So on Thanksgiving morning, I sliced, diced, toasted, roasted, baked and boiled ALL MORNING. But did get some boasting in when the meal was complete. Thankfully my sister came and helped me prepare veggies, peeling, cubing and mashing. Then my lovely daughter showed up to help set the table  for a proper, big family meal...after which she cleaned up for me. NOW you would think I would have been able to go out and dance a fundago that night, but I was truly exhausted.  So much for T-Day, I am not Julia Childs. Now on to Christmas, I think we will have a spiril Ham because I'm damn sick of turkey and it doesn't have to be stuffed!

THANKSGIVING MEMORIES

Thanksgiving is a time for family, I have many wonderful memories of Thanksgiving dinner at my parents house. My mom could really put out a great 'spread' including homemade cranberry sauce (no I do not have the recipe)!  She made her own 'bread and butter' pickles, mustard pickles and of course the turkey was alway a 'fresh' one, she would never buy a frozen butterball!! We had a huge assortment of veggies as well her famous homemade yeast rolls. Below is a picture of my mom's table in 1972; I was a new bride and of course, that is me pouring champagne!!! My aunts, uncles and cousins were there with us that wonderful day. At that time we were a HUGE family, sadly many of them are gone, but never forgotten.

Mabel Michaud Webber (French Heritage)

Photo Credit to my very talented cousin, Judi Moody

There are several reasons I want to do this blog, my sister and I have talked about doing a 'family cookbook' of our mother's recipes, I hope she will contribute to this blog as well; also my brother Mike has done such an outstanding job on his blog I want to do it too (Good Job Mike). So I decided to try to post some of my mother's famous recipes, but I will start with a short introduction of her heritage so that the younger generation and generations to come will understand where she 'came from'. http://lil1964.tribalpages.com/tribe/browse?userid=lil1964&view=9&randi=792046886

FAMILY HISTORY

My mom's family is originally from France, the Michaud side from Poitou and the Gendreau side from Saintonge , France. So you can immediately see where the "French (cooking) Connection" comes in to play.











Eventually both families immigrated to Canada, where my grandfather Denis (Dennis) Michaud was born (September 22, 1885) in Clair, New Brunswick. My grandmother Lucie (Lucy) Grendreau Michaud was born (December 15, 1891) in St. Francis, Maine. They were married on August 19, 1913 at St. Charles Catholic Church in St. Francis, Maine. They settled in Island Falls, Maine to bring up their large family of nine children; my mom being the second born (April 4, 1916).

A CUTE POEM I FOUND:  "Gramma's Old Cookbook"

My grandma’s old cookbook is aged and forlorn.
The pages are grease stained, each faded and worn.
The spine is collapsed and the cover’s askew,
revealing, in no way, what this book could do.
A barrel of cookies, sweet, fresh lemonade,
roasts, casseroles, salads this ancient book made.
It brought love and caring to both young and old,
delivering happiness not bought or sold.
Its owner and user breathed life to this book,
by sharing herself with each recipe cooked.
True gifts from her heart were delivered with love,
presented on earth for her Father above.
Her gentle, sweet kindness was blended with care.
A silent reminder that she had been there
to welcome your newborn…
to ease every ill…
true unselfish gestures of love and goodwill.
So don’t be deceived by the physical book,
but rather… rejoice in the wonderful cook.
Just cherish and honor each frayed, weathered page,
for pure, loving kindness has brought forth its age.

by Jane-Ann Heitmeuller

My mom's old cookbook, copyright 1941

This is the link to my family page:  http://lil1964.tribalpages.com/tribe/browse?userid=lil1964   (access code: weezie.)

MOM'S RECIPE FOR YEAST ROLLS/BREAD

1 Cup of Milk

I Cup of lukewarm water
2 tbsp of melted Crisco or 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
1 egg
7 cups of Flour (approx)
1/3 cup of sugar
1 tsp salt
2 yeast cakes

Scald milk and add the cup of lukewarm water in a large bowl. Mixture should be lukewarm.  Add approx. 2 cups of flour, 2 yeast cakes and 1 egg. Beat mixture with electric beater until mixture is smooth.  Add 1/3 cup of sugar and the salt.  Gradually add more flout until mixture is thick. About 5 or 6 more cups.

Let mixture rise once to double it's bulk.  Flour a board and drop bread mixture on it and knead a few times and then shape your bread OR rolls and let it rise again.  Spread rolls or bread with melted butter.

Bake at 400 for about 10 or 15 minutes....GOOD LUCK!

This is another version of my mother's bread/roll recipe; I remember sitting in her kitchen writing this down as she was explaining it to me:

I asked my Aunt Rita today if my grandmother ever wrote any of her recipes down on paper but apparently she didn't, she just cooked. I really would have loved to have at least one recipe written in 'her hand'. I do have a few recipes written down by my grandmother Webber and someday I'll put those on another post. But this blog is strictly in honor of my mom and I'm hoping she would have liked it! So this is a seque to her mince meat recipe; I myself never liked the stuff but I remember when my dad would get a deer she would make venison mincemeat and my father (and brother(s)??),loved her mincemeat pies (did you like it Carolyn?). 

My Mother's Recipe for Mincemeat written in her own hand:Here is the recipe typed:

2 pounds lean beef (venison or whatever)

1 pound chopped suet (ICK!)

4 pounds tart apples

6 Cups of Sugar (GADS)

3 pounds currants

2 pounds raisins

Nutmeg, 1/2 teasp mace, 1 teasp salt...

No instructions, so you are on your own.

BONNE ANNEE 2011 à tous!