What is a dish from your childhood that you fear you just won't ever have again?

[klflowers]

My Grandmother's peach cobbler. And, believe it or not, my mom's chittlins (or chitterlings for those that insist). My mom's were the only ones I would eat, first because she cleaned them very well and second because she finished them in a CI skillet in vinegar to get rid if the strong pork flavor and tenderize them. People that said they would never eat them changed their minds when she cooked them. Alas, she stopped making them a few years ago. And I am not up to the cleaning. It is a job as you can imagine.

[Oak Smoke]

My grandmothers home made butterscotch pie. All her pies had incredible flakey crusts, she said because she used lard. I remember her watching a pan of sugar and I have no idea what else waiting for just the right color. Those pies were rich and the flavor of butterscotch was always perfect. It’s a good thing I can’t make them, keto wouldn’t stand a chance.

[Pobeque]

My grandmothers meatballs. So a tradition in my family, is that when someone passes, the funeral/bereavement card will always have the persons signature recipe on the back. We put my grandmothers Italian meatloaf on this one, which is an amazing recipe that I make 1x per month, but not the meatballs. We can come close to replicating the meatballs, but never as good as grandma.

[smokenoob]

soap

[FireMan]

Murdy , thanks a lot! Who woulda thunk it, Wikipedia? That article said it all on city chicken. My ma’s was breaded & baked AND it was molded into something that looked like a drumstick, so probably ground. Growin up on the West side of Detroit there sure were no nearby poultry farms, with the transportation of the day. I mean it was practically wagon train. 🕶

[kjbarth]

My grandmothers brownies and her stewed apricots (separate, of course).

The brownies were completely scratch made and she didn't measure anything. Flour, cocoa, melted chocolate, walnuts, the whole 9 yards. Whenever she would visit or more likely, we would visit her as she didn't drive, she made a batch. Slightly dry, definitely nothing like the current gooey boxed brownie mixes (which are fine by the way, just different). But what put these brownies over the top was the hard chocolate icing she put on top - think 1/4" to 3/8" to 1/2" of fudge on top of the 2" thick brownie. It's been 40+ years since I've had one of her brownies, she died shortly after I got married 31 years ago and for the last few years of her life she suffered from dementia and/or Alzheimer's and no one was able to get the brownie recipe from her. I watched her make them a few times when I was young (<10 y/o) but never thought to write down or ask how she made them. Neither did anyone in her family, no one has the recipe.

The stewed apricots are a different story. My grandmother made stewed apricots for my grandfather (when he was alive) and for my uncle. Her 3 daughters, my mother, and 2 aunts, didn't like them. When I was very young, in the early/mid 60's, my uncle let me try the apricots and I liked them. Whenever I visited my grandmother when I was young, she made me the stewed apricots. My parents didn't particularly like them, none of my 4 siblings and none of my 7 cousins liked them so this was a treat she made for me. Of course, no recipe, and I haven't had them in 50+/- years. But I still remember.

[Mosca]

My dad couldn’t use the toaster, and had trouble pouring a bowl of cereal. My mom was a decent cook, but cooking for a family of 8 meant that most dinners were uncomplicated. I’m a much better cook than she was.

Regardless, she made something she called Spanish rice that, while I can make it and probably make it better, I can’t make so that it tastes like what she made. It had ground beef, canned tomatoes, and she used Minute Rice. Both my sister Mary and I make our own version with green pepper, onion, garlic, chili powder, etc, and both are excellent, but not like hers.

[Jfrosty27]

My mom made a "Spanish Rice" dish. She used what I know now was cubed pork butt. Really tough and fatty. And she cooked the rice to mush. As I said in my post above she was a lousy cook.

[RustyHaines]

For me it was a relatively simple dish my mother made and I cannot replicate . . . . which is a good thing because it makes it hers alone. Pot roast with homemade egg noodles as a side dish that she mixed with the pot roast drippings. I ate those noodles until I was in pain

[Bob's BBQ]

My grandfather was a butcher so my dad learned how to butcher and to make several awesome sausages. He made a breakfast sausage that was SO good. I have never been able to replicate, or find anything like it. All of his recipes were in his head, and none of us (me or my siblings) ever got around to writing them down. I'll never have it again, and think about him and that sausage often.