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misc Confess your food sins, cringe, and scares in these reads not fit for the table!

While thinking about what got me started on my love of peppers, I was forced to recall a time I thought there was nothing wrong with keeping a bottle of leftover pepper vinegar, and breaking up some hot dogs in it to make my own version of those pickled hot sausages you could get at the gas stations. I would let them 'cure' in my closet for like a week before eating them. I would only do this when we'd get an empty bottle of pickled sport peppers, and only once per bottle.
I don't recall ever having any issues, but you'd never get me to eat one of those today. It was probably safe though, right? 🤭
 
I’m the main cook in my house, and I’ve gotten pretty decent at it over the years… but my comfort food is still Kraft Mac and Cheese. Not mac and cheese in general; gimme that KD. The main flavor isn’t supposed to be cheese, let alone real cheese, it’s butter and cheese powder.

Add two slices of American cheese per box, which offsets the nostalgia factor and makes it taste just like when I was a kid. I also add an exacting ratio of sriracha and Frank’s, which amps up the fake cheesiness even more.

I was raised in southern California, in the 90s, so sugary cereals, processed foods, etc. were rare treats at friends’ houses. That may have something to do with it, but really, it’s just so good.
 
I like a sausage and marmalade sandwich. Try it before you judge me :D
One night I was making dinner for brother, sister and dad. Straining potatoes to make mash over the washing up bowl when I dropped the lid, potatoes fell into washing up water. I scooped them out, mashed them up with lots of butter and put tomato sauce on them to disguise the taste and colour - taaaaa daaaa - nobody died :lol:
Have to say I didn't eat them
 
Also when I was young, my dad would only buy jelly when we were out of peanut butter, saying they should both last the same amount of time. Anyone who has ever made sandwiches for a living, knows that isn't true, even if you spread that jelly really thin, and go thick with the pb. I am the master of thinly spread jelly.. I get complaints all the time.
So I would make peanut butter and sugar sandwiches, on occasion, as a break from the monotony of peanut butter.


My dad would also buy Wheaties, Puffed Wheat, and other unsweetened cereals, and I'd end up putting enough sugar over a bowl to have a syrup in the bottom when I got there.
Somehow I think not having sweets around, but having that big bag of sugar, was maybe worse.

He eventually caught on the to rapidly vanishing sugar and started buying the cubes for his coffee. Those were a real treat because I could roast them over the open burners and caramelize them. (Sooo tasty!)It was also a good fix, as I wasn't able to take as many, as often.. He was trying to keep a count of them. I'd wait for the first layer in the box to get sparse and then I'd shake them up and say they fell while I was cleaning. He wasn't going to spend the time to rearrange them back neatly to keep his count.
 
You're starting to make me feel sorry for your child self CF :D

It's the macho guys that make me laugh, "oh yeah chilli peppers I can take the heat"
Neighbour came round saw my chilli forest and scoffed, "bet I could eat one of those" - so I picked a thai pepper (not hot) for him, he readily chowed down on it - needless to say he was gasping for water after a few seconds.
Not to be deterred he says (once he recovered), "is that the hottest you've got" - I passed him a bonnet - haven't seen him since :lol:
 
Ha! That was in my earlier years. After my dad and other family members starting working with Figis.. That whole mindset of his changed. Maybe not his mindset, the cheapskate, moreso the availability.. Then there was always cheese and sausage around, always candy and other sweets they sold there. He was in QA, and would get a lot of samples to share around.

I used to get those wintergreen logs they sold (like a mint icecream/ chocolate layer cake dipped in chocolate) for like 70% off at the outlet store, using the family discount.. Haven't had one of those in years, but I used to split them with friends at the mall when I was a teen. I can't even recall what they called them now, but they were the best! The biggest one was about the size of a small loaf pan, like 8-9" x 4" x3", and I had no problems downing one of those by myself, unless you count the fallout from such a feast.

Then for the holidays we had sausage/cheese packs, big cans of flavored popcorn, candies, and enough other confections to make anyone sick. I remember giving a lot of those gift things away to friends and cousins or whoever wanted them.. I got so sick of the stuff.
 
I ate some chicken jerky made in this insanely crazed lunatic chronic drunks filthy never been washed totally disgusting barely what most would call a apartment filled with junkies and abusive maniacs kitchen cabinet one time. It was great and still alive after 22 years. Immune system like a Ox!
 
A couple childhood stories...

