Dar's Recipe Box

 

Dar, my grandmother, with whom I lived the first 19 years of my life, was a fantastic cook. It didn't matter if it were a simple meal or a many-course holiday dinner.

Veggies from my grandfather's garden, dishes where meat was stretched because of rationing, cookies, cakes, pies, it didn't matter. It was all good. 

When she died 55 years ago, I inherited her recipe box, and I admit I don't use it as much as I should.

When invited to a Thanksgiving Dinner December 12th. Yes, I know it's the wrong date, but our Swiss American hostess is in Cambodia and Vietnam on the actual day. She usually invites a group of people with American connections for the real feast. She and her husband supply the turkey and apèro and everyone else brings a dish. 

The table is always beautifully set, we can look out on the city of Geneva from their flat. The atmosphere is what Thanksgiving should be. 

Thanksgiving is the only day I'm homesick for the USA. I will already know who won the Boston Latin/Boston English and the Reading/Stoneham traditional football games.

Usually I bring mocca brownies, made by an English woman and sold on the Argelès marché. This year it won't be practical. We are going to Paris from the South of France so Rick can do some research for his book and go to Geneva medical and dental appointments. By the Thanksgiving dinner the brownies would be stale or moldy.

I thought maybe I would make Dar's scalloped corn, a dish that people would request over and over. I took out her recipe box and started looking at the cards, cutouts from newspapers and magazines, including a published recipe by my journalist mother. What touched me was Dar's tiny handwriting, the same handwriting from notes that she might have written me in my childhood.

Equally memory-creating were some of the titles. Leah's chocolate sauce. Leah's furniture all had hand crocheted doilies on the back of her living room furniture.

I don't know who Aunt Lucille was, but Dar often made her oatmeal bread, which I have made throughout my life.

Mrs. Sargent, Dar's mother-in-law, passed on her vanilla cookie recipe.

Aunt Edith's Cream Crabmeat is something I will make when my non-fish eating husband is away.

Auntie Maud's butter cake reminds me of her two-times a year visits from New Jersey, her love of cats and her helping with the dishes after dinner. Dar would wait till their weekly call after Maudie went home to ask where Maudie put this or that dish or utensil.

I didn't find a scalloped corn recipe in the box. My Thanksgiving hostess suggested if I can't bring the brownies, I bring a dessert.  

I did find many scallop corn recipes on the internet. I will try one next week.

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