tonina_mdc's Profile
"Generics taste just as good as national brands" ... Really?
Most of the time, I can't detect much difference between store and national brands. However, a few years ago I tried the Kroger cream cheese in place of Philly. It was like tasteless paste - sort of like eating a really thick version of that papier-mache glop. It was foul beyond words. I have stuck to name brand dairy stuff ever since then.
Recipes You've Never Heard of Outside Your Family
My mother does something similar to this. She scrambles eggs with onions and green pepper, then throws Pace sauce over them towards the end.
What is Your Favorite Non-Foodie Thanksgiving Dish?
I have several large white corningware dishes like that (different design of course) that were given to me (new) about three years ago. I live in nowhereseville in the midwest, so maybe we just have a lot of old-fashioned stuff around here.
What is Your Favorite Non-Foodie Thanksgiving Dish?
Someone I know used to serve some sort of broccoli casserole topped with cheez whiz. I had to make myself take a bite the first time I tried it. I could never manage to do so again. It was foul beyond words.
Things I ate/drank in college that I will never eat again
OMG, yeah, I went to BGSU in the late 90s! That Taco Bell was always insanely crowded from about 1AM on from Wednesday through Sunday. God, that staggering walk home to the dorms or my off-campus house...wow.
We had Jaegerbombs when I was there. I remember going to the Junction one night, doing a couple with a few of my friends, and then the next thing I remember is singing karaoke somewhere. Then I remember being in the car (driven by a sober individual, thank God!) on the way home. I remember nothing in between those flashes. That's the one and only time I ever went through alcohol blackout periods; it was enough for me. However, I don't hate Jaeger like I do some other liquors, probably because it never made me truly sick.
Was Miles' Pizza there when you went to BGSU? Home of the most disgustingly overtopped pizza in history. I love cheesy pizza with plenty of toppings, but this was just too much too much. If you ordered something with green pepper or onion, they'd bring out a pizza with a whole pepper or onion basically rough chopped into about eight to ten pieces. I had friends who loved the place, but it just wasn't my thing.
Things I ate/drank in college that I will never eat again
I have to say, a drive-through bar sounds like one of the worst ideas in the history of man. Wow. Also, I must admit the thought of SoCo makes me feel ill. That was the first actual straight liquor of any type I ever tried. I did so on the advice of a friend who told me it wasn't harsh in flavor, but it just had an odd, sweetish taste that I couldn't stand. I tried it a few other times after that, mixed and straight, and each time I had the same reaction. Bleaah.
Things I ate/drank in college that I will never eat again
HAHAHAHAHA! I was waiting to see if anyone would bring up Milwalkee's Best (or Beast, as we term it!) That stuff is one of those "Man, I'm low on cash, just get me whatever's cheapest" kind of beers. However, the hysterical part for me is that my dad still drinks it, whether out of some bizarre fondness or inveterate cheapness, I've never figured out which.
Things I ate/drank in college that I will never eat again
I'm with you, LabRat. The band of that name is to be loved. The alcohol Everclear is to be feared and avoided at all costs. :-)
Things I ate/drank in college that I will never eat again
Oh, apparently the folks at my university took the whole Everclear fruit thing to a higher level. Instead of just doing it with the cherries, there were parties where the hosts would cut up large quantities of fruit like watermelon, honeydew, cherries, grapes - anything that would soak in alcohol really well, basically - three days ahead of time, throw it in huge tubs or garbage cans with large quantities of Everclear, keep it chilled and just let it absorb as much of this 190-proof alcohol as possible. Freshmen and sophs would arrive at these parties and not understand why people were going crazy over the fruit, then try some and collapse a short while later. Trust me, that fruit could erase your mind.
Things I ate/drank in college that I will never eat again
I water down all juice my preschooler gets. And when I say water down, I mean about 1.5 ounces of any 8 oz. cup is juice. The pediatricians anymore are all big on giving your child less than 4 - 6 oz. of juice a day because of the weight issues many children have today. I have to say, heavily watered down white grape juice isn't bad, especially when consumed while it is very cold on a hot summer day.
Things I ate/drank in college that I will never eat again
Oh God yes. I tried one of those in my college days (it did in fact go by the same nickname.) I don't think I've ever tried anything else that made me feel the alcohol smash into my bloodstream like a Mack truck the way that shot did. I feel woozy just thinking of it!
Things I ate/drank in college that I will never eat again
That Tequila Rose stuff is some of the nastiest crap I have ever tasted (note that I did not say consumed, because I couldn't make myself swallow it!) In my memory, the taste was an odd combination of awful tequila, Pepto, and fake strawberry flavor. It was just foul beyond words.
Family foods I thought was normal
I have made myself try a couple of jello salads at potlucks. Every time I have tried one, I have regretted it! However, I suppose it's possible a jello salad made with only decent ingredients could prove to be reasonably edible. I just have a low opinion of jello salads in general from past unpalatable experiences.
Foods That Destroy the Roof of your Mouth
We hashed this out on a thread I started on the Not About Food board, but it's apparently a type a food allergy called Oral Allergy Syndrome. It apparently occurs as a reaction to fresh fruits and vegetables and can be avoided by cooking these foods. Here's a link to a useful article about it: http://allergies.about.com/od/foodallergies/a/oas.htm
What do Chowhounds do for a living (besides eat of course)?
On behalf of my mother, a devoted lifelong librarian, thanks for making sure those books end up back where they belong. Physical versions of reading and research materials cannot help anyone if they're nowhere to be found!
