Do you ever think that a beloved family recipe was better in the days gone by? I know that my lasagna will never measure up to my Mother's and my cannolis will be good, but Lois' will be better and that Lee's inventiveness is superior to most others when it comes to improving and adapting. Luckily for the family we have Uncle Joe's cookbook " A Family's Memories" to keep the old culinary traditions alive.
I have that beloved book and some recipe cards. My mom has a bunch of recipes that she likes clipped out of magazines. Recently she gave me a baggie of clipped articles and also some 3 x 5 index cards with favorites that are decades old and asked me to transcribe them for her. There were 3 separate fajita recipes...pork, chicken and beef. Mom never makes fajitas, so I am not sure just why they were there. It also included Cathy's Chili, Macaroni and Cheese Croquettes (printed on the back of the label of Crisco),and four different, but the same, copies for Baccala, and many more. Some were written down as her mom was telling her what the process was, the ingredients needed and the tips and hints to make things work. They are written in pencil and fading fast. Some are laminated with plastic wrap and that helped tremendously. There are traces of flour on some or tiny splashes of sauce.
I found some gems within this collection. Grandma's stuffing ,which is called Rice and Turkey Stuffing in Uncle Joe's book is the recipe I followed this Thanksgiving. It has 6 ingredients. On a piece of Xeroxed paper in the baggie was a handwritten rendition (my Grandmother's writing) called Turkey Filling and everything was the same EXCEPT FOR THE 4 EGGS!! No wonder mine was not quite the same.I should have known since one of the notes in his book, under Things to Know, is "my Mother's recipes never list all the ingredients".
Among the to be transcribed group, in my own mother's hand, was the recipe for gravy. Fat, drippings, and 2 cups of "liquid water". I loved that!
This kind of explanation runs in the family, in a way, as they have a way with words. I like the clear mental pictures I get when I read through some things. For instance: the recipe for lentil soup in the family cookbook states clearly, "If you like lentils soupy don't reduce as much. If you like them like MUD reduce more, but don't burn"!
My life is enriched by little things like these. I hope I can pass on gems of this caliber myself someday.
you're passing along gems every time you write.
ReplyDeleteYour words are like that cookbook to me. You bring back very clear and vivid memories that I love to relive. My cannolli skill came directly from spending untold times in my life making them with grandma along with a few other magical Ang creations that will carry me through my life. I used to love to be in that kitchen cooking with her.
ReplyDeleteI am curious about the liquid water and a little disappointed the word "RUEX" was not in even one sentence. Perhaps that will make it to another blog.