Wednesday, May 23, 2012

My Last Meal

At the end of last summer, I hit a wall for a few weeks when trying to decide what to write about. I eventually wrote a post asking my readers for topic suggestions. I received some very good suggestions (which can be read in this post) and have written on a few of them.

However, in that post, I also promised that I would write on all the suggestions that I received. I received eleven and have only written on four of them.

Pratfalls, Planking and Pain: An Afternoon with the Minors A study of the planking phenomenon and how I broke Taylor's face.

BACON: The Main Reason I am Not a Vegetarian Self-explanatory. I love bacon.

Today's Secret Word: WAR A study suggested by my brother to determine who would win in a fight between Mr. Rogers and Pee Wee Herman

April Fool's - Fun for Some Some of the pranks I have pulled on people over the years

The math teacher in me says that I still have seven left to cover. It has been almost a year since I made that promise. Upon finding this post a few days ago, I decided to complete the list before the end of the summer.

Today, I will tackle the suggestion proposed by Shane Morgan of In Shane's Brain. Shane asked what meal I would choose as my last meal and how I came to that decision.

Shane never addresses or even questions what I have done that would put me in a situation where I would even have to make this type of decision. Has it finally been proven that I may actually be an axe murderer as has been suggested on this blog before? Did I finally snap and choke a second grader while substitute teaching? Did I stab someone in the eye to stop them from dragging their fork across their teeth while eating across from me? Anything is possible.

Why would anyone ever
smoke weed when they
could just mow a lawn?
I would like to think that I was a political prisoner locked up for founding a new political party based upon the common sense logic and wisdom of Hank Hill. The very fact that I would get locked up for something like this further proves the need for this new movement. HANK HILL for President!

Whatever the reason for my incarceration and impending demise, I get to decide what to eat for my final meal. This is a really good question. How do you decide something like that?

Do I spring for the food that I never got to eat because it was so out of reach? This may be the time to sample the poisonous fugu fish since I am about to die anyway. Maybe I should order Korean kimchi or the fruit of the durian. These are foods that I have always been curious about, but have never gotten the opportunity to try. What could be a better time? Despite my curiosity, I don't think I would order any of these since it is my last meal and I would like to know that I will enjoy it. As curious as I may be about these exotic foods and have always wanted to try them, my last meal needs to be a guaranteed pleasure.

I could choose to get a fantastic meal that is usually reserved for very special occasions or times when visiting a nice restaurant with a lot of extra money. I could order lobster and a porterhouse steak cooked medium rare. It would come with a huge baked potato covered in all the toppings I love: butter, bacon (of course), cheese and sour cream. A few other hand-picked sides to fill out the rest of the meal and I would eat like a king. These are foods that I have loved and would certainly enjoy. However, I don't think I would choose this meal either.

It doesn't get better than this.
When I was a kid, my mother would make a pot roast. It was probably the same as pot roasts in other houses. It was a large roast prepared with carrots, potatoes, some onion and a few other ingredients. It was cooked slowly over the course of the day filling the house with a wonderful aroma. I still make this meal today for my daughter and it is wonderful, but the best part was not this meal. It would be even better on the next night and we all knew it.

The next day, my mother would take the left overs and cut them into smaller pieces. She would put the meat and vegetables into a casserole pan and place biscuits over the top. This would be baked until the biscuits were done. When finished, there were a dozen biscuits resting on a pot roast stew goodness that was the best thing a person could ever put into his mouth. That first scoop broke the biscuit seal releasing the first burst of steam and smell of what we were about to eat. Anticipating that first spoonful was a wonderful moment, but it is not just for the food that I am choosing this as my last meal.

In addition to the wonderful food is the memories of my family eating dinner together. This was a practice I grew up with, but have failed miserably in passing on to my children. I may not have appreciated it at the time, but my family ate together almost every night. Over the nightly meal, we talked about our day, argued about chores, told jokes, listened to dad explain life and work and spent a lot of time laughing. A lot of wisdom was passed around at that table. A lot of nonsense was passed around as well, but it was all part of building who we are today.

