First, a little announcement:
So...last week, this here blog o' mine was chosen as a finalist for a Riverfront Times web award (along with some of my food-centric friends). Stephanie Tolle (aka Iron Stef), one of my bestest buddies & fellow Food Blog Mafiosa, won the Best Food Blog award. I'm so happy for her; she definitely deserves the honor.
And now, I give you a little story about rice pilaf:
I've been wanting to recreate dishes and meals from my childhood...things my family used to make, like Grandma Martin's cabbage rolls & Grandma Green's chicken noodle soup & my mom's vegetable beef stew.
My immediate family wasn't very big...just me, my younger brother, my dad & mom (who passed away 15 years ago). My mom only had a sister & two brothers, the oldest of whom had two sons. I always considered my family to be small.
But, last month I watched a DVD of old home movies that my dad made for me. Most of the silent 8mm videos were of Christmas mornings...my brother & me in our PJ's, with wild bedhead, unwrapping our gifts, surrounded by family members...grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. I was surprised to see so many people at our house on Christmas mornings, especially my mom's extended family. There was my great-aunt Anna Mae with her kids. There was my grandfather's brother, too, with his kids and his grandkids. I hadn't realized what a large--and close--extended family I had growing up.
One of the most vivid memories I have of Aunt Anna Mae is of her making rice pilaf for family gatherings. Specifically, I can picture her opening the oven door & pulling out sheet pans full of toasted rice & pasta. I remember not really liking the pilaf then, but a few times in the past several years I've tasted dishes (like Sopa Seca de Fideo) that remind me of the rice pilaf flavor...and I like it now! I think it was the browned butter that was a bit too rich for my young palate.
So...last week, this here blog o' mine was chosen as a finalist for a Riverfront Times web award (along with some of my food-centric friends). Stephanie Tolle (aka Iron Stef), one of my bestest buddies & fellow Food Blog Mafiosa, won the Best Food Blog award. I'm so happy for her; she definitely deserves the honor.
And now, I give you a little story about rice pilaf:
I've been wanting to recreate dishes and meals from my childhood...things my family used to make, like Grandma Martin's cabbage rolls & Grandma Green's chicken noodle soup & my mom's vegetable beef stew.
My immediate family wasn't very big...just me, my younger brother, my dad & mom (who passed away 15 years ago). My mom only had a sister & two brothers, the oldest of whom had two sons. I always considered my family to be small.
But, last month I watched a DVD of old home movies that my dad made for me. Most of the silent 8mm videos were of Christmas mornings...my brother & me in our PJ's, with wild bedhead, unwrapping our gifts, surrounded by family members...grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. I was surprised to see so many people at our house on Christmas mornings, especially my mom's extended family. There was my great-aunt Anna Mae with her kids. There was my grandfather's brother, too, with his kids and his grandkids. I hadn't realized what a large--and close--extended family I had growing up.
One of the most vivid memories I have of Aunt Anna Mae is of her making rice pilaf for family gatherings. Specifically, I can picture her opening the oven door & pulling out sheet pans full of toasted rice & pasta. I remember not really liking the pilaf then, but a few times in the past several years I've tasted dishes (like Sopa Seca de Fideo) that remind me of the rice pilaf flavor...and I like it now! I think it was the browned butter that was a bit too rich for my young palate.
