Over the River and Through the Woods

I can't believe I haven't told you about my family's Thanksgiving traditions yet.  I truly believe it is the meal that we always did right.  It could be due to a truly WASP-y upbringing or just an all out love of food but Thanksgiving was always my favorite eating holiday.

Until my Grandmother passed away, Thanksgiving was always at her house and it wasn't until last year that I even got to experience it with my family in another place.  So when I talk about my Thanksgiving memories... it is over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house we go.  We start with a turkey so big that nothing else will fit in the oven.  The side dishes are prepared next door at my aunt and uncle's house or brought with guests.  There is stuffing baked inside the bird and out (for those fearing improperly cooked stuffing in the bird might send someone to the hospital).  We have mashed potatoes (my job in later years), squash (has to be some specific kind but I forget which) and green beans (but not green bean casserole).  The homemade rolls came from my mother's oven, as she was the only family member who apparently ever wanted to tackle yeast breads, and usually a couple kinds of quick breads from other contributors.  Fruit salad was always the kind doused in whipped cream and a small bowl had to be set aside without the bananas for my cousin's wife.  With all that we were generally ready for dinner around 1PM, an early round one.

Eating commenced and finished.  The dishes were begun.  And the fudge and other snacks were brought out to keep us full while we waited for pie.  Originally, my Great Aunt and Uncle were there and that meant penuche, a brown sugar fudge studded with walnuts.  My family's contribution was chocolate fudge and my aunt's side brought the rice crispy treats.  At some point, after my only successful chemistry experiment where I learned the science of fudge, I started to bring peanut butter fudge.  And later, after Great Aunt Ella was gone my brother learned to make the penuche which I assure you is a whole story unto itself. 

Once the first round of dishes were done and enough forks were back in rotation, it was time to begin bring on the pies.  Pumpkin pie, always.  Apple pie, always.  And lemon meringue, always.  We had years with more than one kind of pumpkin where my brother and sister-in-law made one from an actual pumpkin instead of the can but the tried and true recipe was always right there with it. 

More dishes and an other stab at the fudge bar or perhaps more accurately the fudge credenza.  Some family time and the obligatory football on TV comes next.  We are all still at Grandma's house when people start to feel a twinge for something other than sugar and all the leftovers come back out of the fridge.  Grandma was happy to get rid of the leftovers and also always had some Pringles on hand to go with the turkey sandwiches and other mini piles of food on our plates. 

Paper plates used for the second round of eating meant shorter down time before the last bout.  But what more could there be, you ask?  Why of course, cake.  My birthday and later on my sister-in-law's fell dangerously close to Thanksgiving.  So the icing on the cake of the Thanksgiving day was actually the icing on the cake.  Strawberry cake with strawberry icing to be precise.  It was not until later in life that we seemed to all come to our collective senses and leave the cake behind but I would like to note that that only meant we ate more pie.  I don't think we were saving any one's diet.

So as the holiday approaches and I live with dread and fear because I work at a bakery on Thanksgiving week... I will try to remember where I came from and all the great memories for which I am thankful.

Great Aunt Julia

When I was in school at The Culinary Institute of America, we would often have the opportunity to see demonstrations by guest chefs.  I was in the Baking and Pastry program and unfortunately the guest chefs were often geared toward the regular culinary arts. I was not yet at a point in my life where I would have considered myself to be a foodie and did not know the names of many well known chefs so I often did not attend.  But I would have had to live in a hole in the ground to not know the name Julia Child.  And it would have been impossible to not want to see a living legend.

Julia came to the CIA during a time when she was promoting her book, Baking With Julia, so the demonstration was to be focused on dessert.  My classroom group was involved in the preparations for the demonstration.  Much like when you are watching a cooking show on TV and they magically swap out the just made item for the perfectly browned and ready to eat finished product, we were doing that prep.

I was involved in making a Tarte Tatin.  This is a classic French dessert in which sugar and butter are caramelized in a pan and then topped with a layer of fruit, usually apples.  A pastry crust is placed on top of the fruit and the dessert is finished in the oven.  When it is taken out of the oven, the entire pastry is flipped onto a plate and served upside down with the perfectly browned and juicy fruit taking center stage.  In addition to getting the final product ready for its close-up, we also got all of the mise en place (a fancy phrase for the set up of ingredients and tools) together to send to the demonstration theater.

We then headed over to take our seats and see "the great" Julia Child.  Julia was in her 80's.  She did not prepare the Tarte Tatin herself but instead sat on a tall stool in the demonstration kitchen and interacted with one of the chef instructors as he worked on the dish.  She was hunched and showing her age but still bright and cheerful with an easy rapport.  After the demonstration, Julia was available to sign autographs but the line was long and I did not come with cookbook in hand.  A small regret of mine in retrospect.

