Today, I am thankful for family recipes.
My mother put together a family cookbook for me when I got married. I treasure it, and reference it frequently. Many of the recipes I remember from my childhood are in this cookbook, and I have added in many of my favorites as well.
To feed my small group tonight, I made breakfast. I fixed breakfast casserole, tater tot casserole, grits, and my family special recipe, Cowboy Coffee Cake. This coffee cake was a staple in my family for holiday brunches and other special occasions--or just a special treat on a Sunday morning when there was so much rush to get out the door.
As I made the coffee cake, it brought back memories of Thanksgivings watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Christmases where my brothers would BEG to open gifts as soon as we got up, and my father would INSIST that we had to eat first (he never made us eat first, but it was a ritual 'argument' that they went through). My brothers also were always up bright and early on Christmas day but my parents managed to 'sleep in' until 8 a.m. Every. Year. Then we'd open presents, trash the house, and dive into our Christmas brunch of Daddy's quiches and Mom's cowboy coffee cake. Or another flashback, to a Sunday morning when we thought we were just getting cereal and milk, but we would wake up to the smell of cinnamon and nutmeg and know it was a special treat of a coffee cake. Glorious, wonderful memories.
I want to savor those memories. I am glad my mother saw fit to record many special recipes for me and my sister, as she would not be able to share them with us now. I hope one day to pass along these recipes--and many more that I add to our 'collection' each year--to my children.
Maybe one day, the smell of cinnamon and nutmeg will remind them of wonderful childhood memories too.
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