I remember learning how to cook hamburgers from my grandmother. This
was my mother's mother, who we called "Grammy". She lived with us for
many years after Granddaddy died. She didn't really want to live with
us, but she didn't have any other good options.
So she moved in with us, and Mom and Dad welcomed her. She resented it
and snuck around and read the mail and snooped on things and
complained. Stuck her fork in the bowls and plates with the shared
food in them so that Dad would get upset later.
He never said anything to her about it that I know of. Grammy and Mom
always had the unspoken tension of who was in charge of the kitchen
and who could do what. But I do remember Grammy teaching me how to
cook hamburgers and how to check and make sure they were done.
It's a skill that I practiced over and over while I lived at home and
after I moved out. It's a skill that I honed working at McDonald's for
two and a half years and that I continued to do as an adult.
And now when I grill burgers, I'll sometimes think of her when I'm
checking to see if they're done. She taught me to poke the spatula in
the top of the burger and then press it like I was searing the burger.
And if the juices were still reddish, it wasn't quite done, but if the
juices came through clear, that burger was done and ready to come off
and be eaten.
Good guidance. Good memories.
#personal #food #history