Picky Picky--Liver Balls?

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Of course my grandson is the most adorable, most charming, cleverest kid

on the planet. Over the fourth of July, in fact, he explained to me (he's 10) that he had taught himself to solve the Rubik's cube by learning that the cube made a different sound on each axis. Huh? I said.

Yeah, he said, it sounds like "shook" side ways, "shack" up and down, and "shuck" across. He told me: "So you have to start with shook, shack, shack, shuck." (Or something like that, I was too impressed to remember exactly.)

But that's not what this is about.

It's about being a picky eater. He will only eat--not totally "only" but essentially--mac and cheese. He is a connoisseur of it, and will eat many different kinds, but that's about it. Bagels, okay, carrots, if they're the right kind, some muffins, including English. Peanut butter. And any kind of candy. He's clearly healthy, he's happy, he's strong and has tons of energy. So, whatever, someday he'll eat.

And I must say, I had a little trouble with tuna salad when I was a kid--I don't think I could bear to even TRY it until I was 7. Ham salad, still never. Baked beans, never. (I know they're awful, I just do.) Scrambled eggs, weirdly, now a staple, took me a long time to try--I think that was a 10 years old thing.

Are there foods you won't try? Or didn't for a long time? Are you a picky eater? Or living with one? Why do you think that happens..and is there hope for my darling grandson?

ROSEMARY HARRIS: I don't really like meat - but that doesn't mean I didn't try the Genoa salami in Italy. Or pepperoni pizza once a year. No soft shell crabs for me, thank you very much. Or lobster.




 I don't want to bite anything that looks like it could bite me back. Oysters, steamers and mussels  - which I used to love - are starting to gross me out. Love turkey, but need a few glasses of wine before I can even look at an uncooked bird. Maybe I'm turning vegan in my old age...

Grandson sounds adorable. Send him over so he can help me with my computer!

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Hmmm. I wouldn't eat canned peas as a kid. I remember that as having been a matter of considerable dissension at the dinner table. But I ate EVERYTHING else, from oysters to sweetbreads to calves brains. Okra. Spinach. Even liver and onions. So I can't imagine why my mom made such a big deal about the damned peas. Something along the lines of "You won't be accepted in polite company if you don't sample everything on your plate."

I still don't like canned peas, but I love them fresh or frozen, and make a fabulous spread a la Gordon To die for. In fact, I'm going to make some this weekend. (The recipe is from Gordon Ramsay's Sunday Lunch cookbook if you want the particulars.)

Ramsay--Throw in the food processor just barely blanched green peas, mascarpone cheese, fresh ground salt and pepper and some yummy olive oil. Process until smooth-ish. Serve on toasted ciabatta with a slice of fresh mozzarella, fresh grated Romano cheese, and a drizzle of olive oil.

Nix on the calves' brains and liver, though.

LUCY BURDETTE: We didn't have much choice as kids, though my mother did not make us eat fried liver, we got hamburgers on liver and onions night. I still remember the first time I went with my father on a business trip (could I have been 7?), he ordered for me: spaghetti and liver balls. Liver balls--what was he thinking? I knew the difference immediately and cried on the phone to my mother that night.

My stepson was a picky eater. He would gobble down anything resembling breakfast, but he'd sit at the table as long as it took to avoid eating vegetables. But now? He'll eat pretty much anything and is accepted in any and all polite societies:)

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: That's one clever ten-year-old, Hank. Start the savings fund for MIT right now!

HANK: I know. I think of it every day. It is SO elaborate! Anyway--picky eater?

JULIA: I don't recall being much of a picky eater. My mother had an "at least one bite" rule which, though I probably complained about it at the time, served me well. We also lived and traveled in a lot of different places with different culinary traditions, and my mother made sure we partook of the local food. As a result, I had reasonably adventurous tastes by the time I was an adult. Thanks, mom!

I have, however, had that kid. The Boy was SUCH a picky eater as a child. Talk about peas, Deb - he once gagged up a teaspoonful we required him to taste. For years, I pureed vegetables and slipped them into the few things he would eat, like spaghetti sauce and meatloaf. If a casserole had ONE ingredient he didn't like - say, mushrooms - he would carefully remove each and every offending fungus before chowing down the rest of the meal.

My mother pointed out that most kids simply outgrow their eating quirks, and she was right. I have no fears that he'll starve or become malnourished at Trinity this fall. As long as they only serve peas on the side.

RHYS BOWEN: My son was horribly picky as a baby. He refused to even taste egg, and it turns out he is allergic to eggs, so smart kid. My husband forced him to eat scrambled egg once and he threw up.

Egg, pre-scrambled 

But there was a time around his second birthday that he wouldn't eat anything I put in front of him. His doctor said that no child has willingly died of starvation so I should put food on his tray and if he pushed it away, I should say "We're done" and then give him nothing until the next meal. I did worry and made him shakes with yoghurt and banana, but he soon started eating normally.

We always insisted our kids try everything and my daughters have done the same, so that we now have a nine year old who adores sushi, they all like spicy food and we can take them to Indian or Thai. Thirteen year old Lizzie won't eat lamb (she loves animals) but apart from that they are easy to feed.

I grew up in the post-war years eating all kinds of offal--liver, kidneys, heart etc. I find I can no longer face most of it, but I will eat sweetbreads at a French restaurant. The one thing I've never tried, and won't try is tripe. Sorry but it looks too icky. And lobster, soft shell crab? The more the better.

HALLIE EPHRON: Mmmm, tripe. It really is good, if a bit chewy, though it turns out there are several parts to the cow's stomach and some are, uh, gamier than others. And of course it all depends on what it's swimming in. And I love liver. Fried. Smothered in onions and ketchup. Or served a la Veneziana (onions and fresh tarragon and white wine.)

