What culinary memories, traditions and dishes have made a difference in your life? Perhaps you watched your grandmother nurture her Sunday gravy by the stove. Harvest apples and transform them into a rustic pie every autumn. Or, seek out the most peculiar, amazing chef bites that our diverse region has to offer.
PA Eats team is launching a new series about personal culinary journeys. Travel, culture, work, and of course, family shaped my vision and enthusiasm for cooking, writing and dining.
Here are six dishes that symbolized particular parts of the journey:
White Chinese Rice
At a seven-years-old, I traded in the typical American fare—Cheerios, watermelon and hamburgers—when our family moved to Hong Kong for three years. As my parents eagerly introduced us to authentic Chinese cuisine, my brother and I sought the recognizable: “white rice and a Sprite, M̀h’gōi.” But our young palates soon opened up—chasiu bao, beggars chicken, and peanut dumplings made during our school’s Chinese culture class quickly became par course. And I still eat dried seaweed snacks today.
Czech Garlic Soup
Fifty-cent beer, absinthe, and being of international drinking age were a dream come true as a college student studying abroad in Prague, Czech Republic. And so was twenty-five-cent garlic soup on bitterly cold days. While speaking Czech didn’t come quickly, backpacking to neighboring countries and getting a taste for the cultures did, like beer with warm cherries in Poland, borscht in Budapest and tapas in Barcelona.
Braised Veal Cheeks
As a newly minted grad in DC, I quickly became entrenched in the intense world of hospitality PR, promoting restaurants. As schooled as I thought I was in international food. Relishing braised veal cheeks during a media luncheon did throw me through a loop—and that was just the beginning. Managing stressed out chefs, pulling together grand opening parties, writing upon more culinary writing was my life.
Traditional Sangria Tinta
Two large pitchers of sangria at a traditional Spanish restaurant was how our first date went. Who drank whom under the table, we shall never agree. But my better half and I continue to share numerous culinary adventures together 10 years later. Best meal? Champagne, baguette and cheese off a street vendor in Paris. Most Exotic? Steaming hot pho with nasty bits in Saigon’s sweltering Ben Thanh Market. He’s a recipe taste-tester extraordinaire and always has a kind word—for better or for worse.
Fresh Strawberry Pie
As I made way for our own family, I cooked and wrote (editorially) with more fervor, frequently circling back to recipes that my Mom, Gram and Grandma made. Making the crust for my Mom’s strawberry pie teaches patience, and Gram’s gingerbread boys perseverance. And yes, Grandma, who made the cherry pies from her cherry tree, is soon to be 102-years-old and still drink me under the table with her Rob Roys.
Banana Pancakes
I’m determined for our vivacious toddler daughter to be a diverse eater. But I took my own wobbly culinary steps as a first-time mother. Homemade kim chi was my specialty before parenthood, not macaroni and cheese. But I took up the challenge, and began the Sunday morning banana pancake tradition. And you know what? It all works out in the end. She ate all her German sauerbraten last weekend.
