Memories and Moments by GrannyJo

I SMELL A MEMORY
Copyright 2003

FIRST AROMAS OF THE YEAR
Cooking Up New Years Day

Crown of pork, pork shoulder, stuffed pork chops…you name it, roast pork has its own succulent, mouth-watering aroma. I can conjure up that scent in my mind’s nose, even though I am writing this with nary a pork roast in the oven.

As far back as I can remember, roast pork of some kind was the center of our New Years Day dinner. I will also always remember ‘why’ that held true (besides the fact that it was so luscious). We were always told that we should not eat anything like chicken or turkey or any fowl with feet that “scratched back” for the New Year; rather we would have pork with feet that “rooted forward”, thereby insuring our prosperity for the coming year. I don’t know where that saying started, but I remember my grandmother saying it, half a century and more ago. Now, everybody from our family who grew up in that time would not dare to challenge the veracity of the warning, and I have passed it on to my children and theirs.

I don’t really have memories of anything ‘special’ happening on New Years Day when I was quite young. When there was football, Dad listened to it on the radio, and later watched it on TV. Sometimes a couple of families would get together and cook and share the fatted pig, and that was fun for the kids and company for the adults.

Most of New Years Day memories for me, though, are around Rich and my family; or when we prepared pork roast dinners for our customers at our restaurant. We also seemed to always have his family and mine over for dinner on special holidays, and I remember the two of us cooking for the crew. We added our special rolled cabbages to the menu and usually did stuffed pork chops rather than pork roast, which worked well with his mother being Polish and his dad sort of a European mongrel mix. New Years seemed to be one day when my folks could do without pasta and sauce, and I hope everyone enjoyed our innovations through the years.

There was one special New Years that I will always remember, though. We were living in Las Vegas, and we kept saying that after all the years of watching the Rose Bowl Parade on TV, it would be a shame to never see it in real time, since we lived quite near, as the car goes. So, one year we decided to just do it and we headed out for California on the afternoon of New Years Eve, taking our granddaughter, who was about eight at the time, with us.

We loaded up with blankets and warm clothes, a couple of patio lounge chairs and a cooler of goodies, for of course, we were going to spend the night along the parade route in Pasadena to assure us a ‘good spot’ in the early morning of New Years Day.

Memories are made of this ~~~ the hot dogs and grilled onions steaming away fragrance from the venders’ area that was set up across the street. Cotton candy and popping corn sending out salty and sweet calls to “come buy me”. The smell of brewing coffee and hot chocolate beckoned as the night grew chill, and down the block a pizza parlor was dragging in a crowd as the scent of baking pizzas and calzones was pumped outside to eager noses. I don’t remember ever seeing anything quite like that group of people; eating, talking, walking, having fun and praying that it wouldn’t rain on their parade! It was quite an adventure. We never went back to do it with our grandson, though; just too much chill for the old bones, but I always wish I could.

It will soon be New Years Day again, and it is time to make up the menu and the ‘list’. Lori laughs every time I bring up the list. She asks why I just don’t keep it on my computer, because it seldom changes, year after year. Too soon she will be older - enough to understand that getting together to make the ‘list’, just like the aromas, is part of the memories of New Years Day past, cherished and never to be forgotten.

(See New Years Day Menu & Recipes)

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NEW YEARS DAY
MENU

STUFFED CELERY ~~ ASSORTED OLIVES

TOSSED SALAD
SPICY SWEET APPLE SAUCE
JELLIED CRANBERRY SAUCE

TINY ROLLED CABBAGES IN SOUR CREAM

SPARERIBS IN SAUERKRAUT

STUFFED DOUBLE PORK CHOPS
ROASTED BABY CARROTS

WHIPPED POTATOES
SAVORY PORK GRAVY

CRESCENT ROLLS

PECAN PIE ~~ HOT APPLE PIE
WHIPPED CREAM ~~ VANILLA ICE CREAM

WINE ~~ CIDER ~~ SOFT DRINKS ~~ COFFEE

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NEW YEARS DAY
RECIPES

Tiny Rolled Cabbages in Sour Cream

5 Qt Pot 13 x 9 Glass Baking Dish
4 Qt Water 1 Large Loose-Leaf Head of Cabbage

Simmer Cabbage in Water in Pot 20 minutes or until leaves can be separated, but not mushy. Cool so cabbage can be handled. Separate and cut Leaves in half lengthwise to make small rolls, about 3” long. Place 1 C of Cooking Water into Baking Dish.

