Capitol Hill Blue Forums Misc. Topics Food, Drink and Cooking Wonder what the poor folks are eatin' tonight?

Poor like me love Ramen Noodle.

Duck? Couldn't do it... we had four ducks at WH for 5 years... family ducks... Racoon picked them off one at a time,3 of the 4 in five days. Sad days. Now, Turkey buzzards... that's serious FL food.

Peking duck?

BTW... the tomatoes in the first pic looked real... we haven't had a real tomato since August.

Dog... How'd the dog get in here? I can see fried cat, but not dog.

I only make one special dish... Turkey Soup (regular turkey)...
About 5 pounds of meat in two huge pots... and the whole neighborhood gets a share. Special ingredient... bouillon.

Today... our wonderful local Chinese Restaurant... elegant and with about 80 entree's. 40 desserts. Fresh Salmon, and almost all home cooked stuff... Mongolian Stir Fry, and great sushi.
Incredibly great food, AYCE but expensive... $5.76 and even more if you're not a senior.

I don't get a chance to talk recipes, but love to eat. Am a well know commonsewer of any food.

Greger... in FL, my favorite delicacy is gator balls. We had a catered cajun type dinner at our park that was great... the ladies wouldn't even look at the gator balls.

So much for this gastronome... Time for my cornflakes.

For potatoes we had Jeff's famous "American Fries".
No it's not some political thing. American Fries are just deep fried sliced potatoes, cooked till they're crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Is your stomach racist or something?

Q. Re: Wonder what the poor folks are eatin' tonight?

A. Hamburger Helper?

Probably not gourmet, or even good for you (chemicals), but this peasant thinks that it tastes good, especially with a vegetable (or two) on the side. I don't even read what's in it, because I don't want to know. However, if you're in a hurry or pushed for time, it's not bad. I usually eat fresh food and produce, and very little "processed" food, except flour and meat, but, if you're pressed for time and money, this stuff tastes good. They also have Hamburger Helper for tuna and chicken, which I've tried and they taste good. I don't know what Julia would say, but this peasant thinks that they taste pretty good.

Joe, I've been known to eat plenty of garbage in my day as well. At Sav-A-Lot I just picked up a pack of 8 frozen beef and bean Chimichangas for $2.99. I've been working on a re-model and have been too tired to do much cooking at suppertime. I just turn on the fryer and in a few minutes supper is ready.
But that hamburger helper stuff, if you'll take the time to read the package you just might find that there is nothing in it you don't already have in your pantry at home. Except the oddball preservatives and chemicals and guar gum(ground guar beans) and modified corn starch which are both used as thickeners.
Have you ever made mashed potatoes and Hamburger gravy?
It used to be a favorite of mine when I was a kid. Sort of a depression era Hamburger helper. An onion, chopped, a pound of hamburger, browned with the onion, add a couple tablespoons flour and stir it in to deglaze the pan, then add water or stock while stirring to make it into gravy.
Salt and pepper to taste and enjoy. Also good with noodles.

'
You should try Numan's personal "Canadian Fries"!
I use organic russet potatoes, well-washed, and leave the skins on. I cut them up so that they are somewhat thicker than regular french fries. I mix them with peanut oil so they are well-coated, lay them on a cookie-sheet, salt and pepper, and bake at 350º-400º Fahrenheit [Yes, I am ashamed to say that I use the crazy, antiquated measure in cooking---my one metric sin!]. Ten minutes on one side, take them out and turn them, five more minutes on the other side.

Not quite as good as gourmet french fries, but tasty, and a lot less fuss and muss.

Greger, growing up, my grandmother and mother made gravy with the drippings of any meat they cooked. They kept a gallon jar and collected bacon greese for use as a flavor enhancer. My grandmother canned everything. I still remember laying in bed and night and hearing the click of the lid in the old mason jars.

One of my favorites was Sand Plum preserves. Sand Plums were a common wild plant in Oklahoma, and we ate them through the summer time.

Another favorite of those times was "Rat Cheese." My grandparents, like a lot of the poor we knew, received commodities, consisting of surplus cheddar cheese, dried milk (I used this for years and still shudder at the thought of the yellow lumps floating in a glass blue water), and butter.

If you keep your fryer at the ready it is actually less fuss and muss as well as more energy efficient to fry. The oil will last for weeks if it's occasionally strained to remove impurities and never allowed to overheat.
But speaking of Gourmet Frog Eating Gun Dropper Fries. Emeril has this to say about The Perfect French Fry, there's a little more to it than just cutting the potato into batons and tossing them into hot oil. A little more trouble makes a world of difference.

Ozy, I render my own lard and keep it frozen for such times as I need it, primarily for pie crusts. I either use pan drippings for gravy with a meal or discard them. Duck fat is the one exception to that rule, not a drop of it ever goes to waste.
I think almost everyone kept that container of saved grease on hand back in the day when our parents remembered the Great Depression. My Ma used a coffee can, and used the grease from it for gravies and for frying. When it got full she threw it away. I use butter or olive oil normally to make a roux or even fry a few slices of bacon if I'm in a devil may care mood about healthy eating.

I guess I'm just eccentric (to put it politely): I don't much like fries that have a soft mashed-potato-like center and light yellow skin. I think the best french fries (by far) are the ones that get penetrated by the hot oil and are crispy brown well into the center. Sort of like the crispy part of an order of hash browns.

It's rare to find a place that cooks them that way, and even rarer to find a place that does it consistantly. I suspect most of the time I do get them that way, it is because the cook was busy and left them in the deep fryer "too long".