Using Memory
tapping the past for recipe kindling
Hi!
One of the most-asked questions I’ve gotten since the recipe workshop started was where to look for inspiration when you’re stuck or don’t know where to start. There are lots of ways to get ideas to arrive (hot showers are where I do some of my best thinking!), and I rattled off some simple prompts here.
One of the most powerful avenues is memory, and I’ve developed many recipes by exploring meals I had when I was younger. Fusilli Alfredo; barley with berries (TSSG); my mom’s vinaigrette; Grandma Margaret’s Pink Party Cookies (TSSG). That doesn’t mean they’re all from childhood—memory could be a week ago, four years ago, two decades ago. It could be the salt and vinegar pistachios I ate on the plane yesterday (have you had those??? So good!).
Anyway, here is an essay and recipe I’ve been working on for a while. The recipe is not in my normal style, and I don’t know if I’ve ever written about this period of my life, when I was fresh out of culinary school and working as a line cook. It’s one of my favorite memories and happens to still be one of my favorite snacks.
What food memory could you explore? Is there a recipe from your past that inspires you? A dish you’d love to recreate?