Taking It Back

This post is dedicated to the flavors within recipes that can take your mind back to a particular memory. What are some recipes that remind you of the past?

One of my most favorite dishes to eat to remember my grandmother is her lasagna. When I was a young girl my grandmother would spend the better part of the day preparing this dish. She would begin with the sauce which would take hours to cook because the longer it was left to simmer the more infused the flavors would become. Then she would start layering the pasta in a white corning ware dish made specifically for lasagna. The layers were always stacked in the same order, very carefully, until the pan was almost full to the top. Then came the long wait of baking the lasagna in the oven. Every so often grandma would go back into the kitchen to open the oven and check on her creation. The aromas which filled her small house were mouthwatering. The unmistakable smell of onions and garlic mixed with the acidic smell of the tomatoes. You could hear the sauce and cheeses sizzle as they melted together. Whenever I taste a bite of lasagna, especially one I have made from her recipe, it takes me back to that two story blue house in California where I played with blocks as my grandmother made the most delicious dinners I have ever known.