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We’re having friends over for dinner next Friday*, and I’ve been trying to think of what I should make. Since I’ve already had one request here (for chicken and dumplings, which I’ll do on the next cold, rainy day) I thought I’d see if anyone else has an idea they’d like to see. What would your grandmother serve if she had guests over on an early summer night?
142 Comments
It’s summer and fair time – homemade pork tenderloin sandwiches!!!
My grandmother would have served new peas and potatoes, early summer is just the right season for this, fresh sweet new peas, baby potatoes, in a cream sauce.
dessert would be pie, what ever fruit was in season in a custard base. (mmmm rhubarb)
We just finished a batch of B&B pickles! My canning process was a bit different, we somehow missed a step and didn't follow your instructions, we put actually put on the lids on and finished like jams. Will let you know how it goes! Thanks for the great recipe!
Okay, summer dinner…my grandma would take all the fresh cucumbers and tomatoes out of the garden and simply slice them up on a a large platter with salt, pepper, vinegar and a touch of oil. I remember her going to the bakery down the road and bringing home large loaves of Challa bread. We simply ate bread and garden vegetables. Desert was raspberries from the back bushes and bowls of fresh cream. Occasionally, there would be a platter of cold meats from the deli owners next door!
Company coming dinner made by Grandma on the farm in MO in late summer: (Now this was the 70’s and we didn’t have diet restrictions back then! LOL) Fried chicken, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, potato salad, mac salad (see the Miracle Whip theme here), jello type salad (either with carrots and pineapple or sweet with marshmallows and fruit cocktail), scalloped corn, slice tomatoes, pickles, homemade rolls. Dessert, usually whatever was in season in a pie or crisp with ice cream. Land, I miss that kind of cooking and none of us were fat…. Guess we all worked super hard at physical labor. LOL Thanks for letting me reminisce about my Grandma. She was a gem!
My Favorite Meal is Chicken and noodles on mashed potatoes with well honestly anything, but I am partial to fresh peas. And if you really want to make me estatic throw in some chocolate cake with peanutbutter frosting.
The key to this is homemade eggnoodles chicken stock, I also prefer chicken that is shredded rather then chopped.
Love, Love, Love your blog. My grandmother was a fantastic cook and a beautiful human. When I was sick, she would always make me tapioca pudding. To this day, it’s a favorite of mine. Also a favorite, banana pudding. (Not Jello.)
My gram (“Nana”) lived in Kentucky. As a child, I would often go down to the woods at the end of her street and pick blackberries, bring home the pail that I didn’t eat, and look forward to a homemade blackberry cobbler. All I can remember of the recipe is that it used Crisco (a lot!) and she rolled out dough on the countertop. I’d watch, fascinated, peering anxiously thru the oven window as the cobbler crust darkened and the filling bubbled away.
Before that, for a main course, one favorite specialty of hers was salmon croquettes, fried up in a cast iron skillet. I didn’t like them as much as a child as my parents did, probably because the canned salmon she used had the occasional bone and she had a heavy hand with the salt. Nevertheless, as an adult I’ve often wondered if I could do the same with fresh salmon.
On the side, country-style green beans, cooked half to death with bacon fat and chunks of potatoes in a big pot on the stovetop. I do these today in my fancy pressure cooker, easy enough and much faster.
So I guess the menu is salmon croquettes with country-style green beans and potatoes, with blackberry cobbler a la mode for dessert.
Do not know what my Grandmother would have served in her kitchen.
I would love to See Homemade Chili.
We make ours with Ground Turkey Meat and Chili Beans sometimes and then other times with other kinds of Beans they could be dry beans that have been soaked or can beans.
We always use Ground Turkey Meat.
Thank you ,
Mrs.Garcia
My grandmother made the best fried chicken in the world, complete with mashed potatoes and chicken gravy! She also made a killer gooseberry pie, but I never tasted it, but my mother loves the pie! I would love to know how to make a good old fashioned gooseberry pie to surprise my mother!
My Grandma made a wonderful chicken pot pie kinda thing, and I remember the crust was basically a can of pre-made biscuits. It was stuffed full of veggies so she didn’t have to serve it with anything else except homemade lemonade. (albeit I think that was to cut the heaviness…)
I’ve bought a paté mould in a thrift shop and would love to know how you make a nice paté for say christmas???
) It would be nice to try it out allready.
Have a great day
)
Fish and chips, homestyle. Nothing like it. By the way, your stroganoff recipe said Yellow onions. We (Aussies) call them brown onions. Glad the picture cleared that up for me – wasnt sure what yellow onions were.
I would love to know how to make really good collard greens. Mine always come out sort of brown (not bright appetizing green) and kind of chewy.
My family loves stuffed cabbage, but they always had a “burnt” side where they sat in the baking pan. I found a tip that said to use sauerkraut and kielbasa to line the pan before adding the rolls. I tried it and everyone LOVED it. I always make them this way now. I use a meat mix of pork, beef, veal, and brown rice for the stuffing. I cook tomato puree, chicken stock, and a small amount of cream for the sauce.
Carla
Drew,
If I remember right you had “limited” success a couple of months ago making your own sausage. I think its time for another go.
You could go “whole hog” and try to make some link sausage.
