Have You Ever Been Able To Get Hold Of A Secret Family Recipe?

[Phog Allen]

Good evening gents. A comment made in one of the replies to the canning thread started me thinking. Have you ever cajoled a secret or semi-secret recipe out of a favoured relative? My little anecdotal story is about a simple dessert dish. Really more like a snack dish. My great aunt Mima, God rest her soul, made this certain dish for decades that she called Reliable. Sometimes Old Reliable.

It was reliable in that no one ever went away saying anything but how grand it was. The "recipe", and I use that term loosely, was quite simple but she had this certain thing like all good dishes that made it special. I never knew what it was. A rather plain affair made in a pie tin but the crust did not come to the top of the tin. And the filling was rather shallow as well. Maybe a half inch deep. My foggy memory says it was sort of like a better hasty pudding filling but not as rich as a regular baked custard filling. It was gently seasoned with cinnamon and ...? All the family members begged her to bake them. I think she delighted in the simple joy they brought to kin. A particular treat on the rare times we made it to Nebraska to visit her. A grander lady you will never meet.

Anyroad, I thought she took the knowledge to the tomb but lo and behold I mentioned it to mum a few months back and she told me she has the recipe! Now mind, my aunt died in 1989 at nearly 100 years of age. So I haven't actually eaten one in nearly thirty years. She had made these since she was a teenager. So by the time 1982-ish or so had rolled around we were helping her move to an assisted living residence she chose on her own. She made one last Reliable for me and my Da. It was divine. It dawned on me at the time she had been making these for over 80 years. And never once shared the exact mix of ingredients with anyone. And I mean anyone. But she liked my mother best of all her niece's and nephew's spouses. She liked my Dad a lot and that helped too. Anyhow unbeknownst to me she had slipped the recipe to mum as we moved the final boxes out of the house. And to think it has been under my nose for THREE decades. So quite soon I will be making one and hope it holds up to a dear lady's memory. So lets hear some of your stories...and scores.

Cheers, Todd

[dpm802]

Nice story ... its good that your aunt had the foresight to write it down for posterity. I'm surprised that your mother never tried cooking it up on her own, so you wouldn't have to wait 30 years for it.

My grandmother had a talent for Fried Matzoh that was out of this world. Although the basic recipe is quite simple, hers came out better than any I've ever had anywhere. I've been trying to duplicate it by experimentation for 10 years, but I can't get it to finish up anywhere close to the way she did. I'll never know how she did it, unless I stumble across it by accident through constantly trying different ingrediets and techniques, or possibly through a seance.

Ditto on my mother's blintzes. I especially liked the "bletlach" which is the Yiddish word for the wrappers. When I was a kid, she would make these in mass quantities, and I would get to eat the ones that didn't turn out perfectly round or had other cosmetic blemishes. That didn't stop them from being delicious.

And my father did a great job with soft-boiled eggs. I know its something to do with precise timing, and I know he used to poke a hole in the egg shell, keeping a safety-pin on a magnet above the kitchen sink just for this purpose. But I never got the formula from him. Maybe he told my brother, and I'm hoping he can remember what the process is after 30 years.

[oc_in_fw]

Great story. My grandfather's sister made stuff that the whole family called hot stuff. Kind of like a salsa. You could use it as a condiment, or spread it on a piece of bread. The last time I had it had to have been in 1986, the year my grandfather died. Aunt Celie had no kids, and was in direct competition with her sister ( hers was good, Celie's was great) and both guarded their recipes ferociously. I fear it is lost for all time, but I am waiting to hear back from my only female cousin. If anyone got it, it would have been her.

[Antique Hoosier]

Can't top your charming story Todd but I did wrangle my ex- Mother in law's superb spaghetti sauce recipe prior to my divorce over 5 years ago.

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

Hmmm....let me see.

Although my Mother had many 'secret' ("Shh...don't tell". ), recipes, my overall guess be my Mom’s Four Cheese Strada ( a great breakfast brunch dish), in the morning on Sunday after Mass (see recipe in my “Notes from the Chef’s desk” posting below).

