Juicy, perfectly marinated, tender baby lamb chops. Crisp, crunchy, fresh vegetables. Golden brown, cooked to perfection french fries(sentence structure; french fries, golden brown and cooked to perfection). This describes my favorite meal. Not only is it my favorite meal, but it symbolizes my culture and many family events from my childhood. Lamb is a very symbolic meat in the Greek cuisine, and it is present on every important holiday, especially Easter, birthdays, and big family events. Although my favorite style of lamb is baby lamb chops, there are many ways to cook it. My Dad is the one who learned all the tricks from his mom, my Yiayia. She grew up playing the true women role while my Grandfather worked, and brought my Dad and Aunt to the United States when they were 7 and 8 years old. They all are amazing and authentic cooks, but my Dad’s lamb chops and my Aunt’s Greek salad have a special place in my heart. Although many people may just view this meal as a classic dish for Greeks, there is a much deeper connection to it within myself.(good introduction- I like how you introduce both the food and your family well, but not with too much detail)
All throughout my childhood I was immersed in the classic Greek culture. The laughs that could be heard by people in the country of Greece, the bickering back and forth between family members, delicious (what felt like) twelve course meals being cooked, were all too familiar for me. If you have seen the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding, then you know that Lamb is a for sure classic. We serve it on easter especially because it is in honor of God who was sacrificed and rose again. I have always eaten lamb and can remember having the lemon marinade fill my lungs as I stood by the grill and my dad cooked. Although this meal is widespread all over this culture, my Dad’s lamb chops are my favorite.
An old Grandma’s cook book with tons of ancient ancestor’s recipes could be compared to all the ways there are to prepare lamb. You can get baby lamb chops and grill them, roast it in the oven with potatoes, roasted on a spit, with red tomato and cinnamon sauce, a white and egg lemon based sauce and so many more. In my opinion, my Dad makes the best lamb chops(already mentioned, somewhat redundant). I think the reason I like them so much is because he likes strong flavors just like I do. My Dad will usually pick up 1-2 pounds of baby lamb chops from the butcher, but they definitely need to be fresh. His basic recipe includes: “Taking the meat right from the marinade and throwing it on the grill. He Grills both sides for 2-3 minutes each or until medium rare temperature is reached”. Even thinking about it to this day, I can remember the specific view of him preparing this meal. The towel over his shoulder making him look like a classic chef. The salty sweat dripping down his forehead and the side of his face as he uses the sleeve on his shoulder to wipe it off. His big hands, glistening with olive oil, massaging the meat as if they are his old arthritis filled knees. This is the routine I have grown up watching my dad follow, and you can definitely say it is my favorite. One of my favorite components is smelling the deliciousness,(get more specific; what smells are there? Is there the scent of cooking fats mixing with the lemon marinade?) even from my bedroom window above the deck. You can watch the meat crispen and get its juicy texture while the marinade soaks into it.
The next part of my favorite meal is a Greek salad, but without the lettuce. For this, the preparation is pretty simple. My Aunt gathers the ingredients: onions, cucumbers, fresh tomato, kalamata olives, feta cheese, olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. She stands there with her sharp knife and chops it all up while listening to the knife hit the cutting board. Then, she tosses it all in the bowl and drizzles about ⅔ olive oil and ⅓ vinegar(,) letting it coat each individual piece. She then adds a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper. I sat by her side ever since I can remember, my mouth watering as I craved the salad for so long. The last component to my favorite meal includes the french fries. All you have to do for this part is skin the brown protective layer(peel the skin off) of the potatoes and chop them up into fries like rectangular prisms. Then boil some olive oil, toss the potatoes in, and wait until they are a crispy, golden, brown. Although this meal makes my taste buds extremely satisfied(how does it satisfy them? What are your favorite flavors in the meal, what types of textures stand out most? Being satisfied is too broad for such a specific meal), my favorite thing about this meal is the thoughts that fill my head with joy from my childhood.