For my last meal, I want that pot roast and biscuits. I do love that meal, but there is a lot of history that comes along with every bite that I value even more. If for any reason I couldn't have it, then any other meal that brings the same memories will do. I can't think of anything better.

43 comments:

  1. For my last meal I want sushi and sake! At least I can have one last thing. Of course there are so many meals that I enjoy that it would be hard, but in prison I would bet sushi and sake would never be something you might see. Pot roast you are likely to see once in a while.

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    1. I love sushi. Not a big sake fan. I wanted to recapture the memories more than try new food, but I could easily create a long list of foods I would love to eat. I like food, if you haven't noticed.

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  2. Hahaha, great minds think alike. I watched a video recently which listed various death row inmates last meal requests. They range from the mundane, to the lavish, to the downright bizarre (a lump of dirt). My last meal is here:

    http://dogsondrugs.com/2012/05/14/the-week-in-review-39/

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    1. It's wild that we wrote on the same topic in the same week. I like your angle. I would have never thought of that.

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  3. I don't really have that *one* favorite meal that I love, so I think mine would probably just be a smorgasbord of favorite individual foods that don't really go together. It would definitely involve pizza. And bacon. And mashed potatoes. And cheeseburgers. And biscuits & gravy. And hash brown casserole. And fruits like pineapple and bananas. And my mom's Hershey chocolate pie.

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    1. There are several meals that would probably bring back those same memories, but that is the one that immediately came to mind. It's the one I can remember getting excited about as soon as I heard we were having roast one night.

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  4. Ha! We just had potroast this past weekend. Although, I have never done that next day caserole thing. Are we talking like pillsbury rolls in the tube type biscuits over top? Cause I might just have to do that with the leftovers next time (my kids won't eat leftovers . . . sigh).

    Not sure what I would have as my last meal. Probably a big bowl of pasta. But I go through phases where I really want some things all the time, and then times when I don't have them for a while. Like sushi. Sometimes I crave it every week, then I can go months without it. I think it would depend on my mood at that time. Definitely ice cream (although one of those cyclical things) and probably some type of cheesecake or something. Gotta have the desserts!

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    1. We didn't do a lot of desserts. That may be why I will go for a second helping before reaching for dessert even today..

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  5. Pot roast, gravy and biscuits. Food of the gods.
    Amen.

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  6. Now you have me really missing the wonderful meals of my childhood! For me it would be mom's fried chicken as the main course though. I can't say family time around our table was always a wonderful experience, but the memories of those mouth-watering foods remain strong. You're right, a good steak, or amazing lobster is a real treat, but the best treat of all is the feeling of family and belonging. Great post!

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    1. I would just love to go back to those days. Of course, I would probably be disgusted with my younger self.

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  7. Funny thing. You've described this so beautifully that it sounds good even to vegetarian me. especially the second day with those biscuits on top.

    There's something really nice about the family eating together tradition. We used to do it when I was a kid - but somewhere along the line it all fell apart. Supper was always together - and Sunday morning breakfast as well. Sunday breakfast was always hash-browns, biscuits and gravy. So good!

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    1. We generally ate together in the morning as well, but it was more rushed. Supper was the more relaxed, sit back and talk time. It was great.

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  8. I don't know what my last meal would be. I guess it would depend on what I really wanted to eat that day since I would be trying to focus on enjoying the food rather than thinking "Well darn, this is the last meal I'll ever eat. I should have picked something else." or "Huh, I'll never get to taste the wonderfulness that is this food again."

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    1. Or I might just pick one of everything because that would prolong when I would be put to death and then I would get to have a little bit of everything until I couldn't eat anymore. haha

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    2. The biscuits over pot roast stew is a two day deal. That would delay the inevitable a bit.

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  9. Oh, dude...If I were challenged to write this post it would be very short: Chicago-style ("stuffed") spinach pizza from Geppetto's in Oak Park IL(with beer-batter crust and provolone cheese) or from Gino's East in Chicago.

