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My Mom (L), Dad (R) and my Grandmother - 1957
My parents would have been married 62 this month |
Last time, I wrote about all the new stuff in my kitchen...this time, I want to write about some things that are very old, very special and only get better with age: my maternal Grandmother's cast iron skillets. (I also have her wedding ring, which I've written about before...you can go back and read that story
here.)
She had three - a 7", an 8" and a 10" - I have them all.
My grandparents were married in 1935, so I imagine (because I don't know for sure) that she acquired these skillets around that time...which makes them about 85 years old. I treasure them, because they represent some of my earliest, and fondest memories of time spent with my grandmother in her kitchen.
My grandmother learned to cook, both from her own mother, and from the woman who cooked and kept house for her family when she was growing up in Alabama.
She made wonderful chicken soup and matzo balls, but she also made incredible fried chicken.
She used her cast iron every day - she cooked my grandfather's breakfast, toast, coffee and - three eggs, sunny side up in one of her skillets...but my favorite use for them was baking cornbread.
She would make it often, and if there were leftovers from the day before, she would dip it into buttermilk as a bedtime snack.
I wanted mine warm, with lots of butter...and there weren't many leftovers when we were visiting.
When my brother and I were young, we would regularly spend the night with my grandparents. I didn't appreciate then (as I did later when I had my own children), that it wasn't just a treat for us...it was a huge break for my parents.
I loved staying with my grandparents, and I especially enjoyed cooking with my grandmother. I always asked if we could make cornbread to have with breakfast. She always said yes.
We would measure and sift the dry ingredients the night before, then add the egg, buttermilk and melted butter in the morning. I have the recipe written on a card in her handwriting, and I still bake it in her skillet.
The cornbread is in regular rotation as part of my pandemic menus, usually served alongside quick tenderloin beer stew from Jacques Pepin's
Fast Food My Way cookbook. I've shared both recipies at the end of this post.
I'm using the skillets for a lot of other meals, too...
One of our favorite local restaurants,
Dai Due, makes the only fried chicken I've ever had that's as good as my grandmother's. They only serve it on Sunday, and we get an order of it every week. They've also started selling their hamburger patties and wonderful sausages to cook at home.
There's really nothing like a good burger, and honestly - they don't travel well - so it's been wonderful to be able to get them ground that day, along with fabulous brioche buns...and cook them at home.
Another great recipe - for lamb chops (which I am buying at the farmers market) - came from one of my jeweler friends. You sear the marinated chops on top of the stove, then finish them in the oven.
Not only are these well worn, deeply seasoned pans fabulous for cooking...they bring back wonderful memories of my Grandmother everytime I use them.
The world is a pretty dark place right now, and I'm working to find hope and light where I can...pulling out these skillets, that fed my family for generations before me, and cooking with them regularly brings me joy. That probably wouldn't have happened if we hadn't been forced to change what and where we eat - among other things.
Until next time.
Jacques Pepin's Instant Tenderloin Beef Stew
From
“Fast Food My Way”
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided use
1 tablespoon good olive oil
1 1/2 cups diced (1/2-inch) potato, rinsed under cold running water
1 cup baby carrots (about 4 ounces)
1 cup small white button mushrooms
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1/2 cup baby peas, fresh or frozen
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided use
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound beef tenderloin (filet mignon), trimmed of all fat and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons dry white wine
2 tablespoons homemade chicken stock or low-sodium canned chicken broth
Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter and the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes, carrots and mushrooms. Cook, partially covered, stirring occasionally, for about 8 minutes, or until the vegetables are cooked through and lightly browned.
Add the onion and cook for 1 to 2 minutes longer.
Add the garlic, peas, and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and cook for 1 minute. Set aside, covered, while you cook the steak.
Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in another skillet over medium-high heat until it is very hot but not smoking. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt and the pepper on the filet pieces and add the meat to the skillet in one layer. Saute, turning, for 2 to 3 minutes, until the meat is browned on all sides. Transfer to a platter.
Add the wine and stock to the skillet and boil for about 10 seconds. Pour over the meat and vegetables, and serve.
Gertrude's White Meal Cornbread
Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.
Place 2 tablespoons of butter in a cast iron skillet and put the skillet in the oven while it heats. Remove when the butter is melted.
Sift together dry ingredients:
1.5 cups white corn meal
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
Add to the dry mixture and whisk until there are no lumps
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 cups buttermilk
Remove the skillet from the oven, pour the melted butter into the batter and whisk in.
Pour the batter into the hot skillet, return to the oven and bake 20-25 minutes until a toothpick or knife comes out clean.
Allow the bread to cool briefly - 5 or 10 minutes - before cutting.
P.S.
Last week I put up a couple of posts on
Instagram and
Facebook about tea towels...and that I often pick them up as souvenirs...well, turns out my grandmother did that, too.
My mother's first cousin (who was really more like a sister, as they were both only children) responded to my post, writing:
This is so amazing because both my mother & your grandmother always sent tea towels as gifts & souvenirs of their travels!!
It's not just jewelry that tells stories...cast iron and tea towels do, too.
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A few of my souvenirs, clockwise from the top:
Berkeley, Napa, Madison, Boston and Hawaii |
