I made lasagna today. A pan to share with a friend and a pan for us. I make a Bechamel cheese sauce to go in my lasagna. It really cuts the tomato and makes a nice creamy lasagna, so there were all kinds of things going on my stove top and kitchen counter early this morning. Bechamel sauce, meat sauce, ricotta mixture, lasagna noodles…you get the picture?
While I was mixing and stirring and simmering I started to think back at some of the things we used to eat when I was a kid. One thing that mom always had on hand was Velveeta Cheese and we put it in everything. We melted it into soups and casseroles and toasted cheese sandwiches and used it for the cheese to top our homemade pizza’s.
As I thought about those pizza’s, I also remembered where the pizza crust and sauce came from. A box, a Chef Boyardee box, to be precise. The crust was nothing like the crusts you get if you order from a pizza shop nowadays. If I remember correctly it was more like a spongy, sweet crust. I’m surprised to see they are still able to sell them. Maybe the recipe is better than it used to be?
At first thought my stomach was a little bit appalled that I would have ever thought that kind of pizza would have been good with slabs of Velveeta Cheese melted on top, but then I reined in my thoughts and applied some “mercy”, remembering that “back then”, 35-40 years ago we didn’t have the pizza shops around the corner ready to deliver pizza at our whim like we do today. If we wanted pizza we would have to make it and the Amish do not come from Italian descent, we aren’t born with olive oil in one hand and a garlic clove and a sprig of oregano in the other, rather we are born with a pound of butter in one hand and a 25 pound bag of sugar in the other.
After Mr. Wonderful and I started dating and I would be at his house for dinner, especially Saturday evening dinner, there was their version of pizza, the crust made with Bisquick. The pizza sauce was homemade and sweet, almost like ketchup in flavor. The toppings varied in both my mother and mother in law’s kitchens. Usually there was hamburger on top and maybe some onions and canned mushroom, and always the Velveeta Cheese.
In today’s world, now that I have access to television in three rooms in our little cottage on the hill, I have been able to go to school via The Food Network and learn from top chef’s all over the world. They have opened my taste buds and eyes for what is good and what you let go by the wayside. The biggest thing I’ve learned from The Food Network chefs is about the cheese. Cheese brings flavor and there are more cheeses in the world than the Velveeta and Swiss cheeses that I grew up with. I used to have Velveeta on hand in my refrigerator at all times, feeling an almost apprehension if I used the last of a loaf and didn’t have a reserve to lean on by the time we went food shopping. Today, Velveeta no longer reigns supreme in my kitchen. I seldom use it. I always thought macaroni and cheese wouldn’t have flavor and creamy texture without the Velveeta, but in today’s world I make 3 and 4 cheese macaroni dishes and then I bake it off with Panko crumbs and butter to crisp up the top and we end up with a very delicate and elegant entree.
versus
My favorite cheeses are, locally, Steiners Swiss Cheese, and then I also like to keep chunks of Baby Swiss, Havarti, Asiago, Provolone, and Parmesan in my fridge, but don’t always have them all on hand at once. I like to use Sharp Cheddar when I need a more orange color for a dish, like a salad or appetizer.
I was told that Steiners Swiss Cheese is made with the Saturday night milk. It is unseparated, so the cream remains in the milk and you get this amazing creamy swiss cheese and full of flavor. (I’m always looking for flavor, just ask my sister.)
Having said all that, I know Velveeta Cheese is used by many because I read recently there is a real shortage of Velveeta Cheese so I guess folks are still mixing and stirring it into all kinds of dishes, or there wouldn’t be a shortage, huh? If you use it and like it, don’t think I sit in judgement of you. Personally, I’ve moved on, that doesn’t mean everyone else has to.
I also know that some folks can’t afford to purchase more expensive chunks of cheese and if we were feeding a large family I am sure I would cook more like my mother and mother in law did, feeding the family on stretched out dollars.
I found this picture of a pizza that look similar to my childhood pizza’s. Only difference is the shape, we always made them in rectangular baking sheets.
My favorite pizza in the whole wide world is a light and pillow-y crust, a bit of olive oil on the crust, top it with some mozzarella cheese, sprinkle a few black olives, onions, fresh mushroom, cherry tomatoes – halved, fresh basil leaves, a few bacon bits and more mozzarella, with some Parmesan sprinkled on top and more olive oil drizzled on top of the parm. Talk about flavorful and delicate!
Unsalted and Seasoned
I like healthy but with flavor. I watch salt intake and don’t use a lot of salt to season, only to enhance the seasonings I use in my dishes, but never to be the source of flavor.
My favorite seasoning is garlic powder, not garlic salt, and then if needed I add some salt.
I use all unsalted butter as well.
Other favorite seasonings are cumin, rosemary, black pepper, onion powder, and scantily will use Lawry’s Seasoning salt at times.
When cooking I also use a ton of onions and garlic. It is amazing what those two can do to a dish and I use them liberally. At times my kitchen smells like an Italian kitchen because of all the flavors I use. (I love to confuse people.)
So, what are some ingredients your mama used, but you no longer use?
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Looking in my Rearview Mirror 