Discussion»Questions»Food and Drink» Are there certain foods/baked goods that are TRADITIONS in your family during the holidays? Do you have your mom's, grandma's recipes?
Not any more. I have some of my Mom's (and grandma's) recipes in my head, but they are Kosher and Eastern European and no one would eat them except my sisters. My wife and I don't celebrate holidays anymore, but we will go to whoever invites us. Probably my daughter's this year, but I don't invite myself anywhere.
Thank you for your reply Ele and HB to thee. Our family is scattered everywhere. One son lives in Honolulu. One lives in Buckeye, Arizona. One lives in Fernley, Nevada. And they have other relatives besides us. My sis and brother-in-law moved to Carson City, Nevada in October 2008. Jim and I hold down the fort California-wise. I'll probably just make it very simple for us. Anyway it's being thankful/grateful/appreciative that matters. It's nice to share holidays with family/friends but if that's not in the cards you can have a good time anyway. It's just simpler and quieter and there aren't so many dishes/pots/pans to wash. Any special plans for today or is it like any other day?
This post was edited by RosieG at November 14, 2017 6:58 AM MST
So you will have something to show for the day. A neat basement! Don't know if we're alike in this regard but I do much better if my surroundings are orderly. I don't do well in mess or chaos. Some folks can work in any environment. Messy office. Messy home. Messy car. Not me! I'm not a perfectionist at all. But getting into someone's car where you have to remove empty dirty paper cups and dirty food wrappers to sit down grosses me out big time. Different strokes. Thank you for your reply Ele!
When they rebuilt my kitchen they had to do some drilling through the floor and some plumbing. They cleaned most of it out but need to finish up. Surprize the wife.
No I prepare a variety of dishes hoping to appeal to different tastes and they seem glad enough I am willing to be the one to do this they don't criticize but just help themselves to what appeals to them. My mother cooked when she was younger but by the time I was three or four we had a cook so whatever I eventually learned came form her. One of my grandmothers was no longer living and the other lived in another part of the country. Trying to ingratiate myself I took on Christmas when I married six years ago and a couple of years later Thanksgiving as well more by default unfortunately than anything. Couldn't do it without my oldest stepdaughter and the wife of one of my husband's employees who help out. So I do for instance a turkey, a fish or seafood dish, grains, a squash and apple pie, beans, potatoes, salads, vegetables and a few appetizers and sometimes bread. So weird because before ( I was in my 50s when I first married ) I maybe made Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners only a handful of times!
Wow! That is a feast by any standards officegirl. Do you enjoy doing it? I always enjoyed cooking tons of food and having people enjoy it. Just the nurturer in me I guess. Of course my mom and her mom were like that. I had an Aunt Olga at whose home we always had Thanksgiving Dinner. It was tradition. She made a killer pumpkin pie which she never ate because she didn't like pumpkin pie. I never got over it! How you can be so good at making something deliciously fantastic and not like it? Thank you for your thoughtful reply to my question and Happy Tuesday! :)
Happy back at you! Yes and no. Have always cooked for men so was not too much of a stretch to tackle holiday meals for a crowd. When I started mostly it was because I was looking for more acceptance and recognition from my stepdaughters and my husband's mother. But everyone had a good time so I sort of felt as though I had to do it every year. Then when they wanted a Thanksgiving I took that on as well. Its just requires planning and work and I have always been a more behind-the-scenes person. Now we have my hub's daughters and their husbands or boyfriends and son and a few of their friends, his mother and sometimes sister, his ex and her husband, and a couple of his employees and their wives and sometimes families. Of all of which I guess I am the most cooking-oriented so I am willing to take it on. And they have a good time so that is good. Still when everything is cleaned up and put away and they are all gone I do breath a sigh of relief and feel I can relax.
Goodness if I ate everything I made I would gain 10 pounds so I just nibble at it here and there and mostly am too busy in the kitchen. Pumpkin pies I have never made - squash, particularly Kabocha and Buttercup, are naturally sweeter so don't need any sweetening or spices.
I have heard of Butternut squash but not Buttercup and I have never heard of Kabocha. Of course I haven't looked either. A pie that doesn't require sweetening is my cuppa tea. We try to eat very little sugar. Thank you for your reply. Do you cook everything or is it pot-luck where you do the turkey and a few other dishes and they each bring something? That's quite a crowd you have. Good for you for taking it on! :)
This post was edited by RosieG at November 14, 2017 8:24 AM MST
Some of them show up with wine but we do all the cooking. My husband's oldest daughter is very wonderful in coming in the day before and working with me. As is another woman a little older than us I knew before I was married. And we introduced her to one of my husband's employees and they hit it off and married. Second marriage for both of them. I give them instructions and turn them loose.
It sounds like a very fun place to be! Lots of activity. Hustle and bustle. Happy endings too. Nice post officegirl. You are contributing good things to the world. You should be proud of what you have brought to that family. I hope they appreciate you! Thank you for your reply! :)
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