The Frugal Gourmet on Our Immigrant Ancestors: Recipes you should have gotten from your grandmother
by Jeff Smith
Overview
From the publisher:
Contains recipes from no less than 35 ethnic traditions--allowing just about anyone to recreate the tastes and smells of their grandmothers' kitchens.
My Thoughts
OK, well, it was the day before St. Pat's Day 2005 and my boss asked me what Irish dish I was fixing for dinner the next night. Huh? Did anyone tell me that I had to fix an Irish dish on St. Pat's Day? I've lived here 44 years and I have an Irish/German heritage -- but it was news to me!
Who am I to buck the trend? I got on-line and started looking at recipes and lo and behold (or should I say b'gosh and b'golly!) I found Boiled Irish Dinner. It was an amazing hit (despite my concerns!) and I liked it so well I went to eBay to see if they carried the book the recipe was taken from. Sure enough, it was there, it was affordable, and it was mine!
When the book arrived I was a little disappointed. It is a thick, hardback book the size of a novel rather than the size and shape of a typical cookbook, and it looked so ... overwhelming. I just couldn't imagine ever opening the book, and I thunked myself for not researching it more before I bought it.
Tonight I had a few minutes to spare and my other book was in the car, so I grabbed this book off the dryer in the laundry room and cracked the cover. Oh my gosh! The reading and recipes are SO much fun! I've had the book open all evening and I've got page after page after page of unusual recipes dog-eared! I can't wait to get cooking!!!
Favorite Passage
Grandma Brun used to drink straight Scotch as she cooked this dish and by the time she was finished she would be crying great tears into the pot. As a child I thought this to be a bit odd, but now I cannot get rommegrot that tastes as good as hers. It finally dawned on me that this dish needs a grandma's tears.
