During the pandemic, I updated a family cookbook that I originally compiled in 2002. It is a collection of recipes and holiday customs passed down to my husband and I. Unfortunately, most of the recipes are from my maternal side of the family.
Although I wasn't close to my dad's side, I do recall my grandmother's cooking on several occasions. Chicken or beef, mashed potatoes with gravy and another vegetable was all I can remember. What does stand out is that she served dessert on the same plate that was used for dinner. That totally grossed me out as a small child so I would refuse dessert. She must have thought I was very strange to turn down homemade apple pie ala mode but I just couldn't enjoy it if it was on the same plate in which my main course had been served.
I have no idea why a dessert plate wasn't used as I have inherited a set from my paternal grandmother's mother so clearly they had the means to separate the courses. I don't know why it bothered me as I wasn't one of those kids who wouldn't eat if one food touched another. As a preschooler, the only food I refused to eat was pizza as it looked unappealing to me. Of course, the only time I recall my parents going out to dinner with my paternal grandparents was to a restaurant where they ordered pizza. I had a child's chicken plate instead.
I don't have many recipes from my husband's side of the family, either. Most came from a church cookbook that my mother-in-law gifted me that contained her submitted recipes. I'm not sure how many of those recipes were passed down, however. Years ago, I made a beef stew recipe from that cookbook that was attributed to my sister-in-law. I complimented her on it but she had no idea what I was talking about. My husband asked his mother and she said she entered it to see her daughter's name in print. I wonder how many other organizational cookbooks contain recipes that the "submitter" never knew about. Sometimes, records submitted are not correct!
I do have a recipe for Lickum, which has been handed down on the Samuelson line, probably from Sweden as it appears to be from that region originally. There are several variations online. Lickum is similar to a pickle relish made with onions, tomatoes and peppers.
Last week I went on a quest for a lost family recipe on my husband's paternal line. I had tried for years to get the recipe from his cousins but everyone I asked replied with a stricken expression and said, "You don't want that recipe." My husband absolutely hated it as apparently, all of his still living cousins had. The recipe was called oyster stuffing and though we're still 6 months away from Turkey Day, my mind recalled, in a strange way, that I still haven't discovered it.
Through the Kindle library I read a short book about a true story of a pirate operating off Long Island, New York in 1860. In The Pirate by Harold Schecter (2018), Albert W. Hicks murdered the captain and two deck hands on an oyster ship. It was a true story and I was shocked by how large the oyster market was at that time.
My husband's family were originally from Long Island and my father-in-law had recalled his grandmother making the dish for holidays. His grandmother, Mary Thompson, was born in Chicago, however, her mother Drusilla Williams, was born on long island and her father, John Hicks Williams, was a ship's carpenter. I have no idea if the pirate and my husband's ship's carpenter were related, sharing the similar surname of Hicks. There were many Hicks' in the area at the time. Although I will probably also never know for certain, it's likely the oyster stuffing recipe originated from the once abundance supply of oysters near the family's home.
Several days after finishing the book, I had a strange dream. I awoke from a deep sleep and only recall that I was staring at what looked like a television's blank screen - grey with static - and a man's voice saying, "If you want that oyster recipe you better ask for it soon before it's too late." Kind of an ominous warning for a mere recipe that no one continued to serve. My subconscious most likely paired the bloody Hicks to my husband's Hicks and the Long Island oysters connected them even further.
I told my husband the next morning and he posted on Facebook. Within a matter of minutes one of his cousins had forwarded it to another cousin through marriage that had the recipe. Apparently, it's all over the internet. From Martha Stewart to Chef John, what my husband's family called Oyster Stuffing is now called Scalloped Oysters or Oyster Casserole. Who knew?! I have duly entered the recipe in my family cookbook. Husband says he is not eating it if I make it.
Reaching out on social media helped me discover that long lost recipe in minutes. I don't know why I never thought to do that before! I had wasted years asking relatives in person when I could easily have just posted a request. Live and Learn!
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