A Pinch of Fish

My daughter hates fish.  Actually, that isn't a strong enough word. We've had knock-down, drag-out fights at the dinner table over anything with fins, especially since we enforce the "I make it, you eat it" policy.  But there is one dish she likes - Salmon Papillote - and she had asked me to make it for the past month.   I had a little time and a relaxed weekend so I pulled out the red and white checked Betty Crocker cookbook where I keep all my recipes, and started to dig.  

My recipe filling system was not that stellar, but I really wanted to make this for her and I doubted I could recall it from memory.  Pesto, orzo, plum tomatoes, chopped olives...and what else?  hmmm.

It was slow going, flipping page after page, but I  found a few other recipes I'd forgotten about.   The Corn Stew that was a result of a "Taste of Africa" project she did in first grade.  She was so proud to bring something that she made, and it has been a fall favorite ever since.  There was the Chicken Poppyseed Dish that was brought to us when "we" were just three and going through some hard times.  When I requested the recipe from the cook, it was written on "whatever I had" at the time, which as a good musicians wife, happened to be an envelope from guitar strings.   I can still remember her writing it as she stood in the doorway of the brownstone a few blocks from Wrigley.

There was a Oriental Chicken Salad recipe, which was beautifully written on an index card stamped with golden embellishments, given at a dinner party by friends starting a new business.   Baked Potato Soup came to us within a couple weeks after moving cross-country to Denver.  In a new state, I went from unpacking and pregnant,  to unpacking with a newborn.  My son was born five and a half weeks early - so early we hadn't even made a trip to see the hospital nor did we have diapers in the house.   The soup came from brand new friends, and was pure comfort food, warming our hearts as well as our bellies.  

There were recipes from a first visit to cousin's home after we moved to Florida -  the innovative "happy pancakes"  made with a yogurt and cottage cheese batter, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar - a creative, healthy breakfast treat!   And of course, there were those recipes you can't find aymore, like the out-of-print Pampered Chef recipe, Mom's Apple Crisp,  made with green apples, crumbled graham crackers and a healthy dose of butter. 

Then there are the recipes that are well-loved, well-used with faded ink and drops of vanilla or a dusting of baking powder from years prior.  The family recipes came from my great-grandmother, Janie Irene, who was born in 1899 and lived well into her 90's.  Anytime you ate at Granny's house she cooked with fresh-from-her-garden ingredients, 5 boiling pots on the stove, and a table set for 10.  She made tomato soup bread, no-fail chocolate cake from scratch and a divine cranberry salad.  She loved zucchini and turned me into a lover of it as well.   Her zucchini bread recipe made large quantities, which to me reflects her love for people. I just know she shared!  Thinking about a nice hearty slice, warm with butter, makes my mouth water.  And if you ask me for her recipes, I will politely decline.  They are after all, family recipes.

I reacquainted myself with my sister's, niece's sweet potato souffle which made its way into our family within the last decade.  It traveled almost coast to coast, from one side of the family to the other and has linked together people that have never even met.  It is such a hit with my husband's family that like clockwork, I can count on one of my nieces calling for a refresher course on the recipe on Thanksgiving day. 

And what would Thanksgiving be without my mother's Possible Pumpkin Pie?   This pie has no crust - which was A+ in my book.  I can still see my mom blending it up and tapping out the air bubbles before baking.  Ahhhh, and the smell that would fill the air.  It is something that brings back all those "warm fuzzy" memories of childhood and hugs and laughter.  To this day, pumpkin pie smell is one of my favorites. 

My mother-in-law's Oatmeal Cookies are in there too, although I've never been able to make them like she does.   Someday I'll have to ask her for the secret ingredient, because there has to be one. 

There are recipes that have only been made once like the Lemonade Party Cake and those that fell out of my memory  - soon to be back on the menu, like Curried Chicken Mango Rice.   Like most recipe collections, there are recipes cut out from cans, magazines and cereal boxes.   Handwritten, printed, emailed and typed.   From school projects, neighbors, friends and family and each one of them are stuffed into the Betty Crocker cookbook.   Food and people, people and food.  They just go together don't they? 

I spent a good hour flipping through the pages looking for the salmon dish acceptable to my daughter's taste buds, but to no avail.  What to do, what to do.  I've made this recipe for many folks and it's always been a hit.   It reminded me that I've given away a few recipes of my own, and thanks to my sister, this one was sitting in my email sent box from 2 years ago - jackpot!   Now that I found it, maybe I should print it out?  It delights my daughter every time I make it - a keeper for sure.   I think then, it will be included in the never ending, ever-growing story of my life - my cook book.