Hearty old-time cooking... Your unusual recipes

Going through my Mum's recipes to find her favourite honey cake, for my sister. Of course I can't find the one I want (a long strip of browning paper), but I have 4 other versions she wrote over 40-odd years...and I found an hysterical traditional recipe for Kischke made from scratch. It starts '9 feet of beef casings'... (Kischke are a kind of traditional kosher sausage, quite fatty, and my sister gags at the mere mention of the word [it's Yiddish for intestines])

Naturally, I rang Sis to ask if she wants that recipe, too. ">

I found this hearty choucroute recipe last winter and made it several times:

http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016834-shortcut-choucroute

Growing up my grandmother made all types of meat (now called Offal) and we never thought to much about it, except for tripe and lungs ( I couldn't & still stomach the texture of tripe and lungs), sweetbread, liver, kishkas and more. Intestines were stuffed with matzah meal, schmaltz, spices and more.

We ate chicken feet, cows feet-cold cows feet is called Pitcha and Grandma's version had hard boiled eggs in it; hot cows foot had tons of garlic and served with Challah to soak up the liquid that jellied as it cooled, marrow bones were in soups and stews.

Almost all the recipes started with pouring hot water over the meat/chicken, cleaning it, and then cooking it for hours with onion and garlic.

These recipes fed the large families that did not have much money and couldn't afford 'nice' cuts of meat.

Last night I pulled out my Mom's recipe for salmon patties-it is originally from "Heloise"-I made them my way and we had such a good dinner. I used a 14.75 oz can of salmon-flour, baking powder, egg, grated onion and used a 2 tbs scoop to put them in pan and cooked o n both sides until crispy and browned....so good!!

Yes my grandma made Petcha too. And chicken fricasse with chicken feet and little meatballs. Love the 9 feet of beef casing Joanne. I love kishke , but it is so bad for you.

Came across this lovely article that features Gefilte Fish (another grandma favorite).

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/09/14/filter-fish

Love Salmon Latkes!

now I just throw all the ingredients except for salmon in a mini chop, chop it up, then add to salmon. You can substitute Matzoh meal for Flour for a more authentic jewish flavor

bgs said:
Last night I pulled out my Mom's recipe for salmon patties-it is originally from "Heloise"-I made them my way and we had such a good dinner. I used a 14.75 oz can of salmon-flour, baking powder, egg, grated onion and used a 2 tbs scoop to put them in pan and cooked o n both sides until crispy and browned....so good!!

My late MIL used to have a recipe for Petcha or fisnogi which she thankfully never made. Shudder. No-one in her family could stand it!

But my mum used to make a wonderful ox-foot aspic, called galla or gallaretta. Boiled for hours so the gelatine came from the bones, and the meat fell away from the bones; with onions or leeks, carrots, a little garlic, turnip, parsnip, celery, some herbs and peppercorns (like for a good soup, and you had to have parsley), this stock was lovingly strained, the solids minced finely and mixed back in, the whole allowed to cool. After several hours, the very thick layer of fat on top was scraped off, and thin slices of lemon set carefully in a pattern on the setting jelly. The next day, small squares of rich savoury aspic would be served for lunch or (better) entree for Yom Tov dinner with a drizzle of vinegar, a dash of horseradish and a slice of pumpernickel or fresh rye bread. So good!! (But so much work!)

The galla is really good for nails, bones, skin, hair because it's so nutritious for the collagen bits of our bodies. It's an excellent invalid food (if you don't use too much garlic).

Since we're talking Yiddish recipes, no-one's mentioned helzel, the stuffed poultry neck...???

ETA: hey, look what I found!

http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/97599/a-disappearing-delicacy

FYI-my salmon patties are not Yiddish-but I am an ecumenical soul!! xoxo, b

Marksierra's mother had a collection of recipes that began 'First catch your chicken...'!

I miss her!

My first Joy of Cooking book had both squirrel and whale in it, but I never tried either. : )

Of the things my mom cooked, I'm glad to have pot roast and meatloaf, applesauce and gingerbread (though she used a mix for the gingerbread). Can't handle Spam (crusted with brown sugar) anymore, nor wieners stuffed with cheese, though I loved them as a kid.

Happy new year, joanne (and to all whose year is new)!