The other day I was
searching for a recipe in my own collection, which is housed in a small tin
box. This box is one of my most treasured possessions. Contained within are
handwritten recipes from my Grandmother, my Mother, family, and friends.
These are my go-to dishes; the recipes I make again and again. The “I
almost have the recipe memorized, but still consult the card just to make sure
I didn’t miss anything” dishes. So, imagine my
surprise when I came across a single card from my mother’s vintage collection
tucked into the Main Dishes section. The recognition was immediate and it brought a smile to my
face. It is the only recipe
that was ever moved from the see through plastic box into the beloved tin. The
only one that broke up the set. It was the recipe for Moussaka-in-a-Hurry. Here's the story:
Valentine’s Day, 1991. A
young woman is frantically trying to find the perfect dish to make for her new
boyfriend. It is their first
Valentine’s Day together. Home from college, she
remembers her Mother’s collection of recipe cards and how sophisticated they
all seemed when she was five. She pores through each section and settles upon a dish called
Moussaka-in-a-Hurry. She reasons that, since
her boyfriend loves all sorts of food from other countries, why not Greece?
Greece seems like it would have some romantic food. Also, he's studying to become an architect and
Greece has the Acropolis. It was all coming together. This meal worked on so many levels.
Looking back, it is important to note that I knew Moussaka was a tasty dish. I had first tried
it in the summer of 1990, on a trip to Europe. Basically, it is a casserole of
fresh vegetables and ground meat in a creamy, béchamel-type sauce. The recipe for Moussaka-in-a-Hurry was
reminiscent of that dish in the sense that it had ground beef and
eggplant. In all other
ways, however, it bore absolutely no resemblance. One of the ingredients, especially, made me raise an
eyebrow: Campbell’s Cheddar Cheese Soup. I remember feeling slightly
crestfallen. After all, I wanted to impress my boyfriend with not only my
culinary skills, but also my globe-trekking worldliness, regaling him with
tales of my travels and trying Moussaka for the first time. All of a
sudden, my cosmopolitan dish was taken down a few pegs. Really? Condensed soup? In place of béchamel? Still, I made it and it was a huge
success. My boyfriend loved it,
especially the sauce. He inquired what it was
and I just smiled and said, “it’s a secret”.
Now, twenty-five years later, I still make this
dish for him at least once a year. Usually on Valentine’s Day or our anniversary. On Valentine’s Day, 2005, I finally told him
what the secret ingredient was.