It was our family and my personal favorite which I fondly remember and faithfully recorded (yeah….a little old and yellowed with time, but my family and I still love this breakfast staple), and now I shall ‘pass on’ to you this wonderful and creative recipe which I added the noun ‘Lighthouse’ (because my Mother is like a Lighthouse …showing me the way if and whenever I stray), to serve on your Breakfast and/or Brunch ideas.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/207423-Notes-from-the-Chef-s-Desk-Lighthouse-Four-Cheese-Strada-(Poor-Man’s-Quiche)?highlight=

Other than that, I think my Mothers Southern Fried Chicken (she told me to "Always season the meat…not the flour…that’s the 'secret' and that's why we call it Southern”.), comes in next in line as her 'secret. She used to fry the chicken in a cast iron skillet and then make Cream Gravy (add flour to some of the reserved oil to make a roux, cook [stirring well whip a whip], until the roux looks like peanut butter, add Chicken Stock to make your gravy and lastly add milk to finish), to go with the fresh mashed potatoes.

I remember being 8 or 9yrs old helping Mom while I stood on my little hocker / step-stool (Mother Dear won’t let me have it…as she put it…"Until the groundhogs start bringing me my mail"), in front of the stove making Southern Fried Chicken with Cream Gravy.

"Bon Appétit...Celebrating the Chef in You!!! CBJ

[Domminigan]

I have always enjoyed cooking. When I was ten, my Grandma taught me how to make her special jellies and jams. Turned out she didn't teach any one else.
I was the first person my other Grandma taught me how to make her coveted chocolate chip pie a few years later. She's since given everyone else the recipe. Now the only family secret about it is where they hide the pies before the holiday dinner.
My hardest one though was my ex's family recipe for pie crusts. Their family had passed it down through selected women in the family since before the American Revolution, nearly every generation modifying it slightly. It took a few years, but she and her sister finally agreed to share it with me. Her sister has since improved the recipe, but won't share what improvements she has made since... understandably.

[the_edski]

My sister and I had the opposite happen to us. My dads mother was a great Polish cook. She was so good (and secretive) that we dared not ask her for the recipes for fear of ruining the magic. A year before she died she sat us down and basically said shame on us for not wanting to know her great cooking and how could we let this stuff die! Needless to say we eagerly sat down and learned. My sister learned the recipes for pierogi, golumpki (rice and ground beef wrapped in cabbage covered in tomato sauce) and kalocky and I learned mizeria (cucumbers in sour cream and vinegar) and her version of kapusta (homemade sauerkraut with pork and beans)

[Phog Allen]

Nice story ... its good that your aunt had the foresight to write it down for posterity. I'm surprised that your mother never tried cooking it up on her own, so you wouldn't have to wait 30 years for it.

My grandmother had a talent for Fried Matzoh that was out of this world. Although the basic recipe is quite simple, hers came out better than any I've ever had anywhere. I've been trying to duplicate it by experimentation for 10 years, but I can't get it to finish up anywhere close to the way she did. I'll never know how she did it, unless I stumble across it by accident through constantly trying different ingrediets and techniques, or possibly through a seance.

Ditto on my mother's blintzes. I especially liked the "bletlach" which is the Yiddish word for the wrappers. When I was a kid, she would make these in mass quantities, and I would get to eat the ones that didn't turn out perfectly round or had other cosmetic blemishes. That didn't stop them from being delicious.

And my father did a great job with soft-boiled eggs. I know its something to do with precise timing, and I know he used to poke a hole in the egg shell, keeping a safety-pin on a magnet above the kitchen sink just for this purpose. But I never got the formula from him. Maybe he told my brother, and I'm hoping he can remember what the process is after 30 years.

Ah, but there's the rub. She had made it it a time or two for dad but I was well grown and out of the house so it just never timed out right. My loss. Then a few months ago I was lamenting the loss of Reliable and she nonchalantly told me that great auntie had indeed passed it on. You could have knocked me over with a stick. Add the fact that me old Da managed a few of them over the years and you can see why I am somewhat bowled over. The sneaky old boyo kept them for himself. Now to pry the information from mother.

Cheers, Todd

[JoshuaNY]

My aunt who is an outstanding cook has passed along her recipes to me, as she does not do much cooking anymore. Most of them she has given to everyone, but there are a few that she gave only to me.

Before my grandmother passed she gave me a few of her recipes. One of my favorites is her "sloppy joe" recipe. So simple but 100% better then any other sloppy joe I have had.

