Weird Cooking Things Your Parents Do (Or Other Family/Friends) That Makes You Question Their Sanity

[JoeSousa]

Growing up I really enjoyed a lot of the dishes my mom made. Loved her meatloaf, pot roast, roast chicken, etc. Eating them now they aren't quite as good as I remember but they are still somewhat tasty and decent texture.

When my dad would cook growing up it was VERY hit or miss. Even the same dish would be good one time and horrible the next. He used to make "goulash" which was egg noodles, some sort of tomato sauce, varying amounts of cheese, and way, way too many onions. I was never a huge onion fan and when he got the cheese level right and only used a bit of onion the dish was decent but that was pretty rare.

The one meal I absolutely hated more than anything else growing up was stuffed peppers. We only had it maybe twice a year but I knew when that was on the menu I was going to bed hungry that night.

[JoeSousa]

dpearce We would have liver somewhat regularly when we butchered a cow. Never enjoyed that. We also had rabbit liver which my dad said he liked more than beef liver but I would do my best to avoid that as well.

[Dan Deter]

Both my parents (and my aunts and uncles) like liver and onions. Mom finally gave up on making me eat it after multiple nights of my sitting at the table all night refusing to eat it, and started making me something else.

[surfdog]

When I was finally old enough, I would visit friends on the nights when my parents made liver. She would usually warn me. She forgot once, I walked up to the door and could smell it…turned right around and called from a friend’s house that I wouldn’t be home for dinner.

[Spinaker]

I love reading these......

Luckily I have not had to deal with too many things like listed above.

One thing I personally do and I know Sabrina would mention here, is that I eat SPAM. Sabrina thinks it is gross. She, like 90% of the haters there, has never even had SPAM. She won't eat it either. But that is another argument.

For me, I love to fry it up and put it in Ramen. Especially with some Korean BBQ sauce to Teriyaki in the pan. Dice that up and throw it in some Ramen......perfect!

[Spinaker]

If you fry it, it is amazing stuff.

[jfmorris]

Spinaker I just added SPAM to the shopping list on Alexa.... gonna just let it sit there and find out if SWMBO brings home a can of SPAM next time she is at the grocery store!

[Spinaker]

Hahaha, I like it! Really it's a win, win! jfmorris

[58limited]

OK, I thought of something weird that my mom served us: She would take red hot links, split them in half, and toast them on her cast iron griddle with some butter then serve them with miracle whip. I don't know where she got this from. She was from the Boston area and hot links are generally a Southern sausage and I don't see any references to serving them with miracle whip.

Me and my sister were reminiscing yesterday and I mentioned this. She said it always grossed her out.

[dpearce]

Red Hot Links were the bomb! I ate so many one time I had a sore wind pipe for a couple days afterwards!

[OC Sandy]

My mother was an import from Italy, and thankfully a good cook - as long as it was Italian food. Her expertise with American food wasn't quite as strong. Her meatloaf was dry. Same for burgers. Lamb stew which was similar to beef stew except for the meat substitution was so gross smelling that I couldn't even try it. Fried chicken (bless her heart for trying) was hit or miss for flavor and crispiness. However, she sure could get a good crisp coating on chicken or veal cutlets. LOL

There were things she would cook that were a favorite for her but there was just no getting used to them for me. She absolutely loved pig skin cooked in tomato sauce. It was apparently "a thing" for her growing up in Italy.. Same with tripe cooked in tomato sauce. To this day I avoid tripe as all costs. As for the pig skin thing, I might actually try that now, given the opportunity and then my sanity could be questioned, I suppose. lol

[fzxdoc]

I was one of those working moms who thought the crock pot was my salvation for dinner for the family. I shudder now, thinking about how, at 6:30am, I'd pile cold raw meat, veggies, and broth with spices in a room temp crock pot, trusting that a tasty dinner would result. My goal back then was more to have something somewhat edible on the table as I began my "second job" of caring for home and family throughout the evening.

Weekend cooking is what redeemed my cooking skills in my family's eyes, I'm sure!

Kathryn

[Spinaker]

My lovely Sabrina would like me to add the fact that I routinely eat canned sardines with my Bama white sauce or hot sauce. I think it is a great, nutrient-rich snack. She thinks it smells and looks terrible.

[Spinaker]

That sounds amazing! fzxdoc

[jfmorris]

Haha. My dad ate those when I was a kid, and fed them to my sister and me as well. My mom made us go outside and eat them at the picnic table in the backyard!

I used to keep them in my pantry when I was single, but somehow, I do not believe a tin of sardines has made it home from the grocery store in the 35 years I've been married...

[Spinaker]

Haha, very typical

[skipsdaughter]

This was a fun thread to read. Luckily, I don't have a reason to question anything my dad cooks.

[Skip]

Thanks Gwen. I'll have to talk with your Sisters.

[surfdog]

Henrik made a comment that struck home.
I’m probably the problem for a lot of people. LOL

My GF was the first to call me out on it… “You’re making that face.” After describing said face…more or less O_o. ROFL
I said I was just curious as to what she was doing…or why she was doing it. Apparently I still get that look when I watch some other people prep/cook.

[J-Melt]

My mom is a decent cook, but most of what we ate was pre made stuff like hamburger helper or suddenly salad. Chicken was often shake and bake. It all often turned out pretty good from my view as a kid. I was also on the cooking rotation by about 3rd grade. I somehow LOVED my moms chicken gizzards. I have but had them in years and don’t know if I could convince myself to try them again.

The one thing I find odd about my moms cooking is that scrambled eggs had to be completely dry. No “undercooked” or soggy eggs. Nothing could be soggy without grossing my mom out.

My grandpa killed and processed hogs. So we would come home from North Carolina with lots of pulled pork and sausage. My dad tried his hand at a WSM, but I don’t think he ever got the hang of it. It just sat back there and rusted. Steaks were decent but chewy.

Now I’m married to an amazing cook and she has helped me branch away from boxed processed junk into making a lot more stuff from scratch.