When I was growing up, my mother used to serve us "genuine" Italian food. Such as Franco-American Spaghetti-os and canned spaghetti. When we were feeling real adventurous for Italian cuisine, we'd pour tomato paste over some English muffins and bake them in an oven with strips of American cheese. And my mom would let us have a taste of her Boone's Farm wine. Of course, my father thought all this canned spaghetti was French food because of the name: Franco-American. So when he had to cook, he would fry up some hamburger and toss in a couple of cans of their spaghetti and think he was some kind of French chef.
And as disgusting as all this sounds, those meals were much better than our standard fare. Such as meatloaf and mashed imitation potatos or hamburger and baked beans mixed together. Or those jello molds my mother used to make with mayonnaise, carrots, celery and wilted lettuce all mixed inside. No wonder I thought mess hall food was so good when I finally got to Marine boot camp.
BTW, I like the Olive Garden. Don't see what all the fuss is about. Then again, I don't exactly come from a family of gourmets.