This is the third installment of Mom Before Mom from Carla at All of Me…Now.
Prompt #3: What was your favorite home cooked meal as a kid? Did you help make it? How did it make you feel? Share the scents and sights and flavors.
Let’s see, my favorite home cooked meal? There were two things that were my favorite. One was my nanny’s “beef stew” (I put it in quotes because my husband doesn’t consider it stew because it’s not brown) and her meat stuffing served on Thanksgiving. Both of these delicious dishes are served with homemade cranberry sauce on top.
Growing up, my mom, sister and I lived with my grandparents and my grandmother did all the cooking. You could watch her cook, but you really couldn’t help (sometimes you could put stuff in a pot, but that’s the extent of it). Both of these dishes only came around only once a year (the stew twice if we were lucky). The rest of the year there was a set schedule for meals. Monday was chicken, Tuesday was pork chops, Wednesday beef of some sort, Thursday was spaghetti night, Friday was fish, Saturday was hot dogs and Sunday was a toss up. Every week, same thing; my grandfather was not big on switching things up.
I remember getting so excited when my sister and I found out I was stew night. When we would eat it, we would put cranberry sauce right in it and mix it up so it turned pink. My husband is completely grossed out by this. Oh it tastes so good. I remember when I asked her for the recipe she didn’t have measurements, so I had to estimate everything.
The stuffing is only made on Thanksgiving and boy is it time consuming. I’ve never made it, but in high school I had to sit there and right down all the instructions while my mom made it with my grandmother (she was really old by then) so there would finally be a written copy. When my mom makes it now, she uses the one I wrote.
My husband looks forward to this stuffing (unlike the stew) every year. Just like the stew, it’s best with the cranberry on top.
I have thought about writing a post about the stew, but I’ve decided that I don’t want anyone outside the family to have the recipe. I haven’t made it in quite a while, but after writing this I feel it may be time. The only problem is even though making cranberry sauce is a very simple process; I still can’t seem to get it right.
I love the idea of the cranberry sauce IN the beef stew – um, yum!!! Thank you for sharing these memories — it's funny how the thought of food can bring us right back to those times.
My grandmother's THanksgiving stuff is one of my favorite meals too. We go to my in-laws in Pennsylvania every year for Thanksgiving, and even though I miss seeing my family on the holiday, I think I may miss her stuffing even more 😉
That's so wonderful that you have those recipes. I LOVE stuffing! Now I really want to try cranberry sauce in beef stew.
I love how you distinctly remember the order of the meals (yum to many of these meals) and how your grandfather didn't like to mix things up.
I don't blame you for wanted to keep the recipe secret! My Nana was a fabulous cook who got most of her recipes from her mother, but she said even her mother would keep a few recipes secret! I love having/making recipes that have been in our family for years and years. 🙂
My dad and my sister are the foodies in my family. They love to cook and love to read about food, savoring each recipe, each shopping trip, each cooking session like it was everything. My mom and I, on the other hand, love to eat. But, we 'eat to live', where the other two 'live to eat'. I remember my dad sending me to my first apartment with a cooler full of casseroles with very specific prep instructions. My roommates and I were so happy but I have never recreated any of those things on my own.
Thanks for reminiscing – my favorite was my moms spaghetti and cheese. real and cheap.
How cute! Love these stories! Trying to think of my fav as a kid… that's a hard one! We were a bit on the alternative and unique side growing up- I think it was Falafal balls in a pita sandwich! 🙂
This is great! I make meals all Fall that I just call "Thanksgiving for dinner". My hubby laughs. I've never done cranberry in stew, but I make a kick-butt sauce. THANK YOU for the tip!
You are too cute that you remember all of these meals. My favorite is a Jewish dish called Kugel. AMAZING!
This sounds like my grandmother's stuffed artichokes, there is no written recipe just cut, prep, stuff, cook – all by eyeballing it!
Sounds good! My fave meal was chicken and dumplings!!!