It was not until recently that I discovered that I share something more in common with Julia Child than just that one afternoon in the late 1990's.  Julia's maiden name is McWilliams.  My mother's maiden name is McWilliams.  I have McWilliams blood.  Could it be that, maybe, if we followed the lines of genealogy far enough, there might be a connection?  We are all connected every day through the food we eat and the memories we share.  We can find connections in a book or on a blog.  It is a very modern world we live in where every bit of information is available at the touch of a button or click of a key but I believe there are some things best left to the imagination.  So, I lift my glass in a toast to my great great great aunt Julia Child and the afternoon that we spent together baking like all good relatives should.

DIY - DIP It Yourself

For Valentine's Day, the bakery where I work sold chocolate dipped strawberries.  We do them every year and every year those of us who make them are amazed at how much they are selling for out at the counter.  We probably dip hundreds of berries and at $2.99 each they fly out of the case.  I think people usually buy several. 

I believe in paying a little extra for gourmet foods that I could not produce at home but I want to tell you all... don't pay $2.99 each for a strawberry.  You can do these yourself.  I swear.  They are easy and way more economical to do at home.  For the cost of one or two berries you can probably dip a dozen of them at home.  Berries are often on sale this time of year and all you need for chocolate is a bag of chocolate chips.  Spend a little extra money on a better chocolate chip than you might normally put in your cookies if you want but don't sweat it.

Wash and dry your berries just before getting ready to dip them.  Put the chocolate in a microwavable bowl and pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds.  Pull the chocolate out and stir.  Microwave an additional 15 seconds at a time and stir until the chocolate is smooth.  Holding the berry by the stem, dip into the chocolate.  I usually scrape a little of the extra chocolate off the bottom of the berry on the side of the bowl and place the berry on a piece of parchment or waxed paper to harden.  Additionally, before the chocolate hardens, you can dip the chocolate strawberries in nuts, sprinkles, coconut or anything else that sounds good to you.  Customization is the big advantage of doing them yourself.  There are tons of packaging options at your local craft stores but you can also just use the small foil muffin papers and any box or container that you pretty up with a little tissue.

For this Valentine's Day, ironically, my boyfriend bought chocolate covered strawberries online and had them delivered to me.  I appreciate the time and thought that went into him making sure to order them to be delivered to the door on the holiday.  A surprise package is always fun but who wouldn't also appreciate the time and thought that would go into you making them a gift by hand?  So, next year, take back the holiday... print out a card on your computer, color it in by hand, use a little glue and glitter to make it pretty and then give it to your Valentine with some homemade chocolate covered strawberries.

Valen-Times

As a child, Valentine's day always meant that I would get one of those heart shaped boxes of chocolates.  My grandmother actually bought them for all of us.  I always looked forward to that stash of candy and the inevitable hunt through the box to discover the good ones.  We never seemed to get the kind that had a diagram on the inside lid telling you where various flavors were located so eating those chocolates was almost like a game.  You might get a caramel or maybe a butter cream but you might also get stuck with one of the jelly filled ones.  Does anyone like those?

Much like that guaranteed box of chocolates from grandma, grade school also meant the obligatory tiny little Valentine's cards from all of your classmates.  There was a list of kids sent home from school and everyone would get one but of course you had to pick just the right card from the variety box of "Jetsons" themed cards for each friend.  Too many hearts on this one, can't give that to a boy or he might actually think you like him.  Perfect, use this robot one.  I assume that only the girls approached it this way.  Probably most of the boys' cards were filled out by their moms. 

Tomorrow is Valentine's day and I don't expect there will be any heart shaped boxes of chocolate or cards.  I don't know for sure that I won't get anything but my boyfriend just isn't the kind of guy to get into these commercial sorts of holidays.  My ex-husband wasn't either.  It seems that every year when Valentine's day approaches I am always left with the same question of what to do for the person I am with.  If they do something for me and I am empty handed, then what?  This happened one year when I expected my husband at the time to ignore the holiday and was surprised to find a card, flowers and chocolates all waiting for me.  Good thing I always have enough staples in the cupboard to whip up a heart shaped chocolate chip cookie.  And for all he knows, that is what I intended to do all along. 

I spent all of my teen years and most of my twenties without any significant person in my life for Valentine's day, so I guess I have never had high expectations.  It is the kind of holiday that seems to be made up just to make some of us feel inadequate.  An event that becomes a quantitative test of love.  That box of chocolates becomes a judgement.  Am I only worth a one layer box of sweets?  A bouquet of mixed flowers, why not roses?  A dozen roses, why not two?  Where is my life sized teddy bear from the Vermont Teddy Bear Company, AS SEEN ON TV for just $99.99?

A Good Popcorn Movie

I am not sure how anyone can go to the movie theater and not get popcorn.  You might have to mortgage the house or sell your car these days but popcorn is an essential part of the movie going experience.  Popcorn can make a bad movie worth the trip.  And a good movie can be the icing on the cake or perhaps the butter on the corn.

