Musing on how traditions get to be
I'm sitting at my computer, again, after a good breakfast of Spiced Wafers, Craisins and black coffee, wondering what to type. This is a tough exercise -- almost as tough as lunges -- which reminds me: my hand is heaps better and I should return to the gym.
About 6 years ago, my aunt Florence was hosting Thanksgiving. She asks those of us who cook to bring a dish. My mom was assigned green beans, my other aunt -- her sweet potatoes, and so on. I was asked to bring a desert. I thought to myself that if I made anything that I'd have half of it to take home with me.
I believe that I was watching the Food Network and some show on cooking with cheese. The desert dish was Cranberry-Ricotta Tarts with toasted Almond Crust. Wow, I thought. I was salivating while watching the show. I'm not a big cheesecake fan but I knew that I would love this dish. The tarts are shallow and just flavored with enough dried cranberries and a small amount of ricotta. And Lord knows, I love nuts. I went online to get the recipe (and it's a good thing that I did, because I have not seen it online since.)
I got the ingredients and headed to my folks house the night before to cook. My folks were excited to hear about this recipe and I said "You know that they never take a liking to what I make, we should have a lot to take home." The house smelled warmed with vanilla and almond in the air. The dish looked great.
Now, I took the recipe and played with it slightly, because of that I just call it a Cranberry Ricotta Torte. Also, I avoid calling dishes names that sounds like an ingredient list. I like some of the tastes and flavors to be a surprise.
We all arrive at my Aunt's and we settle into dinner prep and TV-watching. After an hour, the turkey was carved and we eat. Mom's green bean dish was great, as were my aunt's sweet potatoes and everything else on the table. The younger generation cleared the dishes, the men washed and dried and my aunt set up the dessert buffet.
There was pumpkin pie, mincemeat pie, apple pie, cookies, Jubilee roll (from Friendly's) and my cranberry ricotta torte. We dug in. Coffee was on and we were getting second cups. The meal was over. The second wave of clean up ensued. This time, the plates for dessert were paper and the silverware went in the dishwasher. It was time to pack up and leave.
My aunt calls to me: "There's only a small piece of your torte left, I'd like to have it for breakfast tomorrow." How could I say No? I looked and there was only a small piece left. My family actually ate something that I brought and enjoyed it.
Since then I cannot show up for a Holiday Season dinner without the torte. Actually, I don't have to show up, but the dessert does.
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