Memories and Moments by GrannyJo

I SMELL A MEMORY
Copyright 2003

Chapter 1
BOY, THAT SMELLS GOOD!

What will be your earliest memory of the mouth-watering smell of something good?

For me, it came on a cold winter’s day, several weeks after my uncle and his new wife came to live with us. They were married in October of 1939 and times were hard on newlyweds then, just before the USA went into WWII, so they settled into one of our bedrooms and shared the kitchen until they could find and afford a place of their own. Though I was just under four years old, I can remember most of the first-hand observations I made of some of the different ethnic practices of the first non-Italian member of our family--Uncle Mike’s wife, Lee, who was of German descent.

On this particularly frosty day, some time in November, I had crawled up on our living room sofa to look out of the window, and watch big flakes of snow fall through the beam of the street lights that had just flickered on against the gloom of late afternoon, when I was drawn by a magnetic aroma that wafted from the kitchen where Aunt Lee was preparing their dinner. Jumping down from the couch, I scooted from the living room, maneuvered around our big dining room table and on sturdy three-year-old legs, followed the mysterious (potatoy/oniony) smell--different from anything I had ever caught scent of cooking in our home before.

In the kitchen, I watched her as she pulled a casserole from the oven to test the potatoes that, nestled in a creamy, white sauce, were beginning to turn golden on the top. That, alone, was enough to stop me in my tracks. Cook with milk? Never, in my short years of experience in that Italian family; they would talk about it for months to come. Uncle Mike would surely starve! She gave me some, though, when it was all tender and golden, and I was hooked for life.

Bolstered by the fact that Uncle Mike had not yet starved to death (or been poisoned), the rest of the group finally worked up the courage to try her casserole at one of our picnics. They mobbed her for the recipe!

There’s a casserole of “Aunt Lee’s Scalloped Potatoes” in the oven right now. When our Phil walked through the door and said, “Boy, that smells good!” I knew it was a fitting introduction to those good aromas and the memories that waft in upon them.

Uncle Mike & Aunt Lee Enjoying Scalloped Potatoes

Family Picnic - Summer 1940

Aunt Lee’s Scalloped Potatoes
(Serves 4 to 6)

Always bake casserole on a foil lined cookie sheet or place foil on oven rack…it will boil over a bit.
Preheat Oven to 375°
Butter bottom and sides of a 9 x 13 glass baking dish generously

4 Large Potatoes -- Bowl of Cold Water -- 1 Large Onion -- 1 T Salt
½ C Flour -- 2 C Whole Milk -- 1 tsp Pepper -- 4 T Melted Butter

Peel Potatoes. Slice thinly into bowl of cold water.
Peel Onion. Slice thinly and set aside.
Mix together the Flour, Salt and Pepper.
Add Melted Butter to Milk.
Drain Potatoes WELL.

Overlap Potato Slices to layer bottom of casserole.
Place an Onion layer next.
Sprinkle evenly with some of the Flour Seasoning mix.
Repeat layers until all of Potatoes, Onion and Seasoning are used.

Pour the Milk/Butter over all. If necessary, add just enough milk to cover Potatoes.

Tightly seal casserole (foil or lid). Bake 1 Hour.
Lower the oven heat to 325°. Remove cover and bake till tender and golden (about 45 Min. more).

Variations on the Theme
(Delicious Quickies Based upon the Original Recipe)

**Substitute 2 Cans Evaporated Milk or 1 Qt of Cream for the Fresh Milk = Extra Creamy Potatoes

**Whisk together 1 Can of Cream of Chicken or Mushroom or Celery Soup
1 T Chicken Base -- ½ tsp Black Pepper -- 1 Soup Can of Milk
(Omit Flour Seasoning Mix) Pour over layered potatoes & onion.

All in One Casseroles
(Dinner for 4, with a Salad)

1. 8 Oz Ham, thinly sliced. Alternate Ham slices with Potato/Onion Layers.

2. 1 Lb Loose Pork Sausage. Brown and drain well. Sprinkle over Potato Layers in any recipe.
Italian Sausage, hot or mild is also excellent.

3. Use a 6 Oz Can of Water Packed Albacore Tuna, drained well. Flake over Potato Layers in original recipe, for a deliciously different tuna casserole.

4. 8 Oz Sharp Cheddar or your favorite Cheese sprinkled over layers. Delicious Au Gratin!