It is officially Christmastime for us. This weekend we will get a live tree, fire up the Christmas music and light up the fireplace mantel. The celebrations are still special, but more subdued since our folks passed on. Like always, there will be time with family, good food and great desserts involved.
I miss those huge Christmas gatherings at home of Jilda’s parents. As families arrived and settled in for the feast, they splintered into satellites of conversations. Most of the talk was about jobs, health and what Santa was bringing for Christmas. The drone got ever louder until it was time for the blessing. After that the only sounds were grunts and the clatter of forks on dinner plates.
The food was always exceptional. Each family tried to outdo the other by bringing their best covered dishes. Some of my favorites included green beans, coleslaw and “smashed” potatoes. And of course, it would not be Christmas without my mother-in-law Ruby’s world-famous coconut cake.
A well-made coconut cake is moist on the inside and has frosting like divinity candy with coconut sprinkled liberally over the top. The only downside to coconut cake is that it requires toothpicks and digging flecks of coconut from between the teeth. But it is still one of my top five favorite desserts.
This past Sunday, Jilda’s siblings gathered to celebrate. I was happy to see her sister Nell kept the coconut cake tradition alive. It was hard for me to enjoy the entrees because I saw the coconut cake out of the corner of my eye. It was just sitting there – unattended. Bolting from my seat, grabbing the cake and dashing out the back door would have been a cinch. I could have locked myself in the car and eaten the entire cake by myself.
Jilda’s family is a peaceful bunch, but absconding with the cake could have changed all that.
So rather than act on my impulse, I munched on BBQ, potato salad and baked beans while biding my time. The coconut cake was worth the wait.
On the way home, I told Jilda that she needs to ensure she gets that recipe from her sister who is now in her 80s. She had already thought of that.
My lovely wife has a book of family recipes that she has collected over the years. I call it her good book.
When my mom was living, she made these incredible apple pies. Jilda asked her for the recipe many times, but my mom was hesitant, and we did not know why.
After years of asking, my mom finally gave in. Mama knew we were health conscious and watched what we ate. The apple pie recipe called for real butter, buckets of sugar and a scoop of lard. Even though those pies were heart attacks in a Corningware dish, they were incredible. Getting the recipe thrilled Jilda.
When it comes to great food, we go with the Biblical take on this the topic. The book of Ecclesiastes said it best: “To everything, there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven…” To me that means it is OK to pig out on coconut cake and apple pie during the holidays.
One Christmas a few years ago, Jilda made mom’s apple pie for some guests who were dining with us. After the meal, Jilda pulled the apple pie from the warm oven and served it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The aroma of that dessert brought back old memories. As our guests ate, the woman closed her eyes and had what seemed like was an out-of-body experience. She then asked, “What’s in this?” Jilda smiled and said, “You don’t want to know.”
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Rick Watson is a columnist and author. His latest book Life Goes On is available on Amazon.com. You can contact him via email at rick@homefolkmedia.com.
