What was your (insert relative) known for making?

[DawnM]

I am thinking specifically of food, but it could be crafts, etc...

Bonus points if you provide recipes or instructions!

I will start, but I am on the hunt for the recipes, I am asking relatives.

My maternal grandmother made this 7 layer banana cake that was more like a torte.....it took her days to make and your fork just glided through the layers.   No one wants to try it because of the work involved, but I have decided I will be the one to try it.  Once I get the recipe.

My paternal grandmother was known for her apple pies which she loved to make, they were tall and huge and so yummy!   But she also knitted and crocheted and I have several pieces she made.   Some are in my curio cabinet and they make me smile.

My mother was not a cook and had no claim to fame in the food department.   She also wasn't crafty.   She did like to write and I now am trying to sift through her writings as she never used a typewriter and it is a jumbled mess.

What about your grandmas, aunts, cousins, mother, etc.....

[Elizabeth86]

Well…I’m not sure I need to explain what my mom is known for. 😂

Edited September 2, 2023 by Elizabeth86

[stephanier.1765]

My mother and her banana pudding. It isn't a holiday if there isn't banana pudding.

[Spryte]

Metal sculpture, my mother. It’s been all over the place. Smithsonian. Japan. All over Europe. Aus. Lots of collectors. 

DH’s grandfather made amazing pies. There are no recipes left behind. His grandmother, too — again, no recipes.

ETA: If anyone knows anyone who wants to learn to do what my mom did — ha! Not me! — I have a studio full of supplies to pass on, and some lessons to go with all the stuff! She’s desperate to pass on her art form.

Edited September 2, 2023 by Spryte

[Serenade]

My mom was known for her soup.  She could make delicious soup without a recipe, just what she had on hand.  I've never known her to make a bad soup.  Once, when my younger son was a pre-schooler, we were talking about grandma, and I asked him what he thought grandma might be doing right then, and he said, "Grandma is making soup!" 😁

[Laura Corin]

My paternal grandmother was known for her syllabub - I think made with madeira?

[gardenmom5]

dh is known for rolls and chocolate cheesecake.
a niece once came for thanksgiving, and she was most looking forward to his rolls.  She came from Europe.  another niece was living out of state, and tried to make them.  They weren't turning out.  She called him so he could walk her through making them.  It turned out she was using a glass baking dish in a gas oven.  (both of which are horrid for baking anything).  She got a metal pan, and baked them at the neighbor's with an electric oven.  The neighbor offered to take them off her hands.  😜  That batch turned out.

he took his chocolate cheesecake to a business social.  He cut a bunch of pieces, put half a dozen on plates and left it. It was ignored.  This we found very interesting, but kept our mouths shut and just watched. Sure enough, the hostess finally picked up a piece and took a bite.  She kept going on to everyone about how wonderful it was, and they needed to try it. Like - now.  Dh was then informed he wasn't allowed to bring anything else.  ever.  Just the chocolate cheesecake.   
A nephew, and a niece, both had it for their wedding cake.  Niece had both chocolate and vanilla cheesecake.  Then 3yo great-niece went around to different adults to take her to go get a piece of chocolate cheesecake (vanilla wasn't interesting to her).  She had done it at least four times before the adults figured out what was going on.   She enjoyed her cheesecake.  

[MercyA]

Great-Grandpa: fruit marinated in rum--as I recall, he served this over ice cream

Great-Aunt: homemade crescent rolls by the dozens--so good even plain

Paternal grandma: zucchini chocolate cake

Maternal grandma: Pink Salad, spritz Christmas cookies

Maternal grandpa: beautiful knotted rolls and German stollen bread (he was a baker in Chicago in the 30's)

Aunt: peanut butter balls (otherwise known as Buckeyes, but hers also had Rice Krispies in the filling for crunch)

Mom: apple crumble pie, apple crisp, brownies

I love talking about food. 🙂

Edited September 3, 2023 by MercyA

[math teacher]

My grandfather built furniture. I have a bedroom suite and a mug tree that he built.

[Farrar]

My grandmother was known for her fried chicken. It was really, really good. I've never had its like. I wish I had a recipe, but I don't.

