This one's for you - Betty Blackshire
(Betty & Mike Blackshire - married 53 years in august)
On one beautiful June day, Mike Blackshire, a golf buddy at Sunny Croft Country Club in Clarksburg, West Virginia asked me to stop by his house on my way home. When I rang the door bell, his wife Betty, also a golfer, answered the door. "Come on in Mike. Mike will be right with you." She continued to talk but my hearing was overpowered by my sense of smell. Betty was baking and it smelled sooo good! "Betty, what smells so good?" "Oh, Mike it's just my pepperoni bread and ham rolls. We're getting ready for family company. Would you like a taste?" Being my normal shy self, I said, "Oh no, I can't... "Mike, you must try this." "Ok, Betty....just a small taste." On the outside, I was trying my best to be reserved, but inside I was thinking, " Please feed me...pepperoni and ham!"
Within seconds, she returned with a couple of her homemade ham rolls and two or three (I can't really remember) slices of pepperoni bread. "Be careful they are still hot! Make sure you save some for Sandra (my wife)". "Oh, I will. I will. Don't worry?" Mike and I talked a few minutes about the club and golf and then I was "On the road again," with hot pepperoni bread and ham rolls on the seat beside me. I kept hearing Betty say,"Now save some for Sandra." Those words quickly faded. By the time I reached the top of the hill behind their home, approximately 300 yards, the only thing left on the seat were empty napkins. Guilt was but a fleeting moment.
However, I did tell Sandra how good they were and I was going to ask Betty if she would share the recipe. When I called to ask, I held my breath because I know some people guard their recipes like they were national security secrets. My mother was like that. Sandra and I were married 15 years before my mother shared her Christmas fudge and fruit cake recipe - reluctantly, even then. Perhaps she was waiting to see if the marriage was going to work.
Getting back to pepperoni and ham: I thanked the bread Gods when Betty said, "Sure Mike. I'll send them with my Mike next time you guys play golf." To me, Betty was just another example of "Sharing tastes sooo good." There are too many people out there who are consumed with being the "only one" or who roll in "It's mine and only mine. You can taste it but you'll never make it." They miss out on so much.
Something to think about for recipe stingy: If my mother had not passed down a few of her special recipes, they could have been lost forever. In 1985, the West Fork River, which flows in front of my childhood home, flooded a large portion of Clarksburg, including my mother's basement. Among the many treasures lost was her collection of family recipes. This is one of the many reasons I believe in sharing recipes.
More pepperoni bread: The only thing that tasted better than the samples Betty gave me was tasting them a second time, after I baked my own pepperoni bread. Here is the step-by-step process and the result. Yes, I did share with Sandra.
The Ham Rolls, I reserve for cookouts or larger groups because the recipe makes 24 and I generally have disastrous results with 'cutting' recipes. However, I did make them for a road trip to the mountains. Ham rolls are great for breakfast, at least they are for me. They are also wonderful for a picnic-stop. And, they really step up when you get home and definitely do not feel like cooking. Supplement them with a cold beverage or a nice Chianti, some olives, a little left-over pepperoni bread, some fresh fruit and you have the end to a perfect day.
To me, recipes are like a fine wine - they are at their best when shared.
So, this one was for you Betty Blacksire and for the Betty Blackshire's everywhere. Because..."Sharing Tastes Soooo Good."
And that's the way I see it.
Until next time,
Michael