One of my Christmas baking projects this year, was to try making my Grandma’s Apple Strudel.

About 35 years ago, my Grandma visited my home to give me a “strudel making lesson”. Grandma made this decadent pastry every Christmas. She didn’t measure anything, so every time she’d dump “some of this” and “a bit of that” into the bowl, I’d take it out, measure it, and wrote the recipe as we went along.

I made Grandma’s strudel this year for the first time since that lesson so many years ago.

As I worked on rolling the pastry paper thin, I could see in my mind, my Grandma’s capable hands gently stretching the dough, and I could hear her slight German accent explaining the process.

The task was a challenge for me, but I enjoyed every minute spent in my memories of one of the best cooks and bakers on the planet.

Although my results were good, they’ll never match the divine strudels crafted by my dear Grandma.

“Behind every great Michelin chef there was a woman, usually a four foot cataract-ridden old granny from whom he’d filched his best recipes”

~ Karen Karbo