Celebratory Food Stuffs

[side_show]

What foods do you eat to celebrate special occasions?  Are there things that you only eat on special occasions and rarely on a regular day? 

There's several foods that fall into the traditional and cultural practices of my life, that I deeply enjoy perhaps more because of their specialness and the fact I don't eat them every day.  Roasted Turkey (with mashed potatoes, dressing and gravy), Nachos (ideally with beer), Indian Food (from this one place I always go on special occasions) and sushi (although I love sushi so much that I eat it far more often than the other items noted).  Lobster is also on the list. So is BBQ'ed whole salmon, although that's more related to seasonal availability of good low cost salmon at certain times of the year.  There's also this baking thing, my god mother called them French Fancies - they were these dainties she went to huge amounts of effort and time to make them, and they were so incredible.  Also, I make rad cupcakes, and it's always a celebratory feeling to make, eat and give away cupcakes. 

What about you folk?

[Asherdan]

Oh yeah...

Spouse worked her last project about 15 minutes from my office and Thursday was Sushi Day. It made a nice break in the work week and was something, sans children, we would do. There was a gelato place right across the way so Thursday sushi and gelato was an important thing.

She changed projects and is now in a farther office so...sad for a while. But today we're meeting at a new place I tested out and it is sushi Wednesday, so glee.

The older boy always requests a chocolate souffle on his birthday, that is about the only time of year that one comes out.

I always have a summer freakout and have to buy all the ribs from a pig and spend a night and a day doing BBQ pork ribs up right. It is a tradition.

My birthday is the time for homemade german chocolate cake.

Beef tacos are not a special occasion item but an item I hanker for every month or two so I plan buy and make it on a weeknight just for specials. I always eat too many and get the tummy aches. Homemade spanish rice is a must with this.

We all love a real turkey dinner, to the point that two turkeys are put up in the freezer so we can bust them out during the year. Same thing with the traditional ham dinner, we always have a ham on hand for those needs.

Homemade vanilla bean ice cream is a must at the beginning and the end of summer, get out the rock salt and go to town on that deal. No electric (cheater) motor, it's a hand crank operation.

And finally, sometimes a man has to have a chicken fried steak with white gravy and seasoned home fries and biscuits. I get that maybe once a year. Some McIlhenny's Tabasco is required.

And now it is time for...Sushi Wednesday!

[greenkoolayd]

sometimes a man has to have a chicken fried steak with white gravy and seasoned home fries and biscuits.

fuck yes!

also, my mom always makes me 5trawberry shortcake for my birthday.

[jay-ell]

My birthday dinner:

I'm a real meat-and-potatoes girl. Beef tips with gravy, simmered slow all day; real homemade mashed potatoes with heavy cream and all that jazz; egg noodles cooked in beef broth and tossed with melted butter, served over the potatoes and eaten devoured with a spoon.

The spoon is very important; it's a throwback to eating this meal when I was a little kid. Mom makes it once a year, now that we're all carb/fat/calorie conscious.

Traditionally, we eat until we hate ourselves and then slip into diabetic comas. It's a lot like Thanksgiving.

[miles]

Damn. Now that's a meal. And also a diabetic nightmare. Egg noodles over mashed potatoes? Genius!

On the occasions that I'm back home or with family on my birthday, I'm always asked what I want, but the truth is any home cooked meal is celebratory because I never do that for myself. The last cooking I did at home was hard boiled eggs.

[wombat]

This thread has made me realize that I ought to have more celebrations with cake and ice cream. I can't remember the last time I ate both together, and that is a shame.

[theinevitable]

the traditional birthday meal at my house is home-made tortillas with pork loin, and my mom's awesome salsa. yeahhh.

my mom also makes a really good chocolate cake.

[Carlos del Vaca]

My wife took a cake-decorating class, and now she makes some kick-ass cakes for birthdays and such.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigfool/tags/cake/

[side_show]

Sometimes a man has to have a chicken fried steak with white gravy and seasoned home fries and biscuits. I get that maybe once a year. Some McIlhenny's Tabasco is required.

Coincidentally, last night I celebrated my end of employment from a horrible job I hated via Nachos (with two kinds of cheese), and across from me, the husband ordered chicken fried steak with white gravy.  The restaurant calls it "country fried steak" which is an odd thing that often occurs in Canada with chicken fried steak for some reason.  Also, the menu didn't warn that the meal actually included TWO steaks. The husband was full to the point of ill, and left half a steak behind.  The nachos were also a huge serving size.

Today, I had a fantastic sushi lunch with my sister (also to celebrate the end of the accursed job). 

[Choop]

it's called country fried steak on that menu because that's the real name for it, at least down here where it comes from.

gravy on peas on noodles on mashed potatoes was a thing (not a Thing) at our house growing up. plus corn and bread. this was weekly at least. when i behaved we would get what we called "creamed chicken and biscuits" which was like biscuits and gravy but the gravy was thin and with chicken. corn or boiled carrots on the side.

nowadays i try to leave the carbs and calories for the celebratory occasions. prime rib and yorkshire pudding this past christmas. it isn't trimming my waistline, but at least i've stabilized.

[pmcd9]

the husband ordered chicken fried steak with white gravy.  The restaurant calls it "country fried steak" which is an odd thing that often occurs in Canada with chicken fried steak for some reason.

You see that in the states sometimes too.  I think that's a modern day variant.  My guess is they fear the chicken in the name may be too confusing to some folks.

[jaydub]

"Wait, is it chicken...or steak?  I'm a vegan, you see."

[littlefallsmets]

To celebrate my girlfriend's birthday and the final closing of the mess that was her grandfather's estate, we did all you can eat sushi.

She loves the hell out of sushi, lemme tell you.

And I hate seafood but love the general use of spices in Japanese cooking so, like, the sushi chef assumed I was a vegetarian.

Which would not be further from the truth but for the purposes of sushi is kinda valid.

[pmcd9]

"Wait, is it chicken...or steak?  I'm a vegan, you see."

It's steak that's fried like chicken.

[jaydub]

It's steak that's fried like chicken.

Ya.  I was being a modern, confused consumer.  For laffs.