Being that fall is rolling around and fairly soon frozen turkey breast will be on sale, you might try to make the sausage out of ground turkey. That would be great for all those people who are “pork-a-phobic” or just want something a little different.
Or you could be like me, go buy a pork butt, grind it with a little fatback, add massive amounts of seasoning and form patties.
Ahhhh…….Pig. It’s whats for breakfast.
how about a clam chowder recipe for those bread bowls?!
although, i guess any chowder/cream based soup would work. anyways, I suck at making cream based soups, so maybe just a “cream of *” soup recipe…
oh! (or crock pot) dumplings!
i use a rice steamer to keep rice going all day, and just something that i can keep in a warm pot, and scoop up and eat with a few spoon fulls of rice
(book or no book, i just get ideas, and have to share them!)
Apple butter? Come on, try it, so I can lazily copy it and then impress all the family.
I saw in earlier posts you wanted recipes for sweet potatoes…I have two – Sweet Potato Souffle and Oven Roast Sweet Potato Salad. The Souffle always ends up with our Thanksgiving meal and the sweet potato salad I serve when I grill a chili rubbed pork tenderloin served with an apricot ginger glaze. I’ll figure out how to email you the recipes!
Love your website. A favorite of ours growing up was Tamale Pie.
how about a recipe for buns?
right now, i use my pizza dough recipe, but they just don’t puff up enough to be called proper buns, ya know?
How about some polish cuisine? I just happened to be thinking easter after reading the deviled eggs recipe, and it make me think: PIEROGIES! Farmers cheese or sauerkraut pierogies fried in butter and onions. Usually served as a compliment to our beer battered fish during the catholic season of lent. =D
how about a recipe for crackers?
Please show us how to make tamales!
Alicia, otherscenes@yahoo.com
Looking for a good Pot Roast Recipe like my mom used to make. Love this blog. Great pictures!
my grandmother use to love making macaroni soup-grandma use to have tomatoe juice with a small piece of hamburg with onions,carrots and macaroni- if you can get a recipe like that it would be awesome
hugs
annette
try this:
“Pickled Macaroni Salad”
Cook 1 pound macaroni (twisty pasta) in salt water, do not over cook. Drain rinse and then coat well with 1/3-cup oil.
Add: (Chopped to bite size)
1 medium onion
1 medium cucumber
1 medium green pepper\
1-cup celery
1 cans pimentos
1 cans mushrooms (drained)
Mix together and pour over vegetables:
1-cup cider vinegar
1-cup sugar
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
1-tablespoon coarse pepper
1-tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons parsley
Mix everything together and enjoy. It will keep several days if refrigerated.
I would say she would make some chicken fried steak, and gravy made from the crunchies in the bottom of the pan. Green beans and dinner rolls. And pineapple upside down cake for dessert.
Fried Chicken, and yes, a dessert, apple pie. Yum!
To add to the full meal, garlic mashed potato casserole and fresh steamed green beans.
I am wondering if you have a good recipe for Cornish pasties? I tried to find some online a bit ago, but the recipe I found was kind of crappy. I believe in your recipe finding/making powers though!
My grandmother used to make two different things I an having trouble with. 1. a sour cherry pie with a sugared crust that was very juicy. 2. a big pot of noodles. The problem I am having with the noodles is not making the noodles, it is what she cooked them in. There was nothing showing in the pot except noodles and broth, no chicken, no carrots, no onions but they were rich a flavorful. Any ideas?? Thanks, Susan
john wayne casserole.
If you search a little online you’ll see that it’s a sort of spicy cheesy casserole.
Some of the pictures I’ve seen offered online are very ugly and mixed strangely.
My grandma would make it in a sort of round pan and it would turn into this delicious fluffy treat.
How many servings does the beef stroganoff recipe make. I am having about 20 people for dinner on Saturday. Is this a good thing to serve?
Judy of Tinley Park IL
Judith, you should count on 6-8 ounces of beef per person. That really should be 4 ounces per person, but no one in my family stops at a single helping of Stroganoff.
My grandmother made THE BEST soft sugar cookies. I’d LOVE to be able to make those.
Southern batter dipped fried rabbit with white pepper gravy and a side of cracklin corn bread.
Rack of Lamb w/ new potato because I think that with the french onion soup would be delicious together! With a salad too
How about a Luscious “Fajita and Taco Fiesta”…then you can teach us your wonderful way of using nutrient-dense condiments to go with it all!!!
Oh, and please make sure to find a way to include bacon or chicharrones (fried pork) in it…YUM!!!
I make wonderful chicken and noodles and chicken and dumplings. I would like to make old fashioned beef and noodles, not stroganoff. I really don’t know where to start. What cut of beef, how to prep it, and where do I go from there. The great cooks made it when I was in high school forty five years ago. I would like to make it for my family.
Please Help! I would LOVE a copy of your e-book, but would especially love your help as my grandmother passed before handing down her recipes. They were all “in her head”. (and she was an amazing cook, a German immigrant).
My daughter’s 1st Birthday is next month, and it was tradition for my grandmother to make FROM SCRATCH all the grandchildren’s first Birthday cakes and frosting.
Any amazing recipes? Please make it NEXT!!
Thanks! Rachael
I would love to see a chicken and dumplings or chicken pot pie dish prepared by you. I can be reached at parrothead.cathy@gmail.com
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