It's been so hot, I lost any desire to cook. Plus, my aunty Scotty fell and broke her hip Monday night. So, I've been hot, sticky, and distracted. My meals yesterday were tomato sandwiches, yogurt, and half a jar of Agrimontana cherries. I'm trying to motivate myself to plan some sort of menu for the next few days, but it's slow going. Ages ago, the lovely Spicehut tagged me with a 10 Foods I Miss The Most meme. After much delay, here's my list. Maybe doing it will inspire me to start cooking again.
10 Foods I Miss The Most Meme
My mother's seafood gumbo
Making this was always an event, with us shelling as much as 40-60 pounds of shrimp. We had teams of people shelling for hours, as my mother made the roux and chopped the vegetables for the stock. She always made a huge canner full of the gumbo, in order to feed all the people who lusted after it and showed up at our house like vultures spotting a fresh kill. She died almost 10 years ago and I still can't make gumbo as good as hers.
Jay's Potato Chips
And I mean Jay's Original Potato Chips, not the ruffled kind or chips tricked up with fancy flavors. I sometimes dream about those extremely thin, almost lacy potatoes chips I ate when I was a teenager in Illinois.
Frozen Custard, Lafayette, Indiana
While Bob was attending Purdue University we often joined throngs of people lined up at a landmark business, whose name escapes me now. Their dense frozen custard was made in ornate metal mixers from the 1930's, and it was fascinating to watch them pull it out of the machines with big paddles. It wasn't Dairy Queen ice cream. It was fabulous.
Peking Restaurant, Lafayette, Indiana
We also ate Chinese food at a restaurant that served amazingly good food. For years after leaving Indiana we compared the food from other Chinese Restaurants to the food served at this small (yes!) Midwestern restaurant. The Midwestern restaurant usually won.
Beignets, Cafe Du Monde, New Orleans
People always rave about the wonderful fried pastries served at Cafe Du Monde and the atmosphere of the French Quarter. It's true. The beignets are freshly cooked, and often arrive at your table minutes from being taken out of the cooking oil.
Oysters and Pearls, The French laundry
This is one of the best dishes I've ever eaten, almost an erotic experience. And since I don't get reservations at the French Laundry very often--I sure miss it a lot. I've had this dish three times and it still haunts my dreams. Two gorgous oysters floating in a tapioca sabayon, topped with a huge spoonful of the best caviar. Actually, I miss everything I've ever eaten at The French Laundry.
Tater Tots
Crazy, I know. I haven't had them in years. Have you read the ingredients list on the bag?? Shudder.
Fresh, vine ripened tomatoes
Sure, I have them coming out of my ears right now, but the season will end and I'll have to rely on the canned stuff for the rest of the year. Then I will really miss the tomatoes that are starting to overwhelm me now!
Speckled Butter beans
I grew up eating these wonderful beans that put all other legumes to shame. They don't grow or sell the fresh variety here in California, and I can never grow enough to suit me.
Door County, Wisconsin smoked chubs
Years ago Bob and I vacationed in Door County and visited a business selling their own freshly caught and smoked chubs and whitefish. The owner took us out to a weathered, wooden smokehouse full of fat, golden chubs hanging on racks. It was an amazing sight. We bought pounds of them, for almost nothing, then gorged on them for a week. I've never forgotten how good they were and no chubs I've bought since then lived up to that memory. The best: smoked chubs with scrambled eggs.
That's it, but I'm sure I will think of foods I forgot. I tag Glenna, and anyone else reading this who has a list of their own missed foods to share.
Great meme. It was fun to stroll down memory lane with you. Funny thing-I loved tater tots as a kid, but have no desire for them now. French fries, however, are another story. I'm definitely considering myself tagged for this one.
Posted by: kristi | July 19, 2006 at 07:49 PM
Kristi,
I could never give up french fries, that's for sure!!!!! Tator Tots are part of my guilty pleasures, dating from when I was a child. I had almost forgotten about them until I saw Napolean Dynamite--then I remembered how much I liked them as a kid.
Posted by: sher | July 20, 2006 at 12:30 AM
Ha! I accept your challenge and am busily scribbling on post-it notes!