Mom would try to cook different things, i guess just trying to make sure us kids had exposure to lots of different things. I think they had one of those...you must eat 2 bites...rules. I would eat most things. Broccoli, brussel sprouts, liver, rabbit, tolerate mushrooms and olives.

At around age 8, Enter the Eggplant. Mom was not that great of a cook. She tried some kind of fried eggplant. I took a bite, but could not swallow. Took a sip of milk, still could not swallow..i held everything in my mouth for a couple minutes and ended up URPing everything back onto the dinner plate.

I dont remember how that dinner ended. Never had eggplant since and not missing it a bit. I'm just fine eating cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts and the occasional mushroom.

When old enough to boil water, I'd cook up a small saucepan of elbow macaroni, drain it, slather with butter and eat it. I remember making a pot of mac and butter and sitting in our backyard eating while reading a book.


Oh and we used to make egg nog with real fresh unpasturised eggs.

Mom shopped at one of those bulk foods, warehouse type discount stores, back in the 70s. They had a HUUGE bag of some breakfast cereal. I begged and begged for that 'UUUGE bag of cereal. Mom said i wouldnt like it. I PROMISED I'd eat it all, so she bought it.

Puffed Wheat Cereal. WORST shite ever for a breakfast cereal. Pretty sure i didnt eat it all...
 
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Tink~ that spud story is funny!:lol:
 
I’m the main cook in my house, and I’ve gotten pretty decent at it over the years… but my comfort food is still Kraft Mac and Cheese. Not mac and cheese in general; gimme that KD. The main flavor isn’t supposed to be cheese, let alone real cheese, it’s butter and cheese powder.

Add two slices of American cheese per box, which offsets the nostalgia factor and makes it taste just like when I was a kid. I also add an exacting ratio of sriracha and Frank’s, which amps up the fake cheesiness even more.

I was raised in southern California, in the 90s, so sugary cereals, processed foods, etc. were rare treats at friends’ houses. That may have something to do with it, but really, it’s just so good.
I DO EXACTLY THIS AS WELL. i don't always keep sriracha in the house though. and i add flakes of ghost or another of my powders to it most times.

i make two boxes at once for me, wife, and daughter (theirs without the hot items) roughly once a month.

it's getting expensive, though, with all this inflation. it used to be 69 cents a box, now double or triple that.
 
Early on in the relationship with husband, i was cooking a simple pasta primavera. Veggies, evoo, pasta, maybe some meat.....


Midway thru the cook, the dude said something that pissed me off while I was shaking the pepper. So I kept shaking and shaking the black pepper.....

I enjoyed it...
He....not so much....


Moral of the story...which he got...dont piss off the cook while they are making your dinner.
 
Whoa, that's quite the pepper experiment! Those homemade pickled hot dogs sound like a daring culinary adventure. As for safety, it's tough to say for sure, but you've got a great story to tell!
 
Whoa, that's quite the pepper experiment! Those homemade pickled hot dogs sound like a daring culinary adventure. As for safety, it's tough to say for sure, but you've got a great story to tell!
If you're into culinary adventures, you might find some unique flavors at restaurants olympic park. Maybe nothing as wild as pickled hot dogs, but hey, trying new things is what makes food exciting, right? Just make sure to stick to the menu this time around - leave the closet curing for the experts!
 
While thinking about what got me started on my love of peppers, I was forced to recall a time I thought there was nothing wrong with keeping a bottle of leftover pepper vinegar, and breaking up some hot dogs in it to make my own version of those pickled hot sausages you could get at the gas stations. I would let them 'cure' in my closet for like a week before eating them. I would only do this when we'd get an empty bottle of pickled sport peppers, and only once per bottle.
I don't recall ever having any issues, but you'd never get me to eat one of those today. It was probably safe though, right? 🤭

Hey CF, if you wanna try something like this again, check out THIS RECIPE. I made it (several years ago), and they turned out great. If you read around in that thread, you'll see using Johnsonville Beef Hot Links is also recommended, which is what I used. Also, the longer you wait to eat them, the better they are. One guy said he waited 5 months, and they were just like the old Penrose product. Mine didn't last that long.

Sh*t, now you got me craving them again, lol.
 
Mr Tink has learnt this the hard way - except with chilli peppers :lol:
One of my favorite gifts to make is candied ginger.. from Hell! We share it with the whole family, and a few other brave souls. They last forever in the fridge.

@Downriver , That sounds interesting.. You ever try it with eggs? I've actually never had a pickled egg yet, despite it being popular around here.
 
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