Almost every family has its own favorite foods. It might be hickory nut  cake, spaghetti sauce that has  simmered all day, homemade peach ice cream, or Grandma’s potato salad. Those foods, served at family gatherings and requested for special occasions, provide more than nourishment. They unite the family by their repetition and create an emotional bonding that reminds family members of what it is to be a part of this family.

Mary Pipher, a psychologist and author of two books, Reviving Ophelia and The Shelter of Each Other, discussed food as family metaphor. She said: “Food is often tied up with family metaphors. In our family it is pie. Everyone knows everyone else's favorite kinds, and the merits of these choices are hotly disputed. We compare pies with great intensity and all have our favorite pie‑chefs. Pie means that an event is special, that we are together and celebrating.  In other families, Grandmother’s noodles come to stand for Grandmother. The fresh‑caught trout eaten in a mountain campground stands for a time when the family was young and happy. People speak with such longing of their mother’s biscuits or their father’s farm-raised chickens. It isn't just the food they are missing but the emotions that are connected to those meals and the people who served the food.” ^[1]

Ethel Smith Matheson

My grandmother, Ethel Smith Matheson, died in 1977 at the age of 93, so my life was blessed for many years by her presence and influence. She took care of us three girls while our mother worked. Grandma taught us to embroider and sew and now, years later, we’re all quilters as she was. She was a wonderful cook, baking the best bread ever. When in her late eighties she could no longer knead the dough, she consented to get a bread mixer.

Her speciality, however, was her chiffon pumpkin pie that she always made for Thanksgiving dinner. I grew up thinking there was only one way to make pumpkin pie—and that was Grandma’s way. Although she has been absent at Thanksgiving dinner for 25 years, her pumpkin pie recipe is Thanksgiving’s dessert. Eating a piece of that pie ties us to our loving grandmother, great-grandmother, and now great-great-grandmother. I have a cross-stitched piece of Grandma Matheson’s Chiffon Pumpkin Pie hanging in my kitchen. Many years ago I wrote an article for the Friend magazine about favorite family recipes and was fortunate enough to acquire the stitchery created by one of the designers.

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Another writer/cook recalled traditional dinners with her family. Sara Pitzer wrote: “My earliest memories  revolve around holidays when grandparents, cousins, uncles, and aunts gathered for wonderful dinners of roast chicken, served with mountains of mashed potatoes and three or four different vegetables. For dessert, chocolate cake, coconut cake, and apple pie, and, in winter, homemade ice cream. Everybody brought something good to eat. When you opened the door you were immediately welcomed by the steamy, warm aroma of roasting meats and simmering sauces.

“I especially remember the mashed potatoes, heaped into a warmed china serving bowl and topped with a huge chunk of cold butter. Gradually the butter would melt, and during grace, while the grownups sat with their heads bowed and their eyes closed, I would watch it run in little streams down the mound of potatoes. Then, while Grandpa or Dad or Uncle Lloyd was asking who wanted a leg and who wanted a wing, the mashed potatoes would make the rounds. A grownup whose hands were big enough to hold the bowl would always see to it that I had a large helping with a nice little well pressed into the top for gravy.

“Right behind the potatoes came the peas and carrots, with green and orange contrasting so brightly that the bowl hardly seemed able to contain them. . . .

“After a meal, when the table was cleared and Grandpa had crumbed the tablecloth with the ivory crumber and the women had washed the dishes, everyone sat around in the living room, talking about absent relatives and food. They'd reminisce about Great‑Grand ma Eyer's pie crust and her pickled stuffed peppers. Or someone would tell how they used to bring in buckets of fresh ‘huckaberries’ to be made into three or four pies that were eaten hot. To use a phrase I heard just the other day, my family treated food as a sacrament.

“When I was grown, I learned recipes for more exotic dishes, but I never lost my love for the meals we ate when I was a child. . . . Some people's roots may be traced through family trees; mine can be found in the food we ate.” ^[2]

Food can unite families over time and through generations. Not only should those favorite family dishes be served but the people they represent should be savored as well.           

The following recipes from Remedies for the “I Don’t Cook” Syndrome by Janet Peterson are family favorites of the contributors.

CRANBERRY SALAD
Mardy Erekson

“We enjoy this for Thanksgiving and Christmas.”

4 cups cranberries
2 cups sugar
2 cups seedless red grapes, halved
1 (8-ounce) can pineapple tidbits, drained
1 cup cream, whipped
1 cup pecans, chopped

Freeze cranberries. Grind or coarsely chop cranberries in a food processor.  Put cranberries in a bowl, add sugar and let sit several hours to allow cranberries to absorb sugar. Transfer cranberries to a strainer or colander and place over a bowl to drain for 1 hour. Combine cranberries with grapes, pineapple, whipped cream, and pecans.  Chill until served.

Serves 8.

DILLY MUSTARD CAULIFLOWER
Elaine Jack

A favorite of the Jack family.

1 medium head cauliflower
½ cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon chopped onion
½  cup grated cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon dill weed

Remove stem of cauliflower. Steam whole cauliflower in medium saucepan for 8-10 minutes, or until barely tender. Combine mayonnaise, mustard, and onion in a small bowl. Place cauliflower in oven proof serving dish, right side up. Spread mayonnaise mixture on hot cauliflower. Sprinkle cheese on top. Broil cauliflower 4 to 5 inches from heat until cheese melts. Garnish by sprinkling dill weed on top.

Serves 6.

PEANUT CHICKEN
Shauna Frandsen

An authentic Japanese recipe from the Ushio family.

2 eggs
½  teaspoon salt
3 to 4 tablespoons cornstarch
8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 to 3 tablespoons oil
½ to ¾ cup chopped peanuts
3 to 4 green onions, finely chopped

Break eggs into a shallow bowl. Add salt and enough cornstarch to make a sticky dough (not too thick). Add chicken, covering breasts with cornstarch mixture. In a large skillet, cook chicken in hot oil until done in the middle and golden brown on both sides. Slice chicken pieces diagonally. Arrange on a platter and cover with sweet and sour sauce. Garnish with peanuts and green onions.                                                  

Sweet and Sour Sauce

1 teaspoon oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups water
2 to 3 tablespoons vinegar
1 cup sugar
¾ cup catsup
1 to 2 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ cup cold water

Saute garlic in oil. Add salt, water, vinegar, and catsup, Bring to a boil. Thicken to desired consistency with cornstarch and cold water paste.

Serves 6 to 8.

GINGERSNAPS
Lisa Dalton

“My grandma always had these delicious cookies baked for us when we saw her. She was an amazing cook!”

1½ cups butter or margarine, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
½ cup light molasses
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon allspice
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
 cup sugar

Heat oven to 350º.

Cream together butter and 2 cups sugar in a large bowl. Add eggs, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice and mix well. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Form into balls.  Put  cup sugar in a small bowl. Roll balls in sugar. Bake about 12 minutes.

Makes 5 dozen cookies.

Serves 6.

OREO ICE CREAM PIE
Demetria Davis

“This is my husband’s favorite dessert from his childhood. I have to make it every year for his birthday.”

½ (1-pound 4-ounce) package double-stuffed Oreo cookies
½ gallon mint chocolate chip ice cream, softened
Mrs. Richardson’s Fudge topping
chopped nuts (optional)

Crush Oreos in a blender or food processor. Press into a well-greased 9- or 10-inch glass pie pan. Microwave on high for 1½ minutes. Spread softened ice cream over cookies. Freeze until firm.  Soften for 10 minutes before serving. Pour fudge topping over ice cream. Sprinkle with Oreo crumbs or nuts, if desired.

Serves 6 to 8.