Blog: Dadmissions: The Scrudgies, Also Known as Meal Sludge

They're called "scrudgies". That's the unofficial name which came from somewhere in the back of my 1970's childhood.

They're the sometimes crusty, sometimes fatty, sometimes sticky, always delicious leftovers stuck to the side of any pan of pasta, steak, soup, stew, or anything that gets cooked, grilled, boiled or fried. Think the burnt onions alongside a steak or that little fatty piece which gets stuck to the pan, or the five strands of spaghetti that fuse together like a big, nuclear pasta tube, or the slightly-burnt Rice-a-Roni stuck to the bottom of the pot, or the sweet remnants of a pie, cake or treat stuck to the pan.

The scrudgies aren't leftovers. They are the delectable meal sludge that can be scraped out from the side of the pan. They are a second and delicious course to be enjoyed prior to the main course or right after. You don't need a fork for scrudgies. You don't need manners. You eat them with your hands, or a spatula, or a set of tongs.

You eat them like an animal. Just rip them from the pan and eat them before someone else gets them like a bunch of cavemen duking it out for the last piece of flesh from the kill.

Today I made soup for the 5 year old and I called her over to the pot. There was a bunch of pasta from the soup stuck to the side of the pot. I grunted. She grunted. We attacked that thing like a bunch of wild coyotes digging and slurping and eating like we were never going to see soup with pasta again.

But this wasn't just soup with pasta. It was pasta scrudgies and that is entirely different. The next time you cook a meal, look for the scrudgies and scrape 'em off the pan. Enjoy. You are a scrudgie warrior.