Frankfurt for Cooks: A Journey Home
“The discovery of a new dish does more for the happiness of mankind than the discovery of a star”
― Brillat-Savarin
Cooking with Anna was a lifeline I didn’t see coming. Her Instagram, Facebook and online cooking classes coaxed me out of a cooking comfort zone, fed my family and ironically brought me closer to a distant place, home.
When Anna’s class begins, the world outside the kitchen window is muted. The only sounds other than her delightful British accent are the ones being created over the kitchen counter: chopping, sizzling, scraping, bubbling, whisking, and stirring. Upon conclusion, the dinner table will be set with a cornucopia of mouthwatering dishes like: pumpkin & sage cannelloni, pearl barley risotto, Russian pelmeni and Moroccan chicken stew. But it’s what unfurls from a tarnished and weary brain that causes a deep ravenous hunger. Remembrance. Cooking along with Anna I recall my Grandmother’s fried dough, Aunt Darlene’s gingersnap cookies, Mom’s lemon icebox pie and countless childhood days tugging at flour dusted aprons in hopes of being given a spatula or bowl to lick clean. Like the dishes prepared (virtually) alongside Anna, these intangible morsels of youth are devoured; appetite satiated leaving a stomach and heart full, and longing for the next recipe to bring me closer again to the women who provided the Holy Trinity of ingredients: love, comfort and joy.
Regardless which side of the ocean my apron strings hang, the memory of the women who raised me are present, especially in the kitchen. Thank you Anna for bringing me home and making this girl from Louisiana remember something forgotten; like the beet and turnip, I too have roots.
Upcoming online classes through Zoom include: Creamy Risotto, Osso Buco with Polenta and Middle Eastern starters. And if you love fish, you should check Anna’s “Fish Marathon” classes!
Anna was kind and offered to share one of my favorite fall recipes, Pumpkin Cannelloni. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Frankfurt for Cooks
Owner: Anna Schmidt
