Matt Sarad
Friend of Leo's
I don't remember the first 10 years. Food was always good and there was plenty. Our family of six sat at a round table in the kitchen.
It's when we moved from the city to the farm north of Bakersfield that I began to truly appreciate my parent's culinary skills.
Mom would broil thin pork chops, put them in a pan with tomato soup and finish them in the oven. Broiled shoulder lamb chops were put on toast to soak up the juice. Pot roast in the electric skillet with potatoes , onions and carrots were a biweekly meal. Her Greek stew? Beef in chunks cooked with the onions, potatoes, and carrots with cinnamon and finished with melted Gouda cheese was rare bit wonderful. She loved a Prime Rib perfectly done. Her Thanksgiving turkey was generally to dry. That's when I switched from the breast to the drum drum stick.
A Christmas Goose as far better.
My brother just reminded me of cube steak, cooked almost like chicken fried steak. Her meatloaf was something I never was a fan of, bit it was filling.
Who remembers lime green jello with pear halves? Mom would make a Bing cherry jello using Cragmont cherry cola.
She never baked from scratch, rather she would get the coffee cakes and cinnamon rolls for Sunday morning out of the icebox( She was born in Mattoon, Illinois in 1926.)
Many of her recipes came from Sunset magazine.
Her Spanakopita, the Greek spinach pie with eggs, feta cheese, dill, onions, garlic with top and bottom layers of Phyllo dough was heavenly. One year the neighbor offered Mom her pick of a freshly slaughtered steer. She chose the liver and tongue. Many guys my age, late 60s, never seemed to like liver and onions.A fresh liver was the key. I loved it. She did wonders with tongue.
Rather than thin sliced with oil and garlic like the Basque restaurants served, she cut it into 2 inch chunks. I don't remember how it was cooked, but it was the best I've ever had. Donuts, cookies, Strawberry rhubarb, cherry, chocolate, and lemon meringue pics came from Smiths bakery, still going strong from 1948. The maple bars and cinnamon rolls were my first choices.
My Dad was the King of the grill. Perfect medium rare steaks and the best burger I ever had one Saturday in the mid 70s are juicy in my memory.
He loved to show off his crown roast of pork once a Winter. Succulent chops, juicy, crispy fat with mashed potatoes, green beans, carrots and an Iceberg lettuce salad with Wishbone Russian dressing...
We made ice cream all summer long with fresh peaches or berries growing in the back yard.
Our local bakery, Golden Crust, was always ready for sandwiches made with Oscar Mayer cold cuts of Bologna, Olive Loaf, Cotto Salami, Chopped Ham, and Dad's favorite, Braunschweiger. Since he liked Miracle Whip,we never had Mayonnaise.
When Dad was gone out of town for work, we kids would watch TV with hamburgers and fries from Foster's Freeze or A and W or a Swansons TV dinner. I fondly remember the Turkey and roast beef.
We would go to dinner for Mexican or Chinese food,always in the same places: the Mexicali or the Rice Bowl, both still in business after 70+ years.
Mom entered Dad into a cooking contest. He concocted Cactus Burger Wellington which won first prize. Fresh nopales from the farm between two seasoned patties, wrapped in dough and baked to a golden brown. Clever and delicious.
Looking back on it, there wasn't a lot of variety, but I miss those days.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and keep picking.
It's when we moved from the city to the farm north of Bakersfield that I began to truly appreciate my parent's culinary skills.
Mom would broil thin pork chops, put them in a pan with tomato soup and finish them in the oven. Broiled shoulder lamb chops were put on toast to soak up the juice. Pot roast in the electric skillet with potatoes , onions and carrots were a biweekly meal. Her Greek stew? Beef in chunks cooked with the onions, potatoes, and carrots with cinnamon and finished with melted Gouda cheese was rare bit wonderful. She loved a Prime Rib perfectly done. Her Thanksgiving turkey was generally to dry. That's when I switched from the breast to the drum drum stick.
A Christmas Goose as far better.
My brother just reminded me of cube steak, cooked almost like chicken fried steak. Her meatloaf was something I never was a fan of, bit it was filling.
Who remembers lime green jello with pear halves? Mom would make a Bing cherry jello using Cragmont cherry cola.
She never baked from scratch, rather she would get the coffee cakes and cinnamon rolls for Sunday morning out of the icebox( She was born in Mattoon, Illinois in 1926.)
Many of her recipes came from Sunset magazine.
Her Spanakopita, the Greek spinach pie with eggs, feta cheese, dill, onions, garlic with top and bottom layers of Phyllo dough was heavenly. One year the neighbor offered Mom her pick of a freshly slaughtered steer. She chose the liver and tongue. Many guys my age, late 60s, never seemed to like liver and onions.A fresh liver was the key. I loved it. She did wonders with tongue.
Rather than thin sliced with oil and garlic like the Basque restaurants served, she cut it into 2 inch chunks. I don't remember how it was cooked, but it was the best I've ever had. Donuts, cookies, Strawberry rhubarb, cherry, chocolate, and lemon meringue pics came from Smiths bakery, still going strong from 1948. The maple bars and cinnamon rolls were my first choices.
My Dad was the King of the grill. Perfect medium rare steaks and the best burger I ever had one Saturday in the mid 70s are juicy in my memory.
He loved to show off his crown roast of pork once a Winter. Succulent chops, juicy, crispy fat with mashed potatoes, green beans, carrots and an Iceberg lettuce salad with Wishbone Russian dressing...
We made ice cream all summer long with fresh peaches or berries growing in the back yard.
Our local bakery, Golden Crust, was always ready for sandwiches made with Oscar Mayer cold cuts of Bologna, Olive Loaf, Cotto Salami, Chopped Ham, and Dad's favorite, Braunschweiger. Since he liked Miracle Whip,we never had Mayonnaise.
When Dad was gone out of town for work, we kids would watch TV with hamburgers and fries from Foster's Freeze or A and W or a Swansons TV dinner. I fondly remember the Turkey and roast beef.
We would go to dinner for Mexican or Chinese food,always in the same places: the Mexicali or the Rice Bowl, both still in business after 70+ years.
Mom entered Dad into a cooking contest. He concocted Cactus Burger Wellington which won first prize. Fresh nopales from the farm between two seasoned patties, wrapped in dough and baked to a golden brown. Clever and delicious.
Looking back on it, there wasn't a lot of variety, but I miss those days.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and keep picking.
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