The Family Recipe Book

I have commented a few times on cleaning out my family home after my parents passed.  I have also commented on preserving family memories in various ways, such as not only photographing family heirlooms but also recording the story of each item, and why it is special.

This brings me to the family recipe book, primarily created by my sister.  One of the more fun jobs while we were cleaning out the family home was emptying out Mum's recipe drawer.  While the drawer contained a few proper cooking books, and some complete magazines, it was primarily a combination of loose snippets torn or photocopied from old magazines and books, and hand-written recipes from who-knows-where.  Many had notes written on them - things like substitutions of ingredients and notes on who particularly liked the dish.  There were also a number of recipes written out by others and given to Mum - by several different friends and relatives, judging by the assorted handwriting.  She even had a little A5 folder with hand-written favourites stored inside.

Included in that recipe drawer were the details of so many dishes we remembered from our childhoods - some with fondness and some with a shudder!  My sister and I spent an entire afternoon sorting through these scraps of paper, reading them out to each other and sharing our memories.  Yes, there really WAS a recipe for Dixon Street Chicken!  Do you remember Mum's spaghetti and mince casserole?  We also covered a few memorable kitchen disasters, like the time I set fire to the kitchen cooking toast - the pop-up toaster didn't pop and I had stuck my nose in a book, and didn't notice the flames climbing up the kitchen wall.  I have since been forbidden to touch printed material while cooking.  Then there was the time Dad put some eggs on to boil and got distracted by an unfinished project in the garden.  By the time he came inside the pot had long boiled dry and almost burned through the bottom - who knew exploding eggs could travel so far?

Food, cooking and mealtimes are such an important part of our families, and so often discounted.  What was your favourite home-cooked meal as a child?  Do you have the recipe, and do you ever cook it for yourself as an adult??  Do you remember any cooking disasters - either your own or that of another family member?  Having them written down with all our memories and stories attached to each recipe is something I treasure, and such a simple thing to create.  If you a looking for a Family History project (and August IS Family History Month), maybe a family recipe book is something to consider.

Dixon Street Chicken

Food and recipes form such a major part of our family and its traditions - the food we all shared and ate and were taught to make by our elders.  Many family memories centre around food and cooking and mealtimes - so many family events involve gatherings to eat.

Dixon Street Chicken was a favourite creation of my mother's during my childhood - various incarnations of this recipe appeared regularly on our plates at least every week or two.  My sister and I used to refer to it as 'Chicken a la Cupboard and Freezer' as the contents of the dish depended on what was left in the fridge, freezer and cupboard at the end of the week.  The recipe was never the same twice.

After our mother's death last year, my sister and I undertook some major cleaning up, sorting out, throwing away and sharing of the contents of our family home.  One particular part of this adventure involved sorting through a drawer in which our mother kept all her favourite recipes - several favourite cookery books along with many pages torn from magazines and handwritten recipes copied from who knows where.  Many had notes written on them - things like substitutions of ingredients and notes on who particularly liked the dish.  In amongst these, torn from a magazine, we found the original recipe for Dixon Street Chicken.

We were amazed!  We didn't know there actually was an original recipe for Dixon Street Chicken at all.  Mum always made it up as she went along - we never saw her refer to a recipe - and we just assumed the name was used to give an answer to the regular "What's for dinner" question.

Below is the recipe in full

The original Dixon Street chicken

3-4 chicken thigh fillets, skin off, chopped
1 packet chicken noodle soup mix
1 tbs oil
1 onion, diced
1-2 cups chopped vegetables (eg carrots, broccoli, zucchini)
1 tsp cornflour with 2 tbs water, if needed
1 tbs soy sauce
1tbs sugar (optional, to taste)
Boiled noodles or rice, to serve

Simmer chicken pieces in chicken noodle soup mix and water to cover until cooked (10-15 minutes). Drain and reserve juices.

Heat oil in large pan, add onion and vegetables and stir fry until almost cooked. Add chicken juices and thicken with cornflour and water if needed. Add soy sauce and sugar to taste. Add chicken pieces. Serve with boiled noodles or rice. Serves 3-4.