The Cookbook That’ll Outlive Us All

There’s a new cookbook making the rounds, and it’s literally to die for. It’s filled with dishes that people loved so much, they put them on their gravestones. Forget “Beloved Mother.” These folks went out saying, “Try my fudge!”

Rosie Grant noticed recipes on gravestones are surprisingly common.  She's spent the past four years traveling around to find the best ones.

Her new book just came out. 

Honestly? I get it. If I could leave one thing behind, it might just be my chocolate chip scone recipe — the one from that now-defunct hotel in Spring Lake. It’s buttery, crumbly, perfectly golden. People used to show up at that place just for the scones, and when the hotel closed, I made it my mission to recreate them. They’re so good, they deserve to be immortalized in granite.

But if we’re talking family history, my mom’s gravestone would absolutely feature her hideous beef stroganoff recipe from the 1970s. Oh, we’d all lose it laughing. The sight of that would send my siblings and me straight back to our childhood kitchen — the smell of overcooked noodles, cream of mushroom soup, and mystery meat filling the air.

We used to gather it up in our napkins, swear we had to go to the bathroom, and just… flush it. Every time. Sorry, Mom.

Here’s the 70s-style classic, straight from the era of avocado-green kitchens and shag carpets:

Beef Stroganoff à la 1976

Brown the beef and onion in butter. Stir in soup and Worcestershire. Simmer till you’ve lost hope. Add sour cream and serve over egg noodles. Bonus points if you hide the evidence.

Honestly, put that on her gravestone — it’s family legend!