A roundabout way of doing this is to put hamburger helper over mashed potatoes, with some random can of vegetables mixed in. Ten bucks feeds you for three days.

 

 

Gorp, we called it.  Goop was more of a taco dip, eaten with chips or in roll-ups, or as a casserole by itself, or as a salad dressing.  I still make goop but not gorp. 

A roundabout way of doing this is to put hamburger helper over mashed potatoes, with some random can of vegetables mixed in.  Ten bucks feeds you for three days.

 

 

Gorp, we called it.  Goop was more of a taco dip, eaten with chips or in roll-ups, or as a casserole by itself, or as a salad dressing.  I still make goop but not gorp. 

 

That just sounds unappealing.  I've never had hamburger helper, the name "gorp" sound so ickky!

By the third day you really don't want any more gorp.  But you need the pan, and if you weren't too poor to throw food away, you wouldn't have made gorp in the first place.  I ate a lot of hamburger helper growing up.  I'd still be eating it today, but they quit making all the versions I liked.

 

I now have a pan-Asian thing I make called slop.  It costs a few bucks more but it's worth it.

A roundabout way of doing this is to put hamburger helper over mashed potatoes, with some random can of vegetables mixed in. Ten bucks feeds you for three days.

 

sounds like shepherds pie!

A roundabout way of doing this is to put hamburger helper over mashed potatoes, with some random can of vegetables mixed in. Ten bucks feeds you for three days.

 

sounds like shepherds pie!

 

Yeah, pretty much.  You just don't bother baking it.

A roundabout way of doing this is to put hamburger helper over mashed potatoes, with some random can of vegetables mixed in.  Ten bucks feeds you for three days.

 

Same general idea. Noodles & mashed potatoes generally aren't done with just plain noodles; usually there's beef or chicken, and the liquid is thicker, like gravy. The version I'm familiar with spared the beef or chicken but not the salt. The generation that raised me came of age in the Great Depression; it well may be from those times - an economical way to feed a hard-working family.

 

After working outside in winter as a teenager, I was always happy to see it on the table. Nothing satisfies a hungry stomach quicker.

A roundabout way of doing this is to put hamburger helper over mashed potatoes, with some random can of vegetables mixed in. Ten bucks feeds you for three days.

 

Same general idea. Noodles & mashed potatoes generally aren't done with just plain noodles; usually there's beef or chicken, and the liquid is thicker, like gravy. The version I'm familiar with spared the beef or chicken but not the salt. The generation that raised me came of age in the Great Depression; it well may be from those times - an economical way to feed a hard-working family.

 

After working outside in winter as a teenager, I was always happy to see it on the table. Nothing satisfies a hungry stomach quicker.

 

This is also a way to do stroganoff.

What about cookie tables at weddings???? I believe it's mostly done in the Youngstown and Pittsburgh areas. I've heard of Italians elsewhere having them, but in the Mahoning Valley most people have a cookie table regardless of background.

 

Here's a cookie table from my friend's wedding in Cortland, Ohio........

 

 

I've never heard of a cookie table wedding, but it certainly looks good!

The Youngstown/Warren area has a lot of different ethnicities from everyone coming here to work in the mills. I read somewhere that our area has one of the highest numbers of Slovaks in the U.S. Most of our family restaurants are Greek and Italian and no one else has our Briar Hill Pizza. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brier_Hill

 

You can't beat the food we have around here........Sunrise, Hot Dog Shoppe, Uncle Nick's Greek Fried Chicken at the Buena Vista Cafe http://buenavistacafe.biz/bvsportsbarchicken.html Alberini's, Vernon's, Cafe 422, Enzo's.........gotta love Italian food.

 

Downtown Warren also has some great festivals in the summer (Italian, Greek and African American). I think Ohio is known for having a ton of festivals.

 

One of the great things about living around here are the different kinds of cultures we have here. Most people embrace and share their culture w/others. This past summer i went to my first Greek Wedding at St. Demetrios in downtown Warren. The church is just beautiful. Here are some pics.........

