family dinner

For the past week or so I've been wanting to make a certain dinner.

The first anniversary of my Grandma's death recently came and went, and she's been on my mind. So I really had it in my head to make a Grandma-worthy dinner of some of the things she used to cook for family dinners.

Today I was feeling pretty good about life, and it seemed like the day to do it.

So, for the menfolk (Nathan and his brother Andrew) there was pot roast and gravy, and for me there were roasted carrots and some fresh green beans, cooked just a little too long and with plenty of salt, the way Grandma used to make them. And for all of us, there were mashed potatoes, which will always remind me of my Grandpa; he was the best at making mashed potatoes.

And there was Yorkshire pudding (an English tradition!), which I decided to make in a muffin tin, although Grandma always used a 9x13 glass dish.

Grandma and Grandpa emailed me their Yorkshire pudding recipe back in 2007. When I looked it up today in my old emails, I smiled to see Grandpa's comment at the bottom of the email.

"Phone if this sounds too complicated. Don't let your U.S. Senators know of this or they may have it outlawed. gp."

He never missed an opportunity to get in a good jab at the liberal state of Massachusetts, and he always added funny comments to the emails Grandma dictated for him to type.

It was a good meal. We've all been so busy that it was probably the first "real" meal we've enjoyed together at the dinner table in a long time.

The only problem? I wish I could call up Grandma and Grandpa and tell them about it.