Foodways

On a normal basis, my four siblings and I eat and eat and eat and eat and eat AND eat. My mother spent most of our childhoods spending hours in the kitchen cooking up gourmet foods. For every holiday she would cook up elaborate menus that were just phenomenal. All by herself she would cook enormous quantities of turkey, mashed potatoes, greens, cranberry sauce, matzoball soup, gefilte fish, etc. BUT, when it came to Christmas meals, my grandma was always in charge of the stuffing. She had a secret Portuguese recipe that she didn't share with anyone and would get up early on Christmas morning and start grinding the meat for it in her ancient grinder. This is THE best stuffing in the world and so we were pretty upset when she lost her ability to cook (and remember most of our names). Luckily, the last Christmas before she could no longer cook, my grandma taught my mom how to make it, thus saving us all from a stuffing-less holiday. So last Christmas, my mom heaved out the old grinder and replicated the stuffing. It was pretty amazing. When the relatives came over for the meal, we were all relieved to have our favorite food on the table and the tradition saved. I fully plan on making sure I have that recipe. Someday.