By the way, it's not just Tater Tots I miss. It's the Sonic Tater Tots with the noxious chili, cheese, and onions. Oh yeah, baby. I don't miss the stomach ache and flatulence that accompany that little fast food venture, though, so I never eat that anymore. I have to maintain a little self-respect.
Posted by: Glenna | July 20, 2006 at 03:42 AM
Amazing how some memories lay dormant for years and pop to the surface unexpectedly isn't it? I was just thinking about Buckeye Potato chips - a defunct local brand that my dad favored. I can still remember their greasy goodness...yummmmmmm
Posted by: Rosie | July 20, 2006 at 03:45 AM
I'm tagging myself, too - interesting meme idea! Food memories... they're strong and so evocative of the times they hail from.
Posted by: anne | July 20, 2006 at 06:12 AM
mmm. i remember the one time i had a Beignets we were out all night in new orleans, somehow got some fresh from a bakery, and ate them watching the sunrise over the water. oh ya, and 'tots' as napolean dynomite calls them are so yummy. one day i'll get to the french laundry, one day......
Posted by: aria | July 20, 2006 at 09:51 AM
The custard place in Lafayette sounds like Jarling's Custard Cup here in Champaign. Gorgeous "homemade" ice cream. I must post a photo of my favorite item, the creme de menthe milkshake, soon. It's so godawful hot, this would be an ideal time to go get one.
The gumbo-making sounds so wonderful. What a cherished memory. Thanks for sharing this list!
Posted by: Lisa | July 20, 2006 at 11:22 AM
Sorry to hear about your aunt Scotty. I hope she's on the road to recovery.
Great post despite your distractions. Love those cherries!
Posted by: Christine | July 20, 2006 at 12:11 PM
The beignets at Cafe du Monde are incredible, I can eat a whole plate by myself.
Posted by: steven | July 20, 2006 at 12:48 PM
S'kat--I'm pretty sure you left a comment that you wouldn't give up french fries and I agreed with you. It has somehow disappeared!!! Gone into the ethernet. Or did I dream that?
Glenna,
I tried not to think of chili cheese sauce on tots or fries--and now you bring it up!!!!
Rosie and Anne,
Food and songs--they are buried in our minds forever!!! And they sure do make the past real again.
Aria,
I remember the first time I had beignets at the Cafe Du Monde--my husband accidentally inhaled the massive amount of powdered sugar on top of them and nearly choked to death. It was quite dramatic.
Lisa,
Thank you for enjoying the gumbo memory. I would love to see that milkshake at Jarlings.
Christine,
She had a partial hip replacement yesterday and is driving all the nurses crazy with her Ya-Ya behavior. She refuses to wear a hospital gown, has to have her silk PJ's, needs a manicure, better magazines, etc.
Steven,
Yes, it's so easy to scarf down one of those huge plates of the beignets, isn't it? Have you ever had a Debris Sandwich at Mother's?
Posted by: sher | July 20, 2006 at 06:13 PM
Sher,
sorry to hear what had happened to your aunt, hope she gets well (and get out of hosiptal) soon!
Beignets and oyster! I want to live in New Orleans!!!
Posted by: gattina | July 20, 2006 at 08:33 PM
This was a great post. The part about your mother's gumbo was particularly poignant. And good lord, those were some amazingly large quantities she made.
Get well wishes for your Aunt Scotty. Breaking a hip is a hard thing to go through.
Posted by: Julie | July 21, 2006 at 06:00 AM
Never had a Debris Sandwich, sounds intriguing though. I need to head down to N'awlins soon.
Posted by: steven | July 21, 2006 at 06:16 AM
Tater tots for sure!
Posted by: gerald | July 21, 2006 at 11:44 AM
Gattina & Julie,
Thanks for the good wishes for Scotty. She is doing pretty good--and was shipped off to rehab today. Now time will tell how she will handle things, but she is getting a lot of support. And yes, Julie--my mom made huge amounts of gumbo! :):)
Steven,
Mothers makes mind blowing home style food. The debris sandwich is a roast beef sandwich with all the juicy, crusty debris from the roasting pan sprinkled on top of the sandwich. YUM! They also make the pork cracklings of your dreams, which they use to garnish your plate. They don't garnish with parsely--they use cracklings. :)
Gerald,
For sure!!!! :):)
Posted by: sher | July 21, 2006 at 03:05 PM