Are you a traditionalist?
It can be nice to experiment in the kitchen, but everyone has some beloved dishes which they feel can only be made in one way, and with which no one is allowed to tamper.
I don't want any wierd spices in my fish pie (a friend recently suggested the inclusion of ginger), and my boyfriend would rather poke out his own eyes than see a variation on the sacred combination of poached salmon, potato salad and sliced cucumbers.
What dishes turn you into a traditionalist?
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13 Comments:
Don't you dare add anything to my mom's peach cobbler recipe, which she learned in the 1940s. Adding real vanilla ice cream when serving it is ok though ...
LunaPierCook at 5:24AM on 09/27/07
Cranberry-apple casserole, a family favorite on Thanksgiving. Every year I try to think of new and fantastic dishes for this celebration, but this casserole must be served, or there would be a rebellion.
Mich23 at 7:33AM on 09/27/07
Our family's cornbread dressing for holiday turkeys!!!
czken at 7:33AM on 09/27/07
my mom's original recipe for Portugese sweet bread is sacred. She had a short cut recipe she made once and everyone hated it. I make bread all the time, but for some reason this recipe is one I always panic over doing just right.
huney_bumper at 8:45AM on 09/27/07
Yeah, the family turkey-dressing recipe...except that like a lot of things, it's evolved over the years. The broth got richer. We went from canned oysters to fresh ones. My husband suggested mushrooms. I threw in a pinch of thyme. But that's how food evolves.
lemons at 10:00AM on 09/27/07
Potato salad. I make my grandmother's recipe and frankly, no other potato salad comes close. Red potatoes, hard boiled eggs, minced onion, mayo, a bit of vinegar, salt, pepper and paprika. Every now and then I'll get really wild and add a bit of minced red pepper, but that's about it.
rockykay at 12:20PM on 09/27/07
I'd choose well-prepared traditional dishes over improvised, experiemental or incremental ones. There's something about name-based memory taste that sets an expectation before I eat, and when that expectation isn't met, the letdown is a lot worse than it would've been had I just been trying someone's "new" dish.
When you buy a box of Cap'n Crunch, it should always taste like Cap'n Crunch. Otherwise, the cereal box would have another name.
So to answer the question, I'm a traditionalist based on ethnicity and social status. Simple peasant food is always better than cosmopolitanized yuppie crap, imo.
jayfallon at 1:53PM on 09/27/07
Only four ingredients in a lobster roll. Ever.
Barbara Hanson at 2:53PM on 09/27/07
My mom makes a pumpkin sambar (it's a South Indian lentil and vegetable and tamarind stew) that is delicious. One time I made it and took the liberty of adding a dash of brown sugar and cinnamon. I thought it was good but my mom totally bitched me out for doing so :)
charm city cupcake at 6:02PM on 09/27/07
My father's wife, working from a magazine recipe, became overwrought and inconsolable when the particular canned white beans specified were unavailable and she was forced--forced mind you--to substitute a different canned white bean. Aw, for pete's sake. The episode has now entered family lore, recalled any time we substitute ingredients without resultant poisoning or explosion.
jscheck at 1:31AM on 09/28/07
1) There is no sugar in tomato sauce. Nuff said.
2) NEVER ask for grated cheese on your linguini and clam sauce - it's simply not done.
3) I don't know if this qualifies but I've never, ever had a piece of pineapple on pizza. I was raised in NY and unwitting diners have died for less! There are certain things that are consider heresy and pineapple pizza would be one of them.
4) I don't like funky coffee flavors like orange or peach. Bleah. (Cinnamon or hazelnut - a touch - OK)
5) Christmas Eve = Feast of the Seven Seafoods. Never wavers.
6) T-Giving... Moist, delicious turkey with at least 2 types of stuffing, sweet potatoes, gravy and corn pudding - everything else is flexible.
chiff0nade at 1:51PM on 09/28/07
The perfect breakfast.
Four or five strips of bacon fried until it is barely crispy. Three or four eggs fried, over-easy in the bacon grease with salt & pepper until the whites are just set. Two pieces of toast; there's wiggle room on the bread, as long as they are topped with butter and a half-inch thick layer of peanut butter. And a pot of black coffee. Nothing mind blowing, just passable, not-office-coffee-pot coffee.
Keeps me fat and happy.
ajeys at 3:30PM on 09/28/07
Hot cocoa. I don't want weird crap in it, and it should always come from scratch-- cocoa powder, sugar, milk (lactose-free these days), and vanilla extract. Sometimes I add cinnamon and nutmeg. That's it. I don't want spiciness, alcohol, citrus, or anything.
Christina at 8:22PM on 09/28/07