My mother is also known for her chicken, but it's her grilled lemon chicken? This is a south Georgia thing, or it used to be because I don't see it much anymore at cookouts, but the flavor profile is more similar to Nando's if you've ever had that? And I assume for cross-cultural reasons and African-American contributes to southern cuisine. She learned some version of this recipe when she first married my father and then has tweaked it and tweaked it, but it's always amazing and the chicken falls off the bone. She marinates the pieces of chicken (usually thighs and breasts split in two, but she'll cook any bone in piece) with butter, lemons, white vinegar, and salt. And then she used to do it on the grill the whole time but now she does it in the oven basically in the marinade but finishes it on the grill. It's a little insane how good it is.

[Carol in Cal.]

My great grandmother was known for hiring a woodworker to make cool stuff for her.  Our family still has the cradle that was made for my grandmother.  It is on a set of rollers designed to make it move horizontally and smoothly, no vertical ness to the rocking motion.  It’s great, and I have never seen another one like it.  We still also have an under the bed wooden box on smooth rollers, again better and different than any other I’ve seen.

My grandmother was known for her leg of lamb and her roast prime rib.  I know how to make leg of lamb the way she did, but not prime rib.  Nothing was written down.  Her kids loved her chocolate cake, but I didn’t.  The recipe was written down but never worked for anyone but her, so who ever wrote it down must have missed something.  And she made awesome Swedish pancakes, served rolled up around lingonberry jam with powdered sugar on top, and a light chocolate pudding with gelatin in it that was amazing, both of which I can make now.

I’m known for my angel pie.  I stopped making it for a long time, and then accidentally brought it to a family potluck, and from then on it was a command performance.  I also make renowned clam dip.

[Brittany1116]

Cabbage rolls, pintos and cornbread, biscuits with sausage gravy, and stacked apple pies. She's still with us, but she can no longer manage cooking. I have shed tears. 

[EKS]

My maternal grandmother made awesome meatballs and brownies.

My paternal grandmother could whip up a thanksgiving dinner anywhere--even camping in the middle of the desert!

My mother is known for salads and vegetables.

My father is known for his fondue that he learned to make from a woman in Switzerland in the 50s when he was a postdoc.

My mother in law was known for her brisket and her stuffed cabbage.

 

[Halftime Hope]

1 hour ago, Farrar said:

My grandmother was known for her fried chicken. It was really, really good. I've never had its like. I wish I had a recipe, but I don't.

My mother is also known for her chicken, but it's her grilled lemon chicken? This is a south Georgia thing, or it used to be because I don't see it much anymore at cookouts, but the flavor profile is more similar to Nando's if you've ever had that? And I assume for cross-cultural reasons and African-American contributes to southern cuisine. She learned some version of this recipe when she first married my father and then has tweaked it and tweaked it, but it's always amazing and the chicken falls off the bone. She marinates the pieces of chicken (usually thighs and breasts split in two, but she'll cook any bone in piece) with butter, lemons, white vinegar, and salt. And then she used to do it on the grill the whole time but now she does it in the oven basically in the marinade but finishes it on the grill. It's a little insane how good it is.

I'd love to try this! Any chance you can write it out with proportions of the ingredients? Many, many thanks!

[Halftime Hope]

 

My Norwegian Nana, dad's mom, was quite the baker; everyone loved her many cookies, her julekage (candied fruit bits in a cardamom-flavored yeast bread), and her fruitcake, very dense, moist, flavorful -- nothing like the store-purchased ones. After she passed, my mom made julekage a few times, but as mom aged, it became more and more of a chore. (Mom and my grandma were very close, so making Nana's recipes was a joy for mom.) 

When my elderly mom and dad moved 1500 miles to be near my brother and his wife, mom had more energy to make family favorites like bread and butter pickles, since she had more help caring for dad. She went to town, making recipes she hadn't touched in years. She didn't get around to the fruitcake though, so my daughter and I tackled it on a Thanksgiving weekend before a family Christmas trip. Hol, moly, it took the two of us working about 4 hours to do all the prep, cutting, chopping, plumping the raisins, and so on.

