Remembering Loved Ones
My grandmother recently passed away after a very long life, and I wanted to honor her by making one of her specialties - pecan pie. I was just curoius to know if anyone else out there has ever done something simliar, and if so, what did you make and what are the memories that prompted you to choose that dish?
For me, it was because she has had Alzheimer's for many years, and as she forgot more and more, she lost he ability to make foods from scratch, and turned more to boxed meals. But, I always remember that there was *always* a homemade pecan pie waiting for us when we came to visit. She never lost that until only a few years ago, when she moved into the nursing home. I don't actually care for it much myself, but it seemed appropriate, and I took it to work to share with everyone to celebrate her memory.
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12 Comments:
My mom died 5.27.2007. When I got home after sorting through her stuff with my brother, I immediately made a very hearty chicken soup with chick peas and stuffed artichokes. I paid $3.99 each for those artichokes and would not normally do that. My mother made the best stuffed arties on the planet and I only hope mine are a fitting legacy to hers.
Whenever I feel close to my mom's memory, I make Italian Sunday Gravy or some other such concoction I can clearly see her making in my mind's eye.
Enjoy the pie. Make sure you eat it with a box of tissues on the table.
chiff0nade at 4:58PM on 06/22/08
My grandmother's pies were famous (my grandfather often jokes they're the reason he married her). My mom still uses all her old recipes, including pumpkin pie, which is the only pie my grandfather hates. The year after she died he began eating pumpkin pie.
embolini9 at 6:51PM on 06/22/08
My husbands Aunt made something called "Lasagna Soup" It doesn't involve any sauce and is a bit of work but so amazing. Homemade and only homemade lasagna noodles, homemade chicken stock with shredded chicken and tiny meatballs. Cook the noodles, layer them in a 13 x 9 with the shredded chicken and mozzarella,ladle some broth on top & bake. Cut into squares add cream of chicken soup to the remaining broth and ladle over the squares of lasagna in a shallow bowl making sure there are tiny meatballs in everyones dish. This is usually only made for Easter but now I'm craving it and will make it soon. Thanks Aunt Dora!!!!
joanpieroni2 at 7:35PM on 06/22/08
my maternal grandmother regularly made chicken liver knishes for me. no matter how many she made, i would eat them all -- if i didn't clear the batch at lunch, i'd eat whatever she gave me to take home on the bus back to the suburbs. i've never seen anything like them in jewish delis or in cookbooks. i was too young and stupid to ask for the recipe when she was terminally ill with cancer in the mid seventies, and then she died. i didn't think about them for almost 30 years, then all of a sudden i HAD to recreate them. i've made many batches in the last couple of years and am not even close to getting them right, except for the shape.
there is no one else from the family who could supply that recipe and i could still kick myself for not thinking to ask her how to make them. we had a complicated relationship, to say the least -- i didn't like her too much, and she was not very comfortable with me for various reasons of her own. but she demonstrated her love the only way she knew how, with those knishes.
cybercita at 8:04PM on 06/22/08
My Mum passed away 17 years ago, when I was 17 (as I typed this, I realised that I've been without my Mum for a half of my life now. And since it's been so long, it may sound weird, but I still miss her very much). Every now and then, I cook something she used to make, and it makes me feel like she's right there with me.
Among other things, my Mum used to make pancakes every Sunday. A couple of months ago, I started "pancake Sundays" in my house, much to my husband's delight. I know it's silly, but I can't even tell you how much these pancake Sundays mean to me!
brooke29 at 8:14PM on 06/22/08
I miss my Dad's spaghetti sauce and bbq chicken marinade. He always shooed everyone from the kitchen when he made is sauces, Mom knows the ingredients (she had to buy them) but we have never been able to reproduce the amounts.
My grandma made a fabulous Nut Bread that we would have toasted every Christmas morning. She was know for her Nut Bread. I came across her recipe box years after she died. Sure enough, there was the Nut Bread recipe! Image my surprise when I found out that Gram's famous 'secret' Nut Bread recipe came from the back of the Calumet Baking Powder can!!!!
Michigander at 9:09PM on 06/22/08
My twin sister passed away two years ago. She had made a cookbook as a Christmas gift about 5 years ago, with favorite family and friend recipes (best gift ever) We had a memorial service and made many of the recipes from the book to serve at the service and included copies of the recipes for anyone who wanted to take them. As a result we served great food and were able to honor her in a special way.
mrsmoosie at 10:08PM on 06/22/08
My mom made a lot of great dishes which I still make, but what comes to mind right now -- and this is a little off the subject -- is that she would scramble eggs on Sunday morning and always have some for the dogs. I still, and my sisters still, say out loud "Every dog gets an egg on Sunday." and then share the scrambles with the pooches. My granddaughters repeat after me and make a little ceremony of it.
Blue Iris at 10:30PM on 06/22/08
My dad would always take left-overs and make a new dish from them. They were hit or miss... like Mexican meat loaf sucked but Spaghetti Chowder was GREAT! He'd take left-over vegetable soup and spaghetti sauce/ pasta (all homemade) and he'd mix them together. When we have those foods back to back we always made a pot of Spaghetti Chowder with Dad in mind :)
smile at 12:07AM on 06/23/08
I want to give this group a huge (((Hug))). What a great question, Traveller!
It's so important to get those favorite recipes written down, even if you have to watch at a relative's elbow.
I tried to get my Dad's MIL's Pizza Rustica recipe. Deciphering it was half the battle.
"Frances, how much flour do you use?"
"Oh, a nice amount."
"What's a nice amount? A pound? Two Cups?
"Oh, about a bowl ful."
(I get up and get a bowl.)
"Like this?"
"Yes. You take this bowl, you fill it up to here with flour and you start. You may have to add more flour. Then you add the water."
"OK, how much water do you add?"
"A glass."
It took a long time. :D
chiff0nade at 5:11AM on 06/23/08
Brooke i can sympathize. my moms been gone more than 20 yrs and up until very recently (i found out afew things i should have known but didnt want to) i missed her terribly. One of the few things she used to make that was amazing was caldo verde. Of course she never called it that, she used to call it "portugese soup" I guess my fathers great aunt showed her how to make it before they married and she always made it at least 3 times a year. I've looked for a recipe for it for years, but hers was different than all the ones i've found. I finally recreated it, I may make it once more, just to lay old ghosts to rest and finally let go of the past.
huneybumper at 7:38AM on 06/23/08
I'm very lucky to have both my parents, and one grandmother still with me....my grandmother is 91 & still living in her own apartment. I do go to her house & cook for her occasionally, as she doesn't like to cook for one very often any more. One of my favorites that she taught me is a potato dish involving sliced potatoes, lots of butter & dry onion soup mix, layered & baked in a casserole dish. Every time I make this, I think of her, now I'll think even more about how lucky I am to have her still!
mepolo at 10:21AM on 06/23/08