My mother died 2 1/2 years ago. A year and a half ago I got a package from my youngest sister. First let me tell you that three boxes were sent to me the day before we moved away and they were placed into storage, unopened, where they sit today.
To say that my relationship with my mother was rocky would be an understatement. She always treated us kids well and I appreciated and learned much when she took an interest, in the 1980’s in food, when a family friend gave her a subscription to Gourmet. Gone were the cream of mushroom canned soups. It was a new world, for me, anyway.
The package from my youngest sister has sat there, along with a small check from my mother’s estate that I will not cash and hope my sister has used wisely, for well over a year. Tonight I tore it open, and it contains 3×5 card recipes from a plastic box my mother had for eons. When I got to the B’s her BBQ Beef (a recipe I’ve wanted in order to transform it) was in my handwriting. I teared up and put the lot back in the envelope to tackle tomorrow. Apparently my sister is still missing a lot of recipes mom wrote on thin paper in green typewriter ink, probably on her classic IBM Selectric they bought used. I might actually have her infamous birthday cake recipe in storage, Viennese Chocolate Pecan Torte. It’s something I should have because we get at least 2# of fresh pecans shelled and picked by my mother- and father-in-law each year.
The torte is a decadent pecan cake, with milk chocolate ganache and a dark chocolate frosting on top. It was a birthday treat for all and I thought my sisters, the bakers, knew how to do it. I may have that recipe in the vault in air-conditioned storage but that will remain to be seen.
My thought was to do a book of favorite family recipes. We all depend on those taste and scent memories to bring us home. I’ll let you know when I get beyond the B’s. Cheers, Dee
Cooking with Dee 