Our takeaway was that my grandmother was amazing. Incredible stamina in a small package. What a gift of love, baking her Christmas goodies for 3 households, and always making angel food cake for her husband's birthday.

[Alice]

My great-grandmother was known for her "apricot nectar cake". I never really knew her but my Mom grew up going to her house every day after school and said she would always have it on the table. It uses a cake mix, but is very good. I'm guessing she probably got it off the back of the cake mix box. I can never find apricot nectar to make it so instead use mango nectar which I can usually find. Her birthday (the great-grandmother) was Christmas Eve so it's kind of a family tradition to make it on Christmas Eve. 

My grandmother was known for her Russian meatballs which are just stuffed cabbage. Her mother (different from the cake great-grandmother) was from somewhere in the Soviet Union (a whole other story but she never told anyone where she or her husband were actually from and my grandmother grew up in France). I think the stuffed cabbage was something her mother made and then somehow they just got called Russian meatballs. My grandmother would make them along with ham and turkey every holiday- and we have a pretty small family so it was a lot of food. 

[lynn]

I have a German heritage so my mom and oma were known for rouladen, spatzle,  German potato salad.  My mom made amazing apple cake.  She made good spaghetti sauce and meatballs.

[chocolate-chip chooky]

My father is known for making hilariously bad jokes.

Not that long ago, he was in hospital, and I was just outside his room at the nursing station. I heard him coughing, and then he called out 'Don't worry! It isn't serious! I'm only choking!' And then he choked on his own laughter.

[Faith-manor]

My mother was known for her sewing. She made my wedding dress from a picture of one in a magazine that I could not afford. Jane Austen gowns for my sister, replica Revolutionary War uniforms for my dad, you name it.

She could also make amazing, creative props and scenery for our school plays from super cheap supplies and scrounging scrap materials. Our teachers loved her!

My mother in law is known for her cinnamon rolls.

[SKL]

My godmother used to make "Mary's Green Stuff" which involved green jello and whipped cream!

My sister is probably most known for stuffed cabbage.

My grandma - not sure if anyone else has this association, but when I think of her cooking, I think of her fried chicken.

My dad's specialty is his pumpkin pie!

[Dmmetler]

My grandmother made wedding gowns. Like extremely beautiful, ornate, hand beaded gowns. Every doll I owned had one, including Barbie. All my friends had at least one handmade wedding gown for their Barbies, too.  And, of course, she clothed a LOT of brides. I suspect it would cost thousands of dollars to get the equivalent dresses to ones she gave away or "oh, honey, just buy the fabric you want me to use". 
 

As she aged she got into painting as well. 
 

 

Not a physical item, but my mother's gift was starting programs and projects. She would whip in, get people excited, convince folks to fund it, get it going with a core group of people....and then move on while others kept it moving.  Ministries to women in prison and their children, providing showers, laundry, and maildrop service to the homeless population, the local science fair and JSHS....

 

 

Edited September 2, 2023 by Dmmetler

[dirty ethel rackham]

Grandma Sig - sewing gorgeous caftans and making fabulous Barbie clothes from the scraps!

Grandma Anne - apple strudel.  She and my mom didn't get along that well, but Mom was more than happy to turn over the kitchen to her to make strudel.

Uncle Ted was a woodworker and made a lovely schoolhouse clock for our wedding present as well as child-sized chairs, rocking toys, pull toys, etc.  

Aunt Mary was known for her potica, roski cookies, and "Mary cookies", which were these giant anise flavored pizzelles.

Uncle Lor was known for his goofy magic tricks that he would do with all the little kids - pulling a quarter from behind your ear or a nickle from your nose.  When all the grown ups were being boring (sitting around and talking), you could always count on Uncle Lor to make things interesting.  

My mom was a talented sewist.  She made most of our clothes growing up - before clothes became cheaper to buy than make.  She made my sister's wedding dress, piecing together a neckline from this dress, sleeves from another, bodice from another, etc.  She also made all the bridesmaids dresses for both of my sisters weddings (I didn't ask her to for mine since it was only 2 months after one sister's wedding.)

My BIL is a talented jazz pianist.  He is really good at taking a piece of music and making it his own by playing with the chord structure.  He is also a lovely piano teacher who can make kids fall in love with making music.  Not a create a concert pianist kind of guy but great at finding out what makes a kid tick and being the teacher that a kid needs.  

