Spicy, Moldy Nostalgia
I recently picked up my grandparents’ copy of “The Fannie Merritt Farmer Boston Cooking School Cookbook” from 1953 and brought it into my office to check on a recipe when the smell of the book smacked me in the face. It was all at once spicy, moldy, ancient, and 100% nostalgic—like hot cider or a summer bungalow in New Hampshire.
This book usually lives in the kitchen and, in fact has lived in many kitchens and has absorbed the smells from each one and all of the owners’ favorite recipes. From my grandparents, to my parents, to my mother after the divorce, to my sister, and finally to me, this book has made its rounds to at least 14 different kitchens by my count. My sister and I have fought for years over this broken-down, stained, smudged, standard cooking textbook with notes in the margins and hand-written recipes in the blank pages in the back. Admittedly, I shepherded it away in my suitcase the last time I visited the east coast. I can guarantee that she won’t notice its disappearance until she wants to make bread.
I wanted to share the smell with friends, but they would probably say it smelled like old socks. (In fact, I actually DID share it and they said “dirt”.) I think it’s fantastic. For that matter, so is dirt.
I really want to fix the binding on Fannie’53, but I’m afraid it will change the smell of this old ream of cream-colored paper which at one time was brand new and probably a wedding present to my grandmother who was fresh off the boat from Dublin..
66 years later, I’m handling the book in my office and smelling my hands. It smells like the attic. It smells like family history. It is probably as molecularly diverse as any smell can be, and like any family can be. And it smells like dirt. It smells like mushrooms. And it’s wonderful.
Mushroom Sauce
Melt 3 tablespoons butter
Add ½ pound mushrooms, sliced
Cook 5 minutes. Stir in:
3 tablespoons flour
A few drops of onion juice
Cook 5 minutes over low heat.
Add 1 cup cream gradually, stirring constantly
Season with:
1 teaspoon beef extract (a little bouillon)
Salt and paprika
Makes 1 ½ to 2 cups of sauce. Use it on steak, roast beef, or just dip buttered bread into it. Your grandma will be there.