In 960 A.D., Abd-Er-Rahman III, Moorish conqueror and ruler of Spain offered a thought-provoking summation of his life: “I have reigned about fifty years in victory or peace, beloved by my subjects, dreaded by my enemies, and respected by my allies. Riches and honors, power, and pleasure, have waited on my call, nor does any earthly blessing appear to have been wanting to my felicity. In this situation I have diligently numbered the days of pure and genuine happiness which have fallen to my lot. They amount to fourteen.”

Note that the great conqueror did not mention his wife or his family which may be a major reason why his days of “pure and genuine happiness” have been so few. Vera Casper Nielson’s husband and family—both nuclear and extended—can easily number a great many more, and many of those centered around food.

I well remember a special food day we enjoyed—a “pure and genuine happiness day”—during our life in Dallas. It was 1974; I was a resident in Parkland Hospital. Vera made our house a home and our life a joy. Karl L. was in fifth grade; Kristina was in second; and Leif Erik was starting kindergarten.

We were proud of our offspring and decided to test out the validity of that pride. Vera and I thought it would be a treat to introduce them to real culture, especially of the epicurean kind. It was going to be also a test of how well they had absorbed our efforts to give them an upbringing which would make them into citizens fit for society and a world of educated people who understood and expected proper and dignified behavior down to the nuances of what was expected in the rarefied atmosphere of high society.

We prepared them for a very special event—Breakfast at Brennan’s—definitely a place where the elite meet to eat, a full out bib-and-tucker and best gown affair. We went over and over the requisite manners and courtesies, attended, as needed, by appropriate threats—such as being drawn-and-quartered or flogged with a logging chain if they were even moderately egregious. They promised.

Brennan’s was housed in One Main Place in downtown Dallas and was entirely similar to the original restaurant in New Orleans. It was a place and a menu out of the best that the antebellum south could have provided.

Vera and I told the maitre d’hotel to give us small portions; so, we could sample as much of the marvelous menu as we could. We had starved for days to be ready. This is what we enjoyed:

• Juice of the Day–made with seasonal fruit
• Housemade Soda–Brennan’s unique blend of seasonal fruit and house-crafted fruit syrup
• For starters we sampled–Roasted Gulf Oysters in smoked chili butter with manchego crust; Baked Apple with oatmeal pecan raisin crumble, brown sugar glaze, and créme fraiche; Crab and Avocado Toast; and Louisiana lump crab, Brennan bakery seed bread, and buttermilk gribiche
• Soup and Salad–Turtle Soup; brown butter spinach, grated egg dashed with aged sherry; Seafood Filé Gumbo; Gulf shrimp and oysters; and Poché’s andouille sausage with basmati rice
• Eggs–Artisanal Eggs Benedict; housemade english muffins and fresh raw maple syrup cured canadian bacon with hollandaise sauce; and Omelette a la Creole made with jumbo lump crabmeat, manchego gremolata, and Creole sauce
• Entrees—small medium rare beef tenderloin Steak Diane flambéed tableside, Idaho potato purée, roasted carrots, and more eggs done per personal request if desired; Andouille and Ratatouille Hash; and finally housemade duck andouille, garlic custard, and one perfect sunny-side-up egg in a cup. Especially for the children, the chef sent out Vanilla Scented French Toast with peach compote, and topped with thick chantilly cream
• Sides–Knowing that the foregoing would not be enough, we also had Nueske’s Thick-Cut Bacon and Buttermilk Biscuits
• Dessert–Bananas Foster [bananas, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, rum, and vanilla ice cream], and to top it all off, we also had Brennan’s famed Cherries Jubilee [Sautéed Black Cherries, Kirsch, New Orleans Ice Cream Company Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, Flambéed Tableside

When our nice brunch was done, the bill paid, and a generous tip given to the wait staff, two families stepped over to our table to compliment us on what a beautiful and remarkably well behaved and well-educated family we had. Vera and I told the children how greatly they had honored our family, and we all floated out of the restaurant for a full day’s nap at home.

As amazing as that meal was, I remember with more fondness Sunday evening dinners with the family over the years. The menu featured favorites—always, but not only, for birthdays—and intriguing recipes Ma studied in her large library of cook books to make every Sunday special.

My two favorites are presented below, with the original recipes:

• • Salad—wilted spinach, sliced strawberries, green onions, honey roasted almonds, crumbled bacon, and poppy seed dressing
  • Entrée–Grandma Nielson’s Beef Stroganoff

  Ingredients:

• 1 can condensed tomato soup
  2 Tbsp fat
  2 tsps Worcestershire sauce
  ¼ cup chopped onion
  6-8 drops Tabasco sauce
  1 6oz can or fresh sautéed mushroom pieces
  ¼ tsp salt
  1 cup sour cream
  1/8 tsp pepper
  1 lb round steak cut in ¾ inch cubes

• Preparation:

Dip steak cubes in flour and brown in hot fat. Add onions and mushroom. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over meat. Simmer until done-about 1 hour-stirring frequently. Serve over noodles. Sprinkle over Parmesan cheese.

• • Dessert–Crumb Ice Cream [also known by the uneducated as Lemon Ice-Box Dessert]

  Ingredients

• 12 oz box of vanilla wafers
  ½ cup lemon juice
  6 eggs (separate whites and yolks)
  Or 3 lemons
  1 pint whipping cream
  1cup white sugar

• Prepartion:

• Mix and place sugar, egg yolks, and lemon juice, in a double boiler. Cook until thick—avoid boiling ingredients. Then cool. Whip cream then gently fold in whipped egg whites. Fold in cooled mixture from double boiler. Crush vanilla wafers and use ½ to cover bottom of 9 x 13 inch glass casserole dish. Pour mixture into dish—then sprinkle remaining half of crushed wafers evenly on top. Freeze for 12 hours before serving. Makes one 9 X 13 inch glass casserole dish.

Serve hard frozen.