Whether it’s your mom’s homemade potato salad…or your grandmother’s sauce (or gravy, if you prefer :)…or your own special concoction of nutella, marshmallows & crackers…

Without a doubt, the best food is always homemade…maybe it’s the handed down recipe that has stood the test (& tastebuds) of generations…or the way it’s served in that old pyrex dish you remember when you were a kid…or the homegrown tomatoes & basil…

Whatever it is…there is something extremely special about enjoying a home cooked meal…

Being raised in Philadelphia, there is such a HUGE connection between home & food for me.  Philadelphia has a long & storied culinary history, and these days Philly is famous for it’s cheesesteaks and soft pretzels and hoagies.   But that is only the tip of the delicious Philadelphia iceberg.   I was lucky to grow up a block away from South Philly, and our neighborhood was full of extraordinary cooks.  My best friends’ mother was Italian and I would beg to stay for dinner when she made “Ceci & Pasta”.  Another friend was Irish & her mother always brought in “Irish Potatoes” for the whole class around St. Patty’s Day.  Another was Polish and her mother’s Pierogi were absolute heaven.

My mother & the other women from the block would exchange recipes & stories over coffee at one another’s homes.  Then they would sit in the kitchen laughing & learning from each other.  They would exchange recipes and their cooking secrets along with stories of their latest home cooked triumph or hilarious flop, while me & the other kids played in the other room & ate Tastycakes (another Philly favorite).  Looking back, I think I’m kind of envious of that kind of  kinship these women had.  It really was an extraordinary thing.  Something that, in these days of fast food, convenience & busy schedules, maybe got lost.

But maybe it isn’t?  Maybe we can still cultivate a bit of that kind of kinship here and now.

I think a Recipe Exchange may just be a great way to start, so  I’m planning to host one at my home.  I’ll invite my friends & neighbors over for some good food & wine.  Each will bring some of their family’s favorite recipes and we can spend the evening sharing our stories & our kitchen secrets.  We can chit chat about what works and what doesn’t (the “doesn’t”s always have the best stories too :) & I’m sure we’ll spend an enjoyable evening sharing each other’s company and histories.  See that little bundle of recipes above?  That’s what I’m planning on giving to my guests…a little bundle of kennedy favorites & a cute little tag they can use as a bookmark in their favorite cookbook.    I’m excited :)

*the crafty bit:  i typed out the recipes i’ll share at the party & put them on 4×6″ cardstock…then tied them all together with a bit of butchers twine…the cosmo cricket elements sheet, that was a part of june’s kit: home sweet home,  is the perfect accent for this little bundle, so i cut the cute little tags out, stitched around and added a bit of ribbon…the back has a little message from me…easy peasy & cute :)

So what is your family’s favorite recipe?  Maybe it’s time to share it :)

(& i’d LOVE if you’d share with me!!!  i’m always on the lookout for great recipes, so please share!  i promise to send you one of the kennedy faves in return :)

xoxo

gi

This entry was posted on Monday, June 22nd, 2009 at 5:29 pm by gigi and is filed under creative team. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.