# family food traditions that you love, but make outsiders cringe **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 26, 2011, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-food-traditions-that-you-love-but-make-outsiders-cringe/576091 "2011-03-26T22:08:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wonder\_lust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecccb3/32.png) [@wonder\_lust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonder_lust)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-food-traditions-that-you-love-but-make-outsiders-cringe/576091/1 "2011-03-26T22:08:00Z")
One of our family traditions, attributed (without verification) to the Pennsylvania Dutch (aka Amish), is one of my favorite breakfasts in the world. We call it rice and eggs. There’s a pretty good reason for that. It’s white rice scrambled into eggs – approximately equal parts each (a little heavier on the egg). We plate it like that (plain) then we add our own cinnamon and sugar to taste. I load my plate up with both. Deeelish! Anyone else do rice and eggs?.. this or another variation? What weirdo family recipes warm your hearts and fill your bellies? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-food-traditions-that-you-love-but-make-outsiders-cringe/576091/2 "2011-03-26T22:11:21Z")
Scrambled eggs are a pretty common ingredient in fried rice at just about every Chinese restaurant i’ve ever eaten at, though not at the proportions you suggest. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-food-traditions-that-you-love-but-make-outsiders-cringe/576091/3 "2011-03-26T22:50:19Z")
Crepes . . . in a stack. . .with butter, and maybe syrup or jam. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-food-traditions-that-you-love-but-make-outsiders-cringe/576091/4 "2011-03-26T23:10:26Z")
Putting italian dressing onto spaghetti. I fricking love it, but apparantly it’s not as common as I assumed while growing up. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-food-traditions-that-you-love-but-make-outsiders-cringe/576091/5 "2011-03-27T01:27:34Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Crepes . . . in a stack. . .with butter, and maybe syrup or jam. That doesn’t sound weird AT ALL! Just sounds like _really_ delicate pancakes. In fact it sounds good! ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-food-traditions-that-you-love-but-make-outsiders-cringe/576091/6 "2011-03-27T01:33:21Z")
We add tomato juice or V-8 to chicken soup. Especially when there are dumplings. We also have to serve salad with vinegar and oil dressing when we have mac and cheese so the dressing can soak into the mac and cheese on your plate. We make a recipe called Burger Loafer that is basically a meatloaf inside a loaf of French bread. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-food-traditions-that-you-love-but-make-outsiders-cringe/576091/7 "2011-03-27T01:47:12Z")
Eating game. Venison, squirrel, quail, rabbit ([Hassenpfeffer](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDe8fTgVUZw)!), and pheasant regularly appear on our table. People have different reactions, to many it’s no big deal, to some it’s a delicacy, and more people than you’d expect cringe at it. We’ve heard about Bambi a hundred times. People don’t object, but they’re squicked. If they’re willing to try, I can convert any omnivore with venison chili or a brined pheasant breast. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-food-traditions-that-you-love-but-make-outsiders-cringe/576091/8 "2011-03-27T01:53:16Z")
> [@kittenblue](#): > > We add tomato juice or V-8 to chicken soup. Especially when there are dumplings. We also have to serve salad with vinegar and oil dressing when we have mac and cheese so the dressing can soak into the mac and cheese on your plate. We make a recipe called Burger Loafer that is basically a meatloaf inside a loaf of French bread. We do the tomato jiuce in chicken soup and meat baked into bread thing too. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-food-traditions-that-you-love-but-make-outsiders-cringe/576091/9 "2011-03-27T01:54:20Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > Eating game. > > Venison, squirrel, quail, rabbit ([Hassenpfeffer](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDe8fTgVUZw)!), and pheasant regularly appear on our table. People have different reactions, to many it’s no big deal, to some it’s a delicacy, and more people than you’d expect cringe at it. We’ve heard about Bambi a hundred times. People don’t object, but they’re squicked. If they’re willing to try, I can convert any omnivore with venison chili or a brined pheasant breast. Do you hunt? Or do you have good source to share? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-food-traditions-that-you-love-but-make-outsiders-cringe/576091/10 "2011-03-27T01:59:06Z")
> [@Taomist](#): > > Putting italian dressing onto spaghetti. > I fricking love it, but apparantly it’s not as common as I assumed while growing up. I do that myself, but it’s not a family tradition by a longshot. ---
