Alright, I know...everyone boasts that their mom was the best cook in the world. But really, my mom knew how to get it done! Seriously, it's a miracle I wasn't a fat kid since her cooking was fantastic, and unfortunately not too kind to your waist.
Now that she's gone, none of these dishes get made (unless I make them) since I doubt my sister or brother either have the inclination or the recall to recreate them. And my father? Well he can't even make spaghetti and that's the only thing he would ever make if mom wasn't able to fix dinner.
Like a method-trained actor, mom required a precise regimen of preparation, exact scripting (in the form of hand-written recipes on index cards) and lots of time. So she wouldn't have done very well on any of these reality TV cooking competition shows, to be sure.
As the years went by and she became more experienced with these recipes, she'd dare to venture into a small amount of experimentation; a little dash more of this here and a slight substitution for that there. But she clung to those index cards steadfastly most of the time. She feared failure immensely and I think she thought that if she wavered too far from the tried and true, she'd let us down.
Well playing it safe worked for her and since the dishes came out great each time, who's to say it wasn't the right way of doing it.
Here are some of my personal favorites. She had a vast box of cards though so it was hard to pick just twelve. BTW, I've recreated many of these dishes and unfortunately that collection of index cards is long gone so I have to fly by the seat of my pants, working from the memory of watching her make them and enjoying the results.
Stuffies
Like any seafood, in my youth I turned my nose up at these. But now, I think back to the uniquely spicy yet smooth flavor of these giant stuffed quahogs...a quintessential Rhode Island appetizer...and I now long for those with watering mouth.
Clam "Chowda"
Hardly any New Englander would pronounce this hearty seafood stew any other way. And in Rhode Island, it was specifically the red (Manhattan) variety. My mother would pull out her biggest "chedron" (stock pot) and brew up a batch huge enough for an army barracks.
Clam Cakes
What better to go with the chowda, yet another Rhode Island staple, clam cakes are fried dough fritters made with clam and clam juice infused batter. Oh man, thems good eats!
Dynamites
Let's really get regional here...dynamites (loose hamburger, green peppers and onions in tomato sauce simmered for hours and stuffed into torpedo rolls) are known only in the Woonsocket area and are an essential summertime cookout treat. My mom's backyard parties wouldn't be without them.
Baked Beans
Slow-cooked goodness in a crock. What cookout would be complete without them. And like the dynamites, family members from all around would be drawn to her shindigs if they knew these would be on the picnic table.
American Chop Suey
Not all mom's recipes were so New England oriented. Who knows where this one came from? Certainly not Chinese, but not very American either. Likely some mutation of Italian influenced pasta bolognese, but ghettoized for a plain old weeknight meal that was cheap and easy to make.
Pork Chops and Rice
Like I mentioned, mom was religious in her execution of most recipes and this one had some stringent rules. It had to be made in an electric frying pan, the rice had to be Carolina long grain, the canned tomatoes had to be whole and then hand-crushed, and the mixture had to sit in the pan long enough for the rice to be slightly burned on the bottom.
Roast Beef and Spaghetti
Mom used to tell us that a friend of hers suggested serving slow-cooked roast beef Au Jus over spaghetti and her conventional culinary mind was all in a tissy. "What, not with boiled potatoes?" as was the French-Canadian influenced norm. She tried it on a whim and we all loved it so it became a family favorite.
Galumpkis
This is an Americanized spelling and we actually mangled it more by pronouncing them as "go-umpkis", but no matter how you say or spell it, it's just simply Polish goodness in your tummy. The tradition in our family was to have these at Christmas. These would be served alongside the other Polish heritage, and even more labor-intensive dish next in line...
Pirogis
Essentially big ravioli-like pasta pockets stuffed with potatoes and cheese served boiled and smothered in sauteed onions and butter. Probably something like 1000 calories each but who cares! They're so good...beeeeeeeeep (the sound of the heart monitor indicating heart failure).
Blueberry Torte
Now it's time for dessert. First up, this cheesecake like concoction. One of the few recipes my mom got from a cookbook. She usually stuck with dishes passed on to her from family or friends.
Jewish Coffee Cake
This one was passed on to her from a friend. Don't think they were Jewish so who knows where it originated from but this had to be my favorite of all her desserts. And mom hated making desserts, but with this always moist cinnamon-apple laden item, you'd never know it.
Now that she's gone, none of these dishes get made (unless I make them) since I doubt my sister or brother either have the inclination or the recall to recreate them. And my father? Well he can't even make spaghetti and that's the only thing he would ever make if mom wasn't able to fix dinner.
Like a method-trained actor, mom required a precise regimen of preparation, exact scripting (in the form of hand-written recipes on index cards) and lots of time. So she wouldn't have done very well on any of these reality TV cooking competition shows, to be sure.
As the years went by and she became more experienced with these recipes, she'd dare to venture into a small amount of experimentation; a little dash more of this here and a slight substitution for that there. But she clung to those index cards steadfastly most of the time. She feared failure immensely and I think she thought that if she wavered too far from the tried and true, she'd let us down.
Well playing it safe worked for her and since the dishes came out great each time, who's to say it wasn't the right way of doing it.
Here are some of my personal favorites. She had a vast box of cards though so it was hard to pick just twelve. BTW, I've recreated many of these dishes and unfortunately that collection of index cards is long gone so I have to fly by the seat of my pants, working from the memory of watching her make them and enjoying the results.
Stuffies
Like any seafood, in my youth I turned my nose up at these. But now, I think back to the uniquely spicy yet smooth flavor of these giant stuffed quahogs...a quintessential Rhode Island appetizer...and I now long for those with watering mouth.
Clam "Chowda"
Hardly any New Englander would pronounce this hearty seafood stew any other way. And in Rhode Island, it was specifically the red (Manhattan) variety. My mother would pull out her biggest "chedron" (stock pot) and brew up a batch huge enough for an army barracks.
Clam Cakes
Dynamites
Baked Beans
American Chop Suey
Pork Chops and Rice
Roast Beef and Spaghetti
Galumpkis
Pirogis
Blueberry Torte
Jewish Coffee Cake