In the spirit of the holiday season, we will be discussing traditions; in particular culinary traditions. Surely, everyone has a dish they are looking forward to during the holidays: Mom’s turkey; your aunt’s green bean casserole; Grandma’s famous cornbread stuffing; Uncle Rudy’s smoked ham. I would like to focus on recognizing culinary traditions and then the important part of what it takes to continue the tradition. I do not want anyone standing around at a holiday celebration saying “I should have learned how to make mom’s turkey.” Unfortunately, many culinary traditions end when a person is no longer with us. To keep them going is to keep that person’s spirit alive every time you make their memorable dish. Cooking is the only art that uses all five senses. As you are cooking, your brain is showing you all sorts of things that are triggered by sight, touch, aroma of things roasting in the oven, the sound as things sizzle in the pan and finally, taste. Hopefully, if everything goes according to plan, the flavor profile ends up the way you recall things tasting year after year.
The first thing you must do is approach the curator of the dish and let them know your intentions. Being a chef, I find this to be the perfect opportunity for any children in the family. Kids today have more interest and knowledge about food than ever before. If you have children that are interested, then I cannot stress the importance of getting them involved early. The sights, sounds and flavors of holiday family cooking still stick with me today even as a professional. Sometimes something just smells and tastes like being with family, past or present. Then find out when and where they will be preparing their item and hopefully you can join them. Then I recommend some historical investigating. Who made this first? Did someone teach you? Ask the questions that might get asked of you one day as you teach the dish to someone else. At this point, let’s say you are with the person cooking and ready to start. Here I would recommend detailed notes and pictures, possibly some short videos. Make sure you start with the shopping list, then any secret tips to ensure success. Be careful on the transfer of information. By this I mean that I have come across many home cooks recipes that call for a “little of this” or “season to taste” type notes. Make sure to fully understand what is meant by the “pinch of” or any other special measurements that happen to be in the recipe. Good luck.
On another topic, we do have some traditions of our own in the Hill Country Café. Chef Crystal is hard at work on our famous pumpkin rolls. Order yours now. I will be hosting my fifth Annual Thanksgiving Q&A Chef’s Table on Tuesday, November 21 for any last minute questions you might have.