Day 25/30: Tradition
My family isn't big on being traditional, but we are pretty hot for traditions, especially when it comes to food. Every Christmas we whip up a big pot of lobster bisque, using the same recipe my great-grandfather served in his restaurant. My Mom's contribution is an explosion of cookies. Though she occasionally adds a new recipe to the mix, the standards are always there, Mady's Rasin Cookies being my personal favorite. Swedish cookies, made with ground almonds, stuffed with jam, and dusted in powdered sugar, are also worth looking forward to all year. On Christmas morning my father always makes Belgian Waffles, topped with whipped cream and fruit.
Family recipes also live on at Thanksgiving, when my Mother serves up my grandmother Mady's Banana Cream Pie. I'm a hardcore traditionalist when it comes to Thanksgiving, so you will always find the standards on the table, cranberry sauce, stuffing, mashed potatoes, etc.
Even Easter has traditions in our family. The Bunny Cake is a long-lived tradition, something my Mom has been making since we were kids. Every year it looks a little different, depending on which candy can be found to decorate it. Making a Bunny Cake is super easy. Just start off with two round cakes (any flavor will do, but yellow is a classic.) Leave the first cake whole, but cut two crescents out of the second to form the bunny's ears and bowtie. Cover the cake in white frosting (again, any white colored frosting will do the trick), then sprinkle coconut all over it. Decorate the bunny with candy, giving him a cute face and a fancy patterned bowtie. As desserts go, Bunny Cake is certainly silly, but a guaranteed crowd pleaser, especially for little ones.
We have another food tradition at Easter, but this one is pretty weird. My Dad loves marshmallow Peeps, so every year we would end up with them in our baskets. Since none of us kids really wanted to eat Peeps, torturing and mutilating them became a fun game, one that has continued even into our adult Easters.
What kind of food traditions does your family have?
P.S. This post is part of my 30 Days With a Grateful Heart series. You can check out the rest of my posts in this series on Mary Makes Pretty, Mary Makes Babies, and here on Mary Makes Dinner. Visit Bless Her Heart to check out other bloggers that are participating in the project.