I met my wife many years ago, right after the holiday season, so we had time to get to know each other. We spent our first Thanksgiving together at her family’s house, even though I really wanted to have it at my place so I could continue to woo her with a fancy meal of confit turkey legs and truffle mashed potatoes. Instead, I agreed to bring a dessert and a bottle of wine and take the opportunity to meet her relatives.
Stories
The meal that day was a traditional turkey day feast, followed up with conversations about loved ones and then stories about the dishes our parents would make for us.
My now-mother-in-law told us about how poor her family was growing up, a background I related to, and talked about the foods her mom made. It’s a story familiar to many of us in Northeast Ohio, just a generation or two from our countries of origin. Her family was newly arrived from Hungary, couldn’t speak English, and didn’t have money for food or much else.
Through all of those hardships, family traditions began, most notably around food.
The one dish mentioned that wasn’t served that Thanksgiving day was szalonna bread, a fancy-sounding name for toast topped with leftover bacon grease instead of butter. Being a lover of all things pork, I was intrigued by this dish.
My future mother-in-law admitted it was delicious, even though it was served because they were so poor. At breakfast, it was eaten just with the bacon grease, but any other time of the day it was garnished with Hungarian paprika and raw onions. These must’ve been really hard times. I imagined myself when I was a child, a very picky eater, sitting down to toast with raw onions because there wasn’t much else.
A Legacy
Fortunately, both of our families are seeing much better times. The last truly cheap meal I had was probably a 50-cent package of Ramen noodles, eaten more out of convenience than thrift. I was inspired by the story of szalonna bread. I’m passing along the tradition by telling the story to our kids. That’s why we serve it each holiday, re-created to remember the struggle from years ago and to appreciate what we have today.
For holidays today, we prepare a French bread crostini with bacon fat infused with thyme and paprika, topped with caramelized onions and an array of toppings that often include goat cheese, figs, or roasted tomatoes.
I’m passing on this and other recipes to our kids. When they take over the holiday meal, will they serve the family szalonna bread and tell the story of the dish to their kids? What about their mom’s favorite recipe for truffle mashed potatoes?
Food and recipes are meant to be shared. So are their stories.
