I will grant that I am not the healthiest eater, but I stumbled across this on the Huffingtopn Post this morning and just had to ask – WTF?
Is pineapple not sweet and inviting enough all by itself? Why the hell would you add extra sugar and fat, then top the damned thing with cheese and Ritz crackers? It’s like it’s struggling to be a worse, sweeter Hawaiian Pizza.
It could just be a case of my unfamiliarity with the Junk Food of another sub-culture. I could as easily ask “Why add sugar and cinnamon to an apple and bake it? Isn’t it sweet enough?” , but I don’t. Still, this dish seems designed to reinforce my prejudices against Southern Cooking.
You aren’t the only one- out of curiosity, I tried, but those sites don’t seem to work at all. dinnerisserved.com sort-of loads, with some minor layout stuff, all broken, no content.
In that regard, have a look at James Lileks books The Gallery of Regrettable Food and Gastroanomalies, as well as his website www.lileks.com . He gives you plenty of atrocious 1950s and 1960s recipes there. The period love of aspics still bewilders me, but I understand that people in the Midwest still have a penchant for entombing vegetables like broccoli and peppers in fruit- flavored Jello-O. This seems to me like a Crime Against Nature.
I am southern, never heard of pineapple casserole. I have heard of a Ritz cracker pie. Broken ritz, apple juice, butter, in a pie crust. It is terrible. Oh I forgot cinnamon and sugar.
I have heard of it, seen it, and eaten it. It is awesome! Of course, if you don’t appreciate a good pineapple sandwich, you’re likely not going to like the casserole. Or the very similar pineapple cobbler.
That said, I have never encountered it as funeral food. IME people bring comfort food to the family - fried/baked chicken, roast, pot pies, desserts, breads, etc. Pineapple casserole is a pot luck food.
At least the casseroles down South are sweet and have some flavor. Go to a Protestant church event up north here and you’re likely to encounter a plethora of the dullest casseroles ever devised.
It’s actually nowhere near as bad as you might think. I made it a couple years back for the heck of it. I’d be curious to try this pineapple thing, too.
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