**Author:** ![mikenboom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@mikenboom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikenboom)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-food-traditions-that-you-love-but-make-outsiders-cringe/576091/11 "2011-03-27T02:03:12Z")
Sardines on saltines, +/- condiment of choice. ---
**Author:** ![surrounded\_by\_literalists](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8baadc/32.png) [@surrounded\_by\_literalists](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/surrounded_by_literalists)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-food-traditions-that-you-love-but-make-outsiders-cringe/576091/12 "2011-03-27T03:46:30Z")
Ranch dressing on steak. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-food-traditions-that-you-love-but-make-outsiders-cringe/576091/13 "2011-03-27T03:58:44Z")
Cheese and crackers for dinner. We thought it a rare, huge treat growing up. I was crushed to hear a neighbor kid making fun of us. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-food-traditions-that-you-love-but-make-outsiders-cringe/576091/14 "2011-03-27T04:05:58Z")
My family always has dandelion salad at Easter dinner. People sometimes react oddly when they hear of it, but I always insist that my guests at least try it, and they all seem to like it once they do. **drastic\_quench** , we seldom had enough for it to be a main course, but there was always venison on the table at Gramma’s house for all the major holiday feasts. And where my family comes from, it’d be regarded as odd to _not_ serve game. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-food-traditions-that-you-love-but-make-outsiders-cringe/576091/15 "2011-03-27T04:06:57Z")
When I was a kid, my mother would buy the Pepperidge Farm [apple turnovers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Turnover_001.jpg). We’d bake them, and then once they were ready, we’d open them up, put in a scoop of vanilla ice cream and then close them up again. The ice cream would cool the very hot apple mix and in turn the hot turnover would melt the ice cream. Actually, rather than making outsiders cringe, I think they’d quite like it. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-food-traditions-that-you-love-but-make-outsiders-cringe/576091/16 "2011-03-27T05:50:31Z")
> [@kittenblue](#): > > We make a recipe called Burger Loafer that is basically a meatloaf inside a loaf of French bread. Is it [this](http://www.angerburger.com/2010/03/burger-loafer/)recipe? ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-food-traditions-that-you-love-but-make-outsiders-cringe/576091/17 "2011-03-27T06:04:43Z")
Hamburger steak. No, not ground beef mixed with various ingredients, smothered with gravy or anything like that. Just a ground beef patty (usually leaner that an actual burger), cooked and seasoned like a steak (ie, more pepper), eaten with a knife and fork, and served with A1 steak sauce. Usually with steak fries and corn on the side, or maybe mashed potatoes or rice. It was a tradition from my mom’s side of the family, so I don’t know if it was a depression-era meal or what. It wasn’t until I had a friend over for dinner one night that I discovered that it wasn’t a common dish at all. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-food-traditions-that-you-love-but-make-outsiders-cringe/576091/18 "2011-03-27T06:37:57Z")
Ranch dressing on mashed potatoes. Some seem to find that odd… Game is not something weird in my family! My brother shares his with us, otherwise we’d have no handy source. What is weird though is we used to eat road kill… deer, elk, moose. RCMP had a list of people to call whenever someone hit one and whoever got there first got it. Kept us in meat for several years! ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-food-traditions-that-you-love-but-make-outsiders-cringe/576091/19 "2011-03-27T07:13:49Z")
> [@surrounded\_by\_literalists](#): > > Ranch dressing on steak. ANOTHER one that sounds YUMMY, not weird! ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-food-traditions-that-you-love-but-make-outsiders-cringe/576091/20 "2011-03-27T07:43:09Z")
> [@Flutterby](#): > > Ranch dressing on mashed potatoes. Some seem to find that odd.. I’m not sure I’d put ranch dressing _on_ mashed potatoes, but if you get some of the powdered ranch dressing (the kind you’re supposed to mix with sour cream/mayonnaise to make dressing), and sprinkle it _in_ mashed potatoes (reduce some of the salt in your potatoes), it’s great! Oh, what about our ‘weird family food’? Well, growing up, the day after Mom served meatloaf, we’d have cold meatloaf sandwiches. Not so odd, you’d say, except we put butter on them. . . And speaking of sandwiches, spiced ham (the lunch meat) sandwiches with butter and tiny pretzels on them. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-food-traditions-that-you-love-but-make-outsiders-cringe/576091.md?page=2)