Filling

1 C Cooked Rice ½ lb Ground Beef ½ lb Ground Pork
4 T Onion Flakes 1 T Garlic 1 T Paprika 1 T Beef Base
1 T Parsley 2 T Dill Pickle Juice 1 Egg

Mix all of above together well. Place 1 T of filling on each piece of Cabbage, roll and tuck in ends. Place in Baking Dish, Cover. Bake at 350 for 1 Hour.

Sauce

1 Large Onion and 1 Bell Pepper both sliced thinly
2 T Butter 1 T Garlic 1 tsp Salt 1 tsp Pepper
1 T Paprika 1 Pint Sour Cream

Saute’ Onion and Pepper in Butter until tender, sprinkling with Salt, Pepper and Garlic. Cool Slightly. Stir in the Sour Cream, add the Paprika and stir again.

Remove the Cabbage Rolls from the oven. Pour the Sauce over the rolls, moving them so that they are covered in sauce on bottom and the top. Cover and bake for 20 minutes more at 325.

Spareribs and Sauerkraut

Small Roaster or 13 x 9 Baking Pan
3 lbs of Pork Ribs, Cut into Individual Ribs
1 T Granulated Garlic 1 T Salt 1 T Pepper ½ C Water

Place Water and Ribs into baking pan or roaster, sprinkle with seasonings, Cover.
Bake 15 Minutes in 375 Oven. Remove from Oven. Remove Ribs from Pan.

Using the Sauerkraut Sublime Recipe from New Years Eve put a layer of the kraut into the baking pan, add a layer of Ribs, next a layer of the Pepper/Onion mix, sprinkle with Caraway Seeds. Repeat layers as needed.

Cover and bake in 350 oven for 15 minutes. Lower heat to 325, bake about 40 minutes or until ribs are tender.

Stuffed Double Pork Chops

Preheat Oven to 350
Large Shallow Baking Pan

8 Double Pork Chops with Stuffing Pocket

Bang of Baby Carrots, steamed for 5 minutes

Stuffing

1 Envelope Mrs. Culbertson’s Stuffing Mix
1 Small Apple, Peeled and Diced
2 Stalks Celery, Chopped fine ½ tsp Sage
1 tsp Granulated Garlic 1 Egg
2 T Parsley 2 T Raisins Orange Juice to moisten

Combine all stuffing ingredients in a bowl, mix well and adjust liquid for moisture.

Fill Pocket of each Double Chop with Stuffing. Reserve remaining Stuffing to bake separately.

Season Chops on both sides with Salt Pepper and Garlic. Place in Baking Pan. Bake 20 Minutes.

Remove ½ C juices from the Baking Pan for Savory Gravy. Turn Chops; arrange Carrots around Chops in Pan. Divide rest of Stuffing placing on top of each Chop. Cover and bake another hour at 325, turning carrots once in juices. Remove cover, bake 10 minutes or until Stuffing on Chops is brown and slightly crusty.

Savory Pork Gravy

Large Skillet
Gravy Boat

¾ C all Purpose Flour ¼ C Pork Chop Juices Pinch of Sage
1 T Salt ½ tsp Black Pepper 1 tsp Granulate Garlic
26 oz. Can of Broth (chicken or vegetable)

Place juices in skillet over medium heat and lightly sprinkle all the flour over the surface, scraping and stirring with a spatula to lightly brown the flour, cooking it so the gravy will not lump, but do not scorch the flour.

After a few minutes of Stirring/Scraping, begin to deglaze the pan by slowly adding HOT broth, stirring and scraping vigorously all the while. If there does not seem to be enough liquid, add a bit more a little at a time until the mix is just UNDER the thickness you want. Add all the seasonings, reduce heat to low and continue to cook about 10 more minutes, until gravy is rich and smooth. Pour gravy into top of double boiler and keep hot over hot water, so it will not scorch or cook away. Fill gravy boat with boiling water to preheat it before serving gravy, so gravy will stay hot.

(In a pinch, use packaged or canned gravy mix.)

ENJOY the first cooking of the New Year--all year long!