5 Home Cooks Share Their Favorite Family Recipes

It’s amazing what we talk about when we talk about food. In a recent Houzz Call we asked, “What’s cooking in your kitchen?” The answers we got weren’t just about the best mix of ingredients or which system best prevents sticky spills on an iPad. No, what we got were personal stories, family histories and traditions that will be passed down long after we’ve passed on.

When we talk about food, we’re not just talking about what goes in our mouths, and when we talk about cooking, we’re not just talking about a process. What we’re talking about is our lives, loves and legacies. Here are a few Houzz users who were generous enough to share theirs.

1. Aunt Agnes’ Famous Orange Stuff

Cook: Ann Massoth
Location: Haverhill, Massachusetts
Where the recipe comes from: One of many handwritten, handed-down notecards from Massoth’s late mother

“I have my late mother’s recipe box with handwritten recipes filed inside,” Ann Massoth says. “Some are in her handwriting, and some are in my sister’s. The ink is faded on some, but it is a bittersweet memory of simpler times.”

Massoth lives in a house originally built in 1899 and feels a responsibility to honor its stylistic simplicity by minimizing her use of modern technology. “Somehow it would feel wrong to have my iPad hanging from a cabinet so I could read recipes,” she says.

She doesn’t seem to need her iPad, though, since she inherited her late mother’s recipe box, complete with original recipes from all the women in her family. “Just seeing their writing reminds me of them and their distinct and wonderful personalities,” she says. The recipes in that old box are just as unique as the individuals who wrote them and include titles such as Aunt Agnes’ Famous Orange Stuff, Grandma’s Potato Cakes and Mother’s Apple Pie.


That apple pie recipe is the soul of her collection. Massoth still pulls that card out every Thanksgiving, even though she knows all the ingredients and the baking method by heart. Reading her mother’s recipe in her original writing helps Massoth feel close to her mother once more. “I have to laugh at the vague instructions, such as ‘quite a bit of nutmeg,’” she says. “If she had not shown me how to make the pie, I would have no idea how much ‘quite a bit’ meant. Of course, no matter what the format of her recipe I use, my pie will never be quite as good as hers.” So instead let’s make some simple Massoth “orange stuff.”

Aunt Agnes’ Famous Orange Stuff
Serves 12

Ingredients
1 (3-ounce) orange Jell-O packet
1 pint orange sherbet
1 small can crushed pineapple
1 small can mandarin oranges

Dissolve orange Jell-O in 1 cup of boiling water. Stir in 1 pint of orange sherbet with a fork. Add 1 small can each of crushed pineapple and mandarin oranges, drained. Refrigerate until jelled.


2. Vaughn Family Marinated Pork Tenderloin

Cooks: Lynda and James Vaughn
Location: Long Beach, California
Where the recipe comes from: Adapted by the couple during their 11 years together

When Lynda Vaughn remodeled her kitchen two years ago, cookbook storage was a must-have: She has more than 150 cookbooks and continues to increase her collection. Unfortunately, due to complications during construction and the sheer volume of Vaughn’s books, her new shelving units don’t quite have the capacity to bear all of that weight. But she’s come up with a savvy solution using her most-referenced texts as kitchen art. This photo shows how she has lightly lined either side of her shelves with select books and has placed one, cover side out, as a display in the center.

Husband James does a lot of the weeknight cooking due to Vaughn’s work schedule. But on the weekends, they enjoy experimenting and working together on more challenging cooking projects, she says, including homemade pasta, coq au vin, boeuf bourguignon and Caesar salad — from scratch (yes, even the croutons).

The couple were self-proclaimed foodies before they got together. In fact, Vaughn even attended culinary school for a few years in her mid-20s. But over the course of their 11-year marriage, they’ve taken their shared passion to the next level. “It is a wonderful hobby to share with him,” Vaughn says. “We cook together at home on the weekends, take cooking classes together and include a food-related component to our travels.”


Experimenting in the kitchen comes with lessons learned and sweet successes, and the Vaughns wanted to share one of theirs.

Vaughn Family Marinated Pork Tenderloin
Serves 3 to 4
(Note: The preparation of this recipe requires a sous vide machine. The Vaughns use a Sansaire.)

