Hello my Foodie Friends!
The holiday season is a great time to reminisce and bring up the stories that are told time and time again. Many family traditions have to do with holidays and holiday food and the stories that soon become part of our traditions. These traditions can strengthen family bonds, contribute to your children’s identity and well-being, and create lasting memories. Each Thanksgiving we sit around the kitchen table, smile and retell a story about our time together before Paula and I had children. That is when our one baby was our dog Bogie. He was named after Humphrey Bogart and he loved to roam between our house and our neighbors next door. This was before invisible fences and we didn’t have the money for a regular fence. Bogie was a German Shepherd/Black Lab mix puppy when we rescued him. His color was pure black, and he grew very fast to 100 pounds of muscle. He was the happiest dog in the world and loved by both our family and our friends next door, Ron and Deedy, whose children were now grown. Bogie could make anyone feel like they were his favorite person in the world. He would go over to visit Ron and Deedy who were passionate foodies, every day. He always came back carrying leftovers which were usually a big steak or ham bone. They loved him as much as we did. Bogie would, however, test your love from time to time by taking food that wasn’t offered to him. There was the Halloween party that stopped dead in its tracks as all of our guests watched in amazement as Bogie took an entire pizza down the hallway and quickly devoured it. He never stole food from Ron and Deedy until his thievery reached legendary status on Thanksgiving 1989. There was a knock on our door and it was Ron. He had his head down and in a sad voice he said; “John, Bogie stole two of the mincemeat pies I had baked for Thanksgiving”. I responded to Ron with a mixture of denial and embarrassment; “Are you sure, how do you know”? Ron said he put his pie on the roof of his 1989 Mercury Marquis, with 3 miles on it, in the garage to cool. When he opened the garage door to go out, he forgot to close it. When he came back, there were no pies. However, there were paw prints on the hood of his beloved Marquis. Those prints then headed in the direction of our house. Ron and I then found the empty, perfectly cleaned, pie tins. I apologized and offered to pay for the pies, but Ron laughed and told me not to worry. He said he would have to think of a new place to cool his pies and remember to close the door next time. Although it has been many years since this happened, Ron can still tell this story like it happened yesterday. We still love to go over to their house and have a cup of coffee and talk about Bogie. Where did we find the dog after his caper? He was curled up by Paula’s legs in the kitchen sleeping it off. I think this was “the start of a beautiful friendship.”
At Compliments to the Chef we carry everything you need to make your favorite pie this season; including cooling racks (versus the Mercury Marquis!), pie chains, pie plates, and all of your baking cool tools. Keep your pies safe! Remember my Foodie Friends: “Life Happens in the Kitchen.” Enjoy the holiday season baking and making forever interesting memories. Stop by Compliments to the Chef - Your neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store located at 33 Railroad Place, shop for your traditional holiday season culinary needs.
Take Care,
John & Paula
