by Yvonne Donlon

Created on: January 21, 2010

COOKING WITH GRAMMA

I”ve never tried Brie,” Gramma said last year to my sister-in-law, who had gotten some for part of the dinner she was making for Gramma and Mom.

Mom and I both tried to explain to Gramma that she had, in fact, had Brie before. But she stuck to her guns. No, she insisted, she had not tried Brie before. That is when I imagined a show for the food network.  Cooking with Gramma. In that show, the granddaughter does the cooking at the elderly woman’s instructions. The only rule is the granddaughter has to go by the grandmother’s instructions explicitly. No editing according to your own cooking history or understanding of how a dish should be best cooked. No, Cooking With Gramma would be cooking food like your grandma used to make taken to a whole new level.

The show could be huge. It would be played it out like a Survivor or one of those other competitive reality shows. Teams of Grandmothers and Granddaughters would pit their respective Grandmas’ old time cooking, and the granddaughters’ ability to work with their elderly matriarchal relative, against others who might feel the same pressure.  And have it be done without any of the utensils being brandished as weapons, or recipes sabotaged by granddaughters who think they know better how to cook the dishes Gramma used to cook.

Ah, but that is what will make it fun. There is a great chance many granddaughters will not be able to hold back their frustration over what their grandmother is telling them to do. There will be many who quite possibly may not even understand what their grandmother means. Questions like, “What is fatback exactly?” might arise on more than one occasion.

What a hoot it would be. I can tell you, not only from the mental images I see of it, but because Gramma and I did a rehearsal of the whole concept the other day.

Mom works for one of the state Senators when they are in session or at interims. Today began her three day run at interims.  So, Gramma’s “cook” has been rendered unavailable for a few days.  I honestly don’t think Gramma would starve while Mom is working, but her menu would be whittled down to what she is confident in making herself – sandwiches, an egg and toast, cereal, soup from a can. And, there would also be no one with whom to discuss, while eating breakfast or lunch, the looming chore of what to have for the next meal. 

Gramma’s generation

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