The Season for Eating Together

 December is a time for eating dinner with family or friends. 

Me, smiling at the turkey. Eric and Denise giving me the side-eye. Why?

The dishes are our holiday set from when we were stationed in Japan. Only for use on holidays! Is that Grandma?

Memories of Grandma's food, brought over the ocean with her German immigrant parents, always make me feel warm and happy. The recipe that I love the most was potato pancakes. My husband and kids thought I was out of my mind. The memories that are associated with a recipe make all the difference!

Grandma died in 1980, and I didn't have her recipes. Too young, just starting out our own family. Twenty years pass, and I was visiting my Aunt Alice in San Diego. I reminisced about those potato pancakes, and how sad I was that I never got that recipe. Alice pulled the recipe out of her recipe box, and taught me how to make them. Cooking together in her kitchen is one of my fondest memories.   

Here it is, so that you can all share it. You need a blender and a wide frying pan.

Don't forget the toppings! Either applesauce if you like it sweeter, or mashed up canned green peas, if you'd rather it seemed more like a main dish.

What are your favorite dishes from the old days? Tell us in the comments.


Comments

  1. AnonymousDecember 31, 2022 at 4:15 PM

    In my family, my grandmother made the best breads, particularly cinnamon rolls and what she called hot cross buns. While I mastered the cinnamon rolls, those hot cross buns have not been mastered. These were large fluffy buns with cross on top, no currants as many recipes have. My last attempt had mixed reviews: my husband thought they were fine, my brother was sorely disappointed as was I. In addition to my grandmother's tools, my mother added dilly bread to our holiday meals. This has remained a family classic which I can do. My husband and brother both look forward to this treat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousDecember 31, 2022 at 7:18 PM

      Wonderful recipe memories! We added Orange Rolls to our Thanksgiving traditional meal during the 90s, and the Leitner families still enjoy them.

      Delete
  2. AnonymousJanuary 1, 2023 at 5:08 AM

    What a wonderful receipt Pilla.
    Fried potato pancakes are so delicious. Nice and crispy, we make them often in our part of Europe and eat them with sauce made of smashed raw garlic, butter and salt well mixed together. No vampires have a chance. Yam, 🧄🦋 K

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousJanuary 1, 2023 at 11:54 AM

      Yum! Garlic! Good thing I don't have a romantic partner. Pilla

      Delete
  3. AnonymousJanuary 5, 2023 at 11:02 AM

    So, in the Thanksgiving in Japan (? you guys look awfully old) picture, where are Suzie and Debbie? We don't even have a place set for us at the table! haha

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousJanuary 5, 2023 at 4:26 PM

      I know! This looks like Grandma's house to me, with 'company dishes' from Japan. Maybe it is from around 1965? Maybe Debbie was behind the camera and Suzie was napping? I don't know! ~P

      Delete

Post a Comment