For some reason, movie theater popcorn is just better than at home.  I suppose it is because at home I am cooking up a bag of low-fat, reduced calorie, 100 calorie pop in the microwave and inevitably am going to end up with a bag that is at least one third scorched and one third kernels.  I think it was a little better back in the days before I was concerned about calories and used to pop up an unmeasured amount of corn in the air popper with a half a stick of butter in the little melting pan on top.  There is, of course, no counting calories when you are at the movie theater.  In front of the theater we prepare ourselves to enter another world, a world created by each director and cast of characters, a world that does not have to follow our rules, a world without calories or consequences.

For me, there is one major drawback to the movie and popcorn combination.  The popcorn is salty.  I like salt but that means I will be thirsty.  Soda is thirst quenching.  As soon as I sell off a few more major assets, I am all set with a diet Coke to go along with my popcorn.  I sit down in the theater and start munching away before the credits even roll.  I might not have much left by the time the actual movie starts but that is okay.  An hour or so later, I am well into the movie and most likely reaching some major story climax when I realize that I am going to have to go get up and go to the bathroom.  I am going to miss some part of this movie that I just paid a whole bunch of money to see.  I am going to have to disturb a number of people between me and the aisle.  I am going to look crazy out in the hall of the theater trying to locate the closest bathroom.  And I am going to have to do it all in reverse in just a couple of minutes to get back to my seat. 

And I will do it all again the next time I come to the movies.

Milking It

I have never been a big milk drinker.  We drank iced tea with our dinner at my house and it always seemed weird to me when I was offered milk with a meal.  Milk is mostly a breakfast item for me.  I use it on my cereal and like a glass of milk if I am having pancakes. 

I have grown up under the major assumption that milk “does a body good.”  It is a source of calcium and our bones need calcium to stay strong.  These are things we were taught.  If its good for babies it must be good for adults.  But I have recently been reading a lot of nutrition studies that point out the fact that cow’s milk is the perfect food for just one type of baby; it is called a calf.   It is the perfect food for a baby that is expected to grow to at least 1300 pounds.

So, I have been looking into the alternatives.  I am currently experimenting with using almond milk on my cereal and that half glass that I use to take my vitamin.  I don’t mind the taste and on my cereal I don’t really notice a difference.  A cup of almond milk has almost half the calories of the 1% milk that we usually stock in the fridge and the same amount of calcium and vitamins A and D. 

All that being said, I do have one major issue with almond milk.  It just isn’t milk.  Milk comes from a breast or teat, not from a nut.  I don’t know what the process is for manufacturing this stuff but I know that no one is “milking” an almond tree.  I suppose it is a marketing thing.  People are not going to be comfortable with substituting their milk for almond juice.  And they will not line up to buy something labeled almond milk-like substance.  In reality, almond milk consists of almonds and water so the term should probably be almond water.  Water on your cereal?  No way!  That is a job for milk.

In a New York Minute

The approach of summer reminds me that I need to stock my cupboards with a couple of summer food staples that I can only get in the grocery stores where my parents live.  They are items that I need once I start grilling.  One of these two items is Grandma Brown’s Baked Beans.  They are hard to describe except to say they are like traditional homemade baked beans, sort of pale in color with a thick texture, and nothing at all like the saucy variety you might get from Cambell’s.  I like both but there is no substituting one for the other when I am craving Grandma Brown’s.  They are a must have with burgers. 

Sometimes when you grow up with something that is common in your local grocery store, you don’t even realize that it is a regional product.  This is the case with Grandma Brown’s.  I am from Upstate New York and have no trouble finding this item in any of the stores there.  When I lived in Connecticut, I eventually found one store that carried them.  In my current location in Massachusetts, they are nowhere to be found.  They are actually manufactured in Mexico, NY and although I don’t know where that even is, I am definitely a fan.

Another product that I have to hunt down, especially during grilling season, is Dinosaur Bar-B-Que’s Mojito Marinade.  Dinosaur Bar-B-Que is a restaurant located in Syracuse, NY.  It is actually fairly famous and has been featured on at least one food show as one of the best BBQ joints in the country.  They have a full line of sauces, rubs and marinades and where I can often find some of their products, not all stores carry the Mojito Marinade.  It is my brother’s fault that I even know this product since he lives in the Syracuse area and once gave me a variety pack of their sauces.  They are all good but the Mojito Marinade makes my day on chicken, especially if I am going to use it to make fajitas or quesadillas.

I am ready for the coming season, I just visited New York and picked up six cans of the Grandma Brown’s and already had a couple of the Mojito Marinades in the cupboard.  If I hadn’t gotten stocked up, though, I have discovered that Grandma Brown’s Baked Beans are available on Amazon.  Dinosaur Bar-B-Que has a web site and is also available on Amazon.  The days where items were truly only available to a small regional market have vanished but unless you grew up in Upstate New York, I think it would be hard to just stumble upon Grandma Brown’s via a Google search.