Food For Thought: The Don Effect Blog

The Don Effect: An Evening of Food, Performance, and Stories, an original dance theatre piece created by Goat in the Road Productions, explores the struggle to recreate originals, including family recipes. Not only do we try to recreate the food, but also we try to revisit the memories connected to the taste.


1. This blog is a place for you to contribute your story.

What is your favorite family recipe and why? What is the story behind it? How is it made? Have you ever tried to recreate it? What moment or person does it bring you back to?

We invite you to share your ingredients and your memories with us. Post a recipe story below and it may become a part of the Performance and the Archive.


2. You can ALSO exhibit your personal artifacts at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum


GRP is partnering with the Southern Food and Beverage Museum

(SoFAB) to make this Don Effect experience one that also documents memory, food and dance.


In addition to sharing recipes & stories here, bring a personal food memory artifact - a menu, recipe box, or other - to the show.


GRP will guest curate an exhibit of these audience-donated items as SoFAB, making memory tangible long after the curtain closes.


You may also visit the museum and leave your artifacts there. Receive one half off the regular price of admission to SoFAB with your ticket to The Don Effect.


Performance Info: 

The Don Effect

Goat in the Productions

June 10-13th 9:00pm (followed by food, drink, and merriment)

Candle Factory: 4537 North Robertson

Tickets $10 at the door



Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Graham Cracker Munchies

This recipe comes from my mother's friend. My mother and a group of close friends have played poker keno weekly for 50 years. They take turns bringing snacks to the gathering. The following was one of their favorites and mine too!

Graham Crackers
-break apart enough graham crackers into individual cracker pieces to place in an ungreased rectangular baking sheet (15 1/2 X 10 1/2 X 1).
2 sticks of butter
1/2 cup of sugar
1 1/2 cups of pecan pieces

Soften butter and add sugar.
Cream together.
On stove melt mixture over medium heat.
Add pecans.
Stir continually until thick and bubbly.

Spoon mixture over graham crackers. Try to evenly distribute pecans on each cracker.

Bake for approximately 10 minutes at 325 degrees. Watch closely because they burn easily.
They are ready when sauce around the edges of the pan gets brown.

Quickly remove from pan with a spatula and separate them on waxed paper to cool.



Sunday, May 30, 2010

Christmas Morning Bread (Yugoslavian Coffee Cake)

Ingredients:

- 1 package active dry yeast

- ¼ cup warm water (105-115 degrees)

- ¾ cup lukewarm milk (scalded, then cooled)

- ½ cup butter or margarine softened

- 3 eggs

- ¼ cup sugar

- ½ tsp. salt

- 4 ½ - 5 cups flour

Filling:

- 2 ½ cups chopped walnuts

- 1 cup packed brown sugar

- 1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened

- 1 egg

- 2 tsps. Cinnamon

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a bowl. Stir in milk, margarine, eggs, sugar, salt and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make it easy to handle.

Turn on floured surface and knead for 5 minutes until elasticky. Put into greased bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place til it doubles (1 to 1 ½ hours). Punch dough down and divide it in half.

On floured surface, roll into a rectangle (15 x 12) put half the filling in each rectangle. Roll up the longways. Pinch the ends of the dough. Curve it into a snail-shape. Cover and let it double (1 to 1 ½ hours).

Bake at 350 for 35-45 mins.

My mom makes Christmas Morning Bread each Christmas Eve. While we sleep, it rises, and then in the morning she bakes it. We eat it in the living room while opening stockings. I called my mom to ask her the recipe and I learned 2 interesting things about it:

1. It’s called Yugoslavian Coffee Cake! I swear I thought it was called Christmas Morning Bread.

2. One year while I was growing up my mom didn’t make it – she probably thought, “We’re very busy this year and I’ll just skip it”, thinking it wouldn’t matter much to anyone. She told me that my dad, brother and I were outraged when there was no bread on Christmas morning. It didn’t feel like Christmas without Christmas Morning Bread. She was laughing when she told me this.