Ingredients
1 pork tenderloin, about 1 to 1½ pounds
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons good-quality olive oil
1 tablespoon good-quality balsamic vinegar
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 bay leaf
1 medium sprig fresh rosemary
5 cloves garlic, smashed

1. Season the pork tenderloin with salt and pepper. Place it in a 1-gallon zip-top bag. 2. Whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard in a small bowl. Pour into the zip-top bag. 3. Add bay leaf, rosemary and garlic to bag. Zip the bag closed, then gently turn the tenderloin within the bag to make sure it is completely coated with the marinade. Refrigerate at least 12 hours or up to 24 hours.

4. Between 2½ and 4 hours before planned dinnertime, set the sous vide immersion circulator into a container filled with water and set the temperature to 134 degrees Fahrenheit. When the Sansaire registers the water at 134 degrees, remove the pork tenderloin from the refrigerator, open the bag and slowly lower it into the water to displace the air in the bag, sealing the bag as you go. Once the air is removed and the bag is completely closed, most of the bag (including the entire pork tenderloin) should be underwater. Clip the top of the bag to a wooden spoon set across the top of the Cambro container.

5. After at least 2 hours, but not more than 3½ hours, remove the bag from the water. Heat an iron skillet to medium heat. Remove the pork tenderloin from the bag and sear it on all sides in the iron skillet, about 2 minutes per side (no extra oil is needed due to the olive oil in the marinade). 6. Remove the tenderloin from the skillet and let it rest for about 5 minutes before slicing it into thin medallions and serving.


3. Bambi’s Spiced Pecans

Cook: Cindy Rawlings
Location: Wakeman, Ohio
Where the recipe comes from: A handwritten notecard from her late friend Bambi

“As a newlywed, I taught myself to cook in the early ’70s. My bible was The New Pillsbury Family Cookbook, 1973 edition,” Cindy Rawlings says.

Rawlings didn’t have too many culinary influences growing up. Her favorite semihomemade childhood dish was what her mother called Spanish Rice, which consisted of ground beef, Minute Rice, Campbell’s Tomato Soup, green peppers and onions. It sounds simple enough, but getting it right has eluded her over the years. “I’ve tried a few times to re-create Spanish Rice but without success somehow,” she says. It must be that secret ingredient: Mother’s touch.

Rawlings taught herself how to cook as an adult, basically out of necessity, first as a newlywed and eventually as a single mother of four. To feed her busy, growing family, she often turned to the now-battered and -beaten New Pillsbury Family Cookbook for simple, nutritious recipes — better than those she remembers from her own childhood.

Now, “I don’t cook as much,” she says, “except on holidays and when my children and grandchildren are here.”


In addition to her old, reliable cookbook, Rawlings also keeps notecards from friends and family who have since passed on. Her favorite recipe is her friend Bambi’s for Spiced Pecans. She has made it every Christmas since 1982. “You’ve got to try it,” she says.

Bambi’s Spiced Pecans
Serves 1 happy family

Ingredients
1 egg (egg white only)
2 tablespoons cold water
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon allspice
1 pound pecans

Preheat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly butter a baking tray. Using a slotted spoon, lightly beat the egg white with the cold water. Mix sugar, salt, cinnamon, ground cloves and allspice together. Add the spice mixture to the beaten egg white. Add the pecans to the egg white mixture, stirring to lightly coat all the nuts.

Using a slotted spoon, place the coated pecans on the buttered baking tray. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on parchment paper before serving.


4. Soupe de Tomate à l’Estragon

Cook: Susan Reid
Location: Carlux, Dordogne, France
Where the recipe comes from: Adapted from Recipes From a French Herb Garden, by Geraldene Holt (1989)

Susan Reid remembers her childhood in Toronto as being filled with bland, boring food. That may have been her motivation for becoming more involved in her own kitchen. Her go-to cookbook is the first one she ever bought at the age of 17, Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. “In fact, I still hang my pots on the wall [shown here], following Julia’s kitchen style,” Reid says.

Although Child may have influenced Reid’s kitchen style, it wasn’t until Reid traveled through Europe in her 20s that she really started to experiment with unique cooking styles, when she embedded herself in the local culture through food.

“I discovered France,” she says. “We came on holiday, fell in love with France and were able to move to the southwest, home of ducks, geese, confit, foie gras, truffles, strawberries and walnuts.” As a result of this epic change in her life, Reid has, much like her role model, accumulated quite a collection of French cookbooks and says that most of what she cooks and bakes now is “French-style.” But she does enjoy putting her own spin on the classics with a few secret ingredients.

