Making Tradition

I'm just going to come out and say it, the holidays are hard for me. Having spent the past eleven years as a restaurant manager, working almost every holiday, I have missed out on the opportunity to absorb much, if any, holiday tradition. This year, however, things are a bit different. I'm free from the chains of the service industry, and like a roll of Brawny paper towel, I am ready to soak up every drop of tradition I can get my ultra-absorbent hands on.

I have some catching up to do...


Dara, my ultra-beautiful, newly married, lights-up-every-room-she-walks-into, should-totally-start-a-food-blog best friend, has offered to share with me a few of her family's holiday traditions. Some, are those she has picked up from her husband's family, while others come straight from the New England kitchen were she and her three sisters grew up learning and creating the holiday traditions of the Dooley-Morts. Jim and Lynn raised four beautiful daughters, all perfectly ripened with a love of food and a tenderness for keeping their family traditions alive.

This year, when I started craving tradition, I knew exactly where to go...

Pickling eggs, as I learned today, is a labor of love. Easy, maybe, but not simple -- and prepare to do a few dishes.

The 'pickled eggs at Thanksgiving' tradition comes from Dara's husband Chris' side of the family. A tradition handed down from Chis' grandfather. I have had the opportunity to sample the tangy, hot pink, delicacies over the years, and after today, I am proud to add them to my holiday tradition repertoire. I have a feeling my grandmother Phyllis will approve.

Pickled Eggs with Beets and Onions

Ingredients

12 hard boiled eggs*
2 lbs. beets
2 large white onions
2 cups beet broth**
3 cups cider vinegar
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 tsp. celery seed
3 Tbl. ground mustard
1 tsp. salt

Directions

Hard boil 12 eggs, if using farm fresh eggs, make sure they are at least one week old for easier peeling. Set aside. Peel beets, cut in half, and boil until just fork tender, do not over cook. Slice beets and set aside. Reserve 2 cups of beet broth. Cut onions, and set aside. Combine beet broth and vinegar, bring to a rapid boil. Add sugar, ground mustard, and salt. Return to boil until sugar is completely dissolved.

In two large Mason jars, layer beets, onions, and eggs (6 per jar), add 2 tsp. of celery seed to each jar. Pour hot liquid over eggs, beets, and onions to cover completely. Seal immediately. Refrigerate for 5-7 days.

** Beet broth is the liquid left over from boiling the beets.

* Dara's recipe for the perfect hard boiled egg:

Place eggs (no more than 6 per saucepan) in cold water. Make sure eggs are covered by one inch of water. Place on high heat until it comes to a rapid boil. Place lid on pan and remove from heat. Let sit covered for 17 minutes. After 17 minutes remove eggs from pan and add to bowl filled with ice and water. Don't be shy with the ice - the cooler the water the easier the eggs are to peel. Let sit in ice water until completely cooled before peeling.

All of this egg pickling left us hungry. Dara reheated leftover homemade Mac and Cheese. Another family recipe I am eager to get my hands on! 

Love you D-Mo. 

tra·di·tion

The handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information, etc., from generation to generation, esp. by word of mouth or by practice: a story that has come down to us by popular tradition.