Most of the other recipes she left me were traditional German fare, which I do not cook as often as I should.

[_JP_]

Secret recipes? No. Treasured recipes? Oh, Yes! And I have access to the card box they are stored in.

[Deltaboy]

I got my great uncle kellys Santa Fe Chili recipe. He gave it to my dad a few months before he was befelled by an heart attack.

[OldSchoolYoungin]

For years, people were wondering how my grandmother made fudge that well. It really was great, as I recall. She never revealed anything to anyone except for a vague ingredients list that sounded very ordinary.

Eventually, grandmother let us in on it. The secret? It was pre-packaged

[Deltaboy]

For years, people were wondering how my grandmother made fudge that well. It really was great, as I recall. She never revealed anything to anyone except for a vague ingredients list that sounded very ordinary.

Eventually, grandmother let us in on it. The secret? It was pre-packaged

LOL you got robbed on the recipe but you have a great classic story to share.

[Jim]

One of my Grandmothers was more of an ingredient search - story here

[rtaylor61]

The problem in my family is they never had a recipe, just "abouts". My Aunt Eunice, from down south of Nawlins, Port Sulphur area, could make a gumbo that would make Chef Prudhomme cry. She never had a recipe. She had leftovers in the fridge.'

Randy

[Phog Allen]

Jim, I remember that thread and the happy ending. Looks like my quest will end on a good note as well.

Randy you have no idea how right you are. That's the whole issue with getting recipes like this. For a span of time exceeding eight decades she used no written recipe. So I am sure what she wrote down for mum was at best a general proximation. I am sure we can make it work but sometimes the memory of the original is better. It was a simple mix of shortcrust and filling but it was ever so great.

Cheers, Todd

[breadstick]

My whole family always got together for a big dinner for every holiday when I was a kid. Of all the food, my great-grandmother would make cranberry relish. By the time I was born, it was to the point where she was just eyeballing all the ingredients. Years after she died, I mentioned to my grandmother how much I loved and missed it. A week later, I received a letter in the mail from my grandmother. I opened it and neatly folded inside was not a copy of this recipe, but the original written in my great-grandmother's handwriting dated 1942. This is now matted and framed and hanging in my kitchen. This is by far the coolest thing I've ever owned.

[Jim]

My whole family always got together for a big dinner for every holiday when I was a kid. Of all the food, my great-grandmother would make cranberry relish. By the time I was born, it was to the point where she was just eyeballing all the ingredients. Years after she died, I mentioned to my grandmother how much I loved and missed it. A week later, I received a letter in the mail from my grandmother. I opened it and neatly folded inside was not a copy of this recipe, but the original written in my great-grandmother's handwriting dated 1942. This is now matted and framed and hanging in my kitchen. This is by far the coolest thing I've ever owned.

What a sentimental treasure to enjoy.

[BobS]

My story in not so charming. I had a buddy that made greatl, grilled burgers and would not share the recipe. He and his wife divorced a few years later and she shared the recipe with anyone that wanted it. In our family they are now Bad Bob's Burgers and still a favorite.

Conventional burger wisdom says you should handle the hamburger as little as possible. This recipe is more like mixing meatloaf or meatballs, but the results are VERY good.

Here is the recipe.

Bob’s Bad Burgers

2 lb. Hamburger (80/20)
1 tsp. Onion Powder
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
½ Cup of your favorite BBQ sauce (I like to use something with hickory flavor)
½ Cup bread crumbs (optional **)

I have gotten away from using bread crumbs, because some of my best customers have a problem with gluten. They work just fine without it.

Mix well, form burgers and grill!

[Prince]

My whole family always got together for a big dinner for every holiday when I was a kid. Of all the food, my great-grandmother would make cranberry relish. By the time I was born, it was to the point where she was just eyeballing all the ingredients. Years after she died, I mentioned to my grandmother how much I loved and missed it. A week later, I received a letter in the mail from my grandmother. I opened it and neatly folded inside was not a copy of this recipe, but the original written in my great-grandmother's handwriting dated 1942. This is now matted and framed and hanging in my kitchen. This is by far the coolest thing I've ever owned.

Fantastic - I think I'd frame this as well.