The best part for Reid is sharing her kitchen creations with her close-knit community in the French countryside. “We just like to eat well,” she says, “and we fit right in here, with people who, over dinner, discuss the food they are eating and the food they will be preparing in the next few days. A good place to cook and to eat.”


Here’s Mr. Not Our Cat, as Reid calls him, peering in the kitchen window as she prepares one of her favorite sausage recipes, which pairs quite nicely with the soup side dish below. Bon appétit!

Soupe de Tomate à l’Estragon
Serves 3 to 4

Note: Reid often doesn’t bother to peel the tomatoes. Instead she puts the whole mixture through a vegetable mill, which lifts out the peel and seeds. She also finds that this recipe isn’t quite enough for four people, so she often doubles the recipe when serving company.

Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped
½ clove garlic, finely chopped
½ stick celery, chopped
1½ pounds ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
⅔ cup dry white wine
1 bay leaf
4 allspice berries
1 strip orange peel
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon leaves, chopped

1. Melt half the butter in a saucepan. Stir in the onion, garlic and celery. Cook gently for 3 minutes. 2. Add the tomatoes, wine, bay leaf, allspice, orange peel, sugar, a little salt and half the tarragon. Bring to a boil, cover and cook for 25 to 30 minutes. 3. Press the contents of the pan through a fine sieve (or food mill) and check the seasoning, adding more to taste. 4. Add the remaining tarragon, bring back almost to a boil and add the remaining butter.


5. Grammie’s Pulla (Coffee Bread)

Cook: Susan Bishop
Location: Vermont
Where the recipe comes from: Bishop’s grandmother

“I don’t have a favorite recipe to cook, as I don’t particularly enjoy cooking,” Bishop says. “Now that I’m retired and live alone, I don’t have to cook if I don’t want to, and that’s fine with me.”

But when she does take a turn in the kitchen, she’s mostly inspired by what her grandmothers taught her. “Both my grandmothers cooked professionally, from scratch, and in huge batches for their clientele,” she says. “I learned from them at an early age, principally baking.”

How does she display her recipes when she bakes? A pants hanger, as shown here. Bishop wishes she could take credit for this idea, but says she found it on a website.

One of her favorite things to make is her grandmother’s pulla (coffee bread). “My sisters and I have won many blue ribbons for it at various county and state fairs,” Bishop says.

Grammie’s Pulla
Yields 3 braided loaves
Note: Bishop says the coffee bread is better the second day — toasted, with butter.

Ingredients
2 teaspoons yeast
½ cup warm water
2 cups of whole milk, scalded and cooled to room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
12 cardamom pods, hulled, seeded and crushed
5 eggs
5 to 6 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup melted butter
Sugar for sprinkling

Dissolve the yeast in the water. For the batter, combine the milk and dissolved yeast and add the sugar, salt, crushed cardamom seeds and 4 eggs (save the fifth egg for the wash). Stir just enough to combine, then stir in 3 cups of flour. Cover the bowl and let the batter sit overnight.

To continue with the batter:

Stir the melted butter into the batter. Stir in 2 or 3 cups of flour until you have a stiff dough. Turn this out onto a floured breadboard, cover and let it rest for 15 minutes. Uncover and knead for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and satiny. Put it into a greased bowl and turn to coat, then cover the bowl and let the dough rise until doubled (about 1 to 2 hours).

Punch down the dough and let it rise again for about 45 minutes or until risen. Divide into thirds. Divide each third into thirds again and roll the pieces out to form snakes about 18 inches long. Braid 3 snakes and form them into a wreath, tucking the ends in to form a continuous braid. You will have 3 wreaths.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Put the wreaths on greased cookie sheets and let them rise for about 30 minutes or until risen. Beat an egg and brush the wreaths with the egg wash. Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until light brown.

Alternative Use
You can use this dough to make cinnamon rolls too. Roll out a third of the dough into a rectangle, spread with butter, sprinkle with cinnamon, sugar and thinly sliced almonds, then roll up like a jelly roll.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Use a length of thread to slice off ½-inch pieces and lay them out on a greased cookie sheet to rise for about 30 minutes. Bake until light brown.

More: Sweet Ideas and a Truffle Recipe From a Chocolatier’s Test Kitchen

URL: 5 Home Cooks Share Their Favorite Family Recipes http://www.decor-ideas.org/cases-view-id-26647.html