 

Some yummy Greek appetizers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've been to weddings there and never seen anything like that, that's tremendous.  I meant the cookies, but I've been in that church too and it's great.  The weddings I go in Warren just have liquor and cameras.  Though not in that church, I mean after.

I've never heard of a cookie table wedding, but it certainly looks good!

 

They are one of the best parts of going to a wedding in the Mahoning Valley! :)

Those cookie tables make me want to move there just so I can crash weddings!

The future son-in-law is from Youngstown, and they are having a cookie table at their reception at The Club.  I have to make pizzelles for it!  I have an old iron with our name in it, but I can only make one at a time!

Those cookie tables make me want to move there just so I can crash weddings!

 

Rob "the sweet and innocent" wedding crasher!  LOL

I've heard of the cookie table and did not grow up near Y-town.  However, I've never been to a wedding that actually had one, and I've been to weddings of 2 people who did grow up in Y-town.  Maybe it's a family thing more than a regional thing?

nope....why would you be be so definitive? wiki sez:

 

Greenpoint, Brooklyn: The neighborhood is sometimes referred to as "Little Poland" due to its large population of working-class Polish immigrants, reportedly the second largest concentration in the United States after Chicago.

 

Notice I said county, not small neighborhood enclave. And don't believe anything on wikipedia. That statement is false on so many levels. Believe the census:

 

Kings County, NY: 3% Polish

 

Greenpoint is to Kings County as Hamtramck is to Wayne County. The difference being that Wayne County is heavily Polish in other areas whereas Greenpoint is just one enclave in Brooklyn. And Greenpoint is not much different from Lagrange in Toledo. In fact, Lagrange/North Toledo still has a larger total Polish population, despite being in a city 1/8th the size of Brooklyn. Again, the Great Lakes cities are the most heavily Polish cities in America. Pittsburgh is basically the only significant outlier.

 

Metro New York City's counties all put together might have the second largest total population in the country (though more likely third after metro Detroit), but that's due strictly to metro New York's massive size. It has nothing to do with Polish influence. Say we have a city of 10 million people that's 1% Polish. Now compare that to a city of 1 million people that's 10% Polish. Both have the same total Polish population, but which city has more Polish influence?

 

New York City put together has more total Poles than Toledo or Cleveland (though not Chicago or Detroit), but nowhere near the Polish influence. This is all about scale and percentage. The Great Lakes cities stand out here for damn good reason.

 

haha i knew you'd bit on that.

 

so wait so we should not believe wiki, but we should believe what you say instead? where did you get that toledo lagrange or anywhere has more poles than greenpoint or parma, etc. for that matter?? as at least i can say ive been to all these places multiple times, particularly lagrange vs greenpoint i find that very hard to believe. at least via visual inspection. you are notoriously strong on opinion and weak on the stats, so where did you get that link?

 

not to mention the poles are still moving in to greenpoint left and right, unlike the older ohio polish enclaves where immigration is very low. you're mostly talking about 3rd+ generation poles there, in other words regular 'ol americans.

 

and if you dont think the immigrant polish community has much influence on the nyc as a whole, your opinion is very much mistaken. they are right up there with the whole of central america for renovation construction for one thing. i ride with poles to work every day. and i am referring to real poles right off the boat, not some grandkid of an immigrant who has kielbasa on sunday at grandma's. i'm not discounting a big older polish influence around the great lakes, but there is a most certainly one in nyc too that in addition is plenty large, fresh and pervasive.

 

***

 

ps -- wow i love the cookie table. that's awesome.  :angel: 

i've heard of it before, but not so steroidal as that. that is definately a uniquely ohio candidate!  :clap:

 

Metro New York City's counties all put together might have the second largest total population in the country..., but that's due strictly to metro New York's massive size. It has nothing to do with Polish influence. Say we have a city of 10 million people that's 1% Polish. Now compare that to a city of 1 million people that's 10% Polish. Both have the same total Polish population, but which city has more Polish influence?

I do know that if you go to the Polish restaurant across from the Ukranian museum in Manhattan you will be waited on by the cutest young women.

