Stirring up memories of Dad
Miami Herald illustration.
Today’s Front Burner column was inspired by all of you and the wonderful stories you had to tell about your fathers. I did not plan to print them when I first asked for your memories – in fact, I had another column all ready to go (you’ll see that next week) but I had to jump on those great anecdotes and share them with all the folks who read the print version and don’t see this blog.
Here’s how I started the column:
I’ll never forget the anticipation with which my family sat down around our heavy oak dining room table to sample Dad’s latest attempt at gourmet cooking.
Being the type of person who latches on to an interest with both hands, Dad had been devouring cooking magazines and books for some time and enjoyed testing his newfound skills on his wife and two teenage daughters.
That particular evening, he served up warm grilled radicchio with a blue cheese sauce. It looked and sounded so wonderful, but we chewed, swallowed, and then reluctantly agreed: It was bitter and awful.
Dad was disappointed, but not discouraged. Since then, whenever I’ve ruined a dish, I’ve thought about that radicchio and the mantra my father eventually took up: “That’s what the trash can is for.”
Fortunately for my family, Dad never got bored of cooking and he didn’t let failures dampen his enthusiasm. In fact, I don’t remember any other mishaps but I can vividly recall so many successes: the standing rib roasts during the holidays, homemade dressings for his homegrown veggie salads, chicken wings so crispy off the grill you’d swear they’d been deep fried, and batches of cookies at Christmas.
To continue reading this column, click here.
To see a recipe for my dad’s Rosemary and Sage Potatoes, click here.
To see Dad’s recipe for Pasta with Italian Sausage and Vegetables, click here.
I’d still love to hear anybody’s stories about their dad and food! Feel free to continue this discussion here on the blog.
June 13, 2012 - 9:27 AM
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My dad and his family moved to America from Italy in 1955. They brought with them their centuries-old recipes for wine, sausages, cookies, breads and more. My dad has taken it upon himself to learn those recipes from his mom, preserving the family’s food heritage.
Though it’s been several years since his last batch of wine, he learned to make limoncello (and from that began making something similar using strawberries or mint).
He also orders olives from California and seasons them, makes salt-cured sausages, bakes bread and whips up torrone. He likes to make the occasional trip to Pittsburgh, Pa. to buy fresh anchovies, which go into a crock with salt and paprika.
I love that when I visit, or when mom and dad visit us, dad is always well-stocked with goodies that will forever remind me of my childhood, and of home.
Not really a recipe, but I remember my dad frying bacon and never draining the grease during the cooking – in a sense deep frying the bacon. When he removed the bacon, in went the bread to be ‘toasted’ in the grease. I can imagine this would taste great (we are Canadian!) but I cannot bring myself to try it.
Rob
Elora, Ontario
Amanda, that is awesome.
Rob, thanks for dropping in all the way from Ontario!