Least favorite dish from childhood?

Liver. My mother cooked it until it was like shoe leather made from compressed sawdust. It smelled and tasted bad--and the texture--urrp. Why would you want to eat an organ that filters toxins, anyway? Almost anything my mother made was less than stellar: "This spaghetti tastes mushy." "I don't know why, I only cooked it for 20 minutes."

Asparagus was my #1 dislike growing up. I really hated the stuff and I don't know how much of it was the prep and how much was the quality of asparagus available in Phoenix back in the '60's. Liver was a close second, but since no one in the family really like the stuff we only had it once or twice that I can remember.

[Robin Garr]

Like most everyone, I remember some pretty unappetizing tunafish casseroles. Luckily, though, my mother was a basic but decent cook, and liver was not on the family menu. When I finally encountered chicken livers (and later foie gras) as an adult, I had nothing to un-learn.

Almost anything my mother made was less than stellar: "This spaghetti tastes mushy." "I don't know why, I only cooked it for 20 minutes."

Probably figured 'Al Dente' was a local orthodontist....

My mother was a classically trained cook who mostly prepared very delicious German and French dishes. That said, once or twice she really messed up, at least in my view. Once she prepared a beef broth with large tapioca pearls swimming in it. My Dad jokingly called them "fish eggs." My throat instantly closed up and I couldn't swallow a bite of it. It might have been delicious, but i couldn't face it. I remember I sat at the table long after everyone else had eaten, still staring at my cold bowl of soup. Another big disaster was another soup, which she cooked while we were on our one and only camping trip as a family. She served the hot soup in lacquered wooden bowls and the lacquer dissolved in the soup. AWFUL! (and probably poisonous, too). We all went to bed hungry that night.

Several, but liver tops the list. Another is parsnips - Mom cooked them once, and something about the soft boiled-to-death texture and the sweetness had me gagging bigtime. I've never touched parsnips since.

Several, but liver tops the list. Another is parsnips - Mom cooked them once, and something about the soft boiled-to-death texture and the sweetness had me gagging bigtime. I've never touched parsnips since.

Robert, do you ever roast root vegetables on the grill to accompany a pork loin or some such cut of meat? If so, then do yourself a favor and include parsnips. I love them this way, but to boil them to death, I am in favor of cooking for Mom sometime!

I liked everything, pretty much still do.

But, my father once made a pasta sauce with chicken livers and tomatoes. Nobody could eat it, including me.

Several, but liver tops the list. Another is parsnips - Mom cooked them once, and something about the soft boiled-to-death texture and the sweetness had me gagging bigtime. I've never touched parsnips since.

I have to agree with Bob. I also like to saute them with turnips and sweet potatoes, cut into thick fries. A little buttah, a little shallot. Who knew?

Fish cakes...not fish STICKS, fish CAKES...the mushy texture, the occasional bit of bone...the texture (did I mention that before?)...Friday night fish cakes. I hated fish for a long time bec. of those.

b

[Jenise]

Several, but liver tops the list. Another is parsnips - Mom cooked them once, and something about the soft boiled-to-death texture and the sweetness had me gagging bigtime. I've never touched parsnips since.

I have to agree with Bob. I also like to saute them with turnips and sweet potatoes, cut into thick fries. A little buttah, a little shallot. Who knew?

I was 25 before I ate my first parsnip. Never had them at home, and was living in England at the time. They were deep fried and served with a topping of minced garlic and parmesan cheese. Love at first bite!

Alright, alright... I might be persuaded to try them again. Maybe.

Must be a generational thing...same here...Liver n' Onions'...just the thought of it makes me gag. Back when we were kids my brother and I would spend seemingly endless amounts of time pushing pieces of liver around our plates. Under my Mom's admonition that.."Its good for you".

An to top it all off, my Dad made his .."specialty"...from time to time. A West Texas Tradition called "Son of a Gun" stew that consists of not one type of organ meat (liver), but many other types...sweetmeats, gizzards, kidneys, brain...all stirred into a yummy (not) mix of hominy and chile peppers. "Put more chiles' in it Dad!!...ye gods....

Thank God and Heinz for ketchup....

Richard

Liver. Still hate the stuff (excluding foie gras and duck liver pâté). Beef, chicken, pork, calf...hate the stuff.

rwj

Yea - liver for me, too. Although Lima Beans are right up there.

My Father would cook lunch on Sundays in the winter and it was always the same thing: SOS and split pea soup. It was abominable yet he would dig in and say, "MMMMM that's good. Just like we had it in the ARMY".

ARMY food must have been about as good as insane asylum food, prison food, etc.

During childhood, anything with clams or cheese.

What I wouldn't eat now? Swiss steak. Can't remember the last time I purchased round steak. Porkchops with noodles (dried out pork chops on gluey noodles with tomato sauce - a casserole).

My Father would cook lunch on Sundays in the winter and it was always the same thing: SOS and split pea soup. It was abominable yet he would dig in and say, "MMMMM that's good. Just like we had it in the ARMY".

ARMY food must have been about as good as insane asylum food, prison food, etc.

Hey, it was called SOS for a reason, Dave (creamed chipped beef on toast for the uninitiated). My dad, a WWII Army vet, had no regrets about no longer eating mess hall food, but would still buy Army rations for camping trips (not my fondest food memory, now that I look back on it).

Mark Lipton

My Father would cook lunch on Sundays in the winter and it was always the same thing: SOS and split pea soup. It was abominable yet he would dig in and say, "MMMMM that's good. Just like we had it in the ARMY".

Dave, funny thing... My parents are visiting right now. We took them to Pinehurst Resort for the famous breakfast buffet yesterday before golf. My FAVORITE thing on the buffet is the creamed chipped beef. They serve it in a big chaffing dish. Believe it or not, I put it over my scrambled eggs and grits. How many of you are groaning right now??
My dad loved it too.

Really fun answers everyone. Amazing how many people said Liver. I wonder if that is a generational thing. I mean, I wonder how many post-generation-Xers would even have been exposed to it?? Especially since it's no longer considered "health food."

[quote="Carrie L"] How many of you are groaning right now??
/quote]

More like my involuntary gag reflex kicking in.
Reminds me of the old Army mantra that Army cooks are the only people who can turn food into Sh!T without the aid of digestion.

Bill,

That is LOL funny! Reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where George's dad was the mess hall cook in Korea.

Carrie,

I'd be willing to bet several paychecks that the creamed chipped beef at Pinehurst is far superior to what my Dad was trying to mimic from his ARMY days. After that breakfast though, you may wish to double up on the cholesterol meds for a while.

[David M. Bueker]

tuna noodle casserole - ugh

There are actually two dishes I didn’t care for growing up as a kid. I guess you can consider them two “Italian soul food” dishes. One was called “surffrite” (probably some Brooklyn-Italian translation) made with every possible innards of the chicken (gizzard, heart, liver, intestine- the package that was stuffed inside the whole chickens that my “American” friend’s mom threw out) served with rice and tomato sauce The other dish was escarole, lima beans and salted pork. One night , about when I was eight years old, and my mother prepared the escarole, lima beans and salted pork dish, I very likely came up with a real snotty remark and my father throw my head in the dish. As an adult, I thank him. Because of that incident there is really nothing I don’t dislike or won’t try.

Salute