[quote author=Boreal link=topic=18361.msg367621#msg367621

I do know that if you go to the Polish restaurant across from the Ukranian museum in Manhattan you will be waited on by the cutest young women.

 

You're setting me up for a lot of bad Ghoulardi Parma/Polish jokes, but I'm not going to bite!!!!  They will only get me in trouble!  :evil:

 

I swear I posted earlier but it's not here now.  Basically what I said was parts of PA and Y-town both claim the "cookie table" as their own. Articles online explain that it's probably something that was brought over from certain european immigrants who settled in these areas.  As to the connection between the 2 areas, I have no idea, but I always think of them as connected as my MIL is from PA and my FIL is from Y-town, no idea how the 2 areas came together.

R&R, must be those raging hormones!  I just saw your cookie table post in the OFF TOPIC thread!

 

 

I do know that if you go to the Polish restaurant across from the Ukranian museum in Manhattan you will be waited on by the cutest young women.

 

You're setting me up for a lot of bad Ghoulardi Parma/Polish jokes, but I'm not going to bite!!!!  They will only get me in trouble!  >:D

 

 

You're only saying what I'm sure others may be thinking.  I too think of pink flamingos and the "Kiełbasa kid". It's a big part of Cleveland culture.

R&R, must be those raging hormones!  I just saw your cookie table post in the OFF TOPIC thread!

 

 

 

JEEZ.  Pregnancy brain at its best, for sure.

Shhh. Don't tell the outsiders about the cookie table...

 

 

The future son-in-law is from Youngstown, and they are having a cookie table at their reception at The Club.  I have to make pizzelles for it!  I have an old iron with our name in it, but I can only make one at a time!

 

That's cool. I am assuming that it is stove-top iron? How old do you think it is?

My parents received it as a wedding present in 1950.  Has our name on one side, and the year on the other.  It was made by Vitantonio, a Cleveland mfg which made cooking equipment.  We make them mostly during the holidays.  It is a stove top, with wooden handles.  You have to flip it over each time.  Gets tiresome!

 

I can't understand why anyone would bring more than one pizzelle near his nose.

My parents received it as a wedding present in 1950. Has our name on one side, and the year on the other. It was made by Vitantonio, a Cleveland mfg which made cooking equipment. We make them mostly during the holidays. It is a stove top, with wooden handles. You have to flip it over each time. Gets tiresome!

 

 

My mom has the same thing, only after she makes the cookies, she takes a cone shaped dowel and rolls the cookie into a cone shape. Same basic premise, only the Norwegians call them Krumkake

Oh yeah, just thought of Wedding Soup too. I think it's a mostly eastern Ohio/western Pa thing. Giant Eagle brand is pretty good :)

Here's an article on the Cookie Table http://postgazette.com/pg/04228/360763.stm

I'd never heard of wedding soup until I moved to Warren, and everyone there has it.  I'm surprised they don't have it at McDonalds there.

I'd never heard of wedding soup until I moved to Warren, and everyone there has it.  I'm surprised they don't have it at McDonalds there.

 

Wedding soup is big in Italian families, IIRC.

Here are a few more:

 

While we like to consider this a Pittsburgh tradition, historical research shows that the cookie table may have actually originated in nearby Youngstown, Ohio. Several other regions across the U.S. indulge in the cookie buffet as well, but nowhere so predominantly as Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania.

 

Traditionally, female relatives of the bride all pitch in and bake dozens and dozens of homemade cookies in several varieties before the big day. You can also order the cookies from a local bakery, or mix it up with a combination of homemade and bakery treats.

http://perfectmemoriesevents.blogspot.com/2008/02/pittsburgh-flair-cookie-table.html

 

 

At a typical Youngstown cookie table, regardless of the ethnicity of the couple, you'll find kolachi from Poland, pizelles from Italy, torte from Germany, kataifi from Greece, bobalki from Slovakia, buckeyes from Ohio, clothespins, canoli, kisses, and those little tiny cheesecakes with the cherries on top.

