quickandeasycooking

Sometimes you just crave that comfort food from your childhood. There are those few dishes that take us right back to a moment in those long and golden days of growing up. Just like when you hear a song that was popular during your teen years, a special dish will make you remember exactly what you were doing the first time you had it.

Just because we lived in the back of beyond didn’t mean we forgot to party. There was entertainment aplenty among the ladies. And party food meant appetizers. Wow!

The ultimate in sophistication in my tiny hometown was Lipton California Dip with “ruffled” potato chips. So delicious! And even though you can now buy it already made, the store bought version doesn’t come close to the one my mother put together with sour cream and an envelope of that mix. Can’t you just smell it? Bring it out again at your next party; it’s simple to throw together and always good.

Chex mix was another favorite party appetizer, except we didn’t call it that. My father’s maiden cousin gave us a batch every Christmas, and she called it “nuts and bolts.” I guess that was because it kind of looked like, well, nuts and bolts. She made it very spicy and very salty and we ate it by the handfuls.

My mother made a cheese roll that I still crave today. She had some kind of hand grinder that she attached to the kitchen counter. She threw it cheddar cheese, nuts and I’m not sure what else, ground it all together and then rolled the whole thing in chili powder. It was a big hit in the Christmas baskets she put together for friends.

Those are really the only three appetizers I can remember from my childhood. Surely we had more! How about you? What special appetizers were part of your growing up?

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