Food and Memories

Isn't amazing how a recipe can bring back someone's memory, or just make you smile when you taste it? It just brings so many things back.  Food has always been a big part of our family, and it seems like everyone has their specialty.  I think that I am going to make a cook book, like a real one.  It will probably take years, but hey, I think its worth it... especially if I can master Grandpa Rays pie crust!!

My mom is probably the best cook that I know.  I don't believe that I have ever eaten anything of hers that I didn't like, but my absolute favorite are these amazing pork chops that she makes... I have tried, but I have never been able to get it just right.  She flours and fries, and then bakes them.  She pours this sweet glaze over them... usually some type of homemade jam that didn't set right.  Its this wonderful combination of sweet and salty meat that just falls off the bone and melts in your mouth... yummy!  Always accompanied by mashed potatos!!

Besides the BBQ salmon that my dad makes with his special sauce, he also is to blame for this crazy obsession I have with popcorn.  When I was little, we would have movie nights, like every Friday, and we would cook popcorn (the old fashioned way in a pan with oil) and then he would top it with candy.  Anything that he could find...M&M's, cut up snickers bars, butterfingers... anything.  then he would put it back in the microwave and melt it all over the popcorn and mix it up.  It was so fun... in fact, I still do it :)  Oh, how it drives my husband crazy when the kids and me are going at it like vultures, and all he wants is Jonny's seasoning's on it...  but now, I am making the same memories with my boys :)

I just made my Grandma Jumps peanut butter cookies for Grandpa Ray... they are so good, and a really old recipe... made with Crisco :)  I remember making them with her when I was young, and its one thing that I can make that tastes EXACTLY as I remember... and I always think of her when I make them.

Okay, and this might seem a little weird, but I swear that its good... My Grandma Howard puts cabbage in her jello molds.  Don't knock it until you try it, its really good!!

I married into a family that also makes some amazing food!  Grandma Kay makes the BEST ham soup that has ever graced this earth... I am not kidding, so good!  Grandpa Ray has perfected the apple pie.  Its a perfectly flaky crust (also Crisco) and perfectly cooked apples... my mouth is watering!! 

Monty makes the best ribs that I have ever had, and it takes a lot of time and effort, but its worth it, and we all rave about them!!

Aunt Dawn made the best Mac and Cheese in the world.  It never tasted the same, and she always used different cheeses and sometimes it was spicy and sometimes it had chicken in it, but it was always so good, and she always made it for me... as I got older, we would get together andhave a bowl of her amazing pasta with a glass of wine.  The best memories :)

There are so many amazing recipes... pancakes from Alabama, seafood dips, stews, breads, jams, cookies, hamburgers... all with amazing memories.  I remember the words that were spoken over sharing this food with loved ones, and I remember smiling and laughing, and I even remember messing up.  My dad always snuck me the tail piece of the salmon because he knew how much I hated to pick out the bones , and I will never forget making ice cream sundaes with my Grandpa Howard... special memories are tied to food and I am glad that my boys like to help in the kitchen.  Blake likes his PB&J sandwiches piled high with 3 pieces of bread and then cut into triangles... I hope that someday, he looks back and remembers that I did that for him, and gets a special feeling from it.

Right now, Kyle is at a hockey game, and I am home alone, kids are sleeping, and guess what... I made popcorn!!  Guess I should get started on my cookbook!!