Traditional family recipes warm up old memories
Carol Kaspar no longer cooks or bakes while living in a senior retirement facility with her husband. Yet she still possesses her family’s original recipes on 3-by-5-inch index cards traditionally kept inside an heirloom recipe box.
“I can’t give up some things, I guess, but the originals will be passed on to family at my passing,” Kaspar wrote to me. “It sure brings a smile to my face when we dine at our families’ homes enjoying those old recipes.”
The great-grandmother of 16 contacted me after reading my Thanksgiving column on how families keep their ancestors alive during the holidays. We conjure their spirit through a séance of old recipes, trusty ingredients and tasty traditions. Our relatives may be long dead but somehow they’re sitting right next to us at the dinner table or watching over our shoulder in the kitchen.
“We can see their faces. Hear their voices. Feel their presence,” I wrote.
“I deeply appreciated your column today, for I still have some of my family recipes from long-ago days: Swedish Glogg and Swedish coffee bread to name two prominent ones,” Kaspar wrote. “And very proud to say that a few of my granddaughters make my old recipes: the Swedish coffee bread (my grandma’s recipe) and mashed potatoes (‘Nip it in the bud spuds’ recipe from the Chicago Tribune decades ago).”
That column, which described how I use my grandmother’s recipe for homemade Croatian crepes, seemed to have just the right mix of ingredients for similar reader responses.
“This was the best column. You’ve captured my memories,” wrote Karen Bonse, of Orland Park, Illinois. “I make my grandmother’s and great-aunt’s candy recipes. Sadly, the nieces and nephews are happy to eat but have no interest in learning the techniques. The written recipe will not be enough. You need the memories and their voice in your head.”
Many readers told me they also hear their late loved ones’ voice in their head while whip
ping up family recipes.
“One of my biggest regrets in life is not sitting down with my mom before she passed (at age 93) and getting her favorite recipes,” wrote Steve Rousey, of San Tan Valley, Arizona, who reads the Tribune online. “I thoroughly enjoyed your column about your grandmother’s recipe as well as others. Thanks for sharing.”
“Wow, Jerry! Memories!” wrote Carol Jablonski, an official with the General Federation of Women’s Clubs in Illinois. “We called them palachinka and Mom used strained cottage cheese and lemon in them before baking. Us kids filled them with jelly.”
I also use jelly as a filling, though I prefer cream cheese or cottage cheese — loaded with sugar and vanilla.
“Thank you for bringing your memories to life,” Jablonski said. “It feels like a day for making struce (raised bread strudel).”
Other readers agreed, feeling motivated to not only make their family dishes but to try my family’s recipe for crepes from scratch, which we call “palachinkis.”
“Wonderful article! Is it possible to find your grandmother’s recipe?” asked Alice M.
“The only difficulty I saw with your article was that you didn’t share your grandmother’s recipe!” added Ken F.
“My Mom and I are curious about your recipe. Are you available to share, and also what your cheese filling is made of ?” asked Annie Unger.
“I was wondering whether or not you’d be willing to share your grandma’s palachinki recipe. My wife is Croatian and loves them,” wrote Bob Hupke.
“Of course,” I replied to every reader who asked. “The recipe will be in a follow-up column, along with a video posted on Facebook showing how I make this style of crepes.” (Watch this three-minute video at https://www. facebook.com/JerDavich/)
In 25 years of writing newspaper columns, I’ve never been asked to share a recipe, and I apologize that this one isn’t anything more than a basic crepe recipe. I typically make two quadruple batches, resulting in roughly fourto six-dozen crepes.
Here are the ingredients: 4 cups of all-purpose flour; 4 cups of whole milk; 8 eggs; 1 stick of butter, melted; 1 teaspoon of salt; and a little vanilla extract.
The entire process takes less than 90 minutes, including kitchen cleanup and periodic “sampling” for taste consistency. If any of the crepes don’t come out well enough to use for rolling, I eat them as a pancake with syrup.
For the filling, I use: 6 packages of cream cheese (at room temperature) or a large container of cottage cheese; 1 cup of powdered sugar; a little vanilla; a little milk for consistency. To complete the job, sprinkle powdered sugar on top after the rolled crepes have cooled.
I’ve made hundreds of crepes this way since my childhood, usually during the Christmastime holidays.
“Up until a few years back, we always had a Christmas open house for many family and friends, serving the Swedish Glogg drink. The appetizers and snacks always included grandma’s coffee bread, much loved by all,” Kaspar wrote. “Thank you for the wonderful memories.”
That column was not only about old memories, but also about making new memories.
“My sons and I will soon be baking my mother’s sugar cookies and butter horns,” Ken F. wrote.
“We need more columns like this with all that is going on in this country,” said Brian Suste, of Oswego, Illinois.
“Loved your article about grandmothers,” Vicky Levenda wrote. “I laughed at the end, stale coffee and cigarettes. That was my mom.”
“My Mom, a Danube Swabian, made a killer batch of palachinken last week,” Unger said. “It’s now incredible to see my 2-year-old granddaughter share in the joy of palachinken, which I recall my great-grandmother introducing to me. Yes, six generations later, the traditions are alive and well. Vielen Dank!”