In the rush last night to prepare a dish, a traditional holiday treat, my wife could not recall the proportions of the ingredients. This is a dish she makes maybe three times a year. She has never written down the recipe…it all was in her head. After several calls to friends, with whom she had previously shared the recipe, she lucked out and got the details.
My dear, departed Mom made, without question, the best Potato Salad I have ever tasted. Nothing has ever been close. Problem is my Mom never wrote down the recipe and for whatever reasons never shared it with the women in her life. I never thought to ask. She passed on and the recipe didn’t. Lost. Yes, attempts have been made to mix and match ingredients to replicate the dish but really no success.
So, you already know where this is going. Write down the recipe. Share those recipes. You can enjoy someone else attempting to match your special dish or, shudder to think, improve upon it. Some of you have very special dishes that were handed down to you. Share the knowledge and as I said write it down. Should your memory suddenly fail you, the simple card will save you.
As I read your post I thought of my late Mother- in Laws recipe for German Potato Salad, (which was fabulous) and commented to my husband that I wished I had this recipe……today, something made me look through the small metal box of typewritten recipes that I had from my husband’s mother……..
Low and behold, sticking out of the front of the small box was a recipe card entitled “German Potato Salad”!!!!!
No measurements or amounts, but a great place to start!! Thank you!!
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Excellent!!! Yeah!
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My Grandmother used to keep her recipes in her head… I wish she had written them down.
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I never new what “box recipes” we until I lived abroad, and no she wouldn’t share the recipe ! Happy thanksgiving! 🍗
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Thank you very much!
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I plan to rewrite some recipes from my mom and grandma….theirs say things like “bottle of ketchup” (btw, I’d never make anything that called for a bottle of ketchup) but who knows how big of a bottle they used in the 60s. Worse is that they just aren’t written well…. like mix all dry ingredients, then three steps down it says cream butter and sugar. WTF? Isn’t sugar a dry ingredient? So, I have to start over because my sugar is in the bowl with everything else. My grandma put some Thousand Island dressing (not much) in her potato salad and claims it is a secret ingredient. I don’t know if it helps or not, but I put it in just the same.
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Ah thank you Hollie. The best of all worlds would have been to stand hip to hip making/watching. So much is lost. 1000 Island will be a must do experiment. Happy Thanksgiving weekend to you and yours!
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Happy Thanksgiving!
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🙂 Good advice! And have a wonderful celebration!
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Thank you Indah! Thank you for visiting and commenting always!
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