Mealtime Memories

It's questionable whether many of today's children, growing up with food their parents would have considered exotic, would be fans of frozen "TV dinners" from decades past. (Photo: istockphoto.com/kcline)

Our recent Restaurant Memories story sparked such lively discussion that I thought we could continue the conversation with meals we enjoyed, or despised, from our childhood.

For me, childhood means the 1960s, a decade when new trends in convenience were presented. Introduced in the 1950s, frozen dinners exploded in the Sixties when Swanson’s added desserts (such as apple cobbler and brownies) to their four-compartment trays. I remember those warm cinnamon apples after my fried chicken or franks-and-beans platters. Frozen dinners, along with hamburgers, pizza and fried chicken, made up my entire culinary palate as a child.

Times have changed, and children of all cultures are now exposed to a wider variety of foods they now crave, things like sushi, falafel, aji de gallina, pupusas, saag paneer and lassi drinks. But, I have to wonder if children today would have eaten any American mainstays from decades past? I can imagine their faces if their parents placed a tin-foil tray of processed food on the table, or how their tummies would handle instant mashed potatoes that originated as a powder.

My stomach is even turning at that memory, as it did one summer in the mid 1970s when I was first presented with “Potato Buds.” I gagged on the first bite, and it was another 20 years before I would even consider giving mashed potatoes another try. 

Family meals in my house would not be considered gourmet in any decade. While my mom was great at baking, she lacked in the cooking department, and was quite aware of her shortcomings. As dinner was served promptly each night at 5:30, I was told to eat what was in front of me, or eat peanut butter. (Let’s just say I ate quite a bit of Jif.) Eating peanut butter was often the better alternative to being told that I couldn’t leave the table until I cleaned my plate. That scenario had often lasted until 9 p.m., when I still hadn’t taken a bite, and my parents were too tired to prove a point. Yes, I had a strategy. 

Each afternoon, my brother and I would ask the same question.  “What’s for dinner?” Rarely would we get an answer that made us happy. Most kids would be excited to hear that hamburgers were being served, but we would run and hide. My mom’s hamburgers were just plain awful. She would fry them on a skillet, while smoking a cigarette with her free hand. Since it took me years to recover from the trauma of my mom’s burger meals, it’s a miracle I ever became such a fan of hamburgers that I now write a burger blog.

Of course, there are several foods still appreciated by many kids today that were staples from our childhood, like fish sticks. Fish sticks became overkill in our house. For many years, my brother never knew that fish came in any other variety, and wanted to know if he could go fishing to catch some. 

In speaking with young Buzz-area residents, I have learned that sushi is especially popular today.

Molly Horowitz, a senior at The Emery/Weiner School, says, “I love sushi because I love fish, and I love how it comes in so many different forms and flavors. There is always a new creative roll or dish to try so you never get bored with it.”

Sherry Sinor says her 10- and 12-year-old boys love sushi and sashimi, even though they are picky eaters. “It’s not cheap filling two boys up at a sushi restaurant!”

My first encounter with sushi was as an adult in my mid-20s. I had a fear of chopsticks and raw fish, and this was on full display when I attempted to eat my California Roll with a fork and knife. I applaud Molly and the Sinor boys (Jack and Matthew) for achieving what I could not.

On a recent Saturday evening at Samurai Japanese Steak & Sushi restaurant, I noticed that most of the tables were filled with teenagers and kids marveling at the hibachi show being put on as their meals were prepared tableside. As a child, I would have definitely enjoyed this adventurous setting. However, I doubt I’ll ever be fully trained to catch shrimp flying into my mouth as the chef pitches it in my direction with a cleaver.

Another adventurous eater, college student Michael Scheinthal says his favorites include Chinese dumplings, samosas, lamb gyros and crawfish. No matter how open-minded he and other young diners are, I’m guessing there is one dish that remains unpopular today, as it was when my mom served it for dinner.

Liver and onions, anyone?