Disappearing foodways.

[worth1]

Yes that's right disappearing foodways.
Lately I've been seeing videos on people making food that the young people have never eaten before.
I've asked questions at work and none of them have ever had it either.
Chicken and dumplings is one of them.
Something I was practically raised on.
There are a lot of things out there that people have never eaten before simply because they don't serve it at fast food places.
One guy told me he had never had chuck roast before.
Didn't know what it was.
Chicken pot pie is another one.
What's it going to be like in another 50 years?

[CrazyAboutOrchids]

Chicken pot pie is one of my home cooked specialties - Marie Callendar's cannot touch mine. I made one for family members when my elderly neighbor died and it was the talk of the eulogy! LOL!

One of my regrets was never getting my mother's recipes for her corn chowder or hamburger chowder. You just never think of things until it's too late. My oldest sister claims to have recreated the hamburger chowder, but she hasn't. I have no clue how my mom made it but nothing I've tried is 'hers'. My Scot Grandmother taught mom a few soups when she first married my dad to pass on dad's family recipes - they are now gone. Sooooo.... thinking ahead....

A few years ago, I spent a year making family meal favorites, making notes to how I make them, photographing, recooking to ensure my written recipe was correct. I made a cookbook with all, plus pages of family photos - a page of my parents, husband's parents with the kids, family pets to that date, Easter pics, Halloween pics, vacas. Put it all in a hardcover book I had printed up with a pic of our house years ago when we bought it and one at the time of the printing. I got tears from all 3 kids - topped every toy, electronic device we had ever given them. We've since added new recipes to the family fold and my youngest who moved back in with us told me they need volume 2.

[AKgardener]

I love chicken and dumps.. what we call them at my house.my kids have also asked me for my recipes now because they want to make them for there family now.. something as simple a cabbage rolls or chicken noodle soup home made of course.. those are the things that bring back memories.

[worth1]

It's just so mind blowing to hear people say they've never had something that basically fed America at one time.

[maxjohnson]

Well I feel bad for anyone who never had a proper homemade chicken pot pie.

[Seven Bends]

I'm curious, when people here say "chicken pot pie," are you talking about the kind with pastry crust, or are any of you thinking of the kind that's thick broth with pot pie noodles? For me growing up, that's what "chicken pot pie" always meant, the Pennsylvania Dutch dish with thick noodles. It's one of my favorite foods for sure. It wasn't until later that I encountered the pie-shaped, crusted type of chicken pot pie, when they became common in grocery stores.

Chicken and dumplings is another one that's confusing. To some people, chicken and dumplings means basically biscuit dough boiled in the broth, and to others, dumplings are a thick noodle. Maybe that's also a Pennsylvania Dutch thing, not sure.

But anyway, definite thumbs-up here for chicken pot pie, chicken & dumplings, and chuck roast. I still make all three.

[worth1]

I'm in for the more solid chewy dumpling not the puffy bread like ones that dissolve.
Many people in Texas use flour tortillas.
They ain't bad.
My idea of pot pie is a pastry crust but a nice noodle won't hurt.
One can always make room for pasta.
I'm from Texas but we all end up liking what we were raised on.
My French Mom was from the north west in Montana but a spicy Mexican food fanatic.

[bower]

Dumplings are the dough kind here (aka doughboys) and used to be served in everything from pea soup to stews.
I often wonder how my grandmother made them.
All the recipes I see kicking around have got baking powder in it, but I'm sure she didn't have any.
Recipes got updated to use baking powder when it became available.
I must ask my mom about that, how they did it.

Every time I have to make a cake without a mixer, I say to myself, what did your grandmother do. She had a good wooden spoon, and that's all she needed... any recipe can be made with the right stick so go to it.

[crunch1224]

Yes I agree with you @worth1 100%. The term "made from scratch" has changed a lot over time I have noticed. When I hear that term I think of actually made from the basic materials into something. What my kids think is from cans and boxes and mixes. Now dont get me wrong I do use premade mixes, but when I want the real deal for special occasions I make it from scratch. I think everyone should know how to make things from scratch, just for self preservation sake. How to make Mayo, how to make butter, how to make bread, how to make cookie dough, how to make jam, I could go on forever.