Most of my fondest meal memories are with family and my Dad cooking lamb chops as a child. As my Dad said, “Christina was three years old and I remember her coming by the grill and standing there watching me cook. She kept constantly saying how good it smelled and that she wanted to try a piece. I must say it was love at first bite. She ate the entire lamb chop licking the bone to the very end”. Clearly, I was very young when my Dad first introduced me to these mouth watering slivers of meat. At any family event we host or attend, I ask my Dad if he will be making them. As a child I aspired to be the next Cake Boss, making me indulge in any cooking or baking that was happening around me. I loved being by his side to steal a piece of meat to foreshadow what was to come, almost like a seagull at the beach. (good organization. The description of you watching him make the meal is excellent, as well as the relationship you had with your father while making it.)
As a child, my Dad spent a lot of time traveling for work. He would go to Japan every six weeks, and in between that travel to the West coast as well as various other places. I learned to get used to this lifestyle because I know he was working and making money so that my four siblings and I could have everything we wanted and more. I am extremely appreciative of him and all the hard work he does, but this was also a difficult aspect of my life. By not having my Dad around for some major events because he had to be halfway around the world, it made me appreciate having him home even more. Growing up, when we would have lamb chops for dinner or for a special occasion, it meant that my dad was home with us to cook them. It meant that he wasn’t half way around the world, it meant that I could sit down with him and catch up, and it meant that my family would be whole again.
My other connection to this meal is with the salad. My Dad’s sister, my Auntie Georgia, makes the best version of this mixed perfection. I am very close with her as she is my Godmother, but she has cancer. The crispness of the onions, juice of the olives, taste of the feta cheese, and all the ingredients mixed together is like a party in my mouth.(this would fit well after your description of how the salad is made) One of the main things I like about this salad is how there is no lettuce in it, which allows you to get the full, powerful taste of all the individual ingredients without the lettuce making it(making it what?). My Auntie Georgia is a very important part of my life and the way she prepares it for me with crisp bread every time I go to her house makes me happy(seems like it makes you more than just “happy”. Maybe describe more). I enjoy the meals that I get to have this salad because it specifically reminds me of her. Many memories from my childhood make this my favorite mean to eat.
When I was around 10 years old, I found out that my Auntie Georgia has cancer. My Dad took us to a local ice cream shop in our hometown called Stillwell’s, and I remember him sitting us down and breaking the news. I could feel my eyes fill with tears as my appetite for my vanilla soft serve with rainbow sprinkles went down the drain, which has never happened before. ( good details, but organization seems a little off. It jumps between your aunt’s cancer and the reasons the salad is special. Maybe focus on one first, then transition to the other)
Since my aunt is sick, I think the reason I love her salad so much is because it means that she is safe and I am still able to spend time with her. I’m not sure how many more times I will be able to eat multiple bowls of this salad with her in my presence, but I do know that whenever I take over the role of making this salad, I will always have her in mind.
Lamb chops, Greek salad, and french fries may seem like just an ordinary meal, but I have a deep connection with it. The Greek culture that I grew up in is a huge part of who I am and why I love this meal, the way my Dad prepares it, and the memories that flow back are the most important reasons why I love this meal. The smell of the chops cooking , crispness of the vegetables in the salad, and comfort in the french fries bring back many memories which fill my heart with warmth. It isn’t just the deliciousness of the food, it’s being able to have my Dad home with me and my Aunt safe. (Solid conclusion; touches on all the points in the essay, and reiterates the emotional connotations of the meal itself)
Overall, the essay has a good level of detail and emotion, with great descriptions of meal preparation. It is easy to visualize you by your father or aunt making these meals and watching them cook and get put together. However, the descriptions of the food and how it smells/tastes is lacking in some parts of the essay. Simply stating the food smells or tastes delicious or is satisfying isn’t enough, especially considering how vividly you described the process of making it. Adding descriptions about the tastes, textures and smells of the meal would add a great amount of depth. Also, there seems to be some disorganization and redundancy within some paragraphs, specifically paragraphs 3, 7 and 8. The ideas in paragraphs 7 and 8 seem to be similar enough where they can be molded together, taking the best parts from both and eliminating the rest. Aside from that, the essay is solid and the overall organization of ideas works well.
