What is the traditional holiday menu item from your childhood that you have eliminated and don't miss it, not one little bit?

Rainmom,

Your trip sounds wonderful! Glad you had a great time.

Eh, who cares if you can’t make gravy. You make killer deviled eggs! Just as good.

Catching up after a few days. Dh and I have spent a few days - alone— on the magnificent Oregon Coast. Rainman is at home with his very favorite pair of “companions”.

I did have clam chowder and crapcakes at our favorite little restaurant and I admit - the meal was delicious. Not too “fishy”.

We are blessed and lucky to live on a lake. Hubby “fishes”. I don’t think he really ever catches anything but he does look relaxed - out their on our dock, fishing pole in hand instead of his tablet or phone.

As for gravy... I am an utter failure at making homemade gravy. I’m a good cook when I make the effort - which is less and less these days, but I have never been able to master gravy. So, I buy it premade. I usually can find good ones at a fancy deli.

As for Grandma’s cooking - I don’t really remember much. But, I do
remember green beans made with bacon fat and bits of bacon. YUM!!!
That, and some “soft batch” style cookies that were more cake than cookie. Seems to me that there were little bits of fresh fruit in them - from one of the several fruit trees that were in the yard. Back then, in Grandma’s day - fruit tress were a necessity. Now - they are almost trendy.

Deviled eggs. My hubby LOVES them! I really ought to make them for him more. I may have never mastered gravy - but, if I say so myself - I make an awesome Deviled Egg. And, I have mastered the art of making a perfect hard boiled egg.

This is a great thread. So many memories...

Well Send....it looks like Tupperware,but it's called Lock&Lock by Handy and it came with a tray in it for eggs and also a tray in it for cupcakes,so you can take one or the other.
It washes great and it's very handy and I really like it because I used to have to put my eggs on the Ugly egg plate my brother gave my Mother and then cover the eggs with foil,so this is much easier~

Lu,
Is your egg carrier t u p p e r w a r e ?

Yum, more mayonnaise, then some more!

I live in the Bible Belt,but that isn't why I always make and take the deviled eggs,
I do it because my Mother always did it and when she left I just decided to keep it going because everybody always loves them.
I don't pipe the egg yolk mix into the shells either,I just take a teaspoon and put the mix into the shells,top it with a green olive and sprinkle the eggs with paprika.
I have the best plastic egg carrier with a lid and a handle I take them in too.It's just perfect,holds 24 and I only paid a dollar for it at a garage sale.

Has anyone tried the deviled eggs with avocado or yogurt? The ‘healthy’ way?

If they tasted good then your eggs just needed more mayo Send.

BlackHole,
Turns out, I was born in the "Rust" belt, in Indiana, and never heard that term before. I have heard of the "Thyroid" belt and the "Bible" belt though.

My Dad was from Ohio, Mom from Texas, and yes, we always had deviled eggs.

I noticed that the people bringing the deviled eggs to an event were always the best cooks, very popular, and nice people.

TN,

My MIL taught me that trick. Cooking in a roasting bag works every time. Definitely keeps meat moist.

Blackhole,

Every good hostess has a deviled egg plate! It’s a must for anyone living in the south.

Going to get me one for Christmas.
What is that, you say?
An egg plate.

I have not made deviled eggs for over 30 years! This Thanksgiving, my deviled eggs were so thick, there is no way I could have piped them into the egg whites.

CWillie! I was so very happy to hear of your medical success, now I am doing a happy dance for you!

Techie we always separated the fat from the pan juices with all our gravies, at least as much as reasonably possible.

As for devilled eggs - I don't know if they are regional or not, I do know that no pot luck or buffet is considered complete without them and I do have my mother's special devilled egg plate (Ontario Canada)
(BTW, making devilled eggs was revolutionized once I discovered that you can mix all the ingredients in a plastic bag and then pipe the filling into the whites!)

Hey folks, just curious: Are deviled eggs a regional thing?

I hail from the rust belt, and it’s a given that every holiday spread includes deviled eggs.

In fact, “everyone” has a platter with oval depressions, specifically for deviled eggs.

But maybe it’s not really “everyone?” Discuss! 🥚

Low fat is considered more heart healthy, but in my case I think too much fat degrades the taste of many things. I want to taste the food and not just grease and I don't want to waste the calories on unneeded fat. Traditional turkey gravy made from just the turkey drippings is almost completely fat; it tastes good but doesn't warm up very well in the microwave, think pats or hunks of gravy sitting on top of your turkey. When you take those same drippings and add them into a savoy vegetable broth for your gravy, it's a more complex flavor with fewer calories and it stores and reheats easier as it's more of a cream over your turkey even when straight from the fridge. I made gravy from just the turkey drippings for years but the first time I tasted the gravy made from the oven bag cooking method with all that added onion & celery broth, I was converted! Then I discovered it works better when reheating plates in the microwave.

