Secret Family Recipe
My mother makes fabulous pies:
When I took pictures of the fabulous pies (these are chocolate cream and coconut cream, but she also makes other types of fabulous pie), I had every intention of posting the recipe for all to enjoy. My mother, however, objected. "But it's my grandmother's recipe!" she exclaimed, in a tone of voice that suggested that even thinking about sharing the recipe was a crime. Suffice it to say, there is no boxed pie filling or container of whipped cream involved. Mom faxed me a copy of the recipe for my own use - it was simply an ingredient list. She gave me the instructions on how to make the pies over the phone, twice. I didn't write them down and I'm not sure I completely remember them.
This got me thinking, though, of 'family recipes' in general. My grandmother used to make wonderful peanut butter chocolate fudge, but no one in the family has the recipe for it. My attempts to make similar fudge were just that: similar. Not *quite* what I remember. The exact recipe is lost, at least to me. My aunt makes chicken and dumplings on holidays, I think a recipe from my other grandmother, but I can't be certain. My futile attempts at finding out more about that failed, mostly due to the whole holiday part of the equation - and I rarely remember otherwise. I wonder if there's a whole slew of other family recipes floating around my own family that I just never asked about.
Next time I have to ask mom how to make the pies, I'll write it down.