    Period.

    It's tempting to say I'd want a buffet of Indian food, though, because the one time I opted for the buffet I was so stuffed I wanted to die. Good situation for death row!

    But no...better to die happy than uncomfortably full.

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    1. Now I want to eat that. If there is no question, then it must be very good.

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  10. I think my last meal would involve lots and lots of desserts.

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    1. Might as well. It doesn't matter at that point.

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  11. Poutine. It's the Canadian in me!

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    1. I had to look that up to see what it was, but it looks amazing.

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  12. Oh man get a crockpot!! You and Kristen can have this once a week. It couldn't be easier :) You can make it for Red!

    I was going to say - if you had chosen the Durian I would have been upset with you. You would have been like "oh wow this IS gross. now what do I get to eat?" :)

    I'd choose Indian food, a baked potato, and SO MUCH BEER with a key lime pie and some watermelon OR I'd replace Indian with Chinese and remove the baked potato.

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    1. I have a crock pot and make roast a couple times a month. However, only cooking for two, I rarely have enough left over to go for the second day biscuit part.

      I still want to try a durian. I hear it tastes like a soggy onion, but I'll eat one someday.

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  13. Finally!! I thought maybe the Governor may had given you a last minute pardon or something. All kidding aside, Brett, you took this challenge in a totally different direction than I would have thought. Like others have said, I too began to think of foods for long ago. Things for the trip down Memory Taste Bud Lane. Well done, my friend!!

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    1. Sorry it took so long. I have several to write.

      Despite all the wonderful foods I could think of, it was the memories from childhood that would be most precious to me.

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  14. Awarding you the Kreativ Blogger Award! Love your originality! Scoot on over to my blog to get the details!

    www.hammockinthehoneysuckle.blogspot.com

    Carrie

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    1. Thank you. I will check it out. I love getting awards.

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  15. I bought a crock pot a year ago and never took it out of the box. You make me almost want to take it out, unwrap it and make a roast. That is one of my favorites! Love me some biscuit, too!

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    1. I love my crock pot. I bought a huge crock pot cookbook and tackle all kinds of new dishes. Great stuff.

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  16. Gaaaah! These kind of questions keep me up at night. Because I *should* know what I want for my last meal, shouldn't I? Just like I should know what superpower I would want, or what I would do with a gazillion dollars. Toooo hard. I spend the whole evening chewing over all the options...

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    1. I received this question last August. It took me 9 months to answer it, so I understand.

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  17. Your last meal would be my last meal too! Haha-Hank Hill for president. Huge family guy family here! Come link up if you like on my laughs:)

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  18. Good choice. What I miss most about my gluten-full days is biscuits. Fluffy biscuits with a dollop of butter. Maybe you can have the durian fruit for dessert.

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    1. Thank you. I will have to try harder to get a hold of a durian.

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  19. Excellent choice. I make roast a lot for the family and we do have dinner together every night. With five kids, it's the only time we get to sit still and talk. As much as I love roast, it wouldn't be my choice. Basically, I'd have carbs. Pasta, sugar, bread, fruit, my mom's Red Velvet Cake, pasta...wait, did I already say that? I've been doing the low carb thing and right now a Ritz cracker would be bliss.

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    1. I love my mom's red velvet cake. The dinner with the family is the best part.

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  20. You've inspired me to recommit to making family dinners happen more often. I think fresh, hot bisquits (as you exquisitely described) are the answer to any question worth asking - pure heaven! Perhaps you'll share your recipe?!

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    1. Unfortunately, I don't have any great recipe. I used pre-made biscuits from Wal-Mart. The main part was the memories from the food and not the food itself, although the food was great.

      Do the family dinner. I wish I had done better about carrying on this tradition.

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  21. I loOooove your last meal. Pure Comfort food.

    I want my mom's warm Chocolate Chip Cookies w/ Coooold milk.

    Xx

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    1. Thank you. Nothing is better than the food from mom.

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