Christmas, Food, and Gram
I went into the News office to tell my editor I would be turning in my Christmas column for this week. I wasn’t going to take the chance of missing the early deadline like I did for Thanksgiving.
All my girlfriends were working: Amy, Sydney, and Ann. All smiling. Happy to be working, I guess.
I asked my eternal question: What can I write about? This is my fourth or fifth Christmas from Shirley’s cottage. It always goes back to traditions.
In previous years I told how all the stockings Gram made were hung on our fireplace. Christmas Eve everyone spent the night, some of us sleeping in front of the fireplace, waiting for Santa.
The early evening menu was tuna and noodles, shrimp, and gelfilta fish. Coming home after Midnight Mass we would have the meat dishes, trimmings and desserts.
These things came into my mind as I was asking the girls for ideas.,
Sydney asked me what my favorite holiday dish was. I came back with, "What is yours?" .
Choices went from sauerkraut and kilbasa to cardamon bread.: Twice-baked loaded sweet potatoes to sauerkraut pie. (I need the recipe for that!)
We all have our traditions. They mean more than we realize. Until they are gone.
The next generation has started some new ones, but the some of the old ones will always be. We have moved out of the house on Charles Street. But—we still have a fireplace.
Tracy has had Christmas Eve for the past few years. When she bought her house, she made sure she had a fireplace put in before Christmas.
So there is a still a place to hang all the stockings Gram made. She made so many, including extras for those to come when she was gone.
In the old days, Gram made ALL the food. I remember her coming home from work on Christmas Eve. She would stand at the sink, cleaning shrimp, while people were coming in. The days before she would make all the Lithuanian dishes we took for granted.
When the girls at the News asked about my favorite dish, I should have said anything my mom made.
Deb makes some of the dishes Gram made. She is determined to keep the Lithuanian traditions going. When she was a kid, she would stand on a chair and help when Gram was cooking. Today, when she cooks one of Gram’s dishes, she says there are times she can feel Gram by her shoulder saying, "Just a little more sugar, Deb."
I don’t think Gram had any special cooking talent. I think she had lots of practice. And lots of patience. Patience to dice and slice small, not just cut up as fast as possible just to get the work done. Patience to beat, cream, and whip as long as necessary.
Don’t discount the love. She cooked with love, made stockings with love. Our tradition continues with her love.
On this week before Christmas, I sincerely wish the best for all of you and your families.
It would be so great to keep the spirit all year. We can only try.
One of our traditions is to get pies from Baker’s Square. That started because I have never made a pie crust. Our favorite is Lemon Supreme. One day I found a recipe and tried it. Not the same, but good.
Lemon Supreme Pie
(Makes two pies or a 9x13 baking dish)
you will need:
for the crust:
6 T butter or margarine
1 cup flour
½ cup finely chopped pecans
for the filling:
1 8 oz and 1 4 oz cream cheese
1 ½ cup powdered sugar
1 ½ cup whipped topping
2 small packages Jello lemon pudding and pie filling
juice of one lemon
1 pint heavy whipping cream, whipped.
Cut butter into flour until crumbly
Stir in pecans
Press into bottom of two ungreased pie tins, or one baking dish
Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Cool
Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until fluffy
Fold in whipped topping
Spread over crust and chill
In a saucepan cook pudding to direction
Stir in lemon juice Cool slightly
Spread over cream cheese Chill
Before serving top with whipped cream (Not whipped topping)
Enjoy! and Merry Christmas.

Christmas