[Tormahto]

Yes that's right disappearing foodways.
Lately I've been seeing videos on people making food that the young people have never eaten before.
I've asked questions at work and none of them have ever had it either.
Chicken and dumplings is one of them.
Something I was practically raised on.
There are a lot of things out there that people have never eaten before simply because they don't serve it at fast food places.
One guy told me he had never had chuck roast before.
Didn't know what it was.
Chicken pot pie is another one.
What's it going to be like in another 50 years?

In another 50 years? Soylent Green?

[AKgardener]

My husband grew up on chicken pot pie his version was the homemade thick noodles mine was the crust over top we do both..

[Tormahto]

I'm curious, when people here say "chicken pot pie," are you talking about the kind with pastry crust, or are any of you thinking of the kind that's thick broth with pot pie noodles? For me growing up, that's what "chicken pot pie" always meant, the Pennsylvania Dutch dish with thick noodles. It's one of my favorite foods for sure. It wasn't until later that I encountered the pie-shaped, crusted type of chicken pot pie, when they became common in grocery stores.

Chicken and dumplings is another one that's confusing. To some people, chicken and dumplings means basically biscuit dough boiled in the broth, and to others, dumplings are a thick noodle. Maybe that's also a Pennsylvania Dutch thing, not sure.

But anyway, definite thumbs-up here for chicken pot pie, chicken & dumplings, and chuck roast. I still make all three.

Chicken pot pie - top, and pre-baked bottom pastry crust, white meat chicken, onions, celery, potatoes, peas, carrots, corn, a mushroom white sauce that cooks up moist but thick, thyme, basil, salt and pepper, egg/milk wash on top crust.

For a turkey pot pie I add some whole berry cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, and a pinch of nutmeg.

I haven't made a beef pot pie in more than a decade, so I don't remember everything that goes into it.

[crunch1224]

I make a lot of delicious stuff, but sometimes I get nostalgic and make some food that I grew up on. I grew up poor and we made due with what we had. All most all of it was made from scratch. With that said, it was some of the best food I ever had. People tend to get away from the simple dishes for more complex ones and loose something on the way. In simple dishes its all about the quality of the ingredients and execution of cooking. Sad to say my kids are all about speed and easy. Speed and easy doesnt make memories that are worth remembering.

[worth1]

@bower
Baking powder has been around since the 1800s.
Are you sure your grandmother didn't use it.

[worth1]

I wish I could find the vid where this guy guga made different foods from the past and served it to his nephew and friend.
One he made was aspic but he didn't make real aspic.
He used gelatin instead.
No flavor at all.
They all thought it was creepy and didn't like it.

My mom always made head cheese something that was really popular back in the day but almost unheard of now.
Quite the gastly sight if you've never seen it prepared before.
Big hog head cooking in a kettle.

[worth1]

I found the video the aspic is the first one.
No idea why he would call it finger food.

[Tormahto]

@bower
Baking powder has been around since the 1800s.
Are you sure your grandmother didn't use it.

Saleratus

[Seven Bends]

My mom always made head cheese something that was really popular back in the day but almost unheard of now.
Quite the gastly sight if you've never seen it prepared before.
Big hog head cooking in a kettle.

My Slovak grandmother made jellied pig's feet. Not the whole pickled things you sometimes see in jars -- these were simmered for a long time until they basically fell apart, then it was all poured into a big casserole dish and refrigerated. Basically you ended up with bits of meat and bone in meat-broth jell-o, and it was a project to eat it because you had to pick out all the bones. Well, it looked like a project at any rate; I never got up the nerve to try it.

[ddsack]

@Seven Bends sounds similar to what my granny made, except I think she did de-bone and shred the meat before pouring it into the jelling dishes. There were also variants made with chicken. The taste was not bad, salty spicy broth jelled cold, nice in the summer, but the appearance always put me off -- so grey looking.

[Seven Bends]

@Seven Bends sounds similar to what my granny made, except I think she did de-bone and shred the meat before pouring it into the jelling dishes. There were also variants made with chicken. The taste was not bad, salty spicy broth jelled cold, nice in the summer, but the appearance always put me off -- so grey looking.

I'll have to ask my mom; I think I may be mis-remembering when the de-boning took place. Your description of the process makes a lot more sense. I can picture my grandma, mom and aunt sitting around the kitchen table picking the meat off the bones, but I can't remember if it was pre- or post-chilling. Would be harder to do post-chilling with all that jelly.