 

You bring cookies, you eat cookies, and you take home some cookies in your to-go boxes. That's the tradition.

http://shoutyoungstown.blogspot.com/2007/06/cookie-table-youngstown-tradition.html

 

   

 

 

Now that i'm hungry for some cookies.......i thought i might want to torture you guys some more. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've gained three pounds in the last two days just from looking at this thread. Never too many cookies!

 

There's a nice Italian restaurant in downtown Fort Wayne that has wedding soup. Pretty good stuff.

"Now that I have a husband, I can quit dieting"

Oh yeah, just thought of Wedding Soup too. I think it's a mostly eastern Ohio/western Pa thing.

 

Nope! That's like tomato soup in Cincy as well.

Right now I'm in the midst of planning my wedding so its ironic that the cookie tables came up. I just had a conversation with my great aunt who is a 4th(?) generation german american.She insisted that we have a cookie table as that is the german thing to do. I doubt I will but in her eyes it is a german tradition and became more americanized(different cookies) over the years.

Right now I'm in the midst of planning my wedding so its ironic that the cookie tables came up. I just had a conversation with my great aunt who is a 4th(?) generation german american.She insisted that we have a cookie table as that is the german thing to do. I doubt I will but in her eyes it is a german tradition and became more americanized(different cookies) over the years.

 

I'd do it! Respect and represent! Our German culture needs to be preserved!

I'm all about preserving my heritage but probably less about including family members in the set up of my wedding reception!:) I just want them to come and have a good time. Knowing some of them as well as I do(great aunt) there would be stressful moments and people rushing around while she was barking out orders,probably in german,to non german speaking family members about the proper set up of a cookie table and why this cookie did not taste the way she thinks it should and so on... Not a relaxing time!

Not a relaxing time!

 

Wedding planning by definition is not a relaxing time.  If this is the least and last of the interference from any of your family members into the planning, consider yourself lucky.

Not a relaxing time!

 

Wedding planning by definition is not a relaxing time.  If this is the least and last of the interference from any of your family members into the planning, consider yourself lucky.

 

You ain't never lied.  Although I've never been married, I've planned a few and it's like the worlds biggest war.

 

Keep the your "circle" of advisors limited.

Thanks for the advice!Our families as a whole have been pretty good about everything.I don't mind some suggestions from everyone I just don't want people to feel like they have to be put to work for the wedding.Theres a reason why we are hiring people to provide services. So everyone can just have fun.

Thanks for the advice!Our families as a whole have been pretty good about everything.I don't mind some suggestions from everyone I just don't want people to feel like they have to be put to work for the wedding.Theres a reason why we are hiring people to provide services. So everyone can just have fun.

 

Smart!  Make sure the wedding planner is not related. LOL

I've often said that I'd rather attend a funeral than a wedding.

 

At a funeral, one person's earthly troubles are over.

At a wedding, two people's may be just getting a good start.

 

More cookie tables at weddings might get me to relax my misgivings a little.

 

Maybe I should stipulate a cookie table at my funeral! :-o

I've long preferred attending funerals to attending weddings.

 

At a funeral, one person's earthly troubles are over.

At a wedding, two people's may just getting a good start.

 

More cookie tables at weddings might get me to relax my misgivings a little.

 

Maybe I should stipulate a cookie table at my funeral! :o

 

I know.  I've already got my funeral planned.

I've often said that I'd rather attend a funeral than a wedding.

 

At a funeral, one person's earthly troubles are over.

At a wedding, two people's may be just getting a good start.

 

More cookie tables at weddings might get me to relax my misgivings a little.

 

Maybe I should stipulate a cookie table at my funeral! :-o

 

My funeral will have an open bar - I'm *not* joking.

^ May I suggest the following beers:

-Great Lakes Burning River; an appropriate ale to toast to your cremated remains

-Rogue Dead Guy Ale

 

I want to be stuffed, in a threatening pose, like I'm yelling at you.  The grandkids will love it.

You ain't never lied.

 

lol ... I don't think that I've heard this since I lived in Mississippi! Oh ... the memories!