Today's Memory

Sitting here. Thinking. Inhaling the intoxicating aroma of a roast beef in the oven. Loving the warmth that I am feeling as a result. What is it about our sense of smell that allows us to be comforted. I love the smell of roast beef, a chicken roasting, pork loin. It reminds me of "Sunday Dinner." Remember "Sunday Dinner?" Family, extended family a friend here or there, gathered around the table in the middle of the afternoon, an abundance of conversation, an abundance of old stories, new news, just stuff. Food platters and bowls being passed, refilled and passed again. It didn't matter if it was dinner for 3 or dinner for 30, it was comforting to be in the kitchen, surrounded by the heat of the oven and the warmth of the love that went into the preparation of the dinner. My Dad would mash the potatoes and carve the roast, my Mom did all of the preparation. She used to make a sauce for the cauliflower that she called "Hollandaise" sauce. It wasn't the Hollandaise that we know from the TOP CHEF tv show, but it was a white sauce finished with paprika on top. Cauliflower steamed whole, (or done in pressure cooker as my mother did) put into a serving bowl whole, sauce poured over the top and sprinkled with paprika. I watched her make that sauce a million times, but can't duplicate it, I have tried a couple of times but it doesn't taste the same.....weird what we remember, huh?
I know people who can't make a simple gravy, they open a jar or a can. UGH! Gravy is one of the most simple sauces to make. I can make a gravy on the fly when I need to, and ot thicken it, no problem! Personally, I will eat meat dry if the gravy isn't home made! And Mashed potatoes, don't open the box, that is scary! I like mine with butter and milk, no fuss no muss, just blend them in with the mixer. (Dad used to do it by hand with an old fashioned potato masher, he hated it when someone used a mixer!) I do the mixer, hubby doesn't like too many lumps in his potatoes.
Dessert was either brought by a guest, or my mom would make something. There were times when an Entemann's Cake was bought at the supermarket the day before, cause the supermarkets were closed on Sundays.......But mostly, the desserts were from a bakery (courtesy of the guest) or from my mother's oven. Dessert would push your stomach over the edge, it would top off the meal, but push you past the point of full. Then the massive cleanup would begin, one person washing the dishes, pots, pans, serving platters, serving utensils, dessert plates and utensils, and another drying all of it. All the while, my mother protesting and telling us to leave it, she would do it, although she wanted me to help, so usually I would wash.
My Dad would be asleep on the couch or in his favorite chair, neices and nephews running around, tv blaring, and my mother playing hovercraft while we washed and dried. Leftovers bagged, put in containers, offered to company, before the microwave, by the way. Desserts packed up, room found in the fridge, and then when it was all done, my mother offering to make another pot of coffee, or cup of tea, so that we could "finish off that dessert, we don't need it here!"
Well, that is a thought or a memory from me to you for today. HOpe it took you back to where I was a little while ago! Happy SUnday Dinner everyone!