[Annie G]

2 hours ago, lynn said:

I have a German heritage so my mom and oma were known for rouladen, spatzle,  German potato salad.  My mom made amazing apple cake.  She made good spaghetti sauce and meatballs.

Same here- same foods. And homemade chicken and noodles. 
My grandmother and mom were also excellent quilters, and we’re carrying on that tradition. My two sisters and I quilt, and my daughter and granddaughter are also quilters. 

[Tree Frog]

7 hours ago, Alice said:

My great-grandmother was known for her "apricot nectar cake". I never really knew her but my Mom grew up going to her house every day after school and said she would always have it on the table. It uses a cake mix, but is very good. I'm guessing she probably got it off the back of the cake mix box. I can never find apricot nectar to make it so instead use mango nectar which I can usually find. Her birthday (the great-grandmother) was Christmas Eve so it's kind of a family tradition to make it on Christmas Eve. 

If you have the recipe, I'd love to give it a try!

[lmrich]

Aunt Betty spaghetti - her spaghetti was super sticky and  starchy - I  thought it  was a different type.. (it was not - just sticky). 

Aunt Libby's yellow rice - just white rice with lots  of squeeze 'butter' 

More  seriously - my mom's chocolate cake, granny's chocolate eclair; nana's  banana pudding 

[wintermom]

My mor mor made the best meringue cookies. She passed away when I was only 6, but I still remember those cookes!

My other grandma made wonderful perogies and cabbage rolls. She was also a great seamstress and crocheter. She made bride's maid dresses for my sister and I. She taught me how to crochet and how to make perogies. Sewing was beyond my talents. 😉 

[wisdomandtreasures]

My mom's strawberry pie. She puts a layer of cream cheese in the bottom of the crust before filling it with the strawberries. I think the filling is strawberries, sugar, and cornstarch so there's a thicker jam-like sauce. She has made it every year for my dad's birthday since they started dating in the early 80s. 

[DawnM]

I got the recipe!   My aunts are not sure it is 100% accurate, but I am going to try it!

 

[Tree Frog]

My MIL was known for her Crazy Chocolate Cake and green jello with cottage cheese, pineapple, and carrots. One of those was better than the other.

My Grandma used to make a delicious chocolate and whipped cream cake for birthdays. She's no longer with us, but I still request that cake! 

My mom always made a delicious moist Missionary Cake, which is essentially a fruitcake. It's an interesting name and I've wondered where the name came from. 

[Melissa in Australia]

My Nan was well known for her not sweetened enough stewed rhubarb served with lumpy custard. 

 My teeth still shudder recalling it 

Edited September 3, 2023 by Melissa in Australia

[J-rap]

14 hours ago, stephanier.1765 said:

My mother and her banana pudding. It isn't a holiday if there isn't banana pudding.

Can you share your banana pudding recipe?  My girls and I were just talking about it (I guess it's popular in North Carolina?), and I was thinking I'd like to make it!

[J-rap]

12 hours ago, MercyA said:

Great-Grandpa: fruit marinated in rum--as I recall, he served this over ice cream

Great-Aunt: homemade crescent rolls by the dozens--so good even plain

Paternal grandma: zucchini chocolate cake

Maternal grandma: Pink Salad, spritz Christmas cookies

Paternal grandpa: beautiful knotted rolls and German stollen bread (he was a baker in Chicago in the 30's)

Aunt: peanut butter balls (otherwise known as Buckeyes, but hers also had Rice Krispies in the filling for crunch)

Mom: apple crumble pie, apple crisp, brownies

I love talking about food. 🙂

I'm really curious to know what pink salad is!

[Melissa in Australia]

I can make a good sponge cake. I got the recipe from an elderly lady at church when I was a teen. 

[TechWife]

My great-grandfather made furniture. By hand. Sawing, sanding, fitting, assembling, staining - beginning to end. He also made the cabinetry for some Pullman rail cars - including mail cars.

My mom made wonderful cucumber salad. I use her recipe. 