Family foods I thought was normal
Oh yes, see my above post! The pistachio pudding concoction is actually delicious, at least the way my mom makes it: the pudding, slightly drained chopped pineapple, chopped mandarin orange slices, chopped walnuts, and some real whipped cream. It may sound weird to the uninitiated, but trust me - don't knock it till you've tried it! However, I don't know how much the cool whip in place of the real whipped cream would affect the taste.
Family foods I thought was normal
Thanks! I spotted Birds-Eye when my son was a young toddler. He loved squash as an infant, so that was (and is!) a wonderful way to make squash for him in a hurry at dinner time. He is an avid lover of nearly all types of squash - so much so that he used to turn a bit yellow when he was a baby from the carrots and squash he wolfed down! We were petrified at first, until his pediatrician told us it's just the "mark of a boy who loves his yellow and orange veggies!" Perhaps it's just the mark of a young Chowhound! ;-)
Family foods I thought was normal
The flavors in those ice creams were so far away from real chocolate and real strawberry that I still love the two tastes together. However, the part I hated most was that my dad would never buy a new carton until all of it was gone. No one in the family liked the strawberry section (so heaven only knows why he continued to buy neapolitan ice cream!) so it would sit there for weeks until it got all sticky and goopy. I would usually dish it down the toilet while he was out once it became so old that no one would ever think of eating it. ewwww!
Thanksgiving dinner: What is your LEAST favorite menu item that you can't get rid of?
Wow, Sam. Just...wow. :-O
Classic. :-)
What is Your Favorite Non-Foodie Thanksgiving Dish?
As long as there is no use of the horrible item known as "cheez whiz" on that broccoli. That fake neon-colored stuff is an affront to God and Man.
Foods That Destroy the Roof of your Mouth
It's pretty funny; any time he sees a bag of s&v Lay's chips, his whole face lights up and he asks ever so sweetly, "May I try a bite, please?" He's had s&v chips a couple of times since my mother first introduced him to them, and he spends five minutes after he finishes them licking his lips to make sure he's consumed every remaining molecule of salty strong flavoring.
I'll give the all-dressed chips a run the next time I'm dying for a s&v hit and my mouth is iffy. Thanks for the tip!
Thanksgiving dinner: What is your LEAST favorite menu item that you can't get rid of?
True, but as I'm not a fan of canned cranberry glop, I prefer beth1's description of the metal tomb. To me, that stuff seems as though it's very much a dead, not a live or fresh product! So her description seems more apt, in my opinion. :-)
What did your Mom always have on hand, that you NEVER do?
Oh yes, Little Debbie stuff STILL shows up regularly in my mother's pantry (she gets them for my stepfather's work lunches.) She also uses Prego for sauce, which I have tried and tried to get her to stop doing, but to no avail. My father makes real from-scratch sauce and always has, but my mom just doctors up that Prego (which is usually so overpoweringly flavored that I can't imagine adding anything else to it) and declares it to be "homemade sauce." Ewwwww! Prego is a bit better than Ragu, but that's all I can say for it....
Family foods I thought was normal
I'm way late to the party, but I love this thread!
My mother always served circle-sliced cucumbers and circle-sliced white or yellow onions swimming in a bowl of white vinegar. Don't ask me where she got the idea, but every summer this dish would appear, often with produce from our own garden. I'd get a bowl, lade some of the contents into it, and add salt and pepper. It was so cool and zingy that I loved it on hot days.
I've posted elsewhere about our "green junk" tradition at holiday dinners; it took until I was ten and brought leftovers to school one year after Thanksgiving for it to dawn on me that this was not a common dessert in other central Ohio households! It consisted of pistachio pudding, drained pineapple chunks, chopped drained mandarin orange segments, and chopped walnuts, with a bit of whipped cream. I still beg for it to be on the menu for our holiday dinners every year!
Family foods I thought was normal
That actually sounds pretty good! In summer I sometimes get small crusty rolls, slice up a green pepper from the garden, and spread a lot of coarse-grained mustard on the roll halves to make a sandwich. They're good on days when it's so hot that you just aren't that hungry and can't stand the thought of eating meat and they're economical too.
Family foods I thought was normal
I like most types of squash now that I'm an adult, but my mother used to make baked acorn squash with huge amount of butter and brown sugar when I was a child. I tried it a couple of times, but the taste and the gross image of all that butter undulating in the hollow of the half-squash made me feel sick. I have a major sweet tooth, but that was one thing I just couldn't stand. It actually turned me off of all types of squash when I was younger, but now I know better!
Family foods I thought was normal
Oh yes, those waxed paper boxes for ice cream are still out there. I don't think my father has ever bought any ice cream that didn't come in that packaging. Until I was about 7 or 8, I didn't know you could buy vanilla ice cream alone! My father always did our shopping and refused to take my sister or me with him. He always bought that neapolitan variety that had vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate in rectangles side by side by side, and I never knew you could buy a box that was just plain vanilla or chocolate!
Family foods I thought was normal
My husband and I eat chili over brown rice all the time. It's a great way to make chili stretch if your food budget is tight!
Family foods I thought was normal
Come on, most tea is meant to be served with milk or cream! I tried Earl Grey with cream for the first time under my godfather's auspices when I was in college. I have never looked back. A steaming cup of good-quality Earl Grey tea with some cream and just a little sugar can make any day seem lovely!
Family foods I thought was normal
Oh wow, kattyeyes, that sounds AWESOME! My arteries are screaming at the thought of one, but my brain's cheers are drowning them out. ;-)
