there'll be plenty of fresh game. "Right on I said, I'm gonna really strap on the feed bag!" The Inuit loved this attitude and gave me a great slaps on the back and said "see you there".

The evening of the feast, we gathered in the school gym with everyone sitting around the walls looking into the centre of the gym floor. "Cool" I thought, casual, I haven't overdressed. Some Inuit men then came in and spread out 6 mil poly on the centre of the floor - about 6' square. "Hmm" I thought, either we're gonna vapour barrier something before we eat or they don't have any gingham tablecloths. Work up an appetite anyways. Well not for long.

Next in came the Inuit women with all of their carefully prepared wild game: Caribou, Walrus, Seal, Whale, Ptarmigan, Arctic Char. "Well not very fancy presentation" I thought as the feast was brought in in 5 gallon buckets. Come to think of it no one had brought me a paper plate or plastic cutlery either. Everyone was getting very excited so I knew that I'd have to just hold my own in this crowd, Chinette plate or no. Well the Inuit women filed in and emptied the contents of their 5 gallon buckets one after the other on the 6 mil poly until it was piled about a footand a half high and covered almost all of the poly.

I can only tell you that what they had prepared looked like a fatal mass transit accident, the one where you're the first on the scene, the one that gives you nightmares. My dear wife had not mentioned to me during the build up to this feast that all of the food was raw, there would be no veggies and dip, scalloped potatoes, Jello salads or sharing of favourite recipes. She still laughs at me when she tells this storey and hauls out the print film photos that she took. She was kind enough to restrain me at the outset of the feast and let me know that the women were to select their food first and that the eyeballs - seal and caribou - even if there were any left when I got up to dine - were for the women only. She didn't want me to be rude.

So call me up and invite me over for fried spam and head cheese in a boiled ocra reduction carefully placed on a bed of cheese whiz infused grits and I'll likely be there. I will even eat it off of 6 mil poly and likely rub my tummy afterwards while I share pictures of the Arctic Community Feast with you.

Footnote: The Inuit were fantastic hosts, loved to "take you out on the land" and share meals with you. They could be found on weekends at the Hudson Bay Store eating really lousy fried burgers and oven baked frozen fries in the tiny "restaraunt" at all hours.

[Bill Cunningham]

Well!! On a 'one-up-manship' that may very well have brought a end to this thread..:eek:
Reminds me of the Monty Python skit of the fat guy in the dining room, saying Just mix it all up in a bucket.. Before he exploded... I'm in Canada too, but darn few Inuit in my area..:p

[ray hampton]

Spam straight out of the can is good on hard tack, I also like
fried Okra, I eat a number of things that other persons find
dis-tasting
how many people eat the lowly liver ?

[Leigh Betsch]

I'm not sure it fits the thread title as a tasty version of horrible food but if you ever get a chance to hunt and harvest your own meat you will hard pressed to find better meat than antelope. Most people destroy their wild game by not processing it correctly, but if you get the hide of quickly you'll not find much better than antelope. Antelope is very good but pheasant has got to be right at the top.

[Curt Fuller]

If you've ever been to any kind of gathering in Utah that involves "potluck" food then you have to know about green Jello with carrots, frog eye salad, and funeral potatoes. Utah leads the world in per capita consumption of Jello. The most common is the green (lime) jello with shredded carrots in it, sometimes they add cottage cheese too. That gives it a weird pastel green color with the chunks of cheese and the carrots. Frog eye salad is some kind of a combination of acini di pepe pasta, marshmallows, pineapple, marachino cherries, and shredded coconut. I don't know the rest of what's in it but I love the stuff. Then the funeral potoatos (I guess they got there name because someone always brings them for dinner after a funeral) is frozen hash browns mixed with cream of chicken soup and sour cream, covered with shredded cheese and corn flakes and baked. They're pretty good eating. I'm not a real world traveler but those three things seem to be pretty imbedded in Utah culture.

[David E Keller]

Thanks to Curt, I've now crossed Utah off of my list of places to see. The jello/carrot/cottage cheese deal is more than I can stomach. I could take the funeral potatos, but the jello salad is too much.

[Belinda Barfield]

If you've ever been to any kind of gathering in Utah that involves "potluck" food then you have to know about green Jello with carrots, frog eye salad, and funeral potatoes. Utah leads the world in per capita consumption of Jello. The most common is the green (lime) jello with shredded carrots in it, sometimes they add cottage cheese too. That gives it a weird pastel green color with the chunks of cheese and the carrots. Frog eye salad is some kind of a combination of acini di pepe pasta, marshmallows, pineapple, marachino cherries, and shredded coconut. I don't know the rest of what's in it but I love the stuff. Then the funeral potoatos (I guess they got there name because someone always brings them for dinner after a funeral) is frozen hash browns mixed with cream of chicken soup and sour cream, covered with shredded cheese and corn flakes and baked. They're pretty good eating. I'm not a real world traveler but those three things seem to be pretty imbedded in Utah culture.

Leave out the carrots and I'm guessing Georgia ranks second in states that make "salad" with Jello. Here it is just called congealed salad and is usually strawberry with cottage cheese and some other stuff. In my family we call it "Chenille Salad" because that's what my grandfather always called it - he hated the stuff and my grandmother was the queen of such concoctions.

"Funeral Potatoes" are also common in Mississippi, but here in Georgia they are called "Sin Potatoes" or just hash brown casserole. I think calling them Sin Potatoes makes them tastier.

[Curt Harms]

Ohhh, ohh, I missed one, related to the grits.

There's one other way I like my grits. With butter and syrup. And that brings up a horrible food, "pancake syrup", and the wonderful real thing, maple syrup. Real maple syrup. It's a good thing I just had breakfast (corned beef hash & eggs). There may be a better wintertime breakfast than blueberry pancakes with real blueberries, real maple syrup and country ham. I haven't found it though:D.

[Belinda Barfield]

It's a good thing I just had breakfast (corned beef hash & eggs). There may be a better wintertime breakfast than blueberry pancakes with real blueberries, real maple syrup and country ham. I haven't found it though:D.

Chocolate chip pancakes, maple syrup, country ham.:D

[Curt Harms]

Chocolate chip pancakes, maple syrup, country ham.:D

Gotta be a female/chocoholic (redundant?) thing :D:D