One Special Lady

Last week I said goodbye to one of the most amazing women I have had the fortune of knowing, my great-grandmother, Louise Schreck. Not only do I blame her for my addiction to coffee at an early age (sneaking me cups when my parents weren't looking...) but I also attribute my love of food and cooking to her. My family has gone to her house for Thanksgiving ever since I can remember. Even when she was well into her nineties, my Great Grams would make a large chunk of the dinner- complete with pecan, apple, and pumpkin pie...and I don't mean the kind from the can! She taught me the value of fresh ingredients over cutting corners, and how food brings people together even today, in a world of technological disconnection. This is why I love to cook and bake. To give people who don't have the time or talent for it something to share at the table when they are gathering with family and friends; to be a part of the stories that bring people together and make them who they are. Because a wedding without a cake is like Thanksgiving dinner without the pie. My Great Grams will live forever in my recipes and the story that makes me the chef I am today. At 102, she was pretty close anyways! Here's to a long life well lived, and eating real cream and butter!

In December 2009, Great Grams turned 100 and we threw her a birthday bash to celebrate. I made her a lemon-filled sheet cake per her request, and here it is:

Count 'em- FOUR generations of amazing women in my family.