When my grandmother passed away last year, her obituary in The Washington Post was three columns long, complete with recipe.She was known around DC for her generous spirit, immovable political convictions, love of God and Church, and her grace, style, and food. She was a great woman and a great cook--self-taught from one very large cookbook given to her by the Greek-National she married.
My grandmother used food as a way to raise money for her favorite charities, often luring Washington wives and their dignitary husbands to embassy garden parties, book signings at her home in Van Ness, luncheons to celebrate a successful fundraiser, museum openings, or something having to do with her beloved political party, the GOP. (You can't see it but my head is shaking.)
One of things I miss the most besides our long political conversations (read: fights) is her food! I ate dinner with her pretty much twice a month from 18 to 27. And I spent every major holiday in DC with the ole' fam just to rekindle my taste buds for what I knew was the best food around. We had the holiday staples for Easter, Christmas and Thanksgiving: chestnut stuffing (I want to cry), Avgolemino soup, green beans with tomatoes, mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes. She'd throw in the occassional tyropita triangles or taramousalata as hor d'oeurves, and if it was Thanksgiving there would never be less than six pies. At Christmas, there would be pies along with baklava, and well everything you see in the photo above.
I long for her Avgolemino Soup with it's rich chicken broth and bechemel, egg, lemon and rice. She had this way of making sure the chicken was the primary flavor, while the bechemel, egg and lemon simply brushed your tastebuds like velvet. (I know that sounds odd, because chicken broth is the base, but sometimes you can get or make Avgolemino with too much lemon or worse it can taste like chicken with flour sauce (uncooked bechemel) or chicken flavored water.) She truly made velvet chicken soup. The Greeks should rename it. Ah but they couldn't. Like most of her recipes my grandmother perfected this one. You can't buy this in any of the best restaurants in Greece, nor does anyone else's Yiayia know how to make it like this. Do I sound partial? I say this based on years of searching for good Greek food outside of my grandmother's kitchen. My beloved Aunt comes in a very close second, having written a wonderful cookbook on Greek cooking many years ago, she definitely has the talent and some of the secrets, but I'm pretty sure that the amount of lemon and the exact clove count thrown into the baklava honey sauce is long gone, as is the exact recipe for the Avgolemino.
Right after my grandmother was married, her mother told her the first thing she should think about when she wakes up in the morning is "what is my husband going to have for dinner tonight?" She took it to heart.
Asked how she learned how to cook, she'd simply say anyone can cook as long as they know how to read a recipe. Which brings me to the purpose of this blog. I hope to use this as a way to share family recipes, Washington social history, and cooking tips on all types of food from chefs, cookbook authors, caterers and my grandmother.
Avgolemino Chicken Stock Soup Tips:
- When making stock, don't use a pot larger than a 6 or 7 qts.
- Buy Chicken Backs & Necks only.
Forget using a whole chicken when trying to make stock, you can't get enough flavor out it. And don't even think about buying canned stock. The makers throw onion powder, garlic and other spices which throws off the entire recipe.
- Fill the pot with water only an inch over the chicken.
- Toss in lots of fresh celery--mostly the outer stalks where all the flavor is.
- Add a few carrots.
- Salt and Pepper (add most of the salt at the table before eating)
- Cook on low for the entire day and most of the night until the bones have practically disappeared. Seriously.
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