Nobody wants to talk about it, so it's up to me (sigh):

[msgadget]

Macaroni and cheese. A picture of a pyrex dish full of it should be in the dictionary under 'comfort'. Really. And, if someone wired my jaws shut (as has been threatened) I'd run it through the Cuisinart and sip it thru a straw.

What's you all-time, probably from childhood, comfort food?

[kwassa]

1. I hate mac and cheese

My junior high cafeteria made it impossible for me to ever like it again. It would make a good substitute for wallboard in house construction.

Chips. Potato and tortilla, with Salsa. The devil's work.

Chicken noodle soup is my favorite cold weather comfort food. Soups, of all kinds. Actually good for me, too, so it is somewhat dubious as a comfort food.

Crabs. (you have to be from Maryland to get this one). Steamed and spiced. Therepeutic to smash with a hammer, fun to get all drippy and messy with.

[msgadget]

2. Oh, YEAH, Maryland Crabs!

I hate that they're seasonal but crab legs have nothing on a messy whole crab steamed in that Old Bay (?) spice!

HOW could I forget soup? Favorite, most comforting soup: New England Clam Chowder with ramen noodle as a close second and tomato soldily third place tie with hot 'n sour.

My daughter ate at an alleged 'soul food' buffet yesterday and said the mac and cheese was a disaster. I've found that to be so at EVERY single soul food place I've ordered it. Usually it's just too bland so it's no wonder you hate it.

[qanda]

6. I live in Maryland

And you're right, the blue crabs are a wonderful treat. Spread out the newspaper and get to work. We enjoy dipping the meat in melted butter with lemon juice. Yum! Yum!

[SemiCharmedQuark]

3. Mac and Cheese! I had it instead of the regular appetizer at my wedding!

Being a vegetarian, it was either take a hoity toity special veggie appetizer or take mac and cheese off the kids menu. No contest!

[GOPFighter]

4. Pizza

I could eat it for every meal (okay, maybe not breakfast). Mac/Cheese comes in a close second, however.

[msgadget]

9. Pizza IS a legitimate breakfast food, GOPFighter.

(great photo and congrats, btw!)

[qanda]

5. Greens, greens and more greens

I especially loved them when I was pregnant. My grandmother made them best and now that she's ailing I don't have my usual fix on hand. I make them every now and then, but there's nothing like granny's greens.

[msgadget]

8. Okay, here we go!

See, I was hoping someone would come out hollerin' about greens! :bounce:

But I was also hoping that person had The Gift...and was willing to share a secret or two!

Greens can cure EVERYTHING and I'll bet your greens baby was a genius, wasn't s/he? See?!

[qanda]

11. You may be on to something

My son came out smart as a whip, as talented as the day is long, and as loving and kind as Mother Teresa.

I agree that making greens is a gift and hopefully there's someone who will share with us mere mortals.

[undergroundrailroad]

7. Cat Fish and grits!

Also: Mac and Cheese, black-eyed peas (for good luck on New Year's day) and collards.

Great thread Ms. G!

Undergroundrailroad :hi:

[msgadget]

10. How do you fry those cat fish?

Corn meal or flour? :)

My early years were spent on my grandfather's farm and he basically served three or four 'dinners' a day. Breakfast would be fried fish (that he caught) or home cured ham, fried potoatoes, eggs, apple sauce, hoe cakes and tea. Talk about your cholesterol delight! He was robust and healthy because he worked hard but I'd stroke out after a week or two of eating like that now!

:hi:Undergroundrailroad!

[kwassa]

13. Uncle Melvin's fried fish

My wife's Uncle Melvin made the most drop-dead delicious fried fish I have ever had, and I don't even like my fish deep-fried. His fried chicken isn't bad either.

Also, white potato pie, not sweet potato pie, though I like that a lot, too.

[msgadget]

19. White potato pie?

What's it like - sweet? What state is that from? I'm starting a diet...soon, so you may as well give the details now so I can try it over the weekend.

:bounce:

[kwassa]

21. Maryland's Eastern shore, a regional thing

My wife's family makes it, as do others. It is sweet, and pretty light if it is made right, like a good sweet potato pie is light. No one can re-create the grandmother's pie, however.

[undergroundrailroad]

23. White Potato Pie got UGRR's curiosity! I found this msgadget:

White Potato Pie

[msgadget]

25. Eeek!

FOUR eggs and heavy cream! You KNOW it's GOT to be good! :bounce:

Thanks for this, UGRR. I mentioned it to my mom this very afternoon and she was more than a little curious. Me thinks there's a white potato pie in Ms Gadget's future!!

[undergroundrailroad]

22. I fry them with part flour/part corn meal. At BB King's club in Manhattan

they are fried to perfection! Also at P Diddy's restaurant, Justin's, they fry them up tight and the portion sizes are enough to share.

Ms. G, I grew up on a farm (during the summer) with a meal schedule similar to your grandfather's farm!

Morning (5AM) - Breakfast w/extra STRONG coffee.
Late morning (11AM) - Lunch
Early evening (4PM) - Supper This was a heavy meal.
Late evening (7:30-8:00 PM) - Dinner with Banana pudding/ peach cobbler or a rich dessert!

Words like "cholesterol" and "high glucose" were a foreign language. But I loved it, I really did.

:hi: msgadget

[qanda]

24. Have you ever tried Brinser's Best Corn Meal?

I use it to fry catfish and it is yummy!

I get it at my local store, but I also found a place online where it can be purchased. http://www.americanspice.com/catalog/search.html?SEARCH=21&WORDS=brinsers%2Bbest&_ssess_=SEARCH_ENGINE

[FrenchieCat]

12. The real one that can't be talked about are.....

Chitterlins. I love them with hot sauce.

But they are such a Love/Hate proposition, that the controversy of liking chitterlins is nearly as old as the age of the Earth.

[msgadget]

14. Uh oh, it's out in the open now!

I've had them (with hot sauce) but would never, ever cook them (it's the smell - phew!). The (black) Muslims had a huge affect on pork consumption here in the north and the poor animal is damned near reviled by a lot of the younger generation. I don't know many young people who've had chitlin's or head chease or pigs' feet...

In France (Europe), chitterlings are classed with all the other offal like cow's brains and such, right?

[FrenchieCat]

15. Right you are....

Listed at the very top with tripes, Horse steak, cow tongue and calves brain!

I know, I know.....those are all what some would certainly call "Acquired taste". LOL!

[msgadget]

16. Do they all go down better with a nice white sauce?

:crazy:

[FrenchieCat]

17. That's the secret....

of why the French must have sauce accompanying their entres. You got us pegged!
Hahaha!

[msgadget]

18. Is sauce the secret to looking good, then?

Maybe that's why we look a little stumpy compared to you guys!

[FrenchieCat]

20. No...

That must be cause of the Wine...silly!

[fortyfeetunder]

26. Homemade cornbread dressing and spoon bread

Made from stone ground corn meal I buy from a VA farmer (well, I have to travel 3000 miles to get it).

I have learned to cook it light, so I bake a pan of it, then cube it and put in a deep bowl with sauteed celery, onions, parsley, garlic and mushrooms. Then I add about a heaping tablespoon of the Bell's poultry seasoning. And top it off with several cups of non-fat low sodium chicken broth, just enough to get it nice and wet.

Turn that mixture in a pan and bake. Have mercy on me that is something good. I don't even wait for Thanksgiving to have some.


And spoon bread with a little light cream on the side...to die for.