Great Food Memories

Inspired by Father's Day, I thought we could have a food nostalgia thread. A question to get you started, what dinners or foods do you associate with your dad?

Likewise, if dad is not relevant to you, your mam or siblings or granny or somebody dearly departed? What food smell has you right back with them?

Or if you prefer, what smell or taste brings you to a special memory in your life, maybe an amazing holiday or an unforgettable night with a friend or whatever?

I'll start us off with some dad food memories. My dad was a demon for the sweets (he's now a somewhat reformed diabetic) so I think of him whenever I see Turkish delight, nougat or "flogs" (marshmallows ), his favourites.

Also if my mam was sick and he needed to do the cooking, dinner would be a fry with boiled potatoes. That's a dad dinner for me!

Looking forward to your food stories.

tampopo

My mother passed away six months ago and the thing I'd knew I'd miss were her light-as-a-touch scones. And I have failed to reproduce her quality. Seeing as it's summer time it's the rhubarb crumble with ice cream in a caravan in Wexford memories that I've been having recently.

Ah, my dad, I remember now. Blackberry picking from mid August for about six weeks/weekends. And about 20 1 lb jam jars laid out on the kitchen table with the pressure cooker simmering away!

And some frozen fresh to have in mid winter for a special occasion. A few winter birthdays in our family.

Charlie19

My dad made home made beef burgers accompanied with gravy and onions along with creamy mash.

Very tasty but the fat that came off the burgers was unreal.

leeside11

My mum died young so dad had three of us to look after as well as run a farm.
My abiding memory is of him frying chopped up rashers and throwing in shredded cabbage as a quick meal. Was absolutely lovely.
Saw some TV chef doing the exact same some years ago, instantly brought me back.

TG1

My mom was a stay at home mom, so always cooked, except for sunday's. My dad cooked a roast with all the trimmings every Sunday to give her a break from cooking for as long as I can remember back! Just the smell of a roasted chicken reminds me of him now.

tickingclock

Steak, mushrooms and onions and sliced pan was my Daddy's go to dinner to make us as a child. Even though he loved spuds if my Mam was away he never cooked them.
We spent many a sunny evening picking blackberries together and my Mam would make blackberry and apple crumble.

LirW

Chilis. They remind me of my father, who was always very difficult with food but has a total weakness for anything ethnic. Especially South american cuisine when I was a child. So whenever he'd cook something for us he would chop himself some ridiculously hot chilis up and sometimes the knife or a bit of chili would touch our food and while it was so crazy hot, it grew on me and I take spicy food very well now.
Also Indian, when I was a teenager, we'd sometimes meet for lunch in this Indian restaurant for their buffet which was sooo good. I connect all that and a few more memories with my dad and while we had many difficult times over the years, I cherish them and they mean a lot to me.

Gloomtastic!

My dad, bless him, couldn’t boil an egg. When my mum would go away for a few days, someone had to come in and make his porridge for him. Steaks were very well done, mash potatoes with everything, buns and a glass of milk were his night cap.

I was doing a bag pack in our local supermarket here In Dublin a few years ago and saw all these grandads doing a big shop by themselves. The very thought of my Dad going into a supermarket, let alone doing the shopping by himself just blew my mind at the time.

RIP Pops

Dizzyblonde

My father was never much of a cook but he did great breakfasts. He'd use a cup to cut a hole in a slice of bread and fry it with an egg in the hole and we thought it was amazing. He also invented the breakfast of chopped fried rashers, sausages and mushrooms cooked with tinned tomatoes that I still make, and so do my daughters.

My mother on the other hand thought she was a wonderful cook (she wasn't) and one of her favourites was a curry made with tinned salmon. It was awful, and she thought it was wonderfully exotic. She is still alive but doesn't cook much now which is probably just as well :pac:

Gremlinertia

Potato cake.. My Gran's and my Mam's are quite different even though made exactly the same and i can't come close to either of them..

Eggs For Dinner

My Username. My Mum & Dad always enjoyed going for a Sunday afternoon drink in the local. Mum used to prepare the family dinner beforehand and reheat and serve it up when they returned. One day, after a very enthusiastic visit to the pub, Mum dropped the casserole taking it out of the oven. Splattered everywhere. After the tidy up she announced "Oh well, eggs for dinner"

We've never let her forget it since

Corvo

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

My dad, bless him, couldn’t boil an egg. When my mum would go away for a few days, someone had to come in and make his porridge for him. Steaks were very well done, mash potatoes with everything, buns and a glass of milk were his night cap.

I was doing a bag pack in our local supermarket here In Dublin a few years ago and saw all these grandads doing a big shop by themselves. The very thought of my Dad going into a supermarket, let alone doing the shopping by himself just blew my mind at the time.

RIP Pops

I fear my father and your father may have been related. I am part potato from my father demanding them almost daily.

Bless my Dad, he's not the most exotic when it comes to food, and also isn't that patient either, generally lobbing it together as quick as possible.

However I always enjoy his liver and onions, gravy etc. and every now and again he will make it for me and him (no one else in the family would touch it). He can also knock up a very good Christmas dinner.

The rest of the time is better left unsaid, I've seen him absolutely nuke some great quality steaks over the years. What a waste...

keepwalking

My Dad is a pretty decent cook and his homemade meatballs, for example, are much loved and requested by the family.

In terms of nostalgia however, the first memory that comes to mind is my brothers and I groaning walking down the stairs before school when we'd realise Dad was making breakfast instead of Mam. On cold days, we always had Ready Brek and Dad's version was always horrible and lumpy, because the milk would be too hot! Its amazing the memories that stick with you!

kylith

My dad’s not much of a cook. But he always put the turnip in with the bacon cos he knew i liked it.

A proper daddy feed would be boiled ribs with boiled cabbage and boiled spuds. You can’t bate it.

L1011

My mother can't cook. At all. Comically bad. She'd be the cause of mother in law jokes if I was female and marrying a man. Green Isle and Clayton Love First Choice in the past were the basis of her output.


My dad can but has a very specific style. Chunky 'chips' roasted in olive oil and rosemary with veg (primarily onions and peppers) sauteed with far too much light soy sauce is his signature dish - he's vegetarian about 80% of the time, a good steak being the weakness.

For some reason it's not something I'm willing to cook myself despite enjoying it as comfort food, want to leave it as his thing

Gloomtastic!

Turning this around slightly, if I’m lucky enough to still be around when my kids are grown up and living in their own place.......

When I get invited over for dinner, I will sit with them while they prepare the meal and then, when it comes to eating, I’ll pick through everything going ‘Ergh, what’s this? I don’t like this!’ See how they bloody well like it! :rolleyes:

Dizzyblonde

You think you will, but you won't! You'll be so delighted to have anyone cook for you after decades of doing it yourself that you'll love every bit of it :rolleyes:

Gloomtastic!

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

You think you will, but you won't! You'll be so delighted to have anyone cook for you after decades of doing it yourself that you'll love every bit of it :rolleyes:

Well, maybe just the once.