Heritage Recipe Collection

I've already talked about how crafty my MIL is, and how amazing. She really is, though I haven't found the right words to describe her. I used to refer to her as the "Martha Stewart of the South" which was fairly accurate for a while. Then Martha had to show her shady, evil, control-freak, bitchy side, and shatter all my illusions. But I could still refer to MIL as the "Martha Stewart of the South, only she's nicer than Martha."



Then good 'ol Martha went to prison for insider trading. Dammit, now I have to find another way to describe my MIL. Now references to Martha are not flattering at all.



In a recent post (Grandma Clara's Tea Cups), I showed off some artwork my MIL gave me. I also mentioned the recipe book she gave me in that post. This post is dedicated to that recipe book. It's a marvelous collection of family history. I've learned SO much about my husband's family while perusing the pages. It's fun.



Basically, Mom has been collecting family recipes, and creating scrapbook pages that include the recipe and the story behind the recipe. There are often pictures of the people, too. When H, my SIL, got married, Mom gave her a copy of the recipe book. I was SO jealous! My mom is awesome, but she doesn't do that kind of stuff. I was sad that I wouldn't have a piece of family history like that. When J and I got engaged, it never even crossed my mind that since I was joining the family I would be worthy of such a treasure. So when I received my very own copy in the mail right before a shower my friends threw for me, I cried. Literally. I was SO excited.



I look forward to the new additions every year. They are my favorite gift. Last Christmas (or maybe it was for my birthday), I was stunned when I opened it and found one of MY family recipes!! J and I hosted Thanksgiving for both of our sets of parents last year, and I made an egg nog pie using my maternal grandma's recipe. J's family loved it, and Mom H. asked me for the recipe. So I sent it to her. And she made me a page. How cool is that?? She keeps the original, and the rest of us get color copies.

Here are a few of the pages from the recipe collection.

Mom makes these cookies around Christmas usually. It's a great recipe, and an easy way to mass produce cookies for the neighbors!



One of Mom's first recipes from when she was a kid.



C takes the idea of a simple recipe to the extreme!



Television watching is just not the same during the holidays without Dad's famous T.V. Trash! (We've already been informed he's planning to make it this week before we arrive!)




And, last but not least, here's my Grandma Jene's Egg Nog Pie recipe!!


These are just five of more than 70 recipes in the best recipe collection on the planet. That woman is amazing! Though I have an incredible piece of history and a fantastic piece of art, I am still without a pithy phrase to describe my MIL and her mulitude of talents. Any suggestions??