Mama's BBQ Sauce

Mama's BBQ Sauce (by way of Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church in Crystal River, FL)

I grew up in Ohio, but when Daddy retired, he wanted to go someplace warm and near the water because he was a fisherman. They moved to Florida shortly after I got married in 1988.  Daddy was an ordained minister so when they arrived in town, they looked for a church.

They noticed how segregated the churches were there and that made my parents uneasy. They got the impression from some of the churches they visited that black people were discouraged from joining.

My parents could not live with that. He went to the pastor at an all black church in town and asked if he and my mom would be welcome to worship with them. The pastor said yes, and the congregation welcomed my parents in with open arms. They teased them and called them their 'token whites' and my parents thought that was hilarious. I liked that my parents saw something that troubled them and tried to make it right, as much as they could with their own lives and example.

And now for the food.

My parents went to the church's barbecue that year and my dad fell in love with the sauce. My mom asked for the recipe so she could make it at home and the ladies told her "Not yet. Ask us again next year." because they weren't quite sure they liked her enough to share their secret recipe!

The next summer when Mama was still there and had proven herself as a true friend, she got the recipe.Once Mama was trusted with this recipe, she made it often. <3

• 1 large bottle of ketchup
• 1 small bottle of tabasco
• 1 lb dark brown sugar
• The juice of 3 fresh lemons and also add the zest
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• Add salt to taste

Combine all ingredients and simmer.  Good on chicken, and... pretty much anything else.

Mama's World Famous Strudel Dough

Oh dear baking friends, this dough will change your life. Mama got this recipe from her friend June, a beautiful lady who was a 'war bride' (as in my Dad's friend met her while he was stationed overseas in WWII.)

She brought this strudel to a dinner party with my parents back in the 50's and was gracious enough to share the recipe with Mama. It became a staple of our Christmas, and the famous treat of the holidays in my family.  I still have cousins who call me at Christmas for this recipe. Otherwise I'd probably never hear from them.

This dough is very rich. It can be used in both sweet and savory recipes.  Mama used to roll up sausage links and hot dogs in it for appetizers, and apples, nuts, and raisins for desserts. It's an all purpose wonderful dough. You will want to peel it off of things and just eat it alone, I swear.

But, it's a dough that can't be made in any type of machinery. I tried to make it in my breadmaker dough cycle once and it was not pretty.  It's ooey and gooey and you have to be in it up to your elbows. I promise, you will not regret the effort.

When you read these ingredients, you will say "A whole pound of butter? Are you trying to kill me?" But seriously, there are worse ways to die.

Mary Lou's Strudel Dough (with special thanks to June Dendak.) UPDATE - I just called her. She is 88. Her husband is gone, my parents are gone, but she is still here and actually remembered me. A sweet conversation.)

• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cake solid yeast, ot the active dry yeast equivalent
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 lb butter
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 cup sour cream

Directions:

1) Place 5 cups of flour in large bowl. Add 1 cake of crumbled yeast, mix well. (With your hands!  Get in there and feel it!)  If you use dry yeast, do the same, make sure the yeast and flour are well blended.
2) Add 1 lb of butter and the salt. Mix well. (With your hands!  Get in there and get flour and butter all over your fingers!)
3) Add the egg yolks, 1 at a time. Mix well. (Yes, with your hands again. Sticky egg yolk all up between your fingers! So good.)
4) Add 1 cup of sour cream. Mix well. (You guessed it, with your hands. Ensure the sour cream is mixed in and that there are no glops of sour cream that aren't incorporated into the dough.
5) Chill dough overnight. This is serious. Don't even try to use this dough before it's been chilled.

To use:

Divide into chunks, roll thin. Put filling either Savory (sausage links/hot dogs, etc)  or Sweet (Apples, nuts, raisins, cinnamon, sugar.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Mama's Italian Meatballs

My family could eat some spaghetti and meatballs. We had it at least once a week. I know many meatball recipes have several kinds of meat mixed in, but this was the 60's and we were simple folk in rural Ohio, so ground beef was just fine for us. My Dad had been a cook in the Navy, so sometimes to make things extra exciting he made homemade noodles. When I came home and saw noodles hanging all over the counters to dry, I knew I was in for a treat. But the crowning glory were the meatballs. My Mama used to be a waitress at an Italian restaurant in Akron, OH before she and my Dad were married and one of the guys in the family showed her how to make them. I would guess I have eaten over 1300 of these in my lifetime. :)

Three years ago when my mother was dying of cancer, and could barely eat or swallow, this is what she was craving, and I made a batch for her. She hadn't been able to eat in days, but managed to get a meatball down and it was the happiest moment of my week that I was able ot make her recipe and that she actually got to eat one. <3

• 1 lb ground chuck
• 2 slices bread crumbs (because they didn't come in a can back then.)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1 egg
• 1 clove mashed garlic
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 TBL grated parmesan cheese
• 1 TBL dried parsley

Break up bread crumbs in bowl. Add egg, water, cheese, salt, pepper, garlic, parsley. Let bread soak a few minutes. Mix with fork until well blended. Add meat and mix well. Shape by tablespoons into balls and brown slowly in skillet. cover and add a little water, simmer. OR (and this way is much yummier IMHO - put in oven and bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes. And if you have a cast iron skillet, all the better.

Every Recipe Has a Story

Let's just start here; I love food. I love to cook. I love to eat. I come by it honestly.

My family had food at it's center. I can close my eyes and see Mama at the stove in her apron, Daddy sticking his fingers in pots to taste things and Mama playfully slapping his hand away, which would erupt into tickle fights and giggling.  Food was happiness. Food was connection. Food was comfort. Food was celebration.

Here is my gorgeous mother when she was 17.
The best part about Mary Lou was that she was even more beautiful on the inside.

My mother grew up in a large family of 7 children and learned to cook for that many people. Thus when she cooked for us, she cooked for an army even though we were only a family of three; Mama, Daddy and me.  But, my grandparents lived next door and we had a steady parade of Aunts, Uncles and Cousins stopping by to visit, so Mama was always ready for drop in guests with an array of yummy treats for them to eat.

As we cooked in the kitchen, Mama told me stories of the recipes she was making and those matter as much to me as the delicious food at the other end of the recipe.

Since two of my family of three are now with Jesus in heaven, I decided I should share these recipes and stories so they don't end with me.

I hope you try them and that they will bring you as much joy as they did to my family.