[YaelAldrich]

My mom was known for her potato salad. I made it this summer at the beach house.  Dad thought it was pretty good.  She was also known for her bulgogi  (Korean grilled beef). My dad's on my case to make that but he doesn't think I can make it like mom.  

I'm known for my chocolate chip cookies and my chicken schnitzel.  There are women who have babies just so I can bring them a schnitzel dinner. Lol

[Shoeless]

My paternal grandma was not a good cook, but she was a good artist. 

My maternal grandma was a decent cook, but better at crochet. When she was younger, she would add these delicate borders to her hankies and scarves.   She made blankets for me, my kindergarten teacher, my half-sister (who wasn't even related to my grandma), toys for me and my half-sister. 

I have her set tiny steel crochet hooks plus her regular hooks. I have a few of the crochet lace doilies she made, too. 

[MercyA]

8 hours ago, J-rap said:

I'm really curious to know what pink salad is!

A fluffy concoction of raspberry or strawberry Jello, mayo, cream cheese, crushed pineapple, Cool Whip, and walnuts. I know it sounds gross but it was amazing. 🙂 

[stephanier.1765]

9 hours ago, J-rap said:

Can you share your banana pudding recipe?  My girls and I were just talking about it (I guess it's popular in North Carolina?), and I was thinking I'd like to make it!

I absolutely would but I don't know what it is. She's making all the woman in the family a book of her recipes for Christmas so I hope to get it then. I'm vegan and she makes a darn good vegan version of it too.

[Kidlit]

19 hours ago, Alice said:

My great-grandmother was known for her "apricot nectar cake". I never really knew her but my Mom grew up going to her house every day after school and said she would always have it on the table. It uses a cake mix, but is very good. I'm guessing she probably got it off the back of the cake mix box. I can never find apricot nectar to make it so instead use mango nectar which I can usually find. Her birthday (the great-grandmother) was Christmas Eve so it's kind of a family tradition to make it on Christmas Eve. 

 

My granny made this, too! So good! My granny made a lot of things I fondly remember, including what we called biscuit pudding.  It was basically a bread pudding made from leftover homemade biscuits. It was not quite as moist as traditional bread pudding--more buttery and dry/crunchy. 

One of my maternal aunts (married to my mother's brother) was known for her yeast rolls.  She was a working mother with a pretty high-up corporate job in a family of sahms and men who were also all great cooks, and she didn't do much domestic, so this was quite memorable.  If I recall correctly, they were little folded-over rolls that positively melted in the mouth. 

My mother's sister was a great southern  cook who also had a barbecue pit in her backyard. Her Boston butts and bbqed (smoked) chickens were legendary, not to mention her gallon jars of Alabama white sauce.  

I remember a paternal aunt (my daddy's brother's wife) for her faux-fruitcakes (made with crushed graham crackers).  

My cousin can make beautiful and delicious desserts of all kinds, including fancy cheesecakes. It gets to be an obsessive hobby for her and she perfects whatever she's learning. 
 

My mother is a good cook who is known to tinker with herbs and spices.  🤪

My most requested side dish for family meals is cauliflower salad (lettuce, cauliflower, bacon, shredded cheese, mayo, and powdered ranch mix--assemble just before eating!)

Gosh, I love this thread! Thanks to OP for starting it!

[J-rap]

1 hour ago, MercyA said:

A fluffy concoction of raspberry or strawberry Jello, mayo, cream cheese, crushed pineapple, Cool Whip, and walnuts. I know it sounds gross but it was amazing. 🙂 

Oh yea, that was during the time when jello was considered salad!  😁  

[Kela]

Well, my aunts are renowned for their drama....oh....wait, not the right answer.

My grandma was known for her boeuf bourguignon...creamed onions...and needlepoint

My other grandma was known for her gumbo and her Divinityand prailines.

I also have an aunt who is known for her art work and has sold many paintings.

 

[Wishes]

12 hours ago, TechWife said:

My great-grandfather made furniture. By hand. Sawing, sanding, fitting, assembling, staining - beginning to end. He also made the cabinetry for some Pullman rail cars - including mail cars.

My mom made wonderful cucumber salad. I use her recipe. 

Would you share your cucumber salad recipe please, @TechWife