What is your grandmother's signature dish?

[chicagopizza]

Is there a recipie that your grandmother did or does better than anyone you know? For me, no restaurant can top my gram's spaghetti and meatballs and almond cake. She did not share the ingredients until I got married!!

[therock1811]

My grandma on my stepdad's side makes a good chili. Alas, my grandmothers on my mom's and biological father's sides of the family have passed on, and I don't recall anything from either of them.

[Dee Bee]

Unfortunately, both my grandmas passed away many years ago. I do have a pastry-like cookie recipe from the (now) Czech Republic which my mom (also passed) wrote out as a newlywed from her mother-in-law (who made her life miserable for 47 years, but that's another story...).

It's an extremely complicated cookie she spelled "Rollicky" (pronounced "roll-i-key"): a fragile sour cream and yeast dough which required overnight rising and rolled out so thin you could practically read through it. The fillings (prepared from scratch, not canned) always included poppyseed, apricot, or cinnamon-raisin-walnut. This cookie is somewhat akin to the Jewish cookie ruegela (sp?), but the dough is much, much thinner.

The family tradition was that these cookies were made only at Christmas. (The degree of difficulty may have had something to do with that!) Mom generally made 3 or 4 recipes (double the walnut, our favorite) which consisted of 3-4 dozen apiece. We'd eat them until we nearly burst, gift our neighbors, and freeze plenty for post-holiday but pre-Lent treats.

The dough prep began after dinner and went on well past midnight the day before; baking was an all-day affair. As youngsters, my sisters and I were the official filling tasters. We also brushed the egg wash over the tops of the cookies before they went into the oven. As we got older, our attempts to learn how to roll out the dough or add just the right amount of filling or roll the delicate dough around the filling were so disastrous that eventually we abandoned the kitchen when Rollicky time came around.

The year my mom finally became too ill to bake any more my dad tried his hand at the dough -- what a disaster! The cuss words were flying! When dad remarried, his new wife tried to make the cookies once -- and that was enough for her. Dad tried a few years on and off before passing from end-stage Alzheimer's.

I'm embarrassed to say that as an adult I've never once taken up this family challenge (nor have either of my two sisters). But your post has inspired me, chicagopizza -- this will be the "Year of the Rollicky" for me!

[Skywatch_NC]

For my maternal grandmother...her homemade dressing/stuffing and also Lemon Bisque dessert.

For my paternal grandmother...her homemade chili and vegetable soups.

Eric

[nholley]

My Grandma (RIP) used to be a classic English roast beef and yorkshire pudding like no other. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

[OklahomaWeather]

My grandma on my dad's side made the world's best Potato Soup. Luckily she passed down her recipe before she passed away, so we can still make it when we want. It never compares to the way she made it though!

My grandma on my mom's side made delicious Lefse. Yummm

[CajunMama]

Oh! Y'all are making me hungry!!!!!! Feel free to post your recipes in the Community Forum. There's a recipe thread in there somewhere!

[chicagopizza]

Hi Cajun!

Thanks for the tip! I think I better hire a bodyguard first - my gram may come after me for posting her secret ingredients! hahaha All these things do sound very good, though. (Although, I am noticing that these really good recipes take a lot of time and skill!!)

[alicia-w]

my grandmother never cooked a day in her life.

[azsnowman]

Tomato Shrimp Aspic, it was featured on TWC 3 years ago during the holiday season. It's mainly a dish for Thanksgiving and Christmas but I've been known to make it ANYTIME!

Dennis

[petal*pusher]

Such a great topic.....I love this walk down memory lane! (DeeBee....great story; hope you DO make that Rollicky this year!)

My Gram always made the best cherry pudding cake......and wonderful homemade bread; hot and drippin' with the honey from down the road. Oh, and that black walnut FUDGE! Hmmmm.....looks like I only remembered that SWEET stuff!

Seems like most of our "food memories" cluster around those big holiday dinners! I do most of the hosting for our large family.....and always include as many of "Grandma's and Mom's" recipes as I can.....I want the youngins' to have some wonderful memories too!.......p

[Meso]

Soup :p The only soup I eat aswell

[streetsoldier]

My grandma's best offerings from the kitchen were her home-made breads and a HUGE "sugar loaf"; she passed away in 1971, but I have yet to taste anything like her baked goods.

[Miss Mary]

my grandmother never cooked a day in her life.

LOL - well mine did but she was a crabby one....made a rhubarb pie the adults drooled over and kids ran from. Oh wait maybe it was b/c she was pretty scary. My Grandpa was nice though......when I married my first husband, his Grandmother would not let call her by her name, I had to call her Grandma. It was the first time I ever wanted to use that word. She was so dear to me.....and she kept facial cold cream in the fridge - we never really wanted to eat anything she made but she was so nice.

Those are my grandmother stories....I never met my maternal grandmother........gone before I was born.

Mary

[Cookiely]

My Grandma Sallie and Nano Tony made the best soup on Thanksgiving. It was a tradition and was never made the rest of the year. It was a turkey soup with small meatballs and orzo pasta, as well as the usual ingredients for a chicken soup.

[Swimdude]

They've both been dead for about a decade, but thanks for asking.

[breeze]

My paternal grandma passed away before I was born, but, my
maternal grandma's signature dishes were homemade chicken
and dumplings and homemade fried apple pies! She made them
at every family gathering, and, I have never tasted any that came
close to her's!