I recently received a very special gift.
Ben’s late Grandma’s – Gwendolyn’s – collection of cook books.
His family has started the long process of sorting through her belongings after she passed away last year, and among the many items a woman in her 80s possesses – letters, knickknacks, pictures and notes – was her well used collection of cook books, which they thoughtfully entrusted to me.
Cook books she used everyday, jotting down notes to indicate a “family favorite“,
or re-writing ingredients to better suit her tastes.
Cook books stuffed with handwritten recipes that Grandmas seem to always make best,
like “Mystery Bars”
and “Honey Peanut Bar Cookies.”
Cook books with pages that were stained and splattered with the evidence of lovingly made family dinners and desserts.
Let me tell you about the desserts… If there was any question in my mind that Gwen had a sweet tooth, I am now completely clear on the matter.
The worn and well used tabs for “Cookies,” “Cakes & Frostings” and “Candies” stuck out in every cook book I opened.
A woman after my own heart.
Her favorites, from what I can tell, were Chocolate Cake, and Lemon Bars. Variations of the same two recipes were ear-marked in book after book – saved to be easily found and made again and again.
“Yep, she loved her Lemon Bars…” Ben confirmed after I informed him of my suspicions. And we all know about Grandma’s famous Cookie Cake which, if the chocolaty fingerprints covering the cake page of her favorite cook book are any indication, she made often.
There was a big lump in my throat as I was going through Gwen’s collection, flipping through the faded pages and catching glimpses of her handwriting every now and again, but it was more sweet than sorrowful. And given my love for cooking, I only feel closer to her now. Is that cheesy?
Hang on, I think I saw a recipe for a cheese ball a few pages back…
~~~~~
“My Grandma/Grandpa makes/made THE best _______.”
My Grandma on my Mom’s side makes THE best chicken noodle soup. My Grandma on my Dad’s side made THE best homemade caramels.
My grandma made the best Rhubarb Pie… she always had a freezer full, so that even during the winter she could whip one out! :)
What a wonderful gift Kristin!
My Grandma makes the best gravy and pie crusts! Also, she cuts my watermelon and cantaloupe up for me (something my mom won’t do). It’s become a bit of a family joke that I always whine that my mom won’t cut watermelon up for me but Grandma will. We were in Mexico two weeks ago and Grandma came down late to the pool because she was cutting up watermelon in our condo!
My grandma made the best potato salad! I’m pretty sure she went to the grave with it… :( My dad has tried to recreate it… but it hasn’t gotten there yet. Maybe it was just because she made it… I don’t know. I miss that stuff…
And the sad thing is.. when I was younger, I hated potatoes, so for the longest time, I wouldn’t eat it… It was only a year before she passed that I tried it… and loved it. Oy vey… what was I thinking?!
My grandma makes the best blueberry muffins. And they are totally from the box – but they taste soooooo much better when Grandma makes them.
My grandma made the best homemade pierogi and Christmas cookies everrrrrrrrrrr!!! I have her old cookbooks as well, they are so wonderful to look through and remember her by :)
This is so sweet. My grandma passed away a few years ago and my aunt made a cookbook for me of her prized recipes. It means so much to me and I always think of her when I make something from it.
My grandmother on my dad’s side make the best brownies…she’s the only one I know that makes brownies like that. My grandpa makes the best smoked salmon.
And grandma on the other side makes the best deviled eggs…she is asked to bring them to everything.
I’ve been given many old cookbooks over the years…I love the little notes on recipes that you find in them.
I love my Nanny’s salad’s. She puts raw garlic in it. :)
wow! That’s amazing. You must feel so special that you have her cook books.
Banana Pudding!!!! oh yes!!!
This is going to sound weird…because it is. But, my grandma made the best boiled potatoes. Yep. It’s ridiculous, but I can’t replicate it. Every Thanksgiving I looked forward to nothing more than her boiled potatoes.
My grandma made the best vegetable soup. She had a garden, picked the veggies, made the soup and canned it right away. By the time it was cool enough for soup, it tasted straight out of the garden!
My grandma on my dad’s side made the best oatmeal cookies, sweet/sour vinaigrette for coleslaw with cabbage and carrots, creamy cucumbers, mashed potatoes, potato sausage, fried eggs. Etc.
Can she come back and cook for me one more time? I think I figured out the secret to the oatmeal cookies, though. I think she might have used old-fashioned oats!
Enjoy your cookbooks!
My mom is a wonderful cook, but I don’t think she learned from my maternal grandma. My maternal grandma always put together weird stuff.