AV’S FAMOUS BANANA CAKE
I think my childhood can be wrapped up with two words: Banana Cake. My mom’s best friend, “Uncle Mickey” began making us his version of Banana cake for as long as I can remember. My sanitary concerns are about… 100x more pressing than his. I remember he would leave all of the cake’s ingredients out in a large spread on the granite kitchen counter from 8-3pm when he began baking. It would always skeeve me out yet there was absolutely no debating how delicious and moist it was. My mom has also showed her strength in the B.Cake baking contest — she has a bit of a firmer, more banana flavored cake sometimes displayed in a bundt cake. Personally? You could present it to me in a dog dish — I’d still be asking you for a fork.
ARROZ CON POLLO
I love love love this dish. I can’t really explain why out of the MILLIONS UPON MILLIONS of chicken recipes out there this one has and will always do it for me, but it does nonetheless. Yellow onion, chicken, yellow rice, red bell pepper and tomato sauce make this dish so savory and an eclectic mix of flavors.
TAB DIET SODA
Anyone who has been a friend of mine from the age of 2-16 would say in a millisecond that our house was the official New Jersey, post 80’s sponsor of TAB soda. I think in retrospect it was a pretty revoutionary diet drink, but now? I mean come on there are so many more on the market and plus, it’s so embarassing having to custom order 12 packs for my mother at my local ACME grocery store.
TAMALE PIE
The story behind this dish is as follows. I was the only family member that ADORED this dish from the get go. My mom is to blame so I will not include her in the group of people who’d roll their eyes when I’d beg and plead for this dinner. The Jiffy Bread topping was my favorite part of the dinner. I felt like I was getting dessert and dinner all at once. The juicy ground meat, onions and beans make this such a satisfying and memorable meal to me.
PILLSBURY BAKE AND EAT HOLIDAY COOKIES
Oh my god. I just can’t get over how great and simplistic these cookies are. I used to love knowing that I didn’t have to have ONE ounce of culinary skill in order to make hot, holiday themed, perfectly circular cookies. My favorite season/holiday Pillsbury cookies definitely include the Snowman for the winter, Turkey for Halloween and Pumpkin for Halloween of course.
SLOPPY JOES
What could be more comforting as a kid then Sloppy Joe’s? I remember my hands would be covered in sauce of some sort, I also couldn’t walk as a result of my severe over indulgences but all I know is that I was one happy camper after eating Sloppy Joe’s for dinner. Perhaps when and if I’m a parent I will make them, but as I cook everything, do it in a bit of a more nutritious fashion with perhaps marinated ground turkey or lean beef.
POST’S GRAPE NUTS
I was a runner for a while. Ok, not a good and or competitive runner but I ran — I’ll leave it at that. My mom and dad were also extremely picky people when it came to what “carb loading pre race” cereals were featured in our pantry. I had the options of: Rice Krispies, POPS, Raisin Bran Crunch and Grape Nuts. Now, I know you’re wondering why I’d pick Grape Nuts but I have to say — with bananas, cinnamon and other fruits it’s quite amazing. There is no cereal quite as crunchy and the play of textures in your mouth really differentiates it from other cereals, not to mention the fact that it’s good for you too. #client at MMC
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