I retrieved the metal measuring spoons from the utility drawer and a wave of nostalgia sweeps over me. These are the spoons my Mother used for baking and the jangle of the utensils transports me to my childhood home. And while I am reminiscing, I might as well recall when my son was a little boy. After all, memories are the staples of home cooking and remembering makes all the shopping and chopping worthwhile.
We carry food memories and it’s these sensory reflections that make our holiday meals and family reunions special. My kitchen musings include Aunt Charlene’s legendary pies which can’t be replicated unless pie is served in Heaven, and the same is true when it comes to grandmother’s chicken and rice or Dad’s fried catfish.
Of course, new foods are added every year to the menu and some become welcomed additions like the triple layer coconut cream cake my sister-in-law made this year for Thanksgiving. I hope this cake becomes a regular addition to our holiday gatherings! I didn’t ask her for the recipe because I would rather eat this complicated cake than make it.
Recipes are my favorite reading material and I collect mounds of clippings every year to store in the notebooks in my kitchen. In a way, this collection has become our family memoirs by chronicling gastronomical accounts on paper. I use the internet often for inspiration but really, nothing compares to the wistfulness when coming across old recipes that were composed in my Aunt’s legible penmanship on her lovely stationery or the hurriedly scrawled note on the back of an envelope written by my neighbor when she stopped chasing her toddler and nursing the newborn long enough to list the ingredients of a favorite casserole.
Mother anticipated our visit to her house last summer by placing a can of black olives on the table for me and her legendary chocolate oatmeal cookies on the table for my husband. My Mom remembers the Christmas Eve of my childhood when I ate an entire can of black olives and the gluttony spoiled my appetite on Christmas Day. Yet, olives and her cookies are still at the top of my favorite’s list and she thoughtfully included both items in her menu when planning for our visit.
This Christmas I am cooking a few favorites: cranberry-jalapeno relish (my husband’s favorite), sweet potato casserole (my BDIL’s favorite) and something chocolate (my son’s favorite). I’ll also make a layered bean dip because my niece enjoys it and for my father-in-law, well, he is easy because he will eat anything I make and tell me it is good. Family and food – the best combination to serve up some mighty good memories!
Cranberry-Jalapeno Relish
Make this a day ahead to allow the flavors to meld and the heat from the jalapeno to mellow.
1 Cup water
1 Cup sugar
1 (12-ounce) package cranberries
2 Jalapenos, chopped
1 Tablespoon fresh cilantro
2 to 3 green onions, sliced
½ teaspoon cumin
1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
Combine water and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add cranberries. Return to a boil; cook 10 minutes without stirring. Cool. Add remaining ingredients and mix lightly. Refrigerate. Serve chilled or at room temperature. Serves 8.
