Mrs. Smith's

Many years ago, my mother-in-law who knew how to make a good roast, a delicious salmon loaf, a spinach loaf, and a few other traditional 1950’s Better Homes and Gardens type recipes. I think she swore by it. One of the gifts I’d received from her was a new,1957 Better Homes and Gardens complete cookbook. You know, the three ring binder so you could possibly add your own notebook paper recipes? I have to say I’ve used this cookbook quite a bit over the past nearly forty years. It’s been a priceless asset to me in our home.

My mother-in-law seemed to always feel that she could never accomplish the type of cooking and baking I had. I felt she could, and I’d told her so more than thirty years ago. I told her that it was just application and some creativity. She was a creative person, she just couldn’t see it in herself.

There was a time when I’d asked her permission to throw my husband a thirtieth birthday party just for the family at her house.  Maybe her sister and brother-in-law who lived next door might enjoy the spread of food I could create to surprise my husband. She was all for it. I was psyched!  I made the menu. It consisted of a cold anti-pasta and a hot anti-pasta, homemade Italian bread, and my form of Marreciera which I knew he loved with capellini. Then homemade chocolate marshmallow ice cream the recipe I’d been making since 1970, at age eight. I  also made chocolate mint brownies, because my father-in-law loved those that I’d made in the past for him. ‘Dad’ announced to me the first time I’d made them for the family, “Jody, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Those were a hit!”

My mother-in-law wanted to get some goodies as well for the celebration from a special bakery, a few towns over named ‘Butterflake’, I agreed. Then came the day, ‘Mom’ (my mother-in-law) asked if she could help me clean the fish. She was so stunned of all the varying fish and seafood I’d bought, some still alive. I’d purchased squid, octopus, shrimp, bluefish, lobster, mussels, clams and scallops. And some had to be killed. Too, all had to be cleaned and taken apart. She wanted to help in the cleaning part. I asked, “Are you sure?” She responded, “Oh yeah.”

I started Mom on the deveining and removal of shells of the shrimp. I wanted Mom to start with something she might be familiar with. Then she asked, “Could I do the squid?”  I replied, “Okay, I’ll teach you.” I gave Mom a demonstration of cleaning squid. Then as she started I heard, “Ohhh! Oh! This is interesting.” She didn’t want to complain, but it did freak her out. We wore food gloves as a precaution. I didn’t want her to get a reaction from any of the seafood she’d never eaten before and as well never had cleaned before.

After we’d finished the cleaning and such of the seafood and fish she stated, “Wow that’s work!” I nodded in a agreement, “Yeah, but it’s fun.” She watched me make the paste and wine sauce for the seafood dish, after I’d prepped foods for the hot anti-pasta. Mom worked on the cold anti-pasta with me. It was a tamer episodic adventure for her, she’d stated. The celebration at my in-law’s home went off without a hitch that night. My husband was pleasantly surprised.

Fast forward to two decades later, now we had children and lived fifteen minutes away from Mom, Dad had passed many years before.  Mom called us up and said, “Do you want to come over with the kids? I have an apple pie.” We agreed and off we were with our daughters in tow to see grandma and have some apple pie with her. 

As we’d arrived we could hear the oven bell go off. We’d entered through her front door as she turned and headed up to check on the pie. In the interim, the kids wanted to watch something on her television. So, my husband set it up for them, as she tended to the apple pie that had just finished baking. I followed her into the kitchen. She said, “It’s done. I’ll let it cool off. I have some ice cream, so we can have ala mode. Good?”  I replied, “Sure. Norm and the kids will love it.”

Soon enough, Mom put a hot plate down for the apple pie. And took requests for ala mode. Then as the five of us were seated at Mom’s kitchen table, She asked, “How is it?”  We all agreed it was delicious. She then commented, “You know I didn’t make this myself Jody. Not like you could. It’s Mrs. Smith’s Apple Pie. You know frozen.” I remarked, “Mom. First, you still baked it. Second, never tell anyone the shortcut. So, you see, you did bake the apple pie. So, you can say ‘I baked an apple pie.’ And you’re still being honest. Just the audience doesn’t need to know everything about the process.” Mom scoffed, then smiled. ---Jody-Lynn Reicher