Richard Dutcher and the end of LDS cinema...

[SoCalCoug]

I was reminded of the low arts threshold of Mormondom this weekend when I found myself (not by choice) at my sister's stake roadshow performance. The horror!

[myboynoah]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

Very true. Any recipe not found on the back of a can is "putting on airs". Either that, or Mormons like poor food.

But I dont' get too worked up about it. For most Mormons in their 40's they are probably (at most) 2nd generation college grads. Their ancestors were poor pioneers.

Elsewhere in America, people were eating French cheese and planning their trips to Europe.

Growing up, I would eat homemade bread, broken up in little pieces, with milk over it. A pioneer dish.

We were poor people. We are becoming less poor. And the food has a lag-factor.

My kids marvel when I tell them that we ate the same (bread and milk) some nights. We put sugar on ours, and had a side dish of bottled peaches. Yes, we were poor.

Mrs. myboynoah and I discuss the topic of "Mormon Food" ad nauseum, but never get tired of it. We still remember with horror the "Beefy Lasagna" my sister made us all during our visit home last summer from a recipe in the ward cookbook. It actually had cream cheese in it! :shock: I'm gagging as I write. The leftovers sat in the refrigerator for a week as we found different excuses to eat other things (the fried chicken at the local supermarket was actually very good).

We chalk it up to the rather bland ethnic background of most U.S. Mormons of 20-30 years ago (English and Scandinavian). Add to this that most came from rural backgrounds and meat and starch, with few flavor enhancers, became the staple. As Mike notes, lower income levels also played a part. For me, pizza came frozen (Totino's), Chinese came from a can (Chung King), and Mexican was found at Taco Time. It wasn't until going on a mission (Japan), and then marrying an Italian-American, that I started experiencing good food. This is sad to say, but I am hard pressed to recall one dish from my childhood that I long for.

Of course, we live in a new age and Food Network and the Internet make it easier for us all to branch out. Mrs. myboynoah made a fennel-potato gratin last night to go with the BBQ steaks that was excellent (recipe at http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/reci..._30282,00.html ). I’m sure my father would have asked, “What the hell is a fennel?” and noted that mom’s scalloped potatoes are just as good.

All this said, I do like Funeral Potatoes and a good Chicken-Broccoli, but I doubt those are unique to Mormons.

[MikeWaters]

I've never had a funeral potato. Maybe because I have never been to a funeral in Utah. What is it?

[myboynoah]

It's a shredded potato-butter-sour cream-cheese-cream of chicken soup-a little onion casserole that is easy and quick to make and seems to be a staple at LDS funeral luncheons (hence the name) and other activities. It somewhat resembles Hashbrown Casserole at The Cracker Barrel. Recipes vary between regions and families.

Strangely, I don't recall eating a lot of this as a kid and was introduced to it big time after marriage when Mrs. myboynoah was asked to make a pan for a ward activity. My kids like it and we even occasionally take it to ward activities here. The reviews have been good, especially from the missionaries.

[Sleeping in EQ]

Originally Posted by SoCalCoug

Never make the mistake of overestimating the good taste of LDS people when it comes to the arts.

Word.

And watch out for the backlash.