Dessert – end each day with a memory
At the end of every meal not matter how small or extravagant there must be a logical end. A special bite or drink or gift. It was always well thought out and left everyone with the feeling that they were cared for and appreciated. No matter how relaxed and seemingly thrown together the meal was it was the ending that showed just how much real thought had gone into it. These endings were rarely repeated although my family will agree they might have been tried on us just a few nights before to make sure all the items were properly vetted.
My memories are filled with lunches as a child that ended with deserts far too advanced for my younger pallet. After soup and sandwiches I recalling trying freshly homemade Meringue. Of course they were the ones that did not pass her Nanny Flo test. Her mothers influence stayed with my mom and still stays with me to this day. ‘Stir your tea counter clockwise’. ‘Milk first’. ‘Why?’ I would ask. ‘Because that is just the way it is done.’ ‘It is just good manners.’ I remember vividly the day my mom introduced ‘Strawberries, Brown Sugar and Sour Cream.’ We all thought she had lost the plot. OMG, they are incredible. They were one of the few deserts that was repeated often because they were requested over and over again.
Nanny also offered and helped others with deserts. When I was first engaged my fiancee Tracey’s family was living abroad. Tracey was asked to bring a dessert to one of her family extended family reunions. She asked my mom what she would suggest and of course Nanny answered ‘Just leave it with me.’ That weekend we attend the reunion with a desert in hand - Nanny’s Miel Fait. Her relatives devoured it and then asked for the recipe to which Tracey replied ‘well it is Charlie’s Mother’s secret recipe so I will have to ask if it is ok to pass it along.’ Every function after that Tracey was asked to bring her special dessert. Eventually Tracey asked for the recipe and started making it herself. In the following pages you will find Nanny Ruth ‘Secret’ Family recipes. She would get a chuckle out of that.