Canned peas, canned green beans, canned spinach: Ick ick ick. Another thing I really don't like: pecan pie. Yup. Too sticky sweet. Go figure.

ROSEMARY: I think I can safely say I've never been offered liver balls.

HANK:  Yes, indeed. I  mean, no indeed. What's your verdict, Reds, on Liver Balls? :-) (I don't even want to tell you what happened when I googled for a photo of liver balls.) And Hallie, I've never tried pecan pie. I know it's awful, and probably grainy and sandy. But Debs, that pea thing sounds divine.

  Okay, okay,  Are there foods you won't try? Or didn't for a long time? Are you a picky eater? Or living with one? Why do you think that happens..and is there hope for my darling grandson?

***An ARC of THE WRONG GIRL (my new book coming in September!) to one lucky commenter! ** 

What Makes Your Thanksgiving Menu?

LUCY BURDETTE: Many years ago, my sister Sue and I were headed toward what was shaping up to be an "orphan" Thanksgiving-that is, no way (and no real urge) to get home, but in no position to host the holiday ourselves. Sue's college roommate's mother (who later became our stepmother but that's a big digression) invited us to join their family. It was a lovely invitation and an even lovelier day.

Except for one thing: Being good southerners, this family served-oh the horror, oh the disappointment-RICE with the gravy instead of mashed potatoes.

And that Reds, brings me to today's question. What one dish could you absolutely not do without on the Thanksgiving holiday? (For me, it's those mashed potatoes, absolutely drenched in gravy. And no giblets please...)

RHYS BOWEN: The one dish I could absolutely definitely do without would be candied yams with marshmallow topping. I only ate it once, and I was pregnant at the time but I spent the rest of the day barfing... so never again. My favorite part of the meal is the stuffing, if it's really good. John does a great sausage stuffing with lots of sage and onions. Yummy.

LUCY: I'm going to skip the candied yams just hearing about that Rhys! I make a darned good stuffing too--cornbread and sausage, yum!

JAN BROGAN: You know Lucy, I would have said the mashed potatoes myself, (I live for potatoes) but my sister-in-law did Thanksgiving last year WITHOUT the mashed potatoes, (no rice either) and it was still fabulous. In fact, she did a very streamlined meal that made me rethink my own tendency to make a zillion different dishes.

But the one thing that I've never forgotten is another sister in law who served cake - YES CAKE!- Instead of pies. And I've never gotten over it. And frankly, I'd rather the pies be the EXACT same selection that my Aunt Clare used to serve. So I always volunteer to make the pies - even when I'm hosting and doing the main meal.

ROSEMARY HARRIS: You girls are picky - I'm just happy when someone else cooks for Thanksgiving and invites me!

Yams..love 'em, need 'em, gotta have 'em. I don't care if they have pineapples, pecans or marshmallows, whether they come from a can or from a farmstand, brown sugar or straight. Did I mention I like the yams?

Now, stuffing, I just don't get. Bruce has tried to tempt me with his stuffing (a touch of chicken liver - ick!) And he has sung the praises of Bell's Seasoning - which comes in a cool package but reminds me of my grandmother's snuff - but I remain steadfast. Pass the yams, please.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I'm a Southerner! At at least as close to the South as Texans are willing to admit. We don't say YAMS--they are SWEET POTATOES! And I do like them, although without sugar added. And we don't say stuffing, we say DRESSING. And it must be made with at least half cornbread. That, I think, is the sticking point for me. No cornbread dressing, it's not Thanksgiving. Oh, and I've made a cranberry relish with orange zest, honey, vinegar, mustard seeds, and chopped jalapenos for years. I know it sounds really weird, but it was a recipe from Gourmet, and it's fab. Can't do without.

HALLIE EPHRON: I'm with you, Rhys. I hate THOSE potatoes.

The problem with Thanksgiving is that the entire meal is sacrosanct. In my house it's roast turkey (wings reserved for yours truly), Pepperidge Farm stuffing with celery mixed in, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans. I absolutely won't do without canned whole cranberry relish, please, and still canned shape if possible. And a homemade pumpkin pie with real whipped cream.

I'm with Jan on the cake. CAKE for TG? Should be illegal.

LUCY BURDETTE: Although girls, I cannot help but mention that I came across an amazing looking recipe for southern caramel cake with southern caramel frosting, and I immediately thought: Thanksgiving! I'd do the pies too, of course. The only thing that holds me back is the Crisco in the icing...

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I have to sympathize with Rhys - during one pregnancy, Thanksgiving dinner was the last meal I had before my morning sickness kicked in at 6 weeks (which it always did, like clockwork.) I couldn't even HEAR the word turkey without tossing my cookies for the next few months.

That charming anecdote aside, at our house we MUST have Bird's Eye green Beans and Spaetzel. This is one of those quirks Ross brought to the marriage. On my side, I must make home-made dressing, using the same recipe my mother and grandmother used. I'm sorry, Hallie, but pre-made stuffing is an abomination unto the Lord. Pecan pie. Ross makes a wonderful pecan pie.
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: I could live on stuffing forever. FOREVER. Bread, butter, celery and gobs of salt? Sigh. I'm longing for it, even thinking about it. My mother used to carefully make two kids of stuffing--plain (yum),and oyster, (yuck), which none of us kids would eat.
It wasn't til years later I found her putting the same stuffing in both turkeys.
Wait! I yelped.(I was about 20 years old.) You're putting oyster stuffing in BOTH turkeys!
She shook her head. Yup, she said. Been doing it for years. You kids never knew.

Your turn Reds: What Thanksgiving dish can you never do without? And by the way, if you have Thanksgiving conundrums, here's a link to the New York Times Thanksgiving hotline.