My Grandmothers' Collections

I am incredibly fortunate. I have in my possession the recipe collections from both my grandmothers. But while my father's mother's recipe box was stuffed so full the lid would not close, and it was damaging the contents to try to remove anything, my mother's mother's collection is much slimmer. Why?

This is a question that I happen to know the answer to, but I'll get to that. When you run across something like this as you compile your family cookbook, it's worth it to ask why. If something seems odd, it probably is. If you see a notation on a recipe card "from the kitchen of ___" and don't recognize the name, ask; the person may turn out to be your grandmother's bestie, or it might go deeper yet. If you find three different recipes for sugar cookies, all worn, and don't know why three, ask; there's probably a reason for that, too.*

My point is, don't just blindly accept the collection in front of you. Look at it like a historian – because that's what you are now. You are your family's food historian. Take in every date, every place name on every hastily-written recipe from the bank notepad or deposit slip, read the letters (if you're luck enough to find those in the collection), take it all in. Make notes, make scans, make copies and back them up. It's a ton of work, but someday, someone will thank you for it.

On the left, my maternal grandmother's small recipe binder;
on the right, my paternal grandmother's recipe box that won't close.
One represents a lifetime, one represents a collection that was started
in middle-age, when her children were already grown.

As for my mom's mom? When I was very small, they had a house fire. Whatever recipes she had from her mother were lost. The recipe collection I have from her now is no older than the early 1970s. Missing out on that older stuff stings, but knowing why it's gone helps. It's also a reminder to younger cooks to go and meet with your grandparents now, while you can. (By the time I married, only one of my grandparents was alive to see it, and she died later that year.) Or maybe you don't much cook yourself, but you have kids, or nieces and nephews, who are too young to appreciate the resource that their grandparents are – go, ask the questions, get the recipes, collect the stories. Before they're lost forever.

My book with more advice like this is available at Amazon.com. (If you buy a used copy, make sure it's the Updated Edition – the previous edition is out of date with regards to publishing.)
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*In my family there are in fact, three Very Important Sugar Cookie recipes, and all of them are The Best. All of them were from someone's grandmother, and there's someone willing to die on that sweet hill over each of them.

July Foodie Holidays: Week 2

July 8: Chocolate with Almonds Day
July 9: Sugar Cookie Day
July 10: Piña Colada Day
July 11: Blueberry Muffin Day, Mojito Day
July 12: Pecan Pie Day
July 13: Beans n' Franks Day, French Fries Day
July 14: Macaroni Day, Grand Marnier Day

You will likely receive more than one "best" recipe – below is one such example for the "best" sugar cookie recipe, one my father-in-law favored, that his mother made. I have two other "best" sugar cookie recipes. It's probably a good idea to just call all of them simply Sugar Cookies (or whatever your duplicate recipes are), to avoid any family arguments... (After all, you will know the truth.)

Sugar Cookies

1 C. shortening

2 C. sugar

3 eggs

flavoring (such as vanilla, lemon, almond, etc.)

1 tsp. soda

4 1/2 C. sifted measured flour

1 tsp. salt

Directions: Cream together the shortening, sugar, eggs, salt, flavoring and soda. Add flour and shape dough into an oval and wrap in wax paper or place into a plastic bag. Chill at least 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Use a pastry canvas and covered rolling pin. Flour both lightly. Take out 1/4 or less of the dough. Keep remaining dough chilled. Roll dough into 1/4" or 3/8" thickness. With flour cutter, place cutter on dough and press down firmly with fingers all around the edges to make sure the entire image is cut. With spatula, lift cutter and dough. With thumb, rub cutting edge clean of dough. Then, using thumb, gently press dough into design of the cutter. Be careful never to press closer than 1/4" from the edge of the cutter. SLAP cutter down on table or cookie sheet and dough will come right out. Flour cutter before cutting the next cookie. Bake cookies 12-15 minutes. Do not allow to brown. Cool thoroughly before decorating.

February is Cherry Month; Chef Ron Duprat

Chef Ron Duprat
Duprat is a restauranteur, cookbook author and humanitarian. He was born in Haiti, and cooks with a French-Asian fusion flair. You may know him from his appearance on Top Chef. His humanitarian causes include Haiti disaster relief, ending childhood obesity and the Black Culinary Alliance. His cookbook is My Journey of Cooking.

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Celebrate February with cherries! (Because of the story of Washington chopping down a cherry tree?) However it came to be, cherries are a delicious and healthy fruit, rich in antioxidants. They probably become a bit less healthy once you put them in desserts. (But we'll pretend we don't know that.)

One of the recipes that was in my paternal grandmother's recipe box was for "Dump Cake." I've recently seen ads for a dump cake cookbook, and had to laugh at this "new" way of making cake because Mabel's recipe for it is an old one. Because this recipe has been around for such a long time, it's one of the ones you make get more than one of when you call out for recipes. One way to make sure everyone is acknowledged for their contributions is to include a contributor's index. For instance, if you have a contributor's index, and you get 3 recipes that are all the same (or maybe have slight variations), your index could read:

Dump Cake: Johnson, Nancy; Smith, Mary; Smith, John -- 32

And then with the recipe itself, if there's a variation to the ingredients, add it as a recipe note with whose variation it is.

Dump Cake

Ingredients:

1 can cherry pie filling
1 can pineapple chunks, drained

1 box yellow cake mix

1 C. melted butter or margarine

1 C. flaked coconut

1 C. chopped walnuts

Directions: Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spread pie filling evenly in the bottom of a greased 9x13" pan. Arrange the pineapple chunks over the cherries. Sprinkle with the cake mix. Pour melted butter over the cake mix, and top with coconut and nuts. Bake for 1 hour or until done.
Notes: John Smith's version of this recipe uses pecans instead of walnuts.

From my dad's mom's box. Note the use of "oleo." How many young people today would know what that is?
Be sure to include a "translation" for younger generations.

Available at Amazon.