Signature family dishes

Joanna Goddard is one of my favorite bloggers (…said every millenial tuned into the online world ever :)). Her posts regularly spark conversation between my friends and I (“Did you see what Jo said about cakes yesterday?”), and one of the highest blogging compliments I’ve ever been paid was a comparison between my Marvelous Mama series and Jo’s My Beauty Uniform.

Anyway, I loved her post earlier this week on signature dishes (inspired by Jenny’s book, which I can’t wait to read!), and thought it would make for fun conversation here, too! Joanna asked, What meals do you remember from growing up? What recipes do you hope your own children remember?

Everyday Occasions

My Mom relied on a relatively small stable of tried and true meals throughout my childhood, and I loved most of them! My favorites included creamy chicken enchiladas (the smell of sauteing green peppers and onions = bliss), macaroni saute (I think a lot of people refer to this as American Chop Suey), and my grandma’s spaghetti sauce. The best of all, though, and my perennial birthday dinner choice, was beef nuggets: an inelegantly named dish from my paternal grandmother that John swears is as bland as a door nail but tastes exquisitely like love to me.

There are meals that go with certain places and events, too. At the Island, we have Mrs. Beisiegel’s Casserole, Southern hash, and shepherd’s pie. At Christmas with my Mom’s side, we eat Aunt Barbara’s potatoes (which I only recently found out are red potatoes mixed with onion soup mix…). With my Dad’s, it’s chocolate cake with seven-minute frosting.

It’s a little different now that I’m the grown-up. John and I cook new recipes all the time, rarely repeating meals more than once a month. There are 120+ pins on my “Recipes we love” board, after all (and 170+ pins on my “Recipes to try” board!). Sometimes I wonder if this is a good thing, whether shopping and cooking would be easier if we relied on just a few tried-and-true options, but for right now, we enjoy the variety.

So what do I think June might associate with home in twenty years? There’s a beef ragu we’ve made for two Christmas dinners in a row, plus my birthday celebration this year, that makes the whole house smell heavenly. The chocolate raspberry pavlova that accompanies almost every summer celebration. The pumpkin chocolate chip muffins that mean fall is here. The chocolate chip pecan cookie dough that’s reliably in our freezer for Bachelor viewing parties. Beef nuggets from her Boo (of course) and potstickers made by Mama Jean. And for all of our exploration, there are a few dinners June will grow up eating regularly, including three pepper pizza; sausage, kale, and chick pea pasta; chana masala; and Kraft macaroni and cheese :)

Friends, I would love to hear: What are your most-loved meals from childhood? Or, if applicable, what meals do you think your children might associate with their childhood? Tell me, tell me!