Favorite meals are like traditions to me. Food easily attaches itself to memories. If you eat a certain kind of food, you are immediately transported to a time and place where you first encountered that meal. It leaves a lasting impression.
My first favorite meal is homemade pizza. Since my husband and I were married 45 plus years ago we have always had homemade pizza on Friday nights. As our family grew that tradition didn’t change. When our boys were all teenagers, it was quite a feat to have one pizza per person. They got to pick their toppings and help construct their masterpiece. Six pizzas – it was a joy and a memory I will hold dear for my lifetime.
The second favorite meal is steak. I love the way it smells as it is cooking. Yum! The memory takes me back to when I first went out to a fancy dinner with my boyfriend – now husband for the first time. We had steak. I had never had steak in a restaurant, and I was very nervous about trying to cut the steak. So, I got my knife and fork and began to cut the steak. Unfortunately, the steak flew off my plate and on to the floor. Great impressions – right. Regardless, it made him fall for me all the more. I can cut steak very well now – just so you know!
Finally, I enjoy eating crab legs. I love the challenge of getting the buttery meat out of the shells and dipping it in even more butter before scarfing it down. The memory that surfaces here is a time when my husband, two of our younger boys, and myself went to a small island off of Virginia called Chincoteague. It is a small area and not many choices for dinning. However, we found a place where you could buy a silver tin bucket full of crab claws. We went there several times and oh my it was so good. We all were a buttery mess, but very happy.
Everything that we do in our lives creates memories. Make sure that the memories you are making are worth the time to remember them down the road.
LaDonna Fridenmaker~Writer 