Sunday, January 3, 2010

Food Memory

Every member of the food industry has one memory of taste that is ingrained in their soul. For some it is their first summer vacation away from home. For some its pizza on their birthday or the first time they tried a raw succulent oyster. As for my self I recall a thanksgiving from my childhood when food became more than something our mothers made us eat to provide nutrients to the body. For the first time I saw that food can be an event a time where the whole family can gather around the table raising their glasses at one another and passing around the most beautiful pies and home made cookies.

For me this particular thanksgiving started the same as most of my childhood with me sitting under the table flipping through a toys r us catalog. For many years I was the only child in the family this had become something I did alone as I hadn't had any cousins or siblings that could converse with.

I was a boy that spent his time in the woods. I had a few friends that like me enjoyed riding bikes off of dirt ramps and playing man hunt. Talking freely about what ever that was on our minds was common place and when we were in the woods our language could be so fowl George Carlin would just shake his head. There in the woods I needn't worry of being heard be adults swearing and getting the reaction of the father from A CHRISTMAS STORY.

Anyway back to thanksgiving the food was the focus beyond contemplation as for as soon as is was laid out on the dinning room table everyone had turned their attention from whatever it was they were doing be it a football game a slightly cranky baby or a conversation it seemed that had waited weeks to actually happen. All eyes were on the dinner table. So for the first time I saw how important that table was I couldn't even count how many feet I could see from sitting underneath the table.

My Uncle Mark was a fairly large man who loved food and lusted for eating. He was a kind, jolly man with the heart of a young teenager. I recall my father commenting on how amazing it was the amount of food he could consume. I remember longing of the approval from someone other than the boys in the woods I decided in less than an instant I was going to eat. Really eat, not just enough so Mom will let me have some dessert. Not only was I going to eat I was going to out eat my Uncle Mark.

The food was fantastic my Mother and all of my aunts had put in so much effort to make the meal a glorious success. However not one dish was able to top the turkey. For over 3 hours my uncle Glenn had been roasting the large bird on his black webber grill. Heavily seasoned with salt and black pepper the crispy skin made my mouth salivate more than eating a pussy ever did. The fat from the dark meat absorbed all of the smokey flavor that was trapped in from the black webber lid. Between the texture and flavor eating that turkey leg became my food crown. It was so delectable I finished it in what seemed only to be moments. Shortly after I continued to eat eventually going through seven plates.

After I was satisfied my father came over and let me know that he had taken notice and said. "Wow. I hope you saved some room for dessert." I hadn't saved any room for dessert and I didn't care after that dinner sweets just didn't matter as much as they have before. I had developed a palate for salty, crispy, smokey, spicy and savory all with my first bite of that turkey. Although at age 10 I grabbed a piece of apple pie and ate half of it anyway.

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