A heart for a quick story...

[titaniumsalute]

Every year i see regular posters on DU with dozens of hearts. Then I see many DUers, many whom have been on here for years, with none a just a few. The reason I can't stand the whole Valentine's day thing is that many don't have a special person to share the day. My wife and I don't care two shits about V Day so that makes it nice.

However, like I do annually, I buy 25 hearts and share with with fellow DUers who have no or maybe one heart. Of course I make you work slightly for them haha.

This year please post a response that includes your favorite family dinner food/setting and why. I'll start.

Mine was going to my grandma's house on Sundays. As soon as the backdoor opened you could smell the pot roast with carrots, celery, onions, and potatoes permeating the house. She would always have some cheese and crackers snacks while the adults had a pre-dinner cocktail. Us kids would have 7up with a cherry in it. Grandma would usually forget the rolls in the oven and would end up a little medium well lol.

[redwitch]

1. We do the Sunday dinner here now.

My son, his fiancé, 2 month old granddaughter and 14 year old and 12 year old granddaughters.
It’s pretty great to connect all together every week. DIL suggested it. She didn’t have any real family traditions growing up and we are glad to start them for our grands.
This Sunday I will be making chicken Parmesan. Yum!

[Fla Dem]

2. I know how you feel about the hearts.

Last edited Fri Feb 14, 2020, 01:31 PM - Edit history (1)

Please give a heart to someone who needs it. I feel the love already from DUer's. Thanks for the thoughts.


Now for the Favorite Family Dinner
My Mom made the best spaghetti sauce. No matter how yucky my day was, coming home from school I would walk down our long driveway to the back door. If the windows were open as I passed the kitchen I would get a whiff of the sauce simmering on the stove. My spirits would immediately be lifted and my steps lighter. Mom's meatballs and spaghetti dinner was my all time favorite. She was taught by my Dad's mom. His parents immigrated from Italy. My mom was half Irish half British. But she could make a damn good Italian sauce.

[titaniumsalute]

3. Yes! The aromas permeating the house...are always great ways to wrap up a day

Thanks for sharing!

[rsdsharp]

4. This isn't a dinner story, but it's my favorite food related memory.

My older brother was born in 1946. Our Mom decided she wanted to make a special Christmas tradition for him (and later the other 3 kids) by starting with one Christmas cookie, and adding another each year. She started with sugar cookies, then added gingerbread boys, fruitcake, fudge, divinity, spritz, garrabies, pecan dreams, bourbon balls, date nut roll, and finally rosettes as a nod to my sister-in-law's Scandinavian heritage.

The sugar cookies were mostly Santa faces. A leaf would be added to the kitchen table, and the Santas would cover the entire table. Each was frosted by hand using a dinner knife for the beard and cap, and a pastry bag for the eyes and mouth. Those would be cleared away, and the gingerbread boys would cover the table. Yellow frosting was used for the cap, boots and mittens, and each would get three white frosting buttons with a red hot candy. Garrabies get a dab of blue frosting and a silver nonpareil.

It took a couple of weeks to finish this production -- months if you take into consideration the fruit cakes were started in October and wrapped in brandy soaked towels. The older kids would decorate (it was a rite of passage to apply frosting), and the younger ones would apply the red hots and nonpareils. Some nights were spent just feeding nuts or vanilla wafers into the hopper of the hand cranked nut grinder.

This Christmas my younger sister, who has custody of Mom's recipes, sent me me a little leather bound book, with the Christmas recipes lovingly copies by hand. I treasure it.

[angstlessk]

5. My mother was preparing diner sans her false teeth.

She was washing greens and her husband asked what she was washing (swiss chard) and her answer was 'wish hard'...Charlie looked at her funny and asked me what she said , and I wrapped my lips around my teeth and answered 'wish hard' ...my mother almost peed herself laughing...maybe once a year while we are all together I'll say 'wish hard' and my mother would laugh all over again.