Food memories

I've heard it said that smells can trigger some of the strongest memories, and I believe that. For me, food smells are the quickest way to start a trip down memory road. The smell of a roux cooking, especially those first few seconds after you add your vegetables, is a very strong kickstarter for me. I used to love opening up the back door of our house and smelling something delicious and wondering what my mom was cooking.

A lot of our holiday celebrations growing up were with extended family, especially on my mom's side, in Baton Rouge. Our family is pretty big, and a lot of meals were potluck, but you could always count on a few traditions. Gumbo on Christmas Eve. Aunt Marie is in charge of the salad. Crawfish Bisque and Strawberry Shortcake at Easter. For a while now, my mom and her siblings have been having "lessons" from Granny on how to make the bisque, and it is truly a team endeavor. It's a lot of work to prepare the bisque, but the results are worth the effort!

Tony and I hosted "Thanksgiving" a couple years ago. I put it in parentheses because we celebrated in October before a deployment. It was a small affair, with a few friends over, and involved garlic mashed potatoes and a fried turkey. This year we will also have garlic mashed potatoes and fried turkey, but I think we will have over twenty guests! I am tremendously excited about it, but also a bit nervous because it's my first time hosting such a big shindig (aside from a wedding!) and I won't be back at home until Tuesday evening. Fortunately, we have a wonderful group of friends who a) will not judge us and b) are bringing some contributions, so I'm pretty sure most of my nerves are for naught. At least, I hope so!

Tentatively on the menu this year:
Caprese bites
Brined and fried turkey
Garlic mashed potatoes
Green beans (not casserole)
Balsamic and Thyme Carrots
Adult Mac and Cheese
Apple Cider Sangria
Pumpkin Pie

Maybes: Pumpkin Mousse; trifle; rolls or cornbread; stuffing; cranberry sauce