WEEK 4: Invite to dinner

After my parents divorced, my mother and I moved to Memphis, TN.  My mother, known as Miss Charlotte, "Miz" Moskal, or Aunt Charlotte (always pronounced like "aint" in that part of the south) was a wonderful cook, and continued to make the dishes she had learned to cook in El Paso from her Mexican mother-in-law, my grandmother, Papias.  

This must have been a seemingly exotic cuisine in the deep south in 1955, but with the exception of one ingredient, everything else she needed could be purchased at our corner grocery store: chili powder, cheddar cheese, onions, lettuce, ground meat, beans, rice.  

Interestingly, as I sat down to write about this, I dredged up a vague memory that for a while my Uncle Bill, her former brother-in-law, would ship us the corn tortillas, because that was the one critical ingredient she couldn’t find locally.  No tortillas; no Tex-Mex.  Whenever the tortillas arrived, we would feast that weekend. 

She made her enchilada sauce starting with a roux, then added chili powder and a few other ingredients, and this is the recipe she passed down to me.  She told me at the time that, while it wasn't the same recipe my grandmother used, it tasted pretty close to the way my grandmother's did.  I was astonished when I returned  to El Paso as an adult, and watched the steps my aunt went through to make her sauce, which involved roasting and soaking the peppers, undoubtedly more authentic, and a lot more work.  And anyway, I'm positive those peppers were not available from Franceschini's Grocery in the 1950's.

My mom made her own taco shells by folding the tortillas in half and holding the bottom in the hot grease until they hardened enough to be released to finish crisping. (No Old El Paso or Ortega pre-made shells back in the day.) To make the enchiladas, she would dip the tortillas quickly in hot grease just long enough to soften them before dousing them with her homemade enchilada sauce (red sauce only!).  Shredded cheese and chopped onions comprised the filling.  This was several hours of prep and cleanup, definitely no small feat for a single mom with a full-time job, who only had the weekend to accomplish many tasks.

Over time, many of my friends shared these meals with us, and of course, she would make Mexican food for our smattering of family who lived in Memphis.  It was always a special occasion when Miss Charlotte/Aunt Charlotte was cooking Mexican food.

I continued the tradition with my own family, and the choice of ingredients now seems limitless in this day and age, unlike my mom had to contend with. 

My family and friends will still occasionally remind me of those delicious meals, cooked with love, and I am always surprised, but especially grateful, that this is a happy memory for others who knew her. 

Miss Charlotte

My grandmother, Papias, making tamales