Culinary bequests: what will you leave behind?

[Chufi]

The Christmas before my mother died, she put together this collection of our favorites:

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"This effort is dedicated to lovers of brussels sprouts"..

phlawless, how beautiful! What a treasure to have.

[Reefpimp]

I can't believe I've lived the life I have and don't have any children (no tattoos either... what kind of a line pig did I think I was, huh?)--yet--but what I'd like to leave behind are the 9" French knife and 7-1/2" santoku I made last year out of Damascus steel. Oh, and my coconut shrimp curry if I can find someone deserving of the secrets of its manufacture. And the thought that a thoughtful cook is in a way directly descended from Isaac Newton--that we are some of the last of the true alchemists. Except our conversion isn't lead into gold, but rather sunshine into wine, rainy green meadows into lamb chops, and "waste" into soup. What we are seeking isn't perfect understanding, but perfect happiness. And maybe just for the space of the enjoyment of one mouthful of something really really good, a friend or relation will think of me. That'd be nice.

[Alchemist]

My perfectly seasoned Dutch oven will go to a friend that just graduated culinary school. My large collection of eclectic, antique silverware should be handed out to all who come to the Irish wake. like a drunken doorprize.

I hope that I leave many people with many fond memories of cooking and dining togather. I hope those people will sit around tell stories have an immoderate number of cocktails, and laugh, laugh, laugh.

[johnsmith45678]

"This effort is dedicated to lovers of brussels sprouts"..

That's not the largest of audiences! ;P But I love brussel sprouts, always have. Just about all other vegetables too.

[carpetbagger, esq.]

hmmm...

my legacy as of now includes the following:

- a 40 page dining guide to nashville that i created for a friend who recently moved here

- changing the main item served at my gf's family xmas eve dinner to my family's lasagna

- the recipe for the xmas eve lasagna.

- starting a 4th of july bbq tradition with my gf's family...see here in the behold my butt thread.

- introducing people to the joy (and digestive terror) that is hot chicken.

ideally, i'll have collected a substantial cookbook recipe in the coming decades, as well as continue to refine my bbq recipes and techniques, passing them on to the next generation.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Looks as if a number of us hope to create our own personal cookbooks to pass on to the next generations ... not a bad idea at all ... thanks for getting me re-energized to do something about my own work-in-progress cookbook and musings which I had long forgotten ...

[UnConundrum]

Well, Melissa, as you know, I've reduced my recipe collection to a web site, (available here) so.... that's done.

Unfortunately, my family hasn't passed on much that I can forward to my son. A wooden salad bowl from my Mother's mother, that has seen many a caesar salad while in my posession, and recipes for noodle pudding, cheese cake, and coffee cake from my mother (which are all on the website). I plan to fix that though I have ordered a set of custom kitchen knives from Murray Carter, and specifically told him that I want a set that I can pass on to my son some day, and maybe his children after that. Something that will help them remember how much I enjoyed cooking, and bringing the family together for great meals...

[Starwind]

Like many others here, I hope to pass on a love of cooking; a desire to experiment in the kitchen, the idea that by tasting a variety of flavor combinations you learn what works and what doesn't so as to help foster further experimentation aimed toward the creation of delicious items for the table.

[Jim Charles]

Two things. One, I’ve made knives as a hobby and part time income for 40 years. My favorites will go to my children and grandchildren. Two, I have my cookbook where I’ve accumulated only the best of my best recipes that I want them to have. Oh yea, they’ll also get a pretty good load of money that I’m sure will be number one on their list.

[Kouign Aman]

My grandmothers both lived 'across the pond'. In the few visits we had, I learned the joys of cheddar cheese, green grapes and how to make french fries from one and how to make blackberry jelly from the other. I hope I pass some kind of equally lasting good memories along that include the joy in making something delicious to share. I'll also be leaving a copy of MFK Fisher's books and the entire set (including recipe booklets) of the Time-Life FotW series. A cutting board beautifully patched from myriad woods, made by my father - if it lasts that long. Italian glassware purchased by The Tenor on the trip when we met and fell in love - damn, I hope the kid(s) like(s) the style! My husband's great-grandmother's recipe for chocolate pudding cake. And one bird, suitable for keeping as a pet or turning into a very small pile of snacks.

I make jelly every few years from the wild blackberries growing near my father's house, and I think of his mom and dad every time I do. The munchkin & my nephew already know the joys of jam and of English cheeses.

[Kent D]

I've got to get busy WORKING ON a legacy. I keep telling myself there's always time, but my girls are getting older and they're still afraid of getting their hands messy in the kitchen.

Sure I can leave them my cookbooks, my pans, my knives and sundry tools, but if I leave them without my joy of culinary creation, my "need to feed", then I've left them nothing. So I'd better get to work. Soon.

[Gifted Gourmet]

but if I leave them without my joy of culinary creation, my "need to feed", then I've left them nothing.

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Could not have said it better myself! Thanks for this "message" to the future ...

[maggiethecat]

I received this email today from my daughter, who took her husband out for dinner last night for his birthday, at A.O.C. in Los Angeles. I guess my culinary torch has been passed on.

A.O.C. was super good! I highly recommend it - it's really not much more $$ than Cobras but the food is much more complex (although I still LUV Cobras and those crispy lentils and sweet potato fries, of course!)

This is what we ate (I can tell you because I stole a menu and brought it to work today to show Amy)

1. Cheese (I don't know why you start with cheese here, but you do)

Three cheeses: Sheep-l'abbaye de bel'loc pays basque (france) / Cow-seal bay triple cream (australia) SO GOOD!!!! / Blue-valdeon asturias (spain)

OH, btw. waiting at your table when you arrive are some olives (NOT as good as Cobras) and a really delicious, creamy tapenade that I overheard a waitress explaining was made of ancho chiles and meant to awaken the palette. At this point I will also mention that we were on the upper patio, a tented indoor/outdoor place overlooking an alley (they try to camoflauge it) that was kind of cramped. I sat on a built in bench that was hard and put me in an awkward position. But I stopped mumbling once all the great food came out! 

2.Salad: Stone fruit with duck ham, dates and salva (This was a revelation - just a ton of interesting flavor combinations going on that my tongue had never experienced before. The stone fruit was perfectly ripe apricots, salva is a mild, feta-like cheese that is to die for!)

3. Fish: Seabass in grape leaves with labna and dukkah (I don't know what labna and dukkah are, but this was my favorite dish! The seabass was so fresh and meaty - it almost tasted like ham! The grape leaves added a smoky skin, and the whole thing sat on a bed of nutty, slightly chewy rice)

4. Lamb: lamb ragout, ricotta gnocchi, olive and feta (Lucious morsels of tender meat and pillowy gnocchi! Maybe a little salty, but that's being picky)

5. Veggie: Stuffed Squash Blossoms with pepitas (okay this one was quite good, but it was the only one I wouldn't order again. After all the subtleties of flavor and texture in the other dishes, this one just came across as FRIED)

6.Dessert: Shoot! We didn't steal the dessert menu, so I'll have to be less exact. 1. The BEST chocolate cake ever! It was not like a regular chocolate cake (i.e either really moussy and rich like a flourless or really cakey like a Phoenix bakery block - it was distinct layers of bittersweet chocolate cake and slices of creme fraiche and dulce de leche mousse. Just fab. We also had a lovely strawberry rhubarb buckle (like a crisp) with fresh cream poured on top, but it came across as being a little too tart. I think this is not its fault, but our fault for loving the chocolate cake so much (kind of like when you eat a really sweet candy and then have a slice of orange.)

To drink I had a glass of champagne with my cheese and a glass of some kind of wine that I wanted to try because I'd never tried it before, but now I can't remember what it was called! It was red and velvety. I had some madeira with my dessert because I love indulging in that stuff when the meal is soooo divine. John also had two glasses of wine and a mug of rich coffee with dessert. They have a TON of wines - it's their thing, I guess - and lucky for us, most are served by the glass.

So the total (without tip) was $150.00. Not too bad, considering. I imagine returning one eveing for a light, reasonably priced meal - I'd order just a glass of champagne, a salad and the seabass, and then split the choclate cake and have a coffee for dessert. Ahh, so civilized! It's the kind of restaurant that makes all the other meals you eat seem about as nuanced and flavorfull as a can of SpaghttiO's.

Also - great pacing throughout the night - we ordered most things all at once, but they brought them out one or two at a time, which I always appreciate. AND the beautiful, tall, and austere (almost like a nun before she gets her habit, or a depression era farm girl) executive chef, Suzanne Goin, walked through the room to check on someone in a very low key manner (black turtleneck, apron tied at the waist, ponytail.) John gave her the cutest moon-y smile as she breezed by, but I wasn't jealous because I'm in love with her too.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Looks like you can indeed rest peacefully now, Maggie .. your message has been passed on to the next generation with success!