My family tradition is dressing, not stuffing. Dressing is a seasoned twice baked cornbread that compliments the turkey and gravy. I've never tasted a stuffing anywhere near as good as dressing (cornbread, onions, celery, sage, parsley, pepper, eggs, moistened with concentrated chicken broth and baked to a crisp in a cast iron pan). I think dressing might have came from the time when the turkeys were roasted over a spit and the flatter ovens were used for breads and pies. I remember the spit and pot holders in the kitchen fireplace at my great-grandmother's house, as well as the wood burning cook stove with two ovens and water tank attachments for heating water.

OK I've never understood all the things written about the evils of high fat gravy; in my world it's essentially just broth and pan drippings thickened with flour, what's so bad about that?

As for stuffing - I've tried it in the bird, outside the bird, half and half and numerous recipes from elaborate to stove top and I can honestly say....... meh, there are so many better things I can put on my plate.

glad, I cook my turkey in an oven bag to keep it moist. Place quartered onions and celery stalks across the bottom of the bag and in the cavity, lightly salt the turkey and set it on the veggies, close the bag and roast. The cooking time is shorter, the turkey is always moist and flavored by the steam from the vegetables. Maybe best of all, the pan drippings are a turkey flavored vegetable broth absolutely perfect for a wonderful low fat gravy. I occasionally rub the bird with other spices or put more in the cavity (like your cranberry and orange) when cooking a turkey for a Sunday dinner, but I just use the basic salt when cooking for a holiday because the kids don't always like the additional flavors.

What is the traditional holiday menu item from your childhood that you have eliminated and don't miss it, not one little bit?

Putting the stuffing in the bird. Comes out like force meat. Use veggies and cranberry and orange to retain moist meat.

😕😉

at times i almost buy into the reincarnation belief . whatever ones beliefs , its a scientific fact that your genetic duplication WILL be born back onto this earth with or without your knowledge or approval .

i think the grandson and i are going to be close some day but it can wait until i see justice for his dad . the law will resolve the current obstacles .

Goodnight, Cap.

Sweet dreams. One day everything you’re hoping for as far as justice goes for your son will happen. I do believe that.

I even believe what doesn’t happen in this lifetime happens in the next.

Sometimes, I think our loved ones do know what is going on in the world. They are just living in a different realm.

i reckon i'll go to bed . i get up at 4 ish just to have some peaceful coffee time before work . id rather get up earlier than to feel rushed .

come to think about it i havent seen a pay phone booth in ages .
our town is upgrading highway 37 to i - 69 . its going to bring our town into the ' jetson ' age -- very beautiful .

my son loved societal and tech improvements and he aint here to see it . that fact will be the bitter tirade part of my victim impact statement .

Cap,

Oh gosh, so much has changed since I was young. I am 64. My kids think it’s funny that records have made a comeback. When I told them about the 8 tracks we had as kids they cracked up. Cassettes were around when they were young. What a mess when the tape would come out. Then CD’s. afterwards iTunes, Pandora and the rest. Oh, and when I started dating my husband he had the real to real thing.

Technology is always changing! Black and white television, then color, beta, vhs, now we record from the television.

Do you remember the large tricycles from years ago? I had a huge red tricycle I rode until I was 6 or 7. But I was a tiny kid. Then a regular bike with training wheels at 7. My daddy had to put blocks of wood on the pedals for me to reach them. Didn’t get a 10 speed until high school. Now kids have two wheel bikes as toddlers. Those cars they drive.

I never had a car but some of my friends had the metal cars that you pushed with your feet. I used to call them a ‘Flinstone’ car because it was like the one that Fred Flinstone drove. Hahaha

needhelp ,
re; dated yourself ;
" get on your bad motor scooter and ride "
( montrose )

an occasional bag of english hops i s'pose .

Real,

They were hungry!

i dont brag on their beer anymore tho . just keep sending the bavarian wheat and chzec pilsner malts and i'll take care of the beer issue myself .

Cap,

I can’t remember the location right now. But this show I was watching showed a guy who raised snails for escargot for the fine dining restaurants. He said no one else raised as many snails as he did. They have both sexes so the multiply rapidly. He’s a genius, right?

Hahaha, Dark Side of the Moon. Pink Floyd comes to mind. I’m dating myself. Listened to that album in high school.

i loved germany though . the contrast between centuries old structures standing side by side with modern steel and glass buildings seems to dissolve the concept of time entirely .

Cap,

Absolutely, our country is so young compared to Europe. You’re right about that.

i wanna live on the dark side of the moon and grow phsylocybin mushrooms . if